Jay Payleitner spent a decade in major market advertising. Learning how people think and doing some fun work.
But God called him into Christian media. And he became an almost-too-busy freelance producer. For more than a decade, Jay scripted and produced Josh McDowell Radio, Today's Father, Jesus Freaks Radio with TobyMac and Michael Tait, Project Angel Tree with Chuck Colson, and thousands of hours of radio that aired across the country and beyond.
Jay is a long-time affiliate with the National Center for Fathering and nationally-known motivational speaker for Iron Sharpens Iron, marriage conferences, men's retreats, women's events, writers' conferences, and weekend services.
Jay has sold more than half million books including the bestselling 52 Things Kids Need from a Dad, The Jesus Dare, and What If God Wrote Your Bucket List? His latest -- and perhaps most important release -- is Hooray for Grandparents! With eight grandkids, Jay and his bride, Rita, are realizing the critical nature of loving on, engaging with, and laughing alongside the next generation.
Jay's books have been translated into French, German, Spanish, Italian, Afrikaans, Indonesian, Slovenian, Polish, and Russian.
He has been a guest multiple times on The Harvest Show, 100 Huntley Street, Moody Radio, Building Relationships with Gary Chapman, Cornerstone TV, and Focus on the Family.
During the pandemic, Jay co-founded Benevolent ThinkTank with eight fellow altruistic and creative partners.
Jay and his high school sweetheart, Rita, live in the Chicago area where they’ve raised five great kids, loved on ten foster babies, and are cherishing grandparenthood.
(There's a shorter and longer bio under "For Press.")
