SPEAKERS

A native of San Carlos, California, Arsen Ari Kalfayan earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with minors in Communication and Global and International Studies in 2006 from University of California at Davis. Upon graduation, he began his career with Fisher Investments as an Account Executive. After serving in positions of increasing responsibility, in 2008, Kalfayan was promoted to the Institutional Group where he served as a Materials Production Associate. In January 2009, Okko Grippando and Kalfayan co-founded Reason to Party, dedicated to fulfilling the financial needs of charities in the San Francisco Bay Area benefiting under-served populations. While running reason to Party, Kalfayan serves as Director of Development for CrowdFlower where he has helped shape the success of the technology start-up.  Please visit www.reasontoparty.org for more information about this amazing charity.

Beth is currently the Vice President of Strategic Alliances for PIER 39, Northern California's most visited Tourist Attraction, where she is responsible for developing and managing Strategic and Integrated Partnerships and Sponsorship Alliances. Hailing from the East Coast, Beth has had a successful 20+ year career in the sports and entertainment sector specializing in Partnership Marketing, Strategic and Integrated Promotions, and Sponsorship Sales.  She has worked with such clients and properties as NFL Properties, 1994 FIFA World Cup Soccer Organizing Committee, The Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games, SportsMark, The San Francisco 49ers Foundation, The Natinal Hockey League, SkateNation, and Brandstyle Marketing. Beth recently launched her own Marketing/PR company, Spritz Marketing Connections and is working with a diverse group of clients in addition to her work at PIER 39 and CPMG.

Based in San Francisco, Blythe Beaubien is the Founder and Principal of winePRess PR, a full-service public relations agency focusing on the finer things in life: wine, spirits, gourmet food and luxury goods. Previously, she worked as the Brand Manager for Shannon Ridge Vineyards & Winery in Lake County, California where she oversaw marketing and public relations. Before that, Ms. Beaubien worked as an account executive for Folsom & Associates in San Francisco where she coordinated the national PR and events program for Champagnes Perrier Jouet and G.H. Mumm. Early in her career, Ms. Beaubien worked in public relations for the Philadelphia 76ers basketball organization and Comcast Sports Net. She has a bachelor's degree in journalism, public relations, and political science from Lehigh University.com. Please visit www.winepresspr.com for information.

Cassandra Phillipps has been planning startup-themed events and conferences for nearly three years, including Failcon, SF Music Tech Summit, Inside Social Apps, Finance4Founders, and many more. Before that, she spent most of her time in classrooms, rehearsal halls, and dark theaters, stage managing (and occasionally directing, acting in, and designing for) various theaters including A.C.T, Court Theater, CalShakes, and Marin Theatre Company. She recently launched Webwallflower Events, one of the leading event production companies for startup and tech summits and meetups. In her (rare) free time, she enjoys board games, comic books, and building comics for various parties and events.  Follow her on Twitter@webwallflower

Chris McCann is an entrepreneur, writer, and general activist in the entrepreneurial community of Silicon Valley and San Luis Obispo. He has led the entrepreneurial programs at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, started innovation Quest an alumni led incubator at the University, and is the founder of the {StartupDigest}, and lead social media strategy for TEDx Silicon Valley. As the founder of the {StartupDigest}, Chris is recognized worldwide for radically new ways about thinking about startup events as an entry point to a life of entrepreneurship and realizing the full potential of the human spirit. If you want to subscribe to the list, check out www.startupdigest.com.

Dan Martell is the Co-Founder of www.flowtown.com, a social marketing platform for small businesses. An award-winning Canadian entrepreneur, at 25, Dan formed his first start-up, Spheric Technologies Inc., and watched it grow by an average of 152% per year before he sold the company 4 years later in mid-2008. Now living in San Francisco, Martell spends the majority of his time looking at ways to build a bridge between Silicon Valley and his home province of New Brunswick. As an informal angel investor, he is active in advising entrepreneurs using metric-based marketing tactics to gain market adoption. Martell is passionately involved in facilitating micro-lending to entrepreneurs in developing countries through the non-profit, Kiva.org.

Daniel Lemin brings a decade's worth of experience working with global consumer and technology brands to PainePR, where he provides strategy and counsel in consumer technology, social media, global communications, strategic planning and viral marketing. Prior to joining PainePR, Daniel was on the international communications team at Google in Silicon Valley, where he oversaw media relations activities, product communications, issues and litigation support and corporate communications in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and EMEA. Follow him on Twitter@leminheads

With over 12 years experience in the Events, FM & BE industry, Darren brings a wealth of experiences to the pot. A jack of all trades and master of some, he is a published journalist, professional filmmaker, and has organized and developed various events, from charity benefits for Virgin Unite, to large scale exhibitions with Capital FM. Darren currently is involved in strategic development of StuckForStaff.com and the Stuck brand, taking it far and wide. Living in Hollywood, California aka LA-LA Land, Darren mainly eats eggplant and zucchini, drinks free pour liquor and has Paris Hiltons number on speed dial. Enough said.

During the past 25 years, David Perry has generated extensive media coverage - print, online, TV and radio - for a variety of clients and introduced many to the Internet, Web strategies and online and social media communications. As a writer he has contributed to a number of national publications and written the textbook, "The Media How-To Guide for Nonprofits." In addition to his communications practice, Perry is the host/producer of a weekly television interview show, Ten Percent focused on issues of interest to the LGBT communities. It airs throughout Northern California on Comcast Channel 104. A firm believer in the philosophy that there are only two forces in the world - fear and open communication - Perry tries to mirror this concept by fostering dialogue between his clients, the media, and the community at large.  Please visit www.davidperry.com for more information about this San Francisco based agency.

Jason Dorn is known for specialized national and regional campaigns, strategic marketing, product launches, branding, sponsorship and event planning for companies of all sizes. Spending ten years in Dallas, Texas Jason worked with the Levinson Marketing Group. He was responsible for helping create and launch such Direct Response breakthroughs as The Topsi - Tail, Hairdini, Ab-Roller, Pro - Active Acne Solution and the Time - Life Music Collections. During this time he also started his own company, forming Paperboy Productions in 1997. Specializing in assisting inventors in viability studies, product creation, packaging, trade shows, branding, product marketing and launch events. Please visit www.paperboyproductions.com to learn more information about this San Francisco based agency.

Jewell Sparks is the CEO and visionary behind Strategic Diversity Group and INDIE VIXENS. INDIE VIXENS provides strategic business solutions, organizes and promotes strategic networking events, manages talent, and provides strategic productions and marketing services for webisodes, television, and film. Strategic Diversity Group provides "Out Of The Box" strategic business solutions for start-ups, businesses in transition, and non-profit organizations in SF Bay Area, New York City, Los Angeles and Europe. Currently, Jewell resides in Los Angeles in the heart of Hollywood, and San Francisco. Her passion for travel and skills of adaptability, have enabled her to live and work in Ibaraki Japan, New York City, and prior to Los Angeles, San Francisco. Please visit www.indievixens.com for more information about this Los Angeles based firm.

Since 1989 Josh Weinberg has helped companies introduce successful technology products to the consumer marketplace, drawing on his extensive professional launch, product advising and public relations experience as well as his deep technological knowledge. Using insights from his long perspective as both an industry insider and as a discerning user of new technologies, Josh knows how to communicate the big ideas and benefits of a new product to its intended audience. He is an expert at translating the bits, bytes and technical jargon of new technology products into language concepts that resonate with mainstream consumers and experienced users alike. During his career, Josh has successfully launched a wide range of products for clients and technologies ranging from toys for Intel to cell phones and the PlayStation 3 for Sony. More recently, Josh launched Truveo.com, the widely acclaimed video search engine; PushPin, Placebase's dynamic online mapping product; QiGO, the Internet experience key introduced at Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher's D5 conference; and PairUp the social networking service for travelers that won the DEMOgod award at the DEMO conference.  Please visit www.dlifegroup.com for more information about this San Francisco based firm.

Juan Barajas serves as the Senior Director of Regional Leadership Development for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and is based in San Francisco. Mr. Barajas leads the development and support of a robust senior volunteer leadership program, including local Leadership Councils and the National Leadership Council. As the local voice and the face of GLAAD, Leadership Councils offer locally tailored events, monitor and respond to local media coverage of LGBT people and issues, communicate GLAAD's impact on local and national issues, and build support for GLAAD's work. Prior to GLAAD, Mr. Barajas served as the Executive Director of the Pacific Center for Human Growth, which is an award winning LGBT community center in Berkeley, CA. Please visit www.glaad.org for more information about this organization.

As the Executive Director of CALinnovates.org, Lane Kasselman brings over a decade of consulting experience on public policy, new media strategy and communications for several local, statewide and national campaigns, Fortune 500 companies, and non-profits. Prior to consulting, Lane managed visual communication messaging for the Hillary Clinton for President Campaign. Lane joined the national campaign trail after having served as the Deputy Policy Director for Mayor Gavin Newsom's Administration. Lane also worked for Governor Gray Davis, State Controller Kathleen Connell, and in the private sector with the international law firms of Clifford Chance US LLP, and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Lane earned his J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law, and his BA from California State University Sacramento. Lane and his wife currently live in San Francisco with their Portuguese Water Dog.  Please visit www.calinnovates.org for more information. Follow him on Twitter@CALinnovates

Leyla Farah is a Founding Partner at Cause+Effect, a media and marketing firm focused exclusively on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Prior to founding Cause+Effect, she served as the Vice President of Programming and Production for PlanetOut Inc., where she oversaw the daily publication of news and feature stories for LGBT audiences around the world. With a background in corporate strategy, branding, communications, and software systems development, Leyla is uniquely positioned to comment on the convergence of digital communications, user-generated content, and niche-marketing media. Leyla holds a J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law at U.C. Berkeley and a BA from the Robert D. Clark Honors College t the University of Oregon. She has served on the national Board of Governors for the Human Rights Campaign, and as a volunteer with numerous LGBT arts and policy organizations around the country. Please visit www.cause-pr for more information about this Los Angeles/San Francisco based firm. Follow her on Twitter@CausePR

Myles Weissleder runs this show. He's also been known to start revolutions. Myles has been around the block a few times, building brands and messages in the good name of his clients and past companies. With passion and energy, Myles helps give voice to those who need it and want to rise above the clutter, serving the likes of chi.mp (of which he's a co-founder), CNN, The National Presidential Caucus, Familybuilder, SirGroovy, Ekko TV, MyThings, ReFrame It and a stealth startup or two to boot. He's the organizer and founder of the SF New Tech Meetup, San Francisco's most influential gathering for tech lovers - established in March 2005. SF New Tech offers a unique opportunity for individuals and companies to connect to, and build relationships with, the new technology community of San Francisco. Membership boasts over 4,000 techies, journalists, VC's, entrepreneurs, CEOs, developers, and regular folks interested in new tech.

As Bonfire's former Director of Creative Production, Preston drove the design and implementation of communications campaigns for some of the world's largest and most successful companies including Starbucks, Genentech, Nortel Networks, NASDAQ, HP and Nestle USA. Prior to joining Bonfire, he worked with corporate and non-profit organizations, supporting creative development efforts to realize enterprise-wide change, ranging from large-scale events to video, interactive, print and brand experiences. Preston is a Bay Area native and currently lives in Marin County with his wife Ellie and their pets Mia and Lola. When he is not busy sharing the Bonfire story, Preston enjoys working with his hands on a variety of creative projects ranging from fine art to furniture design. Please visit www.bonfirecommunications.com for more about this San Francisco based firm.

Ryan Singel is a Wired.com staff writer who writes for both the Epicenter and Threat Level blogs. He covers privacy, tech policy, telecoms, search, and transparency. Epicenter's business coverage focuses on disruptive technology. His stories run the gamut, ranging from keeping a close eye on Facebook and Google's privacy practices to keeping tabs on the latest government data-mining project.

Graffiti PR is a subculture of revolutionary expressionist that defy the rules on conventional communication. Graffiti PR was created in 2003, by founding partner and Principal Urban Culturalist, Shaun Saunders. A native of San Francisco, Mr. Saunders was educated at U.C. Berkeley where he graduated in 1992. Prior to the founding of Graffiti PR, Shaun worked in the corporate sector as a Sales Executive & Product Manager for a number of Blue Chip and Tech Companies, including Xerox, Canon, and EFI. As a dynamic and diversified niche media company, Graffiti PR brings a cutting edge perspective to media relations. Please visit www.graffitipr.net for more information about this San Francisco based firm. Follow him on Twitter@GraffitiPR

Teresa Rodriguez Williamson is a jet-setter extraordinaire. She discovered that traveling can be the perfect antidote for anything ailing the soul. And, believing so, she created TangoDiva.com - a worldwide online social network and travel magazine for women. Her dream was to connect and empower women around the globe with the wisdom she gleaned from her solo sojourns. She authored FLY SOLO: The 50 Best Places on earth for a Girl to Travel Alone (Penguin) which is published in four languages. A few of her TV appearances include LIVE with Regis and Kelly, NBC-NY, FOX, CBS, and ABC. Her advice has been written up in thousands of media outlets including Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, ELLE, Marie Claire, Allure, SELF, and Real Simple. She is the travel expert on KTRB 860 AM and ABC News 10 in California. Her next adventure? JETSETextra.com - an all-video online travel channel that launched in March 2010.

What began for Cathy as a career in telling other people's stories has evolved into a journey of helping others tell their own stories themselves. A "classically trained" Journalist, Cathy's passion for communications began with her first job ripping wire copy and has evolved to encompass nearly every platform and aspect of media - from reporting and editing to management, talent casting and guest booking. Cathy also has curated content for several leading technology industry conferences including LeWeb and several events produced by The Guidewire Group. It was after engaging as an activist for LGBT equal rights, however, that Cathy began to explore the influence of personal stories in people's professional lives. When not steeped to her eyeballs in technology, Cathy is blissfully analog and can usually be found wandering San Francisco seeking the perfect burger.

During a career spanning almost 20 years, Johna Burke has worked both as a public relations practitioner and a provider of services that are vital to the work of communications professionals. For 11 years starting in 1989, she worked for U-Haul International, ultimately becoming head of public relations and investor relations. Johna joined BurrellesLuce in 2000 and serves a vice president of the company, the largest media monitoring and measurement firm in the United States. Johna is a highly rated speaker who is often invited to talk about best practices in public relations, and her commentaries on the subject have appeared in PR Print and web outlets. She is chair of the Southern Region of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). Please visit www.burrellesluce.com for more information about the company and their suite of services.

Akilah Bolden-Monifa is the Director of Communications for CBS 5/The CW 44/Cable 12 (KPIX/KBCW Televisions) in San Francisco, the CBS and CW owned and operated television stations as well as CW 11 (KSTW in Seattle) and CBS Radio SF. In her capacity as director of communications she oversees all internal and external communications. She also serves as the official spokesperson for the stations and develops the stations media strategy as well as advises and coaches station personnel on how to deal with the outside media. She also pitches outside media outlets on the station's on-air talent, programming, news achievements, community service projects, and sponsorships. She also produces KPIX's Pubic Affairs show, Bay Sunday and three ethnic heritage month celebrations annually and oversees the internship program at KPIX and KBCW. She is a frequent contributor of opinion editorials to the Progressive Media Project. She lives in Oakland with her wife, Ruth Bolden-Monifar, and their two children, Isabella and Benjamin Bolden-Monifa.

As the founder of Stage Two, Jeremy Toeman (you can call him JT) brings over ten years of experience designing, building and marketing numerous award-winning products in the "convergence" space of new media. An expert in digital media and consumer technology, he is a regular speaker and moderator at trade shows and conferences including Under the Radar 2008, CommunityNext 2007, CTIA SmartPhone Summit 2006, Digital Life 2005, and CES 2004. Jeremy pioneered new media marketing as Sling Media's Vice President of Market Development where he built the first online community for a consumer electronics product, and achieved phenomenal awareness across consumers, bloggers, and traditional press.

Joanna Riley Weidenmiller is the co-founder and CEO of The One Page Company, a communications company that specializes in utilizing the next generation of user interface applications to create OnePage Proposals and delivering them across all platforms. The company is based in San Francisco, CA and its technology partner, We@link is based in Shanghai, China. Joanna is CEO of EventPod China, a new technology streaming live photos from networked cameras instantly on TV/display screens. EventPod is based in the USA and has successfully partnered with the leading event and photography companies in China. She is also partner of 360fashion a global network enabling the leading web and mobile applications for high level fashion professionals to build their brand image. Joanna sits on the international board for WildAid advocating to end illegal wildlife trade. Prior, Joanna was CEO and founder of Performance Advertising Associates in New York and Chicago, a outsourced company specializing in business to business marketing for Fortune 500 companies. Joanna was born and raised in San Francisco, CA and was a full scholarship rower at The University of Virginia, where she received her BA in Foreign Affairs. Currently Joanna lives in Beijing, China with her husband.

Liana is the Founder and CEO of "Trendy Lime", upscale social media-driven events planning company that creates unique experiences around fashion, travel and technology. Liana has over 7 years experience in Marketing and Project Management and over 3 years experience in Social Media and Business Development. She currently works as a Social Media Strategist at McKinsey & Company. Prior to that Liana was a Marketing Director at Fotki.com, one of the largest photo-sharing sites and social media networks. A native of Belarus, she has travelled extensively and is versatile in several languages. Liana has an MBA from INSEAD and is passionate about social media, playing guitar, and traveling.

Tamara leads marketing for Eventbrite, focusing on customer acquisition, retention, and branding. She is passionate about spreading the good word for Eventbrite and the magic of bringing together through events. She is equally obsessed with the power of social media and believes that technology changes everything. Prior to Eventbrite, Tamara was a senior analyst with Forrester Research, an independent technology research and consulting firm. As an expert on eCommerce technology, multichannel retail, and  trends in how consumers integrate technology into shopping, Tamara authored research reports and worked with both retailers and technology vendors to help them shape strategies. She spoke regularly at industry events, sat on the advisory boards of several industry associations, and has been quoted in top newspapers and journals. Tamara is a graduate of MIT Sloan School of Management and received her bachelor's degree in comparative literature and economics from Wellesley College.