Pete Blackshaw

Pete Blackshaw is a recognized expert in interactive marketing, word of mouth, and consumer understanding. He brings a broad range of experience to his role as Executive Vice President of Strategic Services for NM Incite, including public policy, interactive marketing, and brand management. In his previous role as Executive Vice President of Digital Strategic Services for Nielsen, Pete and his team worked with many of the world’s top brands and corporations to develop cohesive, consumer-centered digital programs and strategies.

Pete joined The Nielsen Company through the Nielsen BuzzMetrics’ acquisition of Intelliseek, where he served as Chief Marketing and Client Satisfaction Officer and was responsible for major client engagements and marketing efforts. In 1999, he founded PlanetFeedback.com which Intelliseek acquired. Prior to starting PlanetFeedback.com, he spent several years at P&G focusing on interactive marketing and brand management. Pete began his career as press secretary and legislative consultant to California State Senator Art Torres where he guided several consumer-focused bills to passage and initiated the nation’s first “interactive” legislative hearing.

Pete is author of “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3000: Running a Business in Today’s Consumer-Driven World.” He writes a bi-weekly column in Advertising Age and co-founded the Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA). He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the National Council of Better Business Bureau (BBB) and sits on the National Advertising Review Council. Pete is a graduate of Harvard Business School and the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has a BA in Politics from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Sean Creighton

Sean Creighton, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education. Sean is an elected member of the Board of Education for the Yellow Springs School District, and currently serves on advisory committees for the Dayton Development Coalition, Midwest Higher Education Compact, and Yellow Springs Community Foundation. An advocate for higher education, he has been a commencement speaker on multiple occasions and has published and presented extensively on campus-community engagement, leadership in building coalitions, collaborative strategies for talent retention, and community-based regional development. Sean lives in Yellow springs with his wife, Leslee, and four children, Liam, Maya, Quinn, and Audrey.

Bethany Deines

Bethany Deines is the Director of Annual Gifts for the Children’s Medical Center of Dayton.  In this role, she oversees all aspects of annual giving, including the Children’s Miracle Network program, third party and other special events, direct mail and e-fundraising, social media, stewardship, and the support of three auxiliary groups: TWIGS, the Spot Shot, and the Little Exchange. Her primary focus is to increase the number of individual donors to Dayton Children’s.  Prior to arriving at Dayton Children’s in October 2007, Deines worked as an Account Executive for Mediasauce, a firm specializing in story telling using digital communication and other emerging technology formats.   From 1997-2006, she served as the Director of Development for the Phi Kappa Tau Foundation and coordinated the annual giving program, the national philanthropy (Hole in the Wall Camps) and all scholarship/grant programs. Deines is a 1990 graduate of Arizona State University and is an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She maintains a busy volunteer schedule by serving on the Executive Council for Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority.  Deines lives in Hamilton, Ohio. Contact her on Twitter: @bethanydeines and Facebook: facebook.com/Bethany.Deines.

Kevin Dugan, APR

For the bulk of his 18-year career in marketing communications, Dugan has used the Internet to advance client goals. Advising clients as large as General Electric and Xerox, as small as a software startup and most everything in between, he’s been immersed in digital technology, social media and interactive content.

A nationally-recognized marketing expert, Dugan is responsible for leading Empower and its clients in crafting social marketing strategies that deliver business results.

Dugan has been blogging since 2002. Both of his blogs, Strategic Public Relations and the Bad Pitch blog, are ranked by Advertising Age’s Power 150 a ranking of the world’s top marketing blogs.

Dugan speaks nationally and has been a source on social media for the national media, including The Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Associated Press, Reuters, BusinessWeek and Mashable. He can be found on Twitter as @prblog.

His public relations efforts have garnered six national awards in the last 10 years. In 2009, Dugan was presented with the Werner-VonderHaar-Bogart Award, the highest honor the Cincinnati PRSA chapter bestows upon a public relations professional.

David Esrati

A nationally requested keynote speaker, David Esrati also happens to be Dayton’s voice of the people on his www.esrati.com blog. Throw in multiple runs for office, from city commission to Congress, plus over 20 years as the Chief Creative Officer of The Next Wave, an award winning creative shop – and you get a social media pioneer that’s an expert at what to do and how to deal with @$$h0l3s online.

He’s also been a free-speech crusader and radical supporter of open government rules, having been arrested and tried in 5 courts over the right to protest at a public meeting. He won all five btw.

Oh, and did we mention he also served with Special Forces? He’ll share his secrets of how to moderate forums, and he won’t even have to kill you after you.

Erin Fagan

As Director of the Marketing Communications Programs team for Teradata Corporation, Erin Fagan manages corporate global branding, social media, messaging, online advertising, sales tools, direct marketing, web and customer publications for this  $1 billion data warehousing company. Under Erin’s leadership, the team’s strategic innovations include the development and implementation of a global customer reference program that has delivered over 15,000 marketing and sales reference activities and resulted in $750 million in associated annual revenue.  She has built from the ground up the corporation’s social media strategy, established an 8,000-page Teradata.com web site and leads the publication of an 84 page custom publishing global award-winning Teradata Magazine.

Erin’s career path has included positions in marketing, strategic support, market analysis and planning, and sales management. Erin has been recognized in the industry by her peers with numerous international and regional marketing communications awards. Erin holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and a Masters of Business Administration degree from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.  Along with her husband Bruce, she spends her most important time trying to keep up with her 10 yr old son Keegan.

Debba Haupert

Debba Haupert is passionate about social media! Starting with a basis of over 20 years of corporate marketing, she has focused her marketing efforts on social media to build the online community of women called: GIRLFRIENDOLOGY. ‘Addicted’ (in a good way!) to social media, Debba has over 18,000 Twitter followers, 5,000 Facebook Fans, 1300 LinkedIn connections – and uses these social media tools to build traffic, sales and this female-based online commmunity. She teaches and speaks on social media marketing. She/Girlfriendology can be found at: girlfriendology.com, Twitter @girlfriendology, facebook.com/girlfriendology and  linkedin.com/in/debbahaupert. She and her husband also do a Cincinnati neighborhood blog at cincinnati.com/blogs/onevoice.

Andy Hickey

Yes, that Andy Hickey. Andy has been working in Dayton for the past 9 years (but don’t blame him). After being manager of the i-Zone, Andy joined the Greater Dayton IT Alliance in 2003 and has continued to work there after the organization changed to its current name of Technology First. Andy’s duties at Technology First include membership, sponsorship, publishing their monthly newspaper, programming their luncheons and conferences as well as holding one of the keys to the internet.

Andy is also very involved with Generation Dayton, APUFRAM International, and his family.

Steve Lance

Multiple Emmy Award winner Steve Lance is co-author of “The Little Blue Book of Advertising” (Portfolio/Penguin July 2006) with his partner, Jeff Woll; co-author of “The Little Blue Book of Marketing” (Portfolio/Penguin December 2009) with his partner, Paul Kurnit; and ghostwriter of the Wall Street Journal best-seller “It’s Your Money: The E*TRADE Guide To Online Investing” for E*TRADE Chairman Christos M. Cotsakos, Ph.D.

He has been Creative Director of NBC, Associate Creative Director of Backer & Spielvogel and Creative Director of the entertainment division of Della Femina, Travisano & Partners. His Emmys include his work creating the marketing for Shark Week and The More You Know. Steve works for Habitat For Humanity and is a member of the advisory board of ShareTheCaregiving, Inc. He has two sons, Max & Dan, and builds houses for a hobby.

Ryan McCoy

Ryan McCoy is an Interactive Jedi and also co-founder/owner of Atomic Interactive. Ryan has a strong web development and marketing background, with extensive experience working on e-commerce, content mangement systems and mobile applications and online marketing strategies.

Ryan is Atomic’s secret weapon… a web strategist with a heart of gold. Ryan utilizes his communication skills as well as his strong development and design talent to function as a knowledgeable supervisor to every employee at Atomic Interactive. Ryan works with customers one-on-one to understand their business goals and create interactive plans to achieve them. His strategies combine marketing savvy, SEO expertise, email marketing, and a deep knowledge of web development. The result? Great websites that create real business benefit.

John Moore

John Moore is a marketing strategist. From 1994 through 2004, John designed and implemented marketing programs for both Starbucks Coffee and Whole Foods Market. He now operates the Brand Autopsy Marketing Practice, a consultancy helping businesses profit by marketing with passion and purpose. A long-time believer in word-of-mouth marketing, John puts his experience to good use as the Word of Mouth Marketing Association’s “Chief Evangelist.” In this role, John educates and motivates businesses to use word-of-mouth and social media marketing effectively and ethically. He is also the author of TRIBAL KNOWLEDGE, a business management book, and is active in social media circles.

Krista Neher

Krista Neher is a leading authority, author and international speaker on Internet marketing and social media, and is currently the CEO of Boot Camp Digital, a leading provider of social media marketing training and consulting solutions. Krista is a social media pioneer; creating one of the first successful corporate Twitter strategies and corporate blogs – long before “social media” was even a recognized term. Krista is also the author of “Social Media Field Guide: Discover the Strategies, Tactics and Tools for Successful Social Media Marketing” and is currently working on the first textbook on social media marketing. In addition, Krista is currently the managing director of the Institute for Social Media at Cincinnati State and has trained thousands of people in social media marketing.

Krista has deep roots in marketing, having worked at Procter and Gamble for almost six years in a career spanning sales, finance and marketing. During her career at P&G, Krista worked on the biggest brands (Tide, Folgers) and on some of the most successful launches in the history of the company. She was consistently rated as a top performer. Krista then went on to become vice president of marketing for the Internet startup Photrade.com. While at Photrade, Krista became deeply immersed in social media marketing and technologies. She was one of the first marketers to incorporate these emerging platforms into successful marketing strategies.

Upon leaving Photrade, Krista founded Boot Camp Digital, a company that provides training and strategic consulting solutions to companies of all sizes – from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses.  Through Boot Camp Digital, Krista worked with Procter & Gamble on its first social media marketing effort and helped build a model now replicated throughout the entire organization. Krista has also created training programs for a number of companies including a year-long digital marketing training program for Euro RSCG, the world’s largest advertising agency. Boot Camp Digital also provides social media solutions for small businesses, startups and provided social media support to ad:tech – the country’s largest digital marketing conference.

Krista is a sought-after public speaker for her engaging and entertaining keynotes and seminars. Krista is a regular speaker at a variety of industry conferences and presented at prestigious events including: Search Engine Strategies, The American Marketing Association, The Ad Club, Connected Marketing Week, Blog Her, Mobile X Conference, Social Media Club, The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Blog Indiana, Association Trade Shows, College Career Days, Women Entrepreneurs Inspire at Oklahoma State, and many more. In addition to speaking around the world, Krista is an avid blogger both at the Boot Camp Digital Blog and The Marketess. She has contributed articles to Adrants and Mobile Marketer. Krista is also an advisor to a number of companies including Girlfriendology.com and Phd-Connect.

Bill Pote

Bill Pote is the founder and publisher of DaytonMostMetro.com, an online magazine that features things to see, do and get involved with in the Dayton Region.  Originally from Chicago, Bill moved to Dayton in 2001 from Tampa, FL with his wife Shannon and has lived in Downtown Dayton since 2003.  He has been involved with several initiatives aimed at moving our city and region forward, including DaytonCREATE, c{space, updayton, and the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan.  Bill continues to grow DaytonMostMetro.com with a team of over 25 contributors who write about all things Dayton, from active living, arts & theater, music, dining, networking and volunteer opportunities.

Kendra Ramirez

Kendra Ramirez is a nationally recognized social media authority and was a finalist for the 2009 Social Media Innovator of the Year award. Since 2005, she helped hundreds of organizations leverage social media tools, including numerous Fortune 500 companies. In addition to her social media strategy and consulting background, Kendra has over 12 years of sales and sales management experience in information technology and telecommunications. She has a successful track record of strengthening organizations through business development know-how, advanced social media prowess, and skills training.

Michael Rubin

As one of the first employees of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) and the Social Media Business Council, Michael Rubin has made his career helping Fortune 500 brands put Social Media to work. With more than ten years experience in marketing and public relations, Michael has partnered with the world’s leading marketers and industry experts to develop Social Media and Word Of Mouth into a mainstream marketing disciplines. He writes a column for MarketingProfs, and has lectured on social media at the University of Cincinnati College of Business and Leadership Northern Kentucky. He is on Twitter as @merubin.  Michael resides in Cincinnati with his wife Pam, dog Ruby, and cat Chainsaw (long story).  He is die-hard Chicago Cubs fan and proudly eat hot dogs with ketchup.

In his session, Michael will describe his social media adventures, including the challenges and opportunities of bringing the discipline to the banking world. Participants will come away with a tried-and-true approach they can use to successfully and strategically embed social media throughout their own enterprise.

Kevin Schultz

As an alumni, employee and part-time MBA student at the University of Dayton, Kevin is passionate about UD’s potential to change the world. In his current capacity as Social Media Coordinator, Kevin is responsible for broadening the institution’s views on social media.  Much of his work focuses on prospective student recruitment. True to his millenial nature, Kevin is always willing to cause a fuss in the name of social media, and spends most of his time educating people about the inherent value (intangible or otherwise) of social tools. To find Kevin, simply text kevinschultz to 50500.

Brian Solis

Brian Solis is globally recognized as one of the original and most prominent thought leaders in social media. A digital analyst and visionary, Solis has influenced the effects of new media on the convergence of marketing, communications, and traditional media. He is Principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning New Media agency in Silicon Valley, and has led interactive and social programs for Fortune 500 companies, notable celebrities, and Web 2.0 startups. Brian’s blog is ranked among the world’s business and marketing elite. For more information, visit briansolis.com.

Betsy Woods

I am the public relations and marketing manager at Dayton Children’s. Our marketing and development team created the social media marketing strategy for Dayton Children’s two years ago. We use social media for various children’s health and safety outreach. Dayton Children’s has been active in social media and was one of the first children’s hospitals in the country to have a strong social media presence.  Currently we operate multiple Facebook pages, two Twitter accounts, a YouTube channel and a blog.  We use these tools to enhance our outreach to the community and to engage others in the discussion of children’s health care.

Connect with Dayton Children’s:

• Facebook.com/daytonchildrens
• Facebook.com/wally.b.bear
• Twitter.com/daytonchildrens
• Youtube.com/daytonchildrens
• Daytonchildrens.blogspot.com
• Facebook.com/safekidsgreaterdayton
• Twitter.com/skgreaterdayton

Rob Zinkan

Rob Zinkan is executive director for external affairs at Indiana University East in Richmond, IN, where he leads a team of professionals in communications, marketing, alumni relations, gift development, special events, and student activities.

Indiana University East, which serves students from eastern Indiana and western Ohio pursuing IU bachelor’s and master’s degrees, has experienced record enrollment during the past few years as one of the fastest-growing campuses in the state.  The university has been recognized with numerous awards for its effective and innovative use of the social web.

Rob, whose blog can be found at universityadvancement.net, has worked his entire career in higher education administration.  He most recently presented “The Heretic’s Guide to Marketing to Millennials” at the eduWEB Conference in Chicago in July.