Steven Aldrich is the CEO of Outright.  We dramatically streamline the work involved with running a small business, by helping entrepreneurs pay the right taxes, organizing their income and expenses, and keeping their businesses on track. We help small businesses thrive in our connected world.

From 2008 through early 2011, Steven was CEO of Posit Science (http://www.positscience.com/), the leader in delivering scientifically-proven brain fitness software.  The company combines breakthrough neuroscience research and great customer experiences to create software games that help users think faster, focus better and remember more.  In the two years Steven served as CEO, the company focused its strategy and resources on consumers and insurance carriers, structured partnerships to fund R&D activities, raised $10M in additional capital, brought in new senior leadership, achieved profitability in Q4 2010 and near breakeven ongoing operations, and pushed all components of the business to the web.

Prior to joining to Posit in October 2008, Steven led many groups that created significant growth for Intuit.  He was VP of Intuit’s Small Business Division Strategy and Innovation team and member of the executive staff, helping to accelerate Intuit’s growth by solving important customer problems and evangelizing the company’s move to the web and from desktop software to services. He focused on creating inorganic growth through partnerships with companies like Google, drove growth of the Intuit Developer Network by forging partnerships with dozens of developers to integrate with QuickBooks products, and made the business case for acquisitions including the purchase of Homestead Technologies, now a key piece of Intuit’s “Grow Your Business” division with revenues increasing from $20M to $100M post acquisition.

In 2005 and 2006, he was GM for QuickBooks Point of Sale, integrating a team across three locations, doubling revenues to over $20M and creating an additional $20M annuity stream from cross-selling credit card processing, supplies, hardware and services to those customers.  Steven was GM of the QuickBooks industry-specific team that introduced expanded offerings (and withdrew one from the market soon after introduction) and grew revenues from $25M to over $100M in 2003 and 2004; created the new market development team in 2002 where he uncovered the customer need and drove the business case that lead to QuickBooks Customer Manager, Intuit’s first new offering built from the ground up in over ten years in the small business space.  In 2000 and 2001, Steven led the corporate strategy team that helped shape Intuit’s “Right For My Business” strategy and personally championed the acquisition of Innovative Merchant Solutions, a payment processing company that is one Intuit’s fastest growing business (from $30M to over $300M in annual revenue), and the acquisition of Blue Ocean Software.  And he led the partnerships and on-line advertising team that generated $30M in revenues for Quicken.com in 2000.

From 1995 to 2000, Steven was President of Quicken Insurance, a business he co-founded and sold to Intuit.  The service was an insurance marketplace on the Internet for both consumers and carriers, funded initially by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners and the Zurich Insurance Group. 

Steven has extensive experience in financial services and technology and was named in Institutional Investor’s 1997 list of the top 20 most influential people in financial services on the Internet.  He worked in the investment banking division of Alex. Brown & Sons and for McKinsey & Company.  He was recognized as an Arjay Miller Scholar while completing his MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (class of 1995), and he holds an AB in Physics from the University of North Carolina (class of 1991).

Steven is President of the Board of the Bay Area Glass Institute (http://www.bagi.org/), a Board member for the Institute of Arts and Humanities at the University of North Carolina, and enjoys spending time with his wife Allison and their son, Jackson.

Website: outright.com

Blog: http://outright.com/blog/

Twitter: @spaldrich

Shashi Bellamkonda is the Social Media Swami (otherwise known as Sr. Director, Social Media) of Web.com and Adjunct Marketing Professor at Georgetown University.

Shashi Bellamkonda recently was honored by the Washington Business Journal's 2012 Washington Minority Business Leader award and the 2012 Small Business Influencer Champions list. He was previously featured in Washingtonian's Top 100 Tech Titans list in the Community and Thought leadership category of the Washington Tech Titans list : http://bit.ly/ttshashi and the Washington Business Journal called him the Social Listener http://bit.ly/wbjshashi. Other media mentions include Washington Post, WUSA9, NY1 TV, Webmaster Radio, BlogTalk Radio, Tech BisNow, Capitol Communicator, and many other digital and media publications. He has co-authored chapters in two books also been mentioned in over 10 books on marketing and social media.

Shashi is passionate about helping small business and has spoken on Small Business and social media tools at conferences like SXSW, IABC, PRSA, and Affiliate Summit. Blogging is a passion and along with http://blog.networksolutions.com he blogs at http://www.shashi.name and writes for The Washington Business Journal blog,examiner.com, and occasionally for techcocktail.com. Shashi speaks at national and regional small business, communications and marketing conferences. Few examples are SXSW, PRSA Digital Impact 2010, Optimization Summit, Affiliate Summit, Affcon, All Services Social Media Council, New Comm Forum (SNCR.org) 2009, American Independent Writers, NVTC,Tech Council of Maryland, Greater Baltimore Technology Council, DC Chamber of Commerce, and IABC.

Shashi has a Bachelor of Liberal Arts, Public Administration, Sociology and Economics, Osmania University (India) and a bachelor's degree, Hotel Management, Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology (India) along with a Diploma in Business Management, Indira Gandhi Open University (India) and has done Essentials of Marketing coursework at University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.

Gus Buitrago is Vice President and Team Leader, Flushing Bank Business Banking Group. In this capacity, he is responsible for leading the Bank’s commercial banking efforts and manages the activities of a team of Relationship Managers. Gus joined the Bank in 2007. Prior to joining Flushing Bank, Gus was with Banco Popular North America where he was responsible for Middle Market/Small Business Lending and also oversaw the Commercial Real Estate Group. He has over 30 years of commercial banking experience. Gus currently serves on the boards of the Long Island City Partnership and the Queens Samuel Field Y Business Council. He has also served on the boards of the Queens Chamber of Commerce and Brooklyn Chamber - Business Attraction/Business Retention Advisory Council.

Anthony Campisi, Vice President, is currently Flushing Bank’s Team Leader and Manager of Cash Management Services. Anthony has over 25 years of banking and treasury management experience working in the New York metropolitan area including NYC and Long Island. He is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) and member of the Association of Financial Professionals.

Wendi is a marketing expert with over 25 years experience developing and implementing marketing strategies for businesses and organizations spanning a variety of industries. In her role at Constant Contact, Wendi uses her expertise to provide coaching for small businesses and organizations on best practices of email and social media marketing. Additionally, she creates powerful business alliances and initiatives throughout New York and New Jersey to help empower Constant Contact customers and its partners.

Wendi is a popular speaker and educator. She delivers real-world tools and strategies that drive stellar results immediately! And although the topics and strategies may be cutting edge, it doesn’t take an interactive guru to “get it.” Wendi simplifies the information and provides essential basics, secrets, and shortcuts that make it easy for seminar attendees to get on their way fast.

Wendi gives her groups the “Know How” to boost business, awareness, and customer loyalty.

Stephanie Chandler is the author of several books including Own Your Niche: Hype-Free Internet Marketing Tactics to Establish Authority in Your Field and Promote Your Service-Based Business. She is also CEO of Authority Publishing, specializing in custom book publishing and social media marketing services, and BusinessInfoGuide.com, a directory of resources for entrepreneurs. A frequent speaker at business events and on the radio, Stephanie has been featured in Entrepreneur, BusinessWeek, and Wired magazine, and she is a contributing blogger for Forbes.

http://AuthorityPublishing.com/blog

http://stephaniechandler.com/

http://twitter.com/bizauthor

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorStephanieChandler

http://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniechandler

Steve Cohen is Senior Vice President and Deputy Commissioner at Empire State Development (ESD), where he heads the Department of Community Economic Development. The department includes the Division for Small Business, the Division for Minority and Women Business Development (DMWBD), the Empowerment Zones Corporation, the Affirmative Action Unit, and the Economic Revitalization Unit.

Since joining ESD, Mr. Cohen has led efforts to create, implement and refine important programs and initiatives to support small business development, increase access to capital, and improve the economic climate in communities throughout New York State. 

New programs and resources include the State’s $50MM Small Business Revolving Loan Fund and the Small Business/MWBE Resource Center on New York First, the State’s new online business portal.   Over the past year, department programs facilitated the creation of hundreds of new businesses, hundreds of millions of dollars in capital investments in small businesses and community development projects, and the creation and retention of thousands of jobs.

Prior to joining ESD, Mr. Cohen was Senior Vice President at Seedco/Seedco Financial, where he oversaw community economic development programming, as well as program development and government relations for Seedco Financial. 

Previously, he founded and ran a small music production company in San Francisco and held a number of positions in consulting and economic development. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Berkeley and a master’s in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Kelvin Collins was recently named the Executive Director of NYC Business Solutions Program Management at NYC Dept. of Small Business Services (SBS). In this new role, he is directly responsible for the agency’s service delivery strategy for 16 NYC Business Solutions Center and Industrial Service Providers combined located throughout the five boroughs.

In his previous role at SBS, Kelvin led the strategy to fully integrate the agency’s industrial service providers into the NYC Business Solutions brand. He worked to implement clearly defined performance expectations and an evaluation system for all service providers.

Prior to joining SBS, Kelvin was a Director at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce where led the transformation of the NYC Business Solutions Center. Under his leadership, almost 400 small businesses in Brooklyn gained access to over $18MM in capital.

Kelvin has also focused his time in the area of workforce development as he was selected to launch and lead the Strategic Partnership initiative at the Queens Workforce1 Career Center back in 2007.

Kelvin has served as a We Are All Brooklyn Fellowship steering committee member and mentor.  Kelvin was born and raised on the island of Grenada. He holds a B.A. in Marketing & Information Technology from Midwestern State University in Texas.

Rod Colon shares his 24 years of experience as a corporate HR management insider, outside agency recruiter, professional networker and career coach through an unusual yet common sense approach to networking and career management. His in-depth knowledge of international staffing, recruiting and networking gives Rod a unique ability to both coach and consult today's professionals and executives around the world.

Rod leads the way in the education of networking as a core career management activity through networking events, career coaching programs, conference calls, training seminars, job openings, channel partnering and networking libraries. Rod encourages members to share their networking experiences and questions through conference calls and urges members to become proficient with networking-oriented applications such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs and Facebook.

Rod is a published author. His first book, Win the Race for 21st Century Jobs, discusses the need for networking and human relationships as a major part of any job search and career management strategy. Rod also co-hosts a new and interactive weekly call-in program entitled Your Career is Calling: Your Weekly Appointment for Career Choices, Decisions and Success from Rider University's 107.7 FM.

Rod's innovations have attracted a growing audience of business professionals who recognize and appreciate his gift for leadership, his command of both traditional and emerging business trends, and his unfailing desire to mentor, coach, train and advise in all matters related to career management and personal growth.

Reach Rod Colon at: http://www.rodcolon.com/

Julie is the Founder of BrandTwist a brand consultancy focused on helping entrepreneurs and corporations build their brands and leverage them as actionable business assets. Julie brings to this venture a wealth of experience in brand building for some of the world’s best-loved and most successful brands.

Until August 2011, Julie was the Vice President of Brand at Richard Branson’s Virgin USA overseeing branding strategy for new Virgin companies in North America such as Virgin Hotels as well as providing strategic brand support for the established Virgin businesses including Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Mobile.

Prior to joining Virgin USA, Julie served as Executive Director of Consumer Branding at Interbrand, a leading global branding consultancy. At Interbrand she oversaw strategic brand development, name creation and implementation across a wide range of innovative brands such as Orbitz, Avon, Stolichnaya Elit, TD Ameritrade, Heinz EZ Squirt, AT&T U-Verse, Hallmark Life Mosaic, Subaru Tribeca, TDAMERITRADE and Syniverse Technologies (formerly TSI Solutions).

During her ten-year tenure at Grey Worldwide she led the development of iconic brands such as Pantene, Camay, Kool-Aid and Honeycomb. Fluent in French, Julie spent three years at Grey Paris as an International Account Director. She graduated Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania Annenberg School of Communications.

Julie is the unofficial inventor of the Pet Rock (ask her to tell you the story) as well as an authority in using lateral thinking to help companies break through in competitive markets and create fresh and ownable branding solutions.

She is an Adjunct Professor of Integrated Marketing Communications at Columbia and a Visiting Senior Lecturer of Marketing at the Johnson School of Business at Cornell University. She is also a frequent commentator on brand innovation and inspiration through her popular branding blog on her website (www.BrandTwist.com) and on Twitter at @jcottin as well as through numerous expert panels and conference keynotes.

She lives in Westchester County with her husband and two children.

Thomas P. Cummings is Director of field operations for the Export-Import Bank. He has been at Ex-Im Bank for the past 20 years. He is responsible for the banks sales and marketing to small businesses.

Prior to joining Ex-Im Bank, he was employed by the Foreign Credit Insurance Association for 14 years, in various positions in marketing, underwriting and claims.

Prior to FCIA, he was employed by Westinghouse Electric Corporation for 7 years in various positions in project finance and trade finance.

Ellen is a well-known software expert and marketing advisor to small businesses, nonprofits, and associations in the New York Metro area with 20 years of experience. Her technology best practices and business efficiency advice helps small organizations grow their businesses and build great customer relationships. Ellen has been invited to present by the National Association of Professional Organizers, Inc. Magazine, and Microsoft Corp., and recently spoke at the Inbound Marketing Summit in Boston, Fair Media Council's Connection Day on Long Island, and NYXPO for Business in NYC. Author of It’s About Time: Time Management Tips From The Software Revitalist™, Ellen’s practical small business advice has appeared in numerous publications, including Crain’s New York Small Business, The New York Enterprise Report, Success, and Worth.

ERICA DORN is ACCION USA’s New York Business Development Officer. The leading U.S. microfinance institution, ACCION USA gave its first microloan in 1991 in Brooklyn, New York. Though ACCION’s loan products and services are available to all entrepreneurs, Erica’s work at ACCION has taken a focus by serving food and beverage entrepreneurs, the Do-It-Yourself Community and Immigrant entrepreneurs. Erica served as Kiva.org’s first U.S.-based fellow helping to launch a pivotal partnership that has now funded over a million dollars in microloans. She has a degree in Spanish literature from Colorado State University, and she blogs and speaks often on the topic of U.S. microfinance. Email her at edorn@accionusa.org to apply for a loan or to set up a partnership. 

Ric Dragon is the author of Social Marketology (McGraw-Hill in June 2012) and the CEO and co-founder of DragonSearch. Dragon has more than 20 years of extensive experience in graphic design, information architecture, web development and digital marketing. Dragon has spoken at Brands Conf, Blog World, SMX, Socialize Conf, and many other industry events. Dragon is also a regular guest columnist for Marketing Land, and Social Media Monthly.

Jack Falvey is one of the most widely published freelance business writers in the world. In addition to his Dow Jones Features, his work has appeared in Newsweek, The Reader’s Digest, Inc. Magazine, Sales and Marketing Magazine and even Vogue!

He has appeared on NBC’s The TODAY Show, ABC’s GOOD MORNING AMERICA, FOX-TV NEWS and FOX Business Channel. He has written for The Boston Globe and The Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News.

A 1960 graduate of Boston College he has been a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Massachusetts in Boston since 1981.

In 2000 he founded MakingTheNumbers.Com, an internet e-learning company providing daily sales and sales management professional development via e-mail to readers across five continents.

He has published 46 features in The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s.

Debbie Fay is founder and President of bespeak presentation solutions, llc, providing presentation development, one on one coaching and corporate training to businesses worldwide.  bespeak clients include: BNY Mellon Bank, the Hay Group, US Fund for UNICEF, Tauck World Travel and Sabra as well as authors, doctors and entrepreneurs.  An award winning trainer and teacher with a life long involvement in theater, Debbie helps her clients present themselves with confidence, conviction and clarity, delivering presentations that get heard and get results.   Debbie is a sought after speaker and contributing author to forbes.com.  Her book, “Presentation is Everything” will be published in 2012.

Sandy’s commitment is to help you express yourself with clarity, courage and confidence.

Sandy Feder, JD, MA is the Founder & CEO of Proud Lion Consulting and an Authorized Local Expert for Constant Contact (the #1 Email Service Provider in the world). During his diverse career, Sandy has gained broad experience as a business development and sales executive, business coach, attorney, entrepreneur, author and university professor. In addition to his professional experience, Sandy is a life-long student of personal growth and professional development. He is a trusted business growth advisor to individuals, small businesses and law firms, with special expertise in big-picture, “where do we want to go, why, and how do we get there?” strategic planning.

As a business trainer, Sandy is an electrifying speaker who has the ability to motivate and empower an audience and deliver valuable business information in a way that each audience member leaves with the strategies, tools and confidence to TAKE ACTION.

Sandy earned his Juris Doctor at the Syracuse University College Of Law, a Master of Arts in International Relations at the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs (Syracuse University), and a Bachelor of Arts with Honors at Rutgers University, where he was a National Political Science Honor Scholar.

Marion Freijsen is Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of EFactor Corp., the largest global social network for entrepreneurs with online and offline experiences. In her role, she oversees the strategic direction and daily operations of the company. The ongoing growth and success of this latest venture is founded on her nearly 30 years of global entrepreneurial and leadership experience in developing and overseeing international sales teams as well as launching finance and technology-driven companies from the ground up across Europe and the United States. Joining forces in 2004 with Adrie Reinders and Roeland Reinders, she merged her own company into and subsequently became Chief Executive Officer of OHM Inc. and later launched EFactor with the same partners. She is currently an Advisory Board Member of a number of Dutch-based technology companies and two U.S. technology companies. Marion was also appointed as a Board Member of the Atlanta Board of Women in Business in 2011. She is also a published author with the release of The N-Factor: How Networking Can Change the Dynamics of Your Business in 2007 with EFactor Co-founder Adrie Reinders and the new release, The EFactor: Entrepreneurship in the Social Media Age, to be released on 6th November 2012. Marion holds a degree in International Sales & Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK.

EFactor Profile: http://www.efactor.com/marion

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mfreijsen

Twitter: @EFactorglobal

Website: http://marionfreijsen.com/

Cara Friedman is the Vice President of Education at Likeable Media, an award winning social media and work of mouth marketing agency. Formerly, Cara was the General Manager for Likeable and oversaw the management of the company's "buzz builder" program, a network of more than 100 interns that operate out of Likeable's New York and Boston offices. Previously, as the manager of this program, Cara was responsible for hiring, curriculum development and coordinated activities for this workforce. Additionally, Cara’s role included being in charge of the operations department including human resources, finance, and contracts and office management. As VP of Education, Cara is responsible for the custom trainings for corporate clients and their staffs as well as the internal and external education for Likeable's community and employees. Those trainings have focused on helping companies use social media more effectively, develop community managers and identify organizational strategies on a variety of social media platforms. Some of her clients have included Logitech, Cosmopolitan, NYSDOH, and General Electric. Cara has worked at Likeable for three years.  Cara is a graduate with a BA in Communications and an MA in Organizational Communications from the University at Albany, and in her spare time, attends St. John's Law School.

Likeable Links:

http://likeable.com/

http://fb.com/likeablemedia

http://twitter.com/likeablemedia

http://slideshare.net/likeable

Personal Links:

http://twitter.com/caraizzle

http://linkedin.com/in/carafriedman

Widely recognized and consistently praised, Melanie Gass wears the title of Microsoft's Princess. President and owner of worldwide computer-training firm CenterPoint Solution, LLC, Melanie teaches global employees time saving workday techniques utilizing Microsoft products. She is an accredited Microsoft Certified Trainer and Microsoft Office Specialist, and her effective training methods entitle Melanie to conduct training sessions on the latest software releases to Microsoft clients, Fortune 100 companies, and the world’s most powerful people. As an accomplished author of over ten Microsoft product reference guides, Melanie assists clients in achieving greater productivity and professional advancement using Microsoft products. Melanie also hosts the first radio show dedicated solely to Microsoft products on the Blog Talk Radio Network.

Website: www.Cloudbymicrosoft.com

Social Media:

• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Microsoft-Princess/130801693639756
• Twitter: msftprincess

Howard Greenstein is a marketing technology strategist and President of the Harbrooke Group (http://harbrooke.com/), which specializes in helping companies communicate with their customers using the latest web technologies. Greenstein has a deep understanding of both the technology and marketing worlds, and sits at their intersection. He has worked with clients from small businesses to the Fortune 500, Cable Networks, and Wall Street, as well as major advocacy groups, helping them create their online presences. Greenstein also teaches courses on social media at the Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising at NYU SCPS. 

Greenstein’s career, prior to starting his own firm, has spanned business and not-for-profit organizations such as the Twin Towers Fund, Microsoft, JP Morgan, New York University, and several start-ups. A blogger since 1999, in July 2008 he started a regular column for Inc.Com called the Start-up Toolkit (http://inc.com/author/howard-greenstein). Greenstein is a co-founder of Social Media Club (SocialMediaClub.org) and runs the NY Chapter (SocialMediaClubNYC.com). Howard earned a B.S. from Cornell University, and a Masters in Interactive Telecommunications from NYU’s ITP program. Find him on Twitter and other Social Networks as “HowardGr.”

Bradley C. Harrison is a venture capitalist, business development executive, and professional networker. He is the founder and managing partner of BHV, a strategic advisory firm focused on enabling entrepreneurs through strategic business development and connections with advisors and capital. Mr. Harrison is also a partner at Point Capital Partners, a private veteran-owned asset management and merchant banking firm. Brad specializes in private equity for early stage companies with a focus on media, technology, and entertainment. A seasoned business development executive in both Fortune 500 companies and various venture backed entities, Brad specializes in negotiations, deal structures and deal closures. A notable Tribeca resident, Brad has created a personal network of people in leadership roles spanning across various industries. He holds three US patents in the search space, is a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and has an MBA in New Product and Venture Development from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Brad resides in New York City with his wife, Angie; son, Elvis; and daughter, Scout. He is conversationally fluent in Spanish and enjoys travel, golf, rugby, lifting weights and Harley Davidson’s. 

http://www.bhv.vc/

@bradharrison1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Harrison

ELLIS HENICAN is a columnist at Newsday and a political analyst on the Fox News Channel. He is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, Home Team with New Orleans Saints Sean Payton and In the Blink of an Eye with NASCAR legend Michael Waltrip. He is also the voice of Stormy on the hit Cartoon Network series Sealab 2021.

After helping launch 100 businesses in seven years, Carolyn Herfurth felt helpless as she watched 80% of her clients struggle with sales and saw the havoc it wreaked on their personal, financial and business lives.

Fed up with the plethora of super talented business owners who struggle with selling, she walked away from her multiple six-figure business to start The Biztruth, and is on a mission to equip service-based entrepreneurs with the confidence and skills to double their closing rates and multiply earnings.

An author, speaker, and sales expert, Carolyn is also the creator of Art of the Ask, designed to teach entrepreneurs how to build the know, like, trust and buy factor.

Her playful style is a breath of fresh air to those who believe business, like life, is meant to be enjoyed!

Contact:

Carolyn Herfurth, The Biztruth

646-559-2980

Carolyn@thebiztruth.com

www.TheBiztruth.com

www.facebook.com/carolynherfurth

www.twitter.com/carolynherfurth

www.linkedin.com/in/carolynherfurth

Bryan is dedicated to helping entreprenuers succeed. As Director at the Founder Institute and CEO of Wicked Start, he helps incubate new business opportunities globally.  With Wicked Start, he created a ‘virtual’ startup incubator to provide entrepreneurs with free resources to plan, fund and launch new ventures.

Prior to his current venture, he founded Nu-Kitchen, the online gourmet food retailer. Building this service from the ground up into a scalable online business, he helped thousands of New Yorkers lose weight and live healthier lives. He sold his interest in a multimillion dollar transaction to Nutrisystem, a leading national weight loss company in late 2008.

Bryan graduated from Marquette University in 1992 and then began a distinguished career in financial services and international banking at J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley, working with such prestigious global corporations as Nestlé and Diageo. After graduating from the NYU Stern School of Business with an M.B.A., Bryan founded his first business, Alliance Business Consulting, a professional services

firm providing business planning guidance to clients from start-ups to large corporations. Bryan has served on the boards of multiple non-profits serving the small business and startup space, including the Entrepreneur’s Organization (EO), StartOut, and Ariva.

Jim is currently the Director of Product Marketing and Management for Time Warner Cable Business Class.  Mr.  Jones  has been in the telecommunications industry for almost 20 years.  His primary focus has been on the development and  launching of data products. 

He Began his career at ACC in Rochester NY and with startups such as  One Communications where he was responsible for designing and building the entire Data product line that included High speed internet and advanced data technologies.  He was also the Director of Data Product Management for NuVox Communications and the Director of Wholesale Product management for Windstream communications and led development and marketing efforts for its Fiber to the Tower program.

Ami Kassar, CEO and Founder of MultiFunding, is a nationally renowned small business advocate and leader. He’s committed to ensuring that small business owners have the best possible access to the capital they need to help grow and manage their businesses.  Kassar appears in the national press on small business issues and blogs regularly on these topics at http://www.slingshotcafe.net/. He has developed a national reputation for confronting and challenging the largest banks in America for their lending records to small businesses. He’s assembled research reports that have become a critical component of the national debate about small business lending. In addition, Kassar is a regular speaker at universities and small business events across the country on topics including entrepreneurship and access to capital.  Kassar earned his MBA from the University of Southern California and graduated with a B.A. in American Studies from Brandeis University. He currently lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia with his wife, two children and his corgi-spaniel.

Judith Katz has held senior planning, strategy and financial roles at American Express, Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company and Barnes & Noble.  Most recently she was the president of a two-year, career college. She has also served as board president for the Hudson Guild, a multi-function community based agency.  She is currently on the board of Generation Schools, an innovative educational and charter school organization. In many of her management positions, she has been a mentor and coach recruiting and developing future leaders.

Ms. Katz was also a founder of a computer music software business.  As a consultant to small business and non-profits, she has created new marketing and pricing programs, pinpointed areas of opportunity for profitable investment and researched and wrote a handbook for small and minority businesses. She has worked with financial service, education, literacy and environmental organizations assisting them in formulating goals and implementation plans.

She has been a featured speaker at the Conference Board, the Planning Executives Institute, the Harvard Club and the AICPA.  Ms. Katz has taught strategic planning for the American Management Association and business planning for Kaufmann Fasttrac Growth Venture.  She has been honored by the Academy of Women Achievers of the YWCA of New York City.

She received an S.M. in Management from the Sloan School at M.I.T. and a Master of Arts in Teaching from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.  Her undergraduate degree is from Brandeis University, cum laude with Honors in History. 

Theresa Kelly joined Flushing Savings Bank as Senior Vice President and Director of Business Banking in 2006.  Terri’s responsibilities include credit approval, underwriting and administration of the Commercial & Industrial portfolio. The division includes three Business Banking relationship management teams which are responsible for managing and growing the Business Banking portfolio. Cash Management products and teams are also incorporated into the Business Banking division.  The Group provides commercial loans, SBA, Export-Import Bank and cash management services to small and medium size businesses in the Long Island-Metro New York marketplace.

Terri has 25 years of commercial banking experience. Terri was with Citibank for 13 years in the Business & Professional Group on Long Island. She went on to join Bank of America (formally Fleet Bank) where she was a Senior Vice President in Commercial Banking with experience in managing teams in Middle Market and Business Banking.

Throughout her career Terri has been active in various non-for profit and charitable organizations as a board member or committee member. Affiliations include, Arthritis Foundation, American Heart Association, American Cancer Association, Long Island Forum for Technology, New York Business Development Corp, National Association of Women Business Owners, Long Island Center for Business & Professional Women and Risk Management Association.

Cory Langner is a seasoned pro with a passion for connecting people and nurturing customer relations. He’s helped small and medium businesses embrace new technologies to freshen-up their brand image, acquire new customers, foster relationships and develop solid frameworks to enhance business operations. Currently he is the Head of Customer Success for Elance, the leader in connecting freelancers with businesses who need online workers. Since 1999 Elance has been helping businesses hire skilled freelancers for jobs in Finance, IT & Programming, Marketing, Writing & Translation and more. Whether it’s small project or long-term contract, Elance can connect you with instant, on-demand talent without draining your budget. Elance is pioneering a new way to build and grow your company.

Dave Lavinsky is an internationally renowned expert in the fields of business planning, exit strategy planning, capital raising, and new venture development.

Over the past decade, Dave has guest lectured at top universities, and has written hundreds of articles on entrepreneurship, business planning and capital raising. He has also developed entrepreneurship guides and products that have helped over 500,000 entrepreneurs to successfully start, grow and/or exit their companies.

Within Growthink’s consulting practice, Dave has managed more than 150 client engagements. He particularly enjoys helping early stage companies prepare for significant growth as he has done with Dakim (brain fitness products for Alzheimer’s prevention), Sandel Medical (innovative medical supplies and safety solutions), XCom Wireless (MEMS-based radio frequency solutions) and numerous other businesses. Dave also conducted the market research and wrote the initial business plan for Keyspan Energy Services, now part of National Grid, which grew from zero to over $1 billion in revenues in less than three years.

Dave also launched and runs Growthink University, which is the leading community for entrepreneurs and business owners to learn how to raise capital and grow their businesses. Among other things, members get access to over 50 one-on-one expert interviews that Dave has conducted. These interviews include prominent venture capitalists such as Guy Kawasaki and Brad Feld, prominent angel investors like John Morris (former Chairman of the world’s largest angel investor network), and best-selling authors such as Dr. Geoff Smart (hiring expert), Steve Kaplan (sales expert) and Laura Stack (productivity expert).

Dave walks the talk. He is a successful serial entrepreneur, having started and exited multiple Internet and product-focused ventures, including Emerge Juice and Nutrition Systems, a wellness products developer and distributor; Shoutmouth, a niche music-focused social networking site; Z Reporter LLC, owner of over 3,000 niche-focused information websites; and TopPayingKeywords, a Search Engine Marketing & Optimization research data firm.

Dave is a past board member of the Los Angeles Regional Technology Alliance and a winner of the Anderson School at UCLA's Knapp New Venture Competition.

Prior to Growthink, Dave gained professional management consulting, marketing consulting and market research experience with FIND/SVP (now ORC International), PIRA Energy Group, BPA International and The NPD Group.

Dave has an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA and earned his Bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia. He lives in New York with his wife and two children.

Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a media and custom content company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship. A nationally known speaker, best-selling author, and authority on small business. Lesonsky has been covering America’s entrepreneurs for more than 30 years.

Before co-founding GrowBiz Media in 2008, Lesonsky was the long-time Editorial Director of Entrepreneur Magazine.

Lesonsky has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, The Martha Stewart show and Oprah, and can regularly be seen on MSNBC’s Your Business. 

Lesonsky is the editor of Network Solutions’ Grow Smart Business blog, and regularly writes for SCORE’s Success blog, Small Business Trends, SBA.Gov, American Express OPEN Forum, Small Biz Nation on LinkedIn, AT&T Small Business, ReadWriteWeb, and her site SmallBizDaily.com. In 2009, she was named to Folio Magazine’s “Folio 40” list, which honors publishing’s top innovators. In 2011 she was named one of the nation’s top 100 Small Business Influencers.

Lesonsky also blogs at GrowBiz Media’s blog, SmallBizDaily.com, and GrowBiz Media’s trend website, SmallBizTrendCast.

Joel Libava, The Franchise King®, is a brutally honest, mostly non-politically correct entrepreneur, who’s hyper-focused on teaching would-be franchise owners how to become wildly successful franchise owners, and not lose their money. Joel’s book, Become a Franchise Owner! The Start-Up Guide to Lowering Risk, Making Money, and Owning What You Do, is due out in December. (John Wiley & Sons, Publisher) Joel’s authoritative articles on franchising can be found on his award-winning franchise blog, plus several popular small business-related websites like Small Business Trends, Open Forum by American Express, SBA.gov, and AllBusiness.com.  Media outlets like Fox Business News, Entrepreneur Magazine, Smart Money Magazine, and Inc.com call on Joel for his no-spin insights into the world of franchising and small business. Joel also serves on the advisory board for bizSugar.com, a small business bookmarking and networking site. His main hub is http://www.thefranchiseking.com/

Joel’s Mission;

To make franchising more transparent by aggressively informing all who wish to become franchise owners that there’s definitely risk involved, and then teaching them how to lower it through his articles, books, podcasts and his top-notch advisory services. Joel’s out to create a brand-new generation of super-successful franchisees!

Joel also gently (not really) encourages franchisors to only choose the best of the best franchise candidates, thereby increasing their chances of mutual success, which in turn, will lower the failure rates in franchising.

As founder of the Center for Networking Excellence, and a top networking strategist and speaker, Liz Lynch has taught tens of thousands of professionals and entrepreneurs worldwide how to get 24/7 networking results WITHOUT the 24/7 effort. She's the author of Smart Networking: Attract a Following In Person and Online (McGraw-Hill, 2008) and has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC News, Fox Business News, CNBC.com, Forbes.com and Businessweek.com. Liz holds an engineering degree from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Stanford University. To download your free Smart Networking toolkit, visit http://www.SmartNetworking.com

Walter E. Maxwell is the Director for External Affairs within the Division of Economic and Financial Opportunity (DEFO) at the NYC Department of Small Business Services.   

Walter is charged with defining and implementing outreach strategies to community groups, trade associations, industry membership organizations and local chambers of commerce to spread the word about the benefits of certification and identify companies that are eligible for M/WBE certification. He has been working with the city’s Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise program for nearly 15 years. His work has taken on even more importance since 2005, when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg signed Local Law 129, creating a new Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise Program.

Walter began his employment at DSBS as a procurement specialist.  In that capacity, he assisted New York City based manufacturers and wholesale distributors in their efforts to locate and obtain Federal, State, and Local government contracts.  His primary duties involved counseling and giving advice to new vendors on the public procurement process.  Walter’s background at DSBS also includes positions within the Vendor Initiative Division, the Executive Volunteer Corps and the Street Vendor Review Panel (SVRP).

Prior to government service at DSBS, Walter had a fifteen year work history in Real Estate and Finance.  He was a Senior Financial Accountant at Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. handling a commercial property portfolio of more than thirty properties.  Before that, he was employed as an Assistant Manager of Retail Credit Collections for Marine Midland Bank, N.A.

Walter has won praise from numerous Minority and Women’s Business Organizations and individuals for his strong commitment and the passion with which he carries out his services on behalf of NYCDSBS to the businesses of New York City. In October of 2009, Walter was among 25 people chosen to receive the 2009 Champions of Diversity award from DiversityPlus Magazine, a national magazine that covers diversity and small business issues and event.

Most recently he was nominated and then awarded the 100 Year Association’s Isaac Liberman Public Service Awards. The Isaac Liberman awards recognize New York City career civil service employees for dedication well beyond their job description, measurably improving efficiency and quality of service to New York City residents and workers, and for significantly enhancing the prestige of New York City in the eyes of the public. Walter epitomizes these qualities. He has made a tremendous impact on thousands of businesses across the city, on his colleagues, and on the City of New York.

Carl is the founder and CEO of eMazzanti Technologies; Microsoft’s 2012 Partner of the Year and one of the premier IT consulting services for businesses ranging from home office and retail clients to multinational corporations throughout the New York metropolitan area and numerous international locations.

After a decade of experience consulting with his multi-various clients to make sure their networks are secure, Carl has accumulated a nearly unparalleled knowledge of the numerous methods you can utilize virtual technologies in the cloud to improve and grow your business exponentially today.  To find out more about Cloud Technology please visit

Facebook.com/eMazzantiTechnologies

http://twitter.com/emazzanti

http://www.cloudtechnology365.com/

Laurie McCabe brings more than 20 years of experience in the IT industry to her current role at SMB Group. Laurie has built widespread recognition for her capabilities and insights in the small and medium business (SMB) market in several areas, including cloud computing, mobile solutions, business solutions, social networking and collaboration, and managed services.  

Prior to SMB Group, Laurie worked in analyst roles as a Partner at Hurwitz & Associates; Vice President of SMB Insights & Solutions at AMI-Partners; and Vice President at Summit Strategies, where her original research of the emerging cloud computing model earned her broad recognition as a thought leader in this area.

Ms. McCabe is frequently quoted in leading business and trade publications, has been a featured speaker at many industry events, and contributes to Small Business Computing. She is a 2011 Small Business Influencer Champion, a winner of the  2012 SMB 150 Awards, and blogs often at  http://lauriemccabe.com/.

“I was impressed by the level of research that was done and I learned a great deal about the history of my product, target market and what creative ideas that I could implement. I really feel that I have the proper tools to be successful in the market place. I now feel that the sky is the limit!” Statements like this from her clients are why Nicole McGarrell formed and continues to grow her business Sunny Day Marketing (www.sunnydaymktg.com). While she loved working in the Marketing department at the widely popular Food Network, she also craved being her own boss and choosing whom she worked with, so she took a leap and faith and started her own business. Understanding how important marketing is to the survival of a business, she decided to share her marketing expertise with other small business owners who had a great product or service but no idea how to effectively promote it.

Over the course of her career, Nicole McGarrell has worked in a variety of marketing areas ranging from (but not limited to) Partnerships to Promotions to Advertising to Branding. This varied background has allowed Nicole to look at marketing from different lens than most other marketers and develop ideas that are well-rounded in scope and provide a truly integrated marketing experience. As well, her optimism and solution-oriented attitude make working with her an experience that is not only motivating but also refreshing and effective. Having worked for a number of companies, both large and small, in an array of fields from Media/Entertainment to Finance to Non-Profit, she has been able to cultivate an understanding of how different marketing tactics work in different industries and applies this knowledge in the projects she takes on.

Andrew J. Mellen is an organizational expert, public speaker, and the best-selling author of Unstuff Your Life!

He's been called "The Most Organized Man in America," for good reason—he has helped tens of thousands of people to unclutter and simplify their lives while regaining time for the things that are really important—which often aren't even things at all.

A sought-after authority on organizing and productivity, Andrew's addressed audiences from TEDx to NetApp’s Silicon Valley campus. Media appearances include The Nate Berkus Show; Oprah & Friends; Martha Stewart Living Today; ABC, NBC and CBS; CW11; HGTV; DIY Network; LiveWell Network; Fine Living; Better TV; The New York Times; O, The Oprah Magazine; Ladies' Home Journal; Woman's Day; Family Circle; USA Today; GQ; InStyle; All You; Tricycle: The Buddhist Review; Healthy UK; American Way; Trade and travel publications; and NPR.

In addition to leading workshops and speaking appearances, he maintains a private practice working one-to-one with clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies, trade associations and non-profits to CEOs, award-winning filmmakers and authors, along with overwhelmed parents everywhere. Andrew is on the faculty at the New York Open Center in New York City.

Previously, Andrew was an award-winning playwright, actor, producer and director and the former Artistic Director of Alice B. Theater (Seattle), DC Arts Center (Washington, DC) and Shuttle Theater Company (New York).

Andrew lives by his motto: More Love, Less Stuff!®

He can be found on the web at www.andrewmellen.com

Joe Meyer is the CEO of HopStop (http://www.hopstop.com/), a popular location-based service. HopStop provides multi-modal pedestrian navigation and transit-routing services in 86 major metropolitan markets across multiple digital platforms including web, wap, app and sms (www.HopStop.com/mobile); and is the second largest provider of pedestrian navigation in the U.S. behind Google Maps. Prior to HopStop, Mr. Meyer was a Vice President for Quigo Technologies, a leading contextual ad network acquired by AOL, at which he was responsible for securing partnerships with major digital media companies. Before Quigo, Mr. Meyer was an EIR for Onset Ventures, a leading venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. Early in his career, Mr. Meyer was a GM at eBay where launched its co-op advertising program. In addition to being HopStop’s CEO, Mr. Meyer was recently an adviser to Adtuitive (acquired by Etsy), Belief Networks (acquired by BenefitFocus) & Kalexo (acquired by Autodesk); and is an active adviser to Lot18, Snooth and Spongecell. Mr. Meyer earned a BA from Georgetown University, and an MBA from Wharton; and he was recently selected by Crain’s New York Business as one of the Top Entrepreneurs of 2012.

Nancy Michaels is America’s most sought-after Consultant to America’s Fortune 500 Companies.  As the liaison between big business and small business owners, Nancy is a successful small business owner herself for more than two decades, a single mother of three children (two adopted, and one biological son with special needs), and a consummate survivor.  She experienced a liver transplant in 2005, was the topic of the Mortality and Morbidity Conference in 2005, lost custody of her three children, only to fight for them once again.  During these trying times, she personally lost everything, and regained it within a few short years. 

Her story of survival brings encouragement, faith and hope to her audiences – along with great content and action steps designed to inspire audiences and bring them to action in their own lives – regardless of the situation.  Nancy’s message is of extreme relevance and provides attendees with substantial thoughts to ponder in their own lives to make the positive changes they need.

Barry Moltz gets business owners growing again by unlocking their long forgotten potential.  With decades of entrepreneurial experience in his own business ventures as well as consulting countless other entrepreneurs, Barry has discovered the formula to get stuck business owners out of their funk and marching forward.  Barry applies simple, strategic steps to facilitate change for entrepreneurs.

Barry Moltz has founded and run small businesses with a great deal of success and failure for more than 15 years.

After successfully selling his last operating business, Barry has branched out into a number of entrepreneurship-related activities.  He founded an angel investor group, an angel fund, and is a former advisory member of the board of the Angel Capital Education Foundation.  His first book, “You Need to Be A Little Crazy: The Truth about Starting and Growing Your Business” describes the ups and downs and emotional trials of running a business.  It is in its fifth reprint and has been translated into Chinese, Russian, Korean and Thai.

His second book, “Bounce! Failure, Resiliency and the Confidence to Achieve Your Next Great Success”, shows what it takes to come back and develop true business confidence.  It has been translated into Korean and German.  His third book, “BAM! Delivering Customer Service in a Self-Service World” shows how customer service is the new marketing. His fourth book, Small Town Rules: How Small Business and Big Brands can Profit in a Connected Economy will be published by Pearson in March 2012.

Barry is a nationally recognized expert on entrepreneurship who has given hundreds of presentations to audiences ranging in size from 20 to 20,000.  As a member of the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame, he has also taught entrepreneurship as an adjunct professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology.  He has appeared on many TV and radio programs such as The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, MSNBC’s Your Business and NPR’s The Tavis Smiley Show.  He hosts his own radio show, Business Insanity Talk Radio, and writes regularly for the American Express Open Forum, Forbes.com and Crain’s Chicago Enterprise City.

http://www.barrymoltz.com/

Twitter @barrymoltz

Facebook Barry Moltz

LinkedIn Barry Moltz

As the Founder & CEO of Brian Moran & Associates, Brian is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs achieve their objectives & to run better businesses. Brian, along with a team of experts, is leveraging his 20+ years of experience in publishing magazines for business owners to assist entrepreneurs with everything from social media to accessing growth capital to expanding into the global marketplace.

Prior to rejoining the world of entrepreneurship, Brian was the Executive Director of Sales Development at the Wall Street Journal where he oversaw the sales development and marketing programs for the financial and small business categories among the many Journal brands.

From 2002-2010, Brian was President of  Veracle Media and Moran Media Group, two companies that provided relevant and practical information to business owners which helped them start, manage and grow their companies. The companies published three national magazines for the small-to-midsize business market: Small Business Success, Urban Success and Winning Bids.

In addition to magazines, the companies partnered with many leading small business organizations in running workshops, seminars and national conferences aimed at various segments of the small business market.

Prior to running his own businesses, Brian was the Associate Publisher at Inc. Magazine, a Publisher and Associate Publisher at Entrepreneur Media and held managment positions at Success Magazine and Medical Economics Magazine.

Brian is currently a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Council, a member of the CEO Advisory Board of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council and an Advisory Board Member at the Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurship Studies at FDU.

In August, 2012, Brian was given the prestigious Lou Campanelli award at SCORE’s national conference in recognition for his years of service in the small business market.

Brian is a graduate of Marquette University’s School of Journalism.

Mike Muhney is a recognized relationship management expert. He's the co-inventor of ACT!, which is acknowledged as the catalyst of the entire Customer Relationship Management Industry. He's author of the book, Who's In Your Orbit? Beyond Facebook—Creating Relationships That Matter. Mike is the CEO and Co-Founder of VIPorbit Software, creators of relationship-management apps designed for the way people work today—on mobile devices. viporbit.com

Website:  

http://www.viporbit.com/

Blog & Social Media:  

http://www.mikemuhney.com/

www.facebook.com/mike.muhney

www.viporbit.com/blog

www.facebook.com/viporbit

Stana Nakhle is the Director of Private Health Insurance Initiatives at the New York City Human Resources Administration's Office of Citywide Health Insurance Access (OCHIA) which works to expand access to public and private health insurance coverage for New York City residents and small businesses.  Ms. Nakhle oversees OCHIA’s efforts to promote more affordable health insurance coverage for small businesses and working individuals.  Primarily, Ms. Nakhle oversees the management, development and promotion of NYC Health Insurance Link (NY HI Link), www.nyc.gov/hilink, a web tool that allows small business owners, freelancers and other residents to learn about health insurance, compare costs and benefits of a range of private health insurance plans side-by-side, find tips on ways to make coverage more affordable, and stay updated on developments relating to health care reform – all in one convenient location.

 Prior to becoming the Director of Private Health Insurance Initiatives, Ms. Nakhle gained knowledge and expertise with private health insurance issues as a member of the OCHIA team responsible for the initial development of NYC HI Link and her work analyzing private health insurance market trends and monitoring progress towards achieving Mayor Bloomberg’s agenda for private health insurance enrollment of New York City residents.  Before joining OCHIA in 2006, Ms. Nakhle worked in the office of Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) under the leadership of its Director of Immigration to facilitate communications between various governmental agencies and Senator Schumer’s constituents.

Born and raised in Slovakia, Ms. Nakhle worked and traveled broadly before earning a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from the University of Bridgeport and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University.  Ms. Nakhle received recognition as a member of the development team for NYC HI Link through receipt of the NYC Excellence in Technology Award for Best Application Serving the Public in 2009.  She is fluent in Slovak, Arabic and Russian.

Robert Palmer joined WestJet as manager of public relations in 2008 after leading the communications function at the Calgary Police Service as manager of public affairs and media relations. At WestJet, he is responsible for all external communications activities including media relations and social media. Prior to launching his career in strategic communications in 2001, Robert spent more than 20 years as a journalist working in print, radio and television in the provinces of Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta.

Sabrina Parsons is CEO of Palo Alto Software, developer of the best-selling business planning software, Business Plan Pro. Palo Alto Software develops software and tools specifically targeted for entrepreneurs and small-business owners.  Sabrina assumed the CEO role in May 2007 and is responsible for Palo Alto's business planning, fiscal and strategic goals and all of the company's traditional marketing.

Sabrina began her professional career with the marketing team at EnCommerce. In 1997, she became Director of Online Marketing at CommTouch Ltd. an email services company, and left in 1999 to help start Epinions.com. Epinons.com was bought by Shopping.com and later by eBay, becoming an eBay property.

In 2000, Sabrina founded Lighting Out Inc., an internet consulting company. While at Lighting Out, Sabrina focused on improving conversion rates online for clients, achieving, in some cases over 100% conversion rate improvements.

In 2001, she moved to London, continued consulting with Lighting Out, and also founded a software distribution company.  She eventually sold the company to Palo Alto Software and joined headquarters in Eugene, Or as the head of Marketing and Communications.   

Sabrina, as a mother of 3 boys 7 and under, is the author of a blog about the challenges and rewards of being a “Mommy CEO” on ForbesWomen.

She is a staunch supporter of entrepreneurs, and supports entrepreneurial organizations. She is President of the Princeton Entrepreneurs’ Network (http://www.princetonen.org/).  Sabrina will also chair the 2012 Willamette Angel Conference (http://www.willametteconference.com/).

Sabrina believes in community involvement and is helping and volunteering in different organizations in Eugene, OR to help further economic development and public education in the community: She sits on the Board of Directors for the Eugene Chamber of Commerce (http://www.eugenechamber.com/contact/leadership.aspx), on the Board of Directors for Whole Earth Nature School (http://wholeearthnatureschool.com/), and has been nominated by the School Board to join the budget committee for the 4J School District starting in January 2012. She is also the technology adviser for the Fox Hollow Charlemagne Elementary School PTO.

She is a graduate of Princeton University.

A 12-year veteran of the IT industry, Robb Patterson is a leading technology consultant and advisor to businesses and community organizations, as well as a sought after speaker and writer, in the New York Metro Area.

In 2011, Robb joined Progressive Computing Inc, which designs, installs and maintains computer networks for small and mid-sized companies, as business development manager. In this role, he’s responsible for establishing new client relationships and acting as an account manager, working closely with PCI’s IT technicians to ensure each client’s total satisfaction.

Robert began his career as a freelance web designer, and then became a system administrator for a 40-user not-for-profit organization where he developed and managed the logistics department in addition to their computer network.

In 2005, he founded the New York Small Business Server Group (NYSBS), which has grown into one of the largest SMB-focused technology peer groups in the world. With Robert leading the way as its acting president, NYSBS’ 280+ members share industry best practices, collaborate to solve challenges, educate one another, and benefit from positive relationships with leading hardware and software vendors.

An active member of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, he serves as Co-Chair of its Tech Committee, developing and supporting technology-related events, and its Mid-Market Committee, which will build the Chamber’s mid-size business membership.

Since 2010, Robert has been on the steering committee for the New York Business Expo & Conference, an annual event that features 200 exhibitors and 40 seminars, and attracts more than 10,000 executives.

In 2011, Robert lent his expertise to the Expo’s 24 Hour Small Biz Makeover Contest, sponsored by Small Biz World Television, and looks forward to doing so again in 2012.

Basil Puglisi started his “Read, Write & Share” blog about digital and social media as a way to learn and share. Today the blog has evolved into a non-profit organization called Digital Ethos (formerly DBMEi) which produces the Digital Media Daily and has a global readership.

As the Executive Director for Digital Ethos and the Publisher for Digital Media Daily, he receives invites and attends the top conferences which include SMX (Search Engine Marketing Expo), BlogWorld & New Media Expo, Social Media World Forum, SxSW, Internet Week and more. Basil Puglisi has turned these events into learning experiences that he uses to generate future content used to create awareness and educate others through Digital Ethos’s publications.

@basilpuglisi has been recognized as a Top Conference Influencer on Twitter for Social Media Week NYC 2012 (@Kred & Ogilvy), The Corporate Social Media Summit NYC 2012 (@Radian6 & Useful Social Media) and the Social Media World Forum North America (@Synthesio).

As a speaker Basil has presented at Social Media Week, #140ConfLI, Social Media Day of Giving at Touro Law Center, NYXPO, TradeBrooklyn and more. Basil Puglisi harnesses his passion and utilizes it as a journalist to seek out and distribute information to educate the public. Enabling individuals to participate in digital communication, both as consumers and contributors. Savvy digital media communicators keep digital media communication open and free to all without unwarranted censorship or limitation.

Contributions

Basil has contributed hundreds of articles through various internet sources, while delivering over 350 publications to Digital Ethos, where he is joined by other contributing authors who are professionals that share his passion.

Basil C. Puglisi is also the Principal of Puglisi Consulting Group, Inc. A Digital Brand Marketing Consultancy that manages professional and personal branding for Fortune 500 CEOs, Hedge Fund Managers and Small Business Owners.

Education:

• Doctoral Studies in Education – Walden University
• Masters in Public Policy & Admin – Michigan State University
• B.A. Law, Justice & Society – Rockefeller College, UAlbany

Connect with Basil C. Puglisi on Twitter  Facebook  LinkedIn  Google+  Pinterest  StumbleUpon Digg  Reddit  Foursquare  Quora  Digital Ethos YouTube or follow his Publications via RSS

Pravina has over 15 years of experience in providing advisory services to businesses in the start-up, growth, expansion and maturity phases of development. In that time, she completed over 100 Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) transactions and has advised companies on strategy, marketing, sales development, capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, divestures, outsourcing, joint ventures and partnerships, and international development. Pravina is the District Director for the Small Business Administration (SBA), New York District Office.

Prior to joining the SBA, Pravina was a Vice President with MTV and BET Networks in Content Distribution and Marketing where she was responsible for contract negotiations and marketing for 23 channels. Previously, she was a small business owner of a strategic advisory firm that assisted companies in their quest for growth.
Prior to owning her own business, Pravina was the Business Development Director for Misys PLC, one of the largest banking software companies in the world. She was also an associate at an investment bank, Broadview International, in London. Prior to Broadview, Pravina worked for seven years at AT&T in several finance and management roles, including her last five years as M&A Director for Europe.

Pravina has an MBA in Finance from Seton Hall University and a BS in Finance from The Pennsylvania State University. She has worked in over 15 countries around the world and is familiar with five languages.

Pravina is also a board member of the International Executive Resource Group (IERG) and a member of the Women’s Bond Club of New York (WBC), The Penn State Alumni Association, Venture Association of New Jersey (VANJ), Women in Telecommunications and Cable (WICT), and National Association of Minorities in Communications (NAMIC).

JJ is the host of MSNBC’s Your Business, the only television show dedicated to issues affecting small business owners. Now in its fifth season, the program has profiled thousands of small business owners and offered advice from countless small business experts and investors. Your Business guests have included Senate and House Small Business Committee members, the head of the Small Business Administration, and members of the Cabinet. She has received several awards including Self Magazine’s “Women Doing Good” and Jewish Women International’s “Women to Watch.”

Brian Rauer is Executive Director of the Better Business Bureau unit serving the Mid-Hudson region and General Counsel of the Better Business Bureau serving Metropolitan New York.  Earlier experience includes the Manhattan based law firm of Plunkett & Jaffe, P.C.   Mr. Rauer was appointed to the Westchester County Consumer Advisory Council and was formerly on the Administrative Law Judge/Hearing Officer roster for the Westchester County Human Rights Commission.  He formerly served on the Board of Directors of the NY County Lawyers’ Assn. (NYCLA) and is a NYCLA rep. to the House of Delegates of the NY State Bar Association. He is a past Chair of the NYCLA Cyberspace Law Committee. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Association for Conflict Resolution-Greater NY Chapter and has previously served on the Board of the NY State Dispute Resolution Assn.  Mr. Rauer formerly hosted/presented a regular segment on a nationally syndicated radio show and has presented an extensive array of programs on hot topics of public interest.  He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Tulane Law School, receiving the Tulane Law Dean's Medal and selection for the Order of the Coif.  Mr. Rauer earned his B.S. degree, Summa Cum Laude, in Business Administration. 

Ramon is Regional Development Manager NY/NJ Infusionsoft and editor & technology evangelist of Smallbiztechonlogy.com. He is passionate about helping small businesses grow their businesses using technology as a strategic asset.

He has written thousands of technology articles and news items for Smallbiztechnology.com and other media including: Inc. Magazine, , Black Enterprise Magazine, CNet, Var Business, TechTarget, Entrepreneur.com, Small Business Resources and others.

Ramon is not "just" a technology writer. As a former small business technology consultant, he has years of hands on experience in building networks,  installing software, upgrading computers and supporting the technology small businesses use on a daily basis.

Ramon has brought his unique dose of humor, technology insight and practical advice to many events, including the Inc 500, NY Daily News Small Business Big Impact Conference 2010, New York Entrepreneur Week, Biz Tech Day, NY XPO, HP Business Matchmaking event, Infusion Soft User's Conference, Capterra Software Marketers Conference, United States Small Business Administration Service Core of Retired Executives' "Strategies for Succeeding in Business", PC Expo, Internet World, American Woman's Economic Development Corporation, Business Development Institute, SMB Nation and more.

David S. Rose is an Inc. 500 CEO, serial entrepreneur and super-angel investor who has founded or funded over 80 pioneering companies. He has been described by BusinessWeek as a “world conquering entrepreneur”, by Forbesas “New York’s Archangel”, and by Red Herring magazine as “patriarch of Silicon Alley”.

From his initial involvement with the first online communities in the 1970s, through founding one of the first personal computer training companies in the 1980s, one of the first wireless data information networks in the 1990s, and the first global angel investing platform in the 2000s, David has been at the forefront of innovation and entrepreneurship.

David is the founder and CEO of Gust, which operates the international standard collaboration platform for startup financing, used by over 40,000 investors and 200,000 entrepreneurs in 95 countries. Gust is the official collaboration platform of NASVF. He is also Managing Director of Rose Tech Ventures; Founder and Chairman Emeritus of New York Angels; and Associate Founder and Founding Track Chair for Finance, Entrepreneurship and Economics at Singularity University, the Google/NASA-sponsored post-graduate program in exponential technologies.

David has a BA from Yale, an MBA from Columbia and a D. Eng. (hc) from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Deborah Shane voluntarily  transitioned out of a 24 year corporate Radio sales and management career in 2006 and started her own consultancy in 2007. She is the Author of Career Transition-make the shift, a media host, a career and small business branding strategist, published writer and speaker at DeborahShane.com. She hosts a weekly Blog and popular Business Radio Show which has over 110k page views and downloads. She writes for several national business, career and marketing blogs, and websites including SmallBizTrends.com, Careerealism, American Express Open, Personal Branding Blog, Monster and Blogher. Deborah delivers smart, ideas and solutions, which make her a popular resource for clients and national media including CNN, Fox, CBS and HLN. Connect with her @deborahshane.

Nancy has extensive experience helping businesses of all sizes and industries launch, expand, and prosper. A Constant Contact All-Star and Local Expert, she has been using e-marketing and social media tools to deliver six-figure sales and record-breaking engagement rates. A former corporate marketing executive (Citibank, MasterCard, Reed Exhibitions), she is adept at bringing big brand marketing techniques to small business budgets. She founded theONswitch marketing in 2003 and has worked with a wide range of businesses, including retail, services, food and restaurant, kids and education, health and wellness, and others. She holds an AB from the University of Michigan and has attended NYU and Kellogg graduate programs. She is the author of five marketing/business books, blogs for several publications, and speaks frequently to national and local groups on topics ranging from branding to social media to innovation.

Jorge Silva-Puras is the Regional Administrator for Region II at the U.S. Small Business Administration.  The Region is headquartered in New York City, is  responsible for SBA’s programs and services in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with approximately 2.7 million small businesses, and a portfolio of SBA guaranteed loans of over $6.1billion.

Before joining the SBA, Silva-Puras served as Chief of Staff to the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.  He also held senior positions at the Commonwealth, including Secretary of Economic Development & Commerce, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) and President of the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico.  

During his tenure, Silva-Puras became known for, and was instrumental in, leading efforts to promote more efficient and effective government, most notably by leading the transformation of PRIDCO (a subsidized state-owned corporation with $871 million in assets and over 24 million sq.ft. of industrial real estate), into an improved and financially self-sufficient industrial promotion company, while reducing its workforce by over 45%.  Due in part to the successful PRIDCO transformation, in 2006 the Governor promoted him to be his Chief of Staff, where he implemented similar efforts across other Commonwealth agencies, including the Tourism Company, the Commerce & Trade Company and several others. As Chief of Staff he had responsibility over a $9.5billion budget and close to 200,000 employees.

Previous to his government roles, he spent thirteen years in the private sector. Nine years in brand management with The Procter & Gamble Company, first at its corporate headquarters in Cincinnati, and later at P&G’s San Juan office, where he managed marketing efforts for the US Hispanic and Caribbean regions.  He also has experience in banking and finance, having served as the VP/Portfolio Manager for the Citibank credit card business in Puerto Rico.  He also practiced law for three years at the commercial litigation division of the O’Neill & Borges Law Firm.

Mr. Silva-Puras has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, the Puerto Rico Commerce and Trade Company and the Puerto Rico Science and Technology Trust, among others. He also served as member of the Board of Directors of the Government Development Bank and the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico. 

He received his BA degree from Yale University, JD from the University of Puerto Rico and MBA in International Management & Finance from the University of Texas at Austin and the Copenhagen Business School.  He is married to Ana M. Carrión-Silva and has four children.

Walking away from corporate America in 1993, Mardy Sitzer began her venture as an entrepreneur building a design and marketing firm. A Certified Inbound Marketing Professional, armed with passion and experience her goal was to level the playing field for small to mid-sized organizations and not-for-profits. Her goal then as it is now, is to leverage technology for sound, creative and economical solutions for businesses.

Today, Bumblebee Design & Marketing LLC provides a wide range of traditional and digital marketing solutions for their clients. From Identity campaigns to search engine optimized website development and design, through to blog design, content and strategy; social media identities, campaigns, workshops and coaching, press releases, E-mail campaigns and E-zines. Bumblebee continues to provide traditional marketing, which the company was built on with print design such as advertisements, brochures, newsletters, and direct mail.

Mardy lives her mission delivering private and public workshops, and keynote speeches across the country. She teaches Social Media Marketing at Fordham University, Rutgers University and Touro Graduate School of Business. She delivers real world experience on topics such as Buying and Managing Your Website Project, Social Media Marketing, Inbound and Outbound Marketing, and conducts training workshops on Branding, Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook and Blogging. Mardy hosts a weekly blog, Notes From The Hive where she brings news, trends and tips in all things marketing for small business. She is a regular contributor to the New York Enterprise Report magazine and weekly blogger on their website.

You can follow Mardy on Twitter @MardySitzer and join her on Facebook at Bumblebeellc where she continues to engage and share latest trends, articles and resources to help you grow your businesses.

Bumblebee Design & Marketing LLC
388 2^nd Ave. #217  New York, NY 10010
Ph: 212-677-4050 / Email: thehive@bumblebeellc.com
Websites: http://www.bumblebeellc.com/ and http://www.mardysitzer.com/

Twitter @mardysitzer

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/MardySitzer

Facebook.com/BumblebeeLLC

Google+ Mardy Sitzer https://plus.google.com/117753537488285157112

Blog: www.bumblebeellc.com/blog

A woman of many talents, Susan Wilson Solovic is an award-winning entrepreneur, journalist, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Amazon.com and USA Today bestselling author, multi-media personality, former Fortune 100 company marketing executive and attorney.  She is also the CEO and co-founder of SBTV.com -- small business television.  She led the company from a concept to a multi-million dollar, award-winning enterprise.  In 2006, Solovic accepted the Stevie Award on behalf of the company for the Most Innovative Company under 100 employees; that same year, SBTV was voted the Best Investment Opportunity presenting to a Venture Forum event in the Silicon Valley.   In 2009, Solovic received the Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship Leader of Distinction Award, and in 2008 she was the first recipient of AT&T’s Innovator of the Year Award for being a pioneer in a new industry.  

 Solovic is also a sought-after keynote speaker, as well as a small-business contributor for ABC News and a frequent guest expert for Fox Business, Fox News and the Wall Street Journal’s “Lunch Break” program.  In conjunction with PBS, she created a feature program called  Reinvent Yourself Now:  Become Self-Reliant in an Unpredictable World.  Solovic is a featured blogger on numerous sites, including Constant Contact, WSJ.com, FoxBusiness.com. Huffington Post and Fast Company.  Recognized by major brands as the foremost small business expert, Susan works with major brands such as AT&T, Chase Bank, Sage, Microsoft and MasterCard.

Solovic has written four bestselling books: It’s Your Biz; The Girls’ Guide to Power and Success; Reinvent Your Career: Attain the Success You Desire and Deserve; and The Girls’ Guide to Building a Million-Dollar Business.  A fervent activist for women entrepreneurs, Solovic services on the Board of Directors for IEEW (Institute for the Economic Empowerment of Women).  Previously, she served as Vice President of the Board of Directors of WIPP, Women Impacting Public Policy and Chair of the organization’s Executive Advisory Board as well as the National Advisory Board for the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO).  Solovic is an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship in the MBA program at Saint Louis University and also currently serves on the school’s advisory board for the John Cook School of Business Entrepreneurial Studies.   Saint Louis University is one of the top-rated entrepreneurial schools in the United States. 

Solovic is a member of the Board of Trustees of Columbia College, and she has served on the National Women’s Business Council, which counsels the President, Congress, and the SBA on issues affecting women business owners.  She is also a past member of the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard University.  And somehow she still finds time for hobbies: Solovic is an avid cook and pianist, and believes in living a healthy lifestyle.  She has a passion for meeting and learning about new people and making a positive impact on their lives.  Having reinvented herself time and time again--while still holding on to core principles--she is an archetype of the entrepreneurial spirit, which affords her a unique vantage point from which to share information and insight with business owners around the world.

Social media

Twitter:  @Susansolovic

FB:  Facebook.com/SusanSolovic

Blogfeed:  http://www.susansolovic.com/blog/feed/

Rachael began working in social media for Delta in 2009, bringing a sponsorship activation influence to a new social program for the company. Rachael worked as a founding member of their social media core team to design and implement Delta's social media presence, launching all of Delta's social channels including @DeltaAssist and @Delta, as well as Delta's Facebook and YouTube pages. Originally the single voice of Delta for community management, social service, content creation and consulting for Delta, Rachael has helped grow the Delta social media team from 1 to more than 18 full time marketing and customer service members staffing the Delta's "Social Media Space", expanding Delta’s social footprint into Brazil and other regions, coming soon. After 13 years with Delta, Rachael continues to lead social strategy and channels engagement as a member of the social media core team at Delta.

Steven D. Strauss is often called “the country’s leading small business expert.” The senior USATODAY small business columnist and best-selling author, Steve’s latest book is the all-new, 3^rd edition of The Small Business Bible. A lawyer, author, and public speaker, Steve regularly speaks around the world about small business strategies and global trends in business, and he sits on the board of the World Entrepreneurship Forum. Steve has been seen on ABC, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, and The O’Reilly Factor, among others. His company, The Strauss Group, creates cutting-edge business content for everyone from Fortune 100 companies to small chambers of commerce. As their tagline says, “If we do our job right, yours just got easier.” If you would like Steve to speak to your group, help your business grow, or if you would like to sign up for his free newsletter, “Small Business Success Secrets!” please visit his new website for the self-employed, TheSelfEmployed.

http://www.theselfemployed.com/

Facebook.com/TheSelfEmployed

@SteveStrauss

@TheSelfEmployed

Lucy Suarez is a Senior Solutions Consultant for ACI Worldwide.  In this role, she is engaged in both sales support to new financial institution clients and in a consulting role to a portfolio of existing clients.  The online banking services Lucy supports include ACH and wire transfer origination, reporting, and fraud mitigation.  Lucy has been in the industry for 20 years, initially managing training for cash management products, and then as a solutions consultant.

Lucy has a BA in Marketing, is a Certified Treasury Professional and a frequent speaker at regional and national treasury conferences.

As Head of Operations at Elance, Melissa has a proven track record for quickly improving processes and maximizing efficiencies. With experience spearheading projects for SMB to Fortune 500 clients while at top consulting groups in New York and Chicago, Melissa has built a reputation for fine-tuning businesses and getting results. After relocating to Elance in California’s Silicon Valley, Melissa now applies her skills in research, data analysis, consumer behavior and computer user interfaces to improve efficiencies for the world’s leading platform for online work. Her charter at Elance is to make it seamless for freelancers and businesses to work online in a collaborative and highly-productive environment. Melissa received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University and also received a JD and MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Jaime R. Torres, DPM, MS, was named Regional Director of the New York Regional Office for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) by Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on April 6, 2010.

As an HHS regional director, Dr, Torres serves as a key representative to Secretary Sebelius throughout New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S.Virgin Islands in working with federal, state, local and tribal officials on a wide range of health and social service issues.

He will play a vital role in HHS’s effort to effectively implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services.

Previously, Dr.Torres was Associate Director of Consultative Services at Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital, part of New York City’s Health and Hospitals Corporation - the nation’s largest public hospital system.

He is the founder and President of Latinos for National Health Insurance, a national coalition working for equality in healthcare.

Dr.Torres is also on the Board of Directors of the National Hispanic Council on Aging and served on the Advisory Board of the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) from 2000-2006. 

For eight years he represented the NHMA in the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), which is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  As vice-chair of NDEP’s Hispanic/Latino Work Group, he was instrumental in creating bilingual health campaigns for people with diabetes.

In 2006, he served as a spokesman for the American Podiatric Medical Association’s campaign “Descubras sus pies” (Discover Your Feet), which educated the Latino community on how to prevent foot ailments related to diabetes.

Dr. Torres earned his Doctorate of Podiatric Medicine from the New York College of Podiatric Medicine, and a master’s degree in Community Health from Long Island University.

The U.S. Commercial Service is the trade promotion unit of the International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

U.S. Commercial Service trade specialists in 107 U.S. cities and in more than 80 countries, work with your company to help you get started in exporting or increasing your sales to new global markets. Our services include world class market research, trade events that promote your product or service to qualified buyers, introductions to qualified buyers and distributors, and counseling and advocacy through every step of the export process.

To learn more about how the U.S. Commercial Service can help your company export, contact a U.S. Export Assistance Center near you or call 1-800-USA-TRAD(E).

Daniel Vaccaro serves as Vice President for New York Business Development Corporation and its affiliates, Empire State Certified Development Corporation and Statewide Zone Capital Corporation.  In that capacity he engages in lending activities in the Metropolitan New York area. He specializes in partnering with banks to provide low rate 90% financing for commercial real estate and durable equipment under the SBA 504 Loan Program.  Prior to joining NYBDC, he served as a Vice President and Middle Market Lender at National Westminster Bank USA, a Vice President and Project Leader in the Risk Management Group of Manufacturers Hanover Trust and Chemical Bank and a Vice President and Small Business Lender at HSBC Bank.  Mr. Vaccaro has also been involved in entrepreneurial endeavors and served as a consultant to small and mid-sized businesses.  He holds a B.S. in Management and an M.B.A. in Finance from New York University.  A Past President of the Stern School of Business Alumni Association, Mr. Vaccaro has been inducted into New York University’s Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame.

A 20-year veteran of newspaper journalism, Amy Vernon is General Manager of Social Marketing for NYC tech startup Internet Media Labs, which creates tools and platforms to help tame the social web.

After two decades working for newspapers around the United States — including a stint at The Miami Herald where she contributed to the coverage that won the 1992 Pulitzer for public service — Amy embarked on a new life as a writer and consultant for a variety of sites and publishers around the world. An inaugural inductee of the New Jersey Social Media Hall of Fame and top female submitter of all time on the social news site Digg.com. She's taught and spoken at many conferences and events, including SXSW Interactive, Columbia Journalism's Social Media Weekend, ROFL Con II, #140Conf Montreal and SMX East.

Amy has written for Esquire.com, Network World, VentureBeat and The Next Web and has been interviewed for her expertise in social media and journalism by The New York Times, Forbes and many other publications.

Maisha Walker is founder and president of Message Medium, a digital marketing agency that helps new and reinvested brands to harness the power of the Internet and create a dynamic, interactive and profitable presence online. She has been creating Web sites and online marketing campaigns for more than 14 years. Maisha is a featured online columnist with Inc. Magazine and her blog is now the most popular on that site.

In 2008, Maisha received the sole nomination from the New York City Small Business Commissioner for the annual New York Enterprise Report Awards, winning a finalist spot for innovation and excellence in Sales and Marketing. She has been featured on NBC news, Entrepreneur magazine, Black Enterprise magazine, and Bnet, and her instructional and insightful content has been applauded by Guy Kawasaki, Rieva Lesonsky, the former editor of Entrepreneur magazine, the American Marketing Association, and even Perez Hilton. Maisha has worked on digital marketing campaigns with Mars Chocolate, Unilever, WJ Detusch the owner of Yellow Tail wines and more. She has personally conducted more than 400 classes and workshops on Internet Marketing, Social Media, Search Engine Optimization and Web site design, in partnership with Columbia University, JP Morgan Chase, Inc. magazine, Black Enterprise magazine, SCORE and a host of other organizations that treasure her straightforward, eye-opening and inspiring approach. She is passionate about teaching brands what they need to know to be in control of their online presence.

Walker attended Princeton University and received her B.A. in French and Italian.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/maishawalker

http://www.facebook.com/maishawalker

http://www.twitter.com/maishawalker

A relentless entrepreneur and driven philanthropist with a footprint on four continents; broad experience spanning entrepreneurship, M&A, business turnarounds, and Fortune 100 board directorships.

In 2009, Gary began leveraging his global rolodex of accomplished leaders and innovators to build the largest network of Entrepreneur Weeks in the world. Currently, the global platform resides in 11 cities and 4 continents, providing knowledge, resources, relationships, and access to capital to early-stage entrepreneurs and business owners. Since its inception, Entrepreneur Week has convened more than 5,000 entrepreneurs, representing more than $8 billion in revenue and continues its expansion into 25 cities and 14 countries. Furthermore, the platform made history in both 2011 and 2012 as the first institution, aside from the President of the United States, to usher delegations of entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and investors to other continents to advise Heads of State, Prime Ministers, and Presidents, which included Chile and Greece.

A visionary in structuring the macro-level dynamics of entrepreneurial ecosystems, Gary has published more than 10 articles for industry-leading publications such as the Harvard Business Review, Inc. and Time Magazine, and delivered over 50 presentations to audiences around the World on many topical facets of entrepreneurship. Gary is also an investor in 8 companies spanning multiple verticals, including consumer products, outdoor-advertising, print, and technology.

Philanthropically, Gary is driven by his desire to ensure every continent maintains a global competitiveness within the entrepreneurship space. He seeks to build a framework for teaching every child the tenets of entrepreneurship inside K-12 classrooms by 2030. This mission persists within the establishment of The Relentless Foundation, commenced in 2009. Gary also plans to expand upon this vision by implementing entrepreneurship-based curricula into schools across major cities around the globe within the next two decades.

Driven to promote innovation in large corporations, Gary played an instrumental role in architecting the first Fortune 50 Entrepreneur-in-Residence program at Dell. He also resides as a member of the AOL Small Business Board of Directors, Astia Global Board of Directors, Dell Entrepreneur-in-Residence Advisory Board, and Holcomb Nature Farm Board of Directors. In 2011, Gary represented the United States at the Young G20 Summit in Paris, France, advising Heads of State on innovation in technology and communication. He was recently nominated to represent the United States at the G8 Young Global Leaders Summit in Chicago, Illinois to be held in May 2012.

Gary was Division I collegiate athlete in both Football and Track & Field at Central Connecticut State University and graduated with a triple degree in management, marketing, and entrepreneurship.

Website: http://www.entrepreneurweek.net/

Blog: http://www.garywhitehill.com/

Social media: twitter/garywhitehill + facebook.com/Gary.W.Whitehill

An experienced strategic marketer and small business evangelist, Grant Wickes excels at helping companies understand market opportunities, develop products and craft marketing programs that drive profitable growth and business value. As an advocate of customer-focused activities, Wickes enjoys interacting with customers, partners and prospects in the pursuit of mutually beneficial solutions. 

Wickes is deeply involved in the small business market, lending him an unparalleled understanding of the power of connections, influencers, and word-of-mouth referrals. He loves dabbling with the latest technology and social marketing tools to effectively reach, educate and motivate this audience. As a bit of a gadget lover, he uses mobile technology to create compelling content in what he calls “Gadgets on the Go”.

Wickes has gained 25 years of sales and marketing experience at a wide range of organizations including startups, publicly traded companies and private-owned business in the United States, Canada and abroad. Currently, he serves as vice president of business development with Wasp Barcode Technologies, a leading provider of small business productivity solutions.

Social Media Links:

Twitter:                Grant Wickes Twitter page (@gwickes)

LinkedIn:             Grant Wickes LinkedIn profile

Google Plus:       Grant Wickes Google+

Web/Blog:          Wickpoint Management Services

Greg is a Fox TV Business Contributor and an internationally known and sought after speaker, that has the genuine concern of others at the core of his business. He is known as “The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert”  ( http://www.themasternegotiator.com/ ).  Being a business owner since 1993, Greg has an extensive background in management and business operations. He is an author and presenter, who has mastered the fine art of negotiation and reading body language, and is a worldwide recognized public speaker and trainer on those subjects.

Greg has enriched the lives of many individuals, by speaking before, coaching and training, countless number of people in corporations, and on an individual basis, on how to become better negotiators. He has negotiated many multi-million dollar deals, on behalf of his clients.

Greg has appeared on numerous TV and radio programs, discussing negotiation tactics and strategies that everyone can use to achieve higher outcomes in every negotiation. He’s done this while coupling the added benefit of how to read body language while negotiating.

Greg is the author of the highly acclaimed book, “Negotiate:  Afraid, ‘Know’ More”, and has over 500 published articles on negotiation and reading body language to his credit.

For those that are serious about discovering how to read body language and achieving more in life by becoming better negotiators, Greg has also created …

• The highly acclaimed audio CD set, “How To Negotiate Your Way To Riches”
• The worldwide distributed, “Negotiation Tip of the Week” …
• The new video DVD, “How to Read and Use Body Language When Negotiating”
• The new audio collaboration with H. Celeste Linguere (Physiognomics Guru) titled, ‘Winning Negotiation Strategies Using Body Language and Physiognomics’

All of these life altering, moneymaking, educational enhancements possess information that anyone seeking to improve their position at the negotiation table can use to get better deals when negotiating.

If you wish to have more, get more, and do more in your life and business, invest in yourself. Obtain this knowledge and discover new negotiation strategies and tactics that you can employ in your negotiations. Your opportunities will soar!

Greg’s Linkedin Profile:  www.linkedin.com/in/themasternegotiator

Greg’s Negotiation Blog:  http://www.gregthemasternegotiator.wordpress.com/

Nelly Yusupova is the CTO of Webgrrls International, Chapter Leader of NYC Webgrrls, and Founder of Digitalwoman.com and TechSpeak for Entrepreneurs.

Just recently included in Fast Company's, "League of Extraordinary Women", Nelly has been at the forefront of the women’s movement online since 1999 and is a Wall Street Journal’s “Woman on the IT Fast Track”. She is a technical strategist, an Internet, social media, and marketing expert and consultant. Nelly works with entrepreneurs and teaches them how to use and leverage technology in their business.

Nelly is a speaker and presenter for many organizations and major industries events including: Women’s Enterprise Center, NY Entrepreneurs Business Network, Small Business Summit, BlogHer, Social Media Jungle, Mom 2.0, BlogWorld, and has been featured in INC Magazine, NBC Today Show, Fast Company Magazine, NewsDay.com, O’Reilly, SmartMoney SmallBiz, TechRepublic’s Women’s Radio.

**************************
Webgrrls – http://webgrrls.com/

NYC Webgrrls – http://webgrrls.com/newyork-ny

DigitalWoman – http://digitalwoman.com/

TechSpeak for Entrepreneurs – http://webgrrls.com/techspeak

Twitter – @DigitalWoman & @Webgrrls

Blog - http://webgrrls.com/blog/

Pete is the founder and chief catalyst behind CloudStrategies and plays a key role in driving the growth of the firm. In addition to these responsibilities, he works directly with clients on assignments where bridging business and technical issues are essential to maximizing value. He brings 20 years of hands-on experience solving technology challenges for some of the world's largest enterprises and fastest moving small businesses to the work he performs. Before founding CloudStrategies, Pete worked in sales / service roles for Microsoft Corporation in their NY Metro District, as well as several business and technology consulting firms.

Pete earned a dual track MBA / Technology Management degree from the University of Phoenix and has a BS in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University. Pete is active in his local community and sits on the board of Morris Habitat for Humanity.

Company History: Founded in 2009, by two former Microsoft employees, CloudStrategies is the first “born in the cloud” Microsoft Partner.  CloudStrategies is 100% focused on helping clients discover, adopt, and manage great cloud solutions and to date has helped over 300 clients move to Microsoft’s Online Services and Office 365.  CloudStrategies is aggressively building a national team to capitalize on the growing opportunity with online services.

CloudStrategies is a Gold Certified Partner, Cloud Accelerate Partner, Cloud Essentials Partner, and a Tier-3 Cloud Champions Partner.