Speakers

As senior vice president of marketing for Cartoon Network, Dennis Adamovich is responsible for strategically planning and implementing all marketing efforts designed to build viewer preference and loyalty to Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Boomerang. Dennis came to Cartoon Network from The Coca-Cola Company, where he served as managing director of Marketing Works, a division accountable for brand stewardship in North America. Prior to that, he worked as director of Worldwide Leisure Marketing, managing global account teams responsible for Disney, Warner and Legoland theme park accounts as well as the cinema channel worldwide. Adamovich graduated from the University of South Florida with a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration.

Rafat is founder, editor and publisher of paidContent.org, the award-winning digital media business news and analysis site. He is also the editor of mocoNews.net, a news site devoted to mobile content, ContentSutra, the website covering India's digital media market. paidContent:UK, which covers the UK's digital economy. All four sites form part of ContentNext. Previously, Rafat was managing editor of Manhattan-based Silicon Alley Reporter. He was the Knight Foundation Fellow in 1999-2000 at Indiana University.

Jess Barron leads a team of producers who choose the entertainment, news, sports, video, and lifestyles content that appears on Yahoo.com, the most visited site on the Internet with over 48 million global unique visitors each day. A pop culture junkie, Jess has been working in online journalism and convergence media for 12 years. Her first job was at Monster.com writing online job search advice aimed at college students. Prior to joining Yahoo!, in the late 1990s Jess worked at Scour.com, an MP3 search engine and peer-to-peer file-sharing community founded by UCLA undergrads and popularized by teens and college students nationwide. Jess holds a B.A. in American culture with a focus on media studies from Vassar College. She has published her website Poprocks.com since 1996. Her writing has appeared on MTV Online, Wired.com, and Yahoo.

Michael is a seasoned entrepreneur and media industry executive with a proven track record in establishing and growing legitimate digital media services. Bebel is currently president and CEO of Ruckus Network, Inc., provider of the only ad-supported, free and legal digital entertainment service for college students. Under Bebel's leadership, Ruckus has doubled its membership and has increased its affiliated school membership by nearly 100 percent in 18 months since adopting a free, ad-supported service model. Previously, Bebel served as president and CEO of Mashboxx, LLC., and president and COO of Roxio's Napster Division, where he oversaw the launch of the first legitimate Napster 2.0 service. In addition, he served as president and CEO of pressplay, and held a variety of executive positions at Universal Music Group (UMG) and Seagram Beverage Company.

Lee Brenner is the Director of IMPACT (Public Affairs) & Executive Producer of Political Programming for MySpace. The IMPACT channel is MySpace's hub for social and civic engagement, designed to empower MySpace users to make a difference in the world and to allow politicians, non-profits, and civic organizations to connect with MySpace's global audience. As his first project with MySpace, Lee spearheaded the company's partnership with MTV and assisted in the production of the ground-breaking series of MySpace/MTV Presidential Dialogues. Prior to joining MySpace, Lee was Senior Editorial Producer of CNN's "Late Edition w/ Wolf Blitzer." Lee also produced "American Morning" and "NewsNight w/ Aaron Brown" during his tenure at CNN. Lee received a B.A. in International Relations from Tufts University and completed his Masters in International and Public Affairs (MIPA) at the University of Hong Kong.

Matt Britton is known throughout the advertising and promotions community as an expert in marketing to college students and young adults. In September of 2002, Matt became a founding partner of Mr. Youth LLC. Matt currently serves the company as the Chief Of Brand Development, and oversees all sales, marketing, and public relations activities within the firm. Mr. Youth is now the fastest growing youth marketing firm the nation per PROMO Magazine. Mr. Youth's clients include Microsoft, JetBlue Airways, Kimberly-Clark, and General Motors. In 2004, Mr. Youth was awarded with the International Globes Award for the best use of Event Marketing in the world. In addition Mr. Youth was ranked as the #6 in the nation in the "quality of work" category by PROMO Magazine in 2005. Matt is a graduate of Boston University's College of Communication and resides with his wife Elyse and daughter Ella.

David's film "18 in '08," aimed at getting young voters engaged with the political process, is the product of three years traveling the country, interviewing over 100 Congressmen, Senators, presidential candidates, policy makers, activists -- young and old. The film is currently leading a major national campaign to register, engage, and mobilize young voters for the 2008 election. David has devoted much of his time, efforts, and energy throughout his life to youth empowerment and political involvement. In 2003, David worked with a group of fellow students to create the highly successful Westport Youth Film Festival. In May of 2005, David was appointed to serve on the Weston Commission for Children and Youth, responsible for advising his home town on issues related to students and children. David is a student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania.

Kimberly Cadena is the spokesperson and press secretary for the ONE Campaign. ONE members work to increase awareness of - and to rally Americans to press our elected leaders to fight - the emergency of extreme poverty and preventable, treatable global diseases. ONE is a grassroots effort of more than 2.4 million Americans, founded in 2004 by U2's Bono and several of America's leading relief organizations to help build the American movement to fight poverty and disease. Kimberly helps lead the ONE Campus Challenge, ONE's initiative to engage America's college students in the fight against poverty. Since its launch in September 2007, the ONE Campus Challenge has engaged students on more than 1,400 colleges and universities across the U.S. and sparked an unprecedented level of activity on ONE's issues on college campuses.

A pioneer of interactive technologies within the marketing research community, Dan brings over 15 years of experience in survey research to the SurveyU team. Prior to founding SurveyU, Dan drove exceptional growth as Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Polimetrix. Dan has also served as Vice President of Surveys and Samples at SPSS and was a co-founder of PlanetFeedback.com, an ASP-based consumer affairs portal. Dan spent over a decade developing cutting edge practices and methods on behalf of Burke Marketing, Millward Brown Interactive and the Angus Reid Group, enabling companies such as McDonald's of Western Canada, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Viacom and Turner Entertainment Networks to develop online marketing insight.

Neil leads business development for PlatformQ and produces CollegeWeekLive, the company's virtual college fair to help prospective students in their college planning by connecting them with colleges in a live, interactive environment. Prior to joining PlatformQ, Neil was responsible for developing strategic marketing and media partnerships for Monster.com. He led the team responsible for leveraging Monster's relationships with organizations such as Comcast, Fox, CBS, United Online and eBay to maximize marketing efforts via online, television, and mobile marketing programs to reach sales and customer acquisition goals.

At 22, John created, produced, and hosted a local San Diego CBS Radio talk program entitled "Generation Y University." As lead host, he instigated discussion and controversy among his co-hosts, who were also his childhood friends. The nightly program aired Monday through Friday from 7-10 p.m. and engaged the greater San Diego area in lively and sometimes heated topics. "Generation Y University" tackled topics from a Gen-Y perspective. In December 2006, John was named one of "50 People to Watch in 2007" by San Diego Magazine. Married by age 21, and a lawyer by age 23, John still lives in San Diego ten minutes from where he grew up.

Stephen oversees all aspects of the college-based network, as well as all operations of mtvU's two owned-and-operated divisions: College Publisher, the largest interactive network of online college newspapers in the US, and RateMyProfessors.com, the Internet's largest listing of collegiate professor ratings. mtvU reaches over 7.5 million students on 750 campuses, College Publisher reaches over 5.5 million students via 550 online campus papers, and approximately 10 million college students log on to RateMyProfessors.com each year. Under his leadership, mtvU's distribution has grown 45%, advertisers have quintupled, the College Publisher and RateMyProfessors businesses have been acquired and mtvU has won two Emmys and a Banff award.

Ben is the founder and CEO of GOOD, a multi-platform media company that produces content at the intersection of entertainment and relevance. GOOD's efforts include print, film, online, and live events. GOOD Magazine is a bi-monthly national publication covering the ideas, innovations, people, and businesses affecting change. The magazine has partnered with twelve nonprofits and 100% of the subscription fee goes to the organization chosen by the subscriber. The film division develops and finances features, documentaries, and short form videos that are flush with the overarching sensibility of the company. Active in both regional and international philanthropic endeavors, Goldhirsh is one of the Directors of the Goldhirsh Foundation. Additionally, he serves on the board of Millennium Promise, the Los Angeles branch of City Year, and the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. A graduate of Brown University and Phillips Academy, Goldhirsh resides in Los Angeles.

Anastasia is an award-winning blogger and often-quoted expert on American tweens, teens and early twentysomethings. Her blog, Ypulse.com, reaches a highly influential audience of agency, brand and media executives as well as social marketers trying to reach youth. The blog has been featured in several leading publications including USA Today, BusinessWeek, Forbes and Fast Company. Anastasia was one of the first graduates of the Medill School of Journalism's new media program at Northwestern University, where she earned an MSJ in 1999. Her first book about teens and technology called "Totally Wired" was published by St. Martin's Press.

As president and chief operating officer of quarterlife.com, Melanie Hall orchestrates all aspects of the development of the social networking site that accompanies "quarterlife," the groundbreaking Internet series. Prior to quarterlife.com, she held executive marketing positions at Demand Media, where she managed marketing and analysis for the company's portfolio of over 70 sites, and at Habbo, a leading virtual community and gaming destinations for teens. A pioneer in online programming, Hall wrote and produced the award-winning "The Spot," the first original episodic series to be broadcast online. She is also a longtime activist for raising awareness of mental health issues facing young adults, and is the co-author of "Behind Happy Faces: Taking Charge of Your Mental Health," and the creator of the "Face The Issue" Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign.

As the editorial director of college projects at Newsweek, Samantha runs Current, a national magazine with a free distribution of 225,000 that's written entirely by college students, for college students. She was a college student herself not too long ago -- she graduated in 2006 from Cornell, where she co-founded and co-edited Kitsch, the university's only features magazine. She joined Newsweek in January 2007 as an intern in the Boston bureau, and began editing Current in June. In addition to Newsweek, she has written for Slate, The Boston Globe, The Boston Phoenix, The Chronicle of Higher Education and Harvard Magazine.

Richard Hull has led Hollywood's charge as one of the first mainstream film and television producers/executives to embrace and create high quality digital content for major studios and media companies, including Warner Bros., MTV Networks and the Walt Disney Company. Richard has successfully conceived and produced numerous studio and independent films, television series and documentaries primarily geared toward youth and young adult audiences. With his deep roots in both the traditional film/television world and the digital arena, Richard has been at the forefront of effectively managing the collision of Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Richard is currently the Chief Content Officer of the entertainment startup Blowtorch, where he oversees all forms of content and content-related deals on all platforms.

Jimmy formerly served as editor and branding expert for the world's largest general-interest men's magazines, including Stuff Magazine and, most recently, Maxim Magazine. Before joining Dennis Publishing, he was the editor-in-chief of Complex magazine. He began his career working at Rolling Stone, then moved on to Details magazine and FHM magazine. Over the past 10 years, he has written in-depth features, plus crime, service, and travel articles for the likes of Rolling Stone, Men's Journal, The New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, New York Post, The Face, GQ, Wired, and Time Out New York.

Joyce Kim is the the co-host of The GigaOm Show, a weekly show about business and technology, as well as CEO of SOOMPI.com, an Asian entertainment and social media site which is also becoming the largest Asian American social network. Before returning to the entrepreneurial world, Joyce previously practiced law as an attorney for technology start-up companies and venture capital funds at Fortis General Counsel, LLP. Originally from New York City, she graduated from Cornell University at the age of 19 and subsequently received graduate degrees from Harvard University and Columbia University - spending a total of 12 years in university, so she really remembers what college was like!

Laura leads a team of correspondents who have crisscrossed the globe, reporting on the major forces shaping our world -- from the impact of global migration, to the depletion of the earth's resources, to the waning of U.S. influence in the world. Current TV's Vanguard Journalism unit is the network's journalism division dedicated to covering big global issues that are relevant to Current's young adult audience. Laura also serves an on-air correspondent for Current TV and has covered subjects including the avian flu crisis in Asia, slave labor in the Brazilian Amazon, China's booming sex industry, and marijuana cultivation in California's national forests. Prior to joining Current in February of 2005, she worked as a series producer for Channel One News where she produced reports from over two-dozen countries. Laura co-created "Breaking it Down," a documentary series on MTV that aired between 1999 and 2001. Her work has also appeared on ABC's "Nightline," NBC, PBS and the WB.

Graham got his start in college radio at KSLC, the station at Linfield College in McMinnville, OR. After relocating from the Northwest, he worked for two different independent radio promotions companies before moving on to work for Warner Bros. Records in 2003. Graham currently manages the college radio promotion for all of the acts on Warner Bros. Records, Reprise, Nonesuch, Sire, and Maverick where he is the label representative for over 600 college and community radio stations across the United States and Canada. In 2007 he was awarded the Major Label Promoter of the Year at the CMJ Music Marathon.

Post-graduation, feeling sheltered and underexposed to the world around him, Mike hit the road (with friends Brian McAllister and Nathan Gebhard) in an unsound 1985 Green RV to interview people who defined their own roads in life including the founder of Starbucks, Lobstermen, artists, the founder of Barnes and Noble, CEO of National Geographic Ventures, the scientist who decoded the human genome, CEO of Dell Computers, truck drivers, filmmakers, social activists, and many others. Contrary to what they had learned in school or from growing up in California, they learned that people can build lives in line with their passions and individuality. That trip inspired them to create Roadtrip Nation, a grassroots organization that mobilizes students to hit the road, interview leaders from all walks of life, and explore the world for themselves.

A GenNexter at heart, Jeff brings more than 25 years of production experience to the PBS Newshour's "Generation Next" project. He adapted to computers and new technology during his 13 years with "ABC News Nightline"; discovered the Internet while producing magazine pieces for NBC News; and moved on to cell phones and text messaging while creating and overseeing programming as Executive Producer for WETA television, the flagship station for news & public affairs programming on PBS. By the time he arrived at CNN for a five-year stint as a Senior Producer, Jeff had officially crossed over from a technically awkward baby boomer to a proficient consumer of technology. He brings that experience and three Emmys to "Generation Next" -- the project he helped develop with Judy Woodruff.

Known as one of advertising's most imaginative and progressive leaders, Jo is the founder of Muse Communications, and has led the first and only multicultural ad agency in the U.S. to national prominence. Today, his company continues as one of the leading agencies that addresses diverse market segments, including African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Pacific Islanders and the GLBT community. During the last 20 years, Jo has produced award-winning work for such world-class clients as American Honda Motor Corporation, NIKE, MGM Mirage, Wells Fargo, Sempra Energy, the U.S. Army and the White House.

"Play with not Sell to" is the motto behind the Lifestyle Marketing initiatives at Electronic Arts, headed up by Gaylene Nagel. This unique program focuses on experiential "edutainment" through grass roots and influencer events led by EA's College and Metro teams. Gaylene came to EA in 1998 from the snowboard industry where she was Director of Marketing at Sims Snowboards to work on the original SSX game for PS2, and has been developing EA's Lifestyle Marketing innovations since 2000.

A long-time math and computer geek, Robert turned to journalism after graduating from Northwestern University and deciding he couldn't stomach becoming a management consultant. But the lure of marathon coding sessions proved too strong. Robert soon quit his job writing editorials for a red-state newspaper, and he began making websites instead. The Online News Association and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism honored Robert's ThemeParkInsider.com in 2001 with an Online Journalism Award for Service Journalism. The Webby Awards named the same site a finalist for Best Guides/Ratings/Reviews Site in 2005. In addition to editing OJR and teaching at USC, Robert also has worked as a Web editor, editorial writer and reporter for several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, (Denver) Rocky Mountain News, Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald and the (Bloomington, Ind.) Herald-Times.

Cameron Parkins is in his last year as an undergrad at USC where he is majoring in International Relations with an emphasis in multimedia scholarship. Outside of school he enjoys playing music, sleeping, eating, and free-ing culture. Sometimes you can catch him at your local park trying to dunk a basketball like Shawn Kemp.

Zach is presently the Vice President of Corporate Development for National Lampoon. In his current role he helps to guide corporate strategy and works day to day overseeing the network division which includes National Lampoon's College Television, Radio and Internet activities. Zach joins National Lampoon from World Avenue, an Internet marketing services and technology company that specializes in serving the Fortune 1000, where he worked in the corporate development group. Before joining World Avenue, Zach worked in the venture capital industry focused on technology investments and in the transaction services practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Zach graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Accounting and Finance.

For the Gen Y audience, 22-year-old Jake Sasseville is the man. Unscripted, offbeat and at times outrageous, he's the new voice of the late night talk show The Edge with Jake Sasseville, which debuts on 40+ ABC affiliate stations around the country on February 14, 2008. In four short years, Sasseville has brought his show to New York and ABC affiliates from its humble beginnings on Maine public-access TV; traveled the world taping shows, including a trip to Africa that made the news on CNN; built a wide and diverse audience for the show from his tireless promotion, online social networking and blogs; attracted big-name advertisers anxious to reach the 18-to-34 crowd; and founded the Xander Foundation to help children in need.

Jason Schutzbank serves as Vice President and CTO of College Tonight, Inc. As one of the co-founders of College Tonight, a recently launched online social environment for college students, Jason works closely with CEO Zach Suchin in addition to leading web development and execution for the site. Jason and Zach met when both were students at University and quickly created, developed and executed the initial College Tonight website. Jason serves as VP and CTO while completing his education at Emory, where he is a junior working towards his Bachelor of Business Education. Prior to joining Suchin, he ran an independent web development firm, Philly Designs, LLC, where he served as both President and CEO.

As PETA's Assistant Director of Youth Outreach, Dan Shannon oversees the peta2 program -- a younger, hipper version of PETA targeted at the 13-21-year-old demographic. He has overseen the growth of peta2's Street Team to more than 300,000 members, and has spearheaded peta2's successful campaigns to persuade companies such as Forever 21, J. Crew, and Burton Snowboards to stop selling fur. He's also worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry -- from Fall Out Boy to Russell Simmons -- to raise awareness about animal rights issues. Dan has appeared on The O'Reilly Factor, Anderson Cooper 360, and Nancy Grace, and his work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Sports Illustrated.

Jean is the author of more than 50 scientific publications and the book Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled -- and More Miserable Than Ever Before (Free Press, 2006). Her research has appeared in Time, Newsweek, USA Today, U.S. News and World Report, and The Washington Post, and she has been featured on Today, NBC Nightly News, Fox and Friends, Fox Business, Dateline NBC, and several programs on National Public Radio. She holds a BA and MA from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. She lives in San Diego, California, with her husband and daughter.

Ricky is a co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of the world's most popular humor website CollegeHumor.com, which reaches seven million young people monthly. He founded the site in 1999 while a freshman at Wake Forest University. He is also a co-author of CollegeHumor's Guide To College, published by Penguin and is currently producing a CollegeHumor branded comedy for Paramount Pictures. In August 2006 he sold his company Connected Ventures (which by then comprised additional websites and an apparel business) to Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp. Today Connected Ventures operates out of its Union Square offices with over fifty-five full-time employees. Ricky continues to oversee the editorial content on CollegeHumor as well as the site's highly successful original video initiatives. He is also charged with starting new content-based websites for the company.