Thursday, June 27, 2019

Heather Neary was named President of Auntie Anne’s in November 2015. Heather joined Auntie Anne’s in 2005 and has held various roles in the company in which she was responsible for the oversight of marketing, communications, the franchise business consultant team, research and development, product innovation, and the franchisee leadership team. Most recently, Heather served as Vice President, Global Marketing. Prior to joining Auntie Anne’s, Heather held roles in marketing and as a managing editor for a business magazine. Heather received a B.A. from Millersville University and an M.B.A. from Penn State University. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Lancaster YMCA and the Board of Advisors for Penn State Harrisburg, and is a mentor for the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce Women in Business program.

Lola Banjo is a dynamic, motivated and energetic business leader with a focus in Corporate Strategy.

As a Strategic Innovative Executive at Salesforce, Lola is part of a small team of leaders, strategists, design thinkers and innovators who help unlock value by ideating creative solutions to business and everyday challenges through a blend of strategy, vision, engineering, storytelling and business case development.

Before Salesforce, Lola has held positions at Accenture, Deloitte, and L’Oreal.

Innovation Strategist and Design Researcher who strongly believes in the power of solid research and visual storytelling techniques. She has helped companies from the Tribune Companies, AT&T, to McDonald’s and now at Facebook shape their future landscape by taking the research from just abstract numbers to involving company stakeholders in the world of their customers. She lives to understand users and to design beautiful and useful experiences, services and products, and has a thorough understanding of the value visual storytelling has to building a brand within a business and consumer context. She is also an educational product developer that has created over 400 products for the top 3 educational publishers and has authored her own award-winning series of children’s books for the pre-kindergarten dual language market.

Sean Lauer is a Marketing Lead on Twitter’s North America Business Marketing team, focusing on positioning the platform for advertisers across industries and providing partners with tools to drive marketing objectives. Prior to joining Twitter, Sean was a Brand Manager on the Budweiser brand team at Anheuser-Busch InBev where he worked on programs like Major League Baseball, World Cup, and the annual summer Red, White, and Blue campaign. Sean hails from New Jersey and has a BS in Commerce and MBA from the University of Virginia, along with an AAS in Graphic Design from Parsons School of Design.

Peter works on LinkedIn’s Brand Strategy Team, helping LinkedIn’s largest clients and their agencies develop best-in-class B2B marketing strategies.

Chris Duffey spear-heads Adobe’s Creative Cloud strategic development design partnerships.

Chris’ keynotes have received over 50+ million impressions. His sessions have been reported around the world including Access Hollywood, Extra, Ok Magazine, Hello, People, Daily Mail and Euro News.

In addition, Chris and his work has been featured by more than 100 global media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Inc., Adweek, Adage, Cheddar, The Guardian, The Mirror, The Drum, Campaign, CMO.com, NYPost, Business Insider… and profiled by Google, McKinsey and Wharton in their digital marketing book. Chris also serves on Rutgers University Data Advisory Board and The Board of Directors for the ANA, Association of National Advertisers NY.

Prior to Adobe Chris was an Award-Winning Executive Creative Director, Noted Speaker, Author and AI & Mobile Technologist. Chris has been featured by Business Insider as one of “The industry’s leaders on the top issues, challenges and opportunities in the fast-changing world of mobile marketing.” And has been a creative consultant with over 35 advertising agencies across the major global holding companies.

Gregg L Witt’s tireless pursuit of the youth culture thread has been a long and winding road. Never content to just ‘know it when he sees it’, Witt has dedicated his career to a focused examination of the wisdom and authenticity inherent in today’s youth culture, while guiding others on how they might, respectfully, do the same. With over 16 years of experience in youth insights, brand strategy, and marketing activation, Witt is a renowned cultural marketing strategist and national public speaker. He is Chief Strategy Officer at Engage Youth Co., where he leads strategy and consumer engagement programs for brands targeting youth culture. In 2016, he was named a Top Youth Marketer To Follow by Inc. Magazine, and in 2017 made the Forbes list of leading Generation Z experts. In 2018 he co-authored the Gen Z Frequency book published by Kogan Page, a comprehensive guide to understanding Generation Z and engaging youth culture.  He frequently appears in national media as a youth trends expert. A shortlist of past clients include Autodesk, AwesomenessTV, College Board, Cooper Tires, FunnyOrDie, Glaceau Vitamin Water, HBO, Hollister, Nissan, Midnight Science Club, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, Procter & Gamble, Qualcomm, and Walt Disney World.

Christine Mina is the Manager of Digital Media for the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL). Christine joined the Philadelphia Flyers in 2014. In her current role, Christine oversees all digital media platforms including the team’s mobile app, social media platforms, and the team website, PhiladelphiaFlyers.com. She is responsible for strategizing and executing all content and marketing initiatives as well as tracking and analyzing digital revenue generation.

Prior to joining the company, Christine held public relations and communications positions for the Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL).

Christine received a Bachelor’s degree in communication and rhetoric from the University of Pittsburgh.

Justin leads one of the largest and fastest-growing social and emerging media marketing practices in the Philadelphia area. The practice he launched and oversees within CMI/Compas, Drive, has over 80 highly skilled social media, emerging media and search marketers touching nearly every pharma company in the world. He is also responsible for growth, marketing and product development, including the commercialization and launch of new capabilities.

Justin leads the charge in breaking down silos and innovating the way the pharma industry uses search and social channels for better engagement with patients, caregivers and HCPs. Throughout his career, he has developed and executed digital strategies across the finance, insurance, education, and consumer packaged goods industries, but notably has his deepest experience in helping healthcare and pharmaceutical companies leverage channels such as social media, content marketing, search engine optimization, lead generation and paid search. He has a passion for helping people utilize the best tools available to better understand and engage their target audiences.

A key asset to the CMI/Compas Social team, a team that touches nearly every pharma company in the world, Liz’s years in the industry have provided her with adequate knowledge and experience to be a trailblazer with all things social. Liz provides clients with strategic social media opportunities and high-level recommendations that align to their business goals and objectives. She also educates internal and external stakeholders on the value of social promotion and the role it plays in the larger media mix. Liz has a passion for providing education and resources to those that need it the most, whether it’s HCPs or patients. By using her logic, drive and voice, she speaks up to shake things up on the forefront of social. By doing what she knows and loves, Liz’s efforts provide individuals with education and resources to access the life-changing medications that they need – a rewarding career.

Alex has a decade of experience in the social and digital media space, working across a wide range of verticals, including pharmaceuticals and healthcare. She began her career in New York City, where she was an advocate for paid social while the medium was still in its infancy, proving to clients that it was as effective as digital, if not more so, in driving real business results. At CMI/Compas, Alex continues to prove how social is a crucial component in the digital marketing ecosystem, implementing best practices to drive optimal results. Her ability to craft a story and learnings from those results are what draws clients and teams to her. Alex spends her “downtime” with her two toddlers and is an expert in all things Paw Patrol.  

As Director of East Coast Sales, Jessica Peluso is an advocate of helping customers understand and maximize the impact of every digital initiative. Jessica helps organizations from start-up through high growth and into global Fortune 500 companies understand the effectiveness of their links across all channels. She is able to accomplish this by first understanding their current strategies, analytics and campaigns and then, their challenges. Most discussions with Digital and Social teams are based around branding, tracking engagement, and measuring social success and how they can increase their ROI in these areas.

As founder and principal of Perfection Events, Mazda leads her team with a passion for results and close to 20 years’ experience designing and executing high impact meeting and events. Her award-winning Philadelphia-based firm produces meetings and events worldwide for corporate, association, non-profit, and public-sector clients across varied industries. Her keen ability to partner with business leaders to produce programs that deliver strategic results has been the key to continued success. Mazda is the immediate past president of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Greater Philadelphia chapter, is a director at large of the HBCU Career Marketplace and New Voices for Reproductive Justice and is a respected voice in the conversation on diversity and inclusion both regionally and nationally. In her free time, Mazda can be found mentoring youth in the areas of business, entrepreneurship and the arts as well as traveling wherever a few extra airline miles and a free weekend can take her!

Stephanie Meyers is Group Director of Digital Growth at Fast Company and Inc., where she oversees social media and works on audience development and digital strategy initiatives. Previously, as Inc.’s head of social media, she led the award-winning social team and hosted Inc.’s ‘Social Media Toolkit’ Facebook Live series, which offered viewers the chance to get small business marketing advice directly from experts at companies like Shake Shack, S’well, TED Talks and more. Prior to Inc., she edited features for mental_floss magazine and non-fiction books for HarperCollins.

Troy Hendrickson is a comedian and variety performer from Wilmington, Delaware. He performs sold-out shows all over the Greater Philadelphia area- including headlining shows at Harrah’s Casino, Valley Forge Casino, Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, Atlantic City, Wildwood NJ, and more. He performs professionally as drag persona “Miss Troy” and viral character “Aunt Mary Pat.” The latter has been featured on NBC 1O news, 92.5 XTU, Buzzfeed, Philly Magazine, and more. He just released his debut album as Aunt Mary Pat called “Talk of the Township” which hit #5 on the iTunes comedy charts. Several of his original songs reached #1 on the iTunes comedy charts, including “Down the Shore.” Over the last year, he has amassed over 30k followers on Instagram, 65k followers on Facebook, and over a million views on You Tube. In his spare-time he enjoys raising funds for local LGBTQ+ organizations and spending time with his family.

Allison is a former filmmaker who has leveraged her background in visual storytelling and passion for innovative communications into a career in social media. Prior to joining Independence Blue Cross, Allison served as Digital Marketing Manager for the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, working to increase awareness for the Mann’s arts education programs, as well as promoting performances with world-class artists such as The Philadelphia Orchestra, John Legend, Sigur Rós, Mary J. Blige, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and Diana Ross. Allison currently works collaboratively to craft integrated digital storytelling campaigns designed to elevate Independence’s core commitments to improving community well-being, member-focused care, and innovation. In her spare time, Allison is an avid adventure planner, runner, rock climber, and yoga enthusiast.

As digital communications specialist, Britni taps into the power of storytelling on digital channels to celebrate people and promote the values that drive Independence Blue Cross’s mission to enhance the health and well-being of the communities it serves. She supports planning, development and realization of web and social media campaigns like Celebrate Caring. She’s interviewed members, community and provider partners, and internal staff and leadership on and off-camera to bring engaging, people-focused content to IBX channels. While her focus is on brand journalism, Britni also supports media relations for campaigns and other brand initiatives, like CPR Ready.

Prior to joining Independence, Britni worked in public relations and associate communications at AmeriHealth New Jersey. She has a background in teaching high school English and first-year writing at the university level. She earned her M.A. in English and a B.S. in Secondary Education/English from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

In his role as CFO of Slice Communications, Rayce Rollins provides financial leadership and strategic guidance to this fast-growing and innovative company. Rayce’s approach to business management is simple, “control your cash, stick to your core business, know your numbers.”

Throughout his career, Rayce has managed the financials of several Ad Agencies and Professional Services companies in a CFO capacity with great success.

Rayce is also faculty professor at Temple University and an expert in data analytics, accounting, finance, and business management.

Cass (Oryl) Bailey is the president and CEO of Slice Communications, an agency in Philadelphia with fully dedicated public relations and social media teams that provides clients with actionable content and data-oriented approaches. She believes that integrated public relations and social media efforts are vital to accomplishing business goals when looking to grow and expand awareness of a company.

Cass brings a wide variety of experiences to the communications strategies she develops for the firm’s clients. With a background in international politics, economics, and philosophy, communications has become her passion and she has been tapped by various industry associations and the media to share her insights and experiences in the field.

Before founding Slice, Cass was a senior account executive at one of the top public relations agencies in the northeast region. She began her career at Ketchum Public Relations in Washington, DC, and has also held positions with the Honorable Mark Oaten, Member of Parliament for Winchester; the Tory Party in the United Kingdom; and New Economy Strategies.

She is deeply involved with her community, serving as Chair of the Board for Tree House Books, Secretary of the Board for Hopeworks ‘N Camden, and member of the Red Cross Philadelphia Leadership Council. Cass graduated from The Catholic University of America with a degree in international politics, economics and philosophy.

As Director of Strategic Partnerships at EMC Events and EMC Outdoor, Jerry consults daily with clients about the strategic use of experiential marketing, events, and out of home – the benefits, strategic approaches, creative capabilities, and ability to increase marketing effectiveness while integrating across channels. Jerry also leads EMC’s creative strategy team, Account LAB, helping clients take creative campaign concepts from ideation phase to in-market activation.

For over 18 years, Jerry have been passionate about creating programs with clients already familiar with experiential and OOH, while bringing new advertisers to the media channels as an expert consultant and partner. Each week is spent working with advertising agencies and brands from across the USA.

Jerry is based in the Philly area.

Ed Lynes is Managing Partner at strategic narrative firm Woden, and Chief Revenue Officer of Philadelphia Weekly, Philly’s vanguard of culture. Ed has spent the entirety of his career at the nexus of technology and media, leading sales and marketing teams at both the Sun Newspapers and Elauwit. Although a native Bostonian, Ed has called the Philadelphia area home since 2005.

Natan Edelsburg is the Chief Operating Officer at Muck Rack, a digital PR and journalism platform, where he handles the business side of the company. He’s also the Producer Emeritus of The Shorty Awards honoring the best of social media. Natan is the company’s most tenured employee and has helped bring on customers, including Mastercard, NBCUniversal, BuzzFeed, Goldman Sachs and more. Natan is the Immediate Past Chair of PRSA’s Tri-State District and the Director of Finance on the board of PRSA New York. Natan is also the Executive Editor & Cofounder of Found Remote, a news site about the future of TV. Natan’s a frequent speaker on social media, PR, journalism and the Future of TV. He’s moderated panels or given presentations at SXSW, Dmexco, PRWeek, MIPTV, ad:tech, BroadcastAsia, Social Media Week, Collision, Web Summit, Digital Hollywood, PRSA Tri-State and more. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @twatan.

Kristina Nolan is a longtime advocate of helping clients grow their direct to consumer brands through digital marketing initiatives. As head of DMi’s affiliate division, she leads the strategic vision of clients affiliate programs by spearheading partner and vendor research and recruitment, negotiating placement opportunities in industry leading media outlets, developing campaign objectives and execution, and ensuring DMi’s dedicated affiliate team is encouraged to exceed their clients goals. She is an inventive marketer that is focused on helping brands ignite fast and efficient growth.

Jordan Kovnot is an attorney in the Corporate & Business Group at Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld LLC. In his practice, Jordan advises on internet, e-commerce and software matters for issues such as licensing & technology transactions, business & commercial transactions, privacy and data security, and intellectual property. Jordan previously served as an adjunct professor teaching an internet law course at Fordham University School of Law. He was also previously the Privacy Fellow and Interim Director of Fordham’s Center on Law and Information Policy where he created a first-of-its-kind privacy education program designed to educate middle-school students on the interplay of popular technologies, privacy and reputation management. This curriculum is now taught by law students at schools across the country. Jordan received his B.A. from Dartmouth College and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Fordham University School of Law, where he was a Mary Daly Scholar. He is admitted to the Bar in New Jersey and New York.

Taylor Goldman is the Head of Brand at goPuff, the world’s first and largest digital convenience retailer with over 100 locations across the United States. While studying at George Washington University, Taylor led the Opinions section at an online student-driven outlet. It was there where she wrote an article about a cool, new delivery service on campus that caught the eyes of goPuff’s co-founders, resulting in a job offer. Since 2015, Taylor has been an integral part of developing goPuff’s social presence, brand voice, digital content strategy and customer acquisition. Today, she oversees design, social media and branding. If you’ve seen a goPuff billboard, Septa bus or hilarious Instagram post, the goPuff Brand team is behind it. Taylor’s areas of expertise include Creative, Social Media Marketing and Branding in the retail and tech space. A native New Yorker, she enjoys visiting her hometown, shopping with her mom and, of course, snacking. Connect with her at @tayrgold.

Tom Carusona is the Chief Marketing Officer at Insomnia Cookies, where he’s focused on building an awesome brand and community of Insomniacs across the country. Prior to chomping down cookies every day, he was the VP of Brand and Digital at Aramark and Sr. Director of Marketing for Comcast Interactive Media. Tom started his career in advertising, working at large agencies in NYC and Philadelphia on brands like DuPont, PA Lottery, Sunoco and SEPTA. When he’s not working, you can find Tom spending time with his wife and 3 children in suburban Philadelphia, and dreaming about skiing. 

Shana Steigerwalt is the President of Modern Driven Media, a Bucks County-based inbound marketing agency with a specialization in social media. Working with clients in industries, varying from automotive and hospitality to B2B and professional services, the team at Modern Driven Media focuses on building an engaging online presence for businesses to grow relationships with their community.

Shana earned her Communications Degree from West Chester University and has years of experience in both the hospitality and broadcast industries. It was through the constant interaction with fans and guests that Shana decided to transcend into the digital landscape to provide those same impressionable experiences for other businesses online. The value she places on relationships was the inspiration behind the launch of Modern Driven Media in 2015 and it continues to fuel the passion behind every client relationship and strategy today.

Founder of One Part Social, Melissa Goldstein brings a 20-year track record in small business consulting. As a former entertainment news writer, social media and branding strategist, she holds a best-in-class Hootsuite Certified designation in online content marketing. She has also formed a consulting partnership with the Rutgers Small Business Development Center in New Jersey to help educate local entrepreneurs in all aspects of digital marketing and social media.

An early adapter of technology, Melissa has created a groundswell of engagement and awareness for her B2C and B2B clients. Whether crafting a 280-character tweet or blogging for a leading Forbes and Fox Business Network commentator, she gives clout to industry start-ups and seasoned veterans. Her client roster spans locally-based enterprises in fashion, financial advisement, supply chain management and executive leadership industries. Her and her team love helping small businesses grow.

Gene Volpe is the Lead Digital Architect at GVI Media.

Gene Volpe is the founder of GVI Media (formerly Your Real Estate Concierge), speaker and national marketing expert. He has 10+ years of experience in the marketing arena. He is also well versed in the real estate field including buying, selling, renting, marketing and consulting on over 200 real estate transactions. Before becoming a Marketing Architect, he served as a decorated technology manager for a Fortune 15 company.

Gene played (and still plays) a major role in funding and designing the nation’s first and most advanced proprietary Real Estate video marketing platform. He is the founder of a company that provides a cutting edge technical marketing advantage for many businesses. He is an expert in brand establishment and subconscious marketing while remaining on the cutting edge of marketing trends. He is a social media and video expert.

Marketing strategist. Storyteller. Bridge builder. A people-focused creative who has led projects and teams across a broad range of marketing functions including brand management and social media. Currently leads the Social Media & Engagement team at 2U, powering the world’s best digital higher education. As the team lead, she steers an agency-style team representing 27 college and university brands and managing more than 240 social channels. After hours, she’s a loving puppy parent, true-crime enthusiast, and 90’s country music devotee.

Jim Greipp, owner of Pau Hana Productions, has been providing high quality commercial photography services in the Philadelphia area since 1992. Specializing in advertising, editorial and industrial images (sorry, no weddings!) he leans out of helicopters, wriggles into crawl spaces, wades into questionable creative directions and leaps over tall client requests with ease. Whether in his 3,000 sq ft studio or on location, the best photos possible are created.

Kyle Huff is the Social Media Specialist for the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) – the official Tourism Promotion Agency for the City of Philadelphia globally and primary sales and marketing arm for the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Kyle oversees the management and strategies for the PHLCVB’s 11 owned social media accounts, while also developing original photography and content for the PHLCVB’s website and blog.

Rebecca Lopez Kriss uses her enthusiasm for civic engagement to improve the City of Philadelphia’s service delivery and advance quality of life for all Philadelphians. In her current role as a Senior Policy Analyst and Director of Strategic Outreach at the Philadelphia Department of Revenue, Rebecca supports the Department’s behavioral science initiatives, including data driven communications projects, and improving and expanding Revenue’s outreach efforts. Formerly, she was the Director of Marketing and Communications for the Philadelphia Department of Commerce, where she supported the creation of the Startup PHL Call for Ideas program and worked closely with attracting and retaining tech firms in Philadelphia. Her passions presently include tax policy, data visualization, infographics, webinars and email marketing. Rebecca holds a Master of Public Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan.

Sarah Marshall is the Director of Marketing and Communications for The Quell Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to create a paradigm shift in the care and treatment of those living with a mental health illness. Her duties include implementing the marketing and communications outreach around the foundation as well as for the documentary “Lift the Mask – Portraits of Life with Mental Illness.”

Prior to her work with The Foundation, Marshall served as the Communications Manager for USRowing, the national governing body for the sport of rowing in the U.S., managing content and press coverage around domestic and international rowing events which included the 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. Marshall has also spent time in the athletic departments at Villanova University, Murray State University and The Ohio State University as a media relations assistant in sports information.

Marshall received her degree in Strategic Communications in 2013 from The Ohio State University, where she was on the Women’s Rowing Team. She lives in Philadelphia, Pa. and is originally from New Philadelphia, Ohio.