Speakers

Deborah H. Barrett is an executive coach and consultant specializing in leadership development; diversity, equity, and inclusion; cultural competency; and team effectiveness. She has focused on helping her clients develop stronger leadership through improved self-awareness, leadership assessment, learning and development, and executive coaching. Before becoming a consultant in 2010, Barrett had a long and successful career with Procter & Gamble, where she was a customer business development executive before becoming a human resources executive. In HR, she designed and executed P&G’s North America Diversity & Inclusion strategy for 55,000 employees. She served as a diversity coach for many C-suite executives, improving their commitment to diversity and inclusion. In her leadership development role, she improved P&G’s leadership programming in areas such as team effectiveness, diversity and inclusion, executive coaching, succession planning, and intentional staffing. Barrett’s general management experiences have provided her with a well-rounded and pragmatic approach to solving real-world business problems. She has been a guest lecturer on various business topics at universities and professional conferences, and authored several featured articles on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Joe Bell, VP/Market Manager for Beasley Media Group/Philadelphia, is a radio veteran who has been involved in all phases of the industry for almost 50 years. A native of Dayton, Ohio, Bell began his career as a disc jockey and eventually moved into sales, management, and ownership. Bell joined the Beasley Broadcast Group in 1998 in Fort Myers and moved to Miami in 2000. In 2016, he left sunny Miami to head up the Beasley cluster as VP and market manager in Philadelphia, leading five FMs (WXTU, WMMR, WBEN, WMGK & WPEN) and two AM stations (WWDB and WTEL) as well as WJBR-FM in Wilmington, Delaware. Bell oversees some of the market’s biggest and most popular events, including Preston & Steve’s Camp Out for Hunger, John DeBella’s Turkey Drop, XTU’s Annual Toy Truck Parade, BEN-FM’s Annual Adopt a Family Radiothon, and 97.5 The Fanatic’s Fan Fest. Before joining Beasley, Bell was EVP of the Curtis Media Group in Raleigh, where his responsibilities included managing WPTF-AM, the 50,000-watt flagship of the North Carolina State Wolfpack.

Elizabeth Bernberg is Sr. Director of Business Development for AdCellerant. With over 17 years of digital marketing experience, she has spent the majority of her career developing and growing digital revenue strategies for media companies and their clients. Her unique digital background and experience includes leadership roles within all major media categories including print (The Denver Post and Colorado Press Association), television (CBS Television Network), and radio (Entercom/Audacy Communications). She is also a former AdCellerant partner. 

Matt Britton is America’s leading expert on the new consumer (Gens Y & Z), having consulted for over half of the Fortune 500 over the past two decades. In 2002 Britton founded MRY, a digital and social media marketing services agency he would grow from a one-person startup to a global powerhouse with over 500 employees. Over the course of his 14-year career at MRY, the agency helped prominent global corporations including Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Ford Motors, Visa, and Google develop innovative strategies and successfully launch products aimed at the millennial generation. In 2011, MRY was acquired by the Publicis Groupe. In 2018, Britton launched Suzy, a consumer intelligence platform that is being touted as “Siri for brands.” Suzy helps companies like Netflix, Coca-Cola, P&G, J&J, Citibank, Verizon, Nintendo, and Nestle, among others, validate critical assumptions so they can focus on creating compelling new products, developing effective marketing strategies, and validating direct offers that increase conversion, improve path-to-purchase, and drive growth. Suzy has secured over $100 million in venture capital to date from investors that include the Foundry Group, Bertelsmann Digital Media, Tribeca Venture Partners, fashion icon Kenneth Cole, and NBA star Kevin Durant.

Dani Buckley is the vice president and general manager at LeadG2 by The Center for Sales Strategy. She has a diverse background in both advertising sales and marketing consulting that helps her address the varying needs of sales teams. With over 15 years of experience, she’s especially passionate about sales enablement and inbound marketing and the many ways these tactics can help improve sales performance and drive revenue. Dani is a writer, speaker, host of the Sell Smarter, Sell Faster podcast, facilitator, camper van enthusiast, and personal development junkie.

Becky Byrn is SVP Media Strategy for Veritone One, leading the media teams in addition to forging deep relationships with all media vendors. She brings more than 30 years of media experience on both the national and local levels, in addition to client and agency experience. Byrn’s experience allows her to understand the importance of media performance from the media vendor side, as well as the value of the return ratio for advertisers.

John Campanario is Senior Vice President/Digital Media for A Wonder Media Company, the nation’s largest African-American-owned network. Campanario joined AURN in 2018, launching the company’s digital platforms, integrating with sales, and establishing an HBCU internship program for journalism and communications students. Previously, he was at WWRL/New York during the station’s Progressive Talk format, launching The Ed Schultz Show nationally and developing inclusive local programming including Equality Pride Radio and New York Voices, which gave voice to political, charitable, labor, arts, and cultural communities. Campanario segued to content director when WWRL aired a Regional Mexican format for two years. His career began at Superadio, serving as mix show director, affiliate relations manager, and network producer of The Wendy Williams Experience. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, Campanario is a board member of pro bono legal agency Good Counsel and has done volunteer work for the Ali Forney Center, AIDS Walk New York, and Heritage of Pride.

Jeanne-Marie Condo is President of Network Partnerships and CRO at Skyview Networks, an industry-leading audio technology and national sales company that delivers 99% U.S. coverage. Condo is the chief sales strategist for Skyview, responsible for a national sales portfolio of radio, television, digital, and syndication, providing national advertisers custom experiences powered by some of the most influential brands in sports and entertainment. Condo is a 30-year industry veteran; over the course of her nine years with Sports KTAR-AM/Phoenix, she was named sports marketing director and headed the local sports sales initiative with the former Phoenix Cardinals and Phoenix Coyotes. Since joining Skyview, Condo has led the national sales strategy for the relaunch of ABC Radio, now ABC Audio, and successfully powered CBS Audio’s news and entertainment platforms. She has also overseen the acquisition of additional audio providers, including Local Radio Networks, Alpha Media, JackFM, The Weather Channel, The Associated Press, and Hubbard Radio. She is the driving force behind Skyview’s syndication platform, with national radio shows and segments including The Dana Cortez Show, The Déjà vu Show, Nick Cannon Radio, and Carmen’s Calls.

Yaman Coskun is the founder and CEO of Yamanair Creative, based in Washington, D.C. Coskun is a sonic branding specialist with 35 years of creative success stories under his belt. As creative director for legendary radio stations like Philly’s Power 99 FM and Q102 and D.C.’s HOT 99.5 and BIG 100, Coskun built his reputation as a master of radio production, imaging, and copywriting earlier in his career. In 2004, he helped conceive and launch Creative Services Group, an internal creative resource for iHeart. In 2007 Coskun left his executive post and launched Cash by Creative, followed by the 2014 rollout of SPECbyte and, in 2019, the Cumulus Creative Concierge. All these services function as new business development tools, providing tested, instantly customizable audio, video, and digital assets in local direct categories as well as custom campaigns and jingles. Today, Yamanair’s services are considered the industry standard and used by iHeart, Audacy, Cumulus, Saga, Alpha, Beasley, and 97 other radio operators in 561 markets, including all top 50.

Paul Cramer is Veritone’s Managing Director of Broadcast Solutions. His tenure in broadcasting spans over 25 years, most of which has included working with broadcasters and major media companies to grow revenue and engagement using established and emerging digital tools and strategies. Before joining Veritone, Cramer spent 10 years with Triton Digital, as Executive Vice President of Publisher Development for North America. Prior to Triton, Cramer was VP of Sales for MJI Interactive, a company founded during the dot-com boom that pioneered early SaaS media convergence solutions to the radio industry. He has also held a number of positions in local radio including on-air work, sales, and management.

Joseph D’Angelo, Senior Vice President of Global Radio for Xperi, is responsible for worldwide broadcast radio business, digital audio, and product development. As one of the founders of iBiquity Digital, the company behind HD Radio technology, D’Angelo has over 20 years of experience in the radio technology industry. He has led commercial licensing, product development, and technology innovation efforts during his tenure and currently leads Xperi’s global radio services with a focus on HD Radio, DAB+, hybrid, and streaming audio services. He manages resources around the world committed to ensuring broadcast radio has a rich and vibrant offering in today’s digital broadcast and connected world. Before joining Xperi, D’Angelo was a principal at PricewaterhouseCoopers in its Information, Communication, and Entertainment consulting practice. During his tenure, he worked closely with telecommunications and entertainment companies assisting with strategic planning, corporate restructurings, global expansion, and mergers and acquisitions. In addition, he spent five years as a technology manager for Andersen Consulting.

Alysa DiSanto, General Sales Manager of Audacy Philadelphia, began her career in broadcasting in 2013 as a digital coordinator for two local radio stations. The ever-evolving world of digital marketing has allowed her to continuously evolve as well. From 2013 to present, she has held the following titles: digital coordinator, digital sales specialist, digital sales manager, and, currently, general sales manager. DiSanto has had the pleasure of working with many talented professionals who have helped her to grow and prosper over her last nine years in radio. She enjoys managing her team of account executives and digital project managers and developing successful marketing campaigns for client partnerships. On weekends, DiSanto enjoys spending time with her friends and family, going to the beach, and taking hikes with her husband and their miniature schnauzer, Zeek.

Stephanie Downs is a senior vice president at The Center for Sales Strategy. She joined the company in 2007 with a diverse background in sales and sales management in TV and cable. With over 25 years of experience, Downs is passionate about helping clients turn talent into performance. She is energetic, focused, and a straight shooter, and is known by her clients as someone who gets to know them and their situation and then speaks the truth they need to hear to improve their team and their overall sales performance.  Many of those she works with have been clients for years. Downs brings her commitment to quality, integrity, and responsiveness to each of these assignments.

Michael Doyle is the “MD” of MDMediaSales.com. He has nearly 40 years’ experience as a radio salesperson, sales manager, general manager, and executive. He joined Entercom (now Audacy) in 2000, and from 2007 to 2021 served in executive management as regional VP, regional president, and finally as president of sales operations. He directly managed the development of Entercom’s SmartReach Digital sales initiative and grew that revenue by 30X in three years. As president of sales operations, he was responsible for training sellers and sales managers, developing and managing the AE compensation program, building and deploying over-the-air pricing, and revenue management software. Along with the revenue management team, he created a team of inside sales reps who set appointments for sellers across the company, developed inbound marketing efforts that led to sales exceeding $12 million annually, managed a data team to consolidate and build sales data into usable and reportable dashboards, and headed up the deployment and management of the company’s CRM. He retired from Entercom at the end of 2021 to open his consulting business. 

As president and CEO of the Radio Advertising Bureau, Erica Farber leads radio’s advocacy efforts by helping to drive business, grow advertising revenue, and communicate radio’s digital transition. Farber joined the organization in January 2012 as executive vice president, responsible for membership, services, and professional development, and within months was promoted to president and CEO.  Before joining the RAB, she was CEO of the radio consulting and Internet service provider The Farber Connection LLC. During her 15-year tenure at Radio & Records, Farber held positions including COO, president, publisher, and CEO. She has held nearly every position in radio sales and management, including rising through the ranks at the Interep companies and serving as EVP and radio development director. During the early years of her career, Farber held local sales positions at KRTH-FM, KABC-TV, and KIIS-AM in Los Angeles. She was later appointed GSM and GM of WROR-FM in Boston in the same year; her success led to an appointment as VP/GM of WXLO-FM/New York.

Gene Filiaci is creative director for Advantage Systems Inc. Filiaci is a career marketing communicator and advertising professional with more than three decades of market experience in concept, creative, and execution. At Advantage Systems Inc. for almost 20 years, Filiaci has written, voiced, and produced thousands of radio, digital, and video advertisements across North America, helping brand national, regional and small market businesses in just about every category. His work has won multiple awards. Before he joined Advantage Systems, Filiaci’s work in radio station imaging/branding gained recognition from Billboard Magazine, and his work for both NFL and NHL teams was benchmarked inside what would be today’s largest broadcast companies.

Von Freeman is Director of Brand Sponsorship for Audacy Corporate Events and Experiences, including Audacy’s “Stars and Strings” featuring Zac Brown, Darius Rucker, Lee Brice, and others at Pier 17 New York City and the recent “We Can Survive” concert to benefit suicide prevention at the Hollywood Bowl. Freeman also founded the successful “Riptide Music Festival,” now called The Audacy Beach Festival, in Fort Lauderdale. Prior to South Florida, Freeman was VP/Events & Marketing for KIIS-FM and iHeart/Los Angeles, where he created and directed events like the LA Jingle Ball, Not So Silent Night, and the wildly successful KIIS-FM Wango Tango festivals. Freeman is an expert at developing incremental revenue opportunities for sales departments with branding sponsorships, ticket sales, event sponsorships, vehicle wraps, added value opportunities, and digital platforms. He has worked closely with some of the biggest stars in the world including Janet Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Ryan Seacrest, Christina Aguilera, Garth Brooks, Justin Timberlake, Elton John, Keith Urban, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Shakira, Mariah Carey, Dr. Dre, Black Eyed Peas, Snoop Dogg, Stevie Nicks, Sylvester Stallone, Blake Shelton, The Killers, Weezer, Doja Cat, Saweetie, Maroon 5, and Luke Combs.

Lisa Goldberg is Florida Director of Sales for JVC Broadcasting. She started out in radio as a streetfighter at the AE level, and over the past 30 years has had various seats at the radio, marketing, and media table. Formerly vice president of affiliate sales at Triton Digital, GSM at Clear Channel/iHeartMedia in multiple markets, president of My Marketing Director (agency), Goldberg’s current role is as the DOS for the state of Florida with JVC. Goldberg is a solution/results driven leader and advocate for clients and her team.  She’s an out-of-the box creative mind always looking for new ideas to deliver ROI, engagement, and conversion that works. She’s helped develop events and promotions such as Kix Country Fest, Peace River Seafood Festival & Boat Show, Taste of Fun Coast, Stogies and Spirits, and more. If there’s opportunity for the listener, client and station — she’s all over it!

Daryl Hively, founder of Guarantee Digital, is a media veteran with over 30 years in digital and a track record of success at the corporate and local levels, driving results for merchants and media companies Hively launched a successful digital agency for Journal Communications in 2010, and he previously held senior roles with media companies including Tampa Bay Times, Scripps, and Advance Internet before founding Guarantee Digital, a white label digital agency fulfillment company, in late 2011.

Paul Jacobs is the Vice President/General Manager of Jacobs Media, which for 38 years has provided programming, digital, and social media consulting and research to commercial, public, and Christian radio stations. Jacobs began his career on the sales and management side of the business, working at and running radio stations in Dallas and Detroit. In 1991, he joined his brothers Fred and Bill at Jacobs Media. He currently works with broadcasters on strategic development and revenue generation. In 2008, Jacobs also became president of a new mobile application development company started by Jacobs Media — jacapps. The company was formed to create mobile apps for radio stations, and has since broadened out into multiple categories, including health care, real estate, and others. Jacobs has become a leading spokesperson for the radio industry regarding the changing in-car audio experience and the necessity for the digital transformation of the radio industry.

Tim Kolling is a Marketing Consultant for Alpha Media in Topeka, Kansas. Kolling has been intrigued with advertising and marketing since he was a kid; he was brought up listening to Paul Harvey, ag reports, and Royals baseball, and he annoys his family and friends with his distinct memory of corporate slogans, jingles, and national campaigns that were on the air when he was growing up. Kolling graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Advertising from Kansas State University in 1993 and started his advertising career at KSAL in Salina, Kansas, shortly thereafter. In 2005 he got the opportunity to work for the group of stations that included WIBW AM & FM, two stations he’d listened since the ’70s, and the family moved to Topeka. Next month Kolling will celebrate his 29th year with the same company. When you ask him what he does, he will tell you he “creates customers.” His philosophy on advertising is “Keep It Real & Be Relevant to the Consumer.”

Jinny Laderer is founder and President Emerita of vCreative Before owning vCreative, radio creative was Laderer’s passion; her first job in radio was as a copywriter. Over the years, she worked on air, in news, and in sales, then finally found her love as a creative services director. During her career, Laderer was awarded four Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Awards for commercial production. In 2003, she began a freelance voiceover and production company as a side hustle. In 2005, her husband, John Laderer, developed web-based workflow software to help her maximize her creative time between her freelance and station work. In 2007, her freelance company began doing business as vCreative, offering vPPO creative workflow software, currently used by over 6,000 stations. Jinny and John owned the company until selling in April 2019 to Banyan Software. She stepped down as CEO in March 2021 and is currently president emerita, a retired consulting position for the company.

Maria Laing is senior vice president of Mr. Master, where she oversees the company’s affiliate growth strategies and partnerships. Under Laing, Mr. Master has amassed 8,500 affiliate partnerships and processes more than 1 million spots per week, making it the leader in software compliance and content distribution software. Prior to serving as senior vice president, Laing was VP of business development at Mr. Master. During her nearly 20-year tenure at the company, Laing has spearheaded the creation of accountability standards for the terrestrial broadcast audio industry, co-founded Mr. Master’s AIM software, and ushered in Mr. Master’s transition from a CD to a digital delivery service. Laing is also a member of notable industry organizations such as the Alliance for Women in Media and the Traffic Directors Guild of America, has been an elected vice-chair of the Society of Broadcast Engineers’ Los Angeles Chapter (Local 47) since 2010, and has been recognized as one of Radio Ink’s Most Influential Women in Radio since 2020.

Clark Logan’s 25-year career in radio and publishing includes 15 years as President of the HRN Media Network, a leader in syndicated Hispanic radio programming. Under Logan’s leadership, HRN has partnered with some of the biggest names in Hispanic broadcasting, including Don Cheto of Estrella Media, nationally syndicated Erazno y La Chokolata, famed World Cup anchor Fernando Fiore, Univision’s network morning host Anna Maria Canseco, and more. Prior to HRN, Logan worked in national radio sales at Interep and was Northeast sales manager at Televisa Publishing. He began his career in broadcasting as an on-air traffic reporter for Westwood One’s Metro Traffic and CBS-TV in New York.

Jay Mulligan is General Sales Manager for Beasley Media Group/Tampa. Mulligan began working at the Katz Continental rep firm in NYC after college. He started as a sales assistant, was selected into the sales training program, and upon completing that was transferred to the Chicago office as an account executive. After several years, he returned to the New York office. He and his family later moved to Myrtle Beach, SC, where he started as the National Sales Manager of CBS affiliate WBTW and in 2009 was promoted to the General Sales Manager position. In 2013, he was presented an opportunity by CBS Radio to work in the Tampa Bay market as General Sales Manager. In 2014, the Tampa Bay cluster became part of the Beasley Media Group. Mulligan was a Radio Wayne finalist for GSM/DOS of the year in 2018. He says, “I love our industry, and creating effective marketing campaigns, using a wide range of assets, that change lives is something I never take for granted.”

Tina Murley is the Chief Revenue Officer at Beasley Media Group, a position she was promoted to in March 2022. Prior to that she served as vice president of sales for Beasley, overseeing traditional and integrated sales for the company. She brings to her role over 25 years of combined media, sales, marketing, and management experience. Before her corporate post, she was the director of sales at the company’s Boston-based radio operation, responsible for overseeing the sales efforts of Beasley Media Group’s five radio properties and digital operation. Murley specializes in sports marketing, strategic alignments, media planning, event sales, digital marketing, and live and local radio programs. Her consultative sales approach has allowed her to drive creative, results-driven marketing programs. Murley has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Rhode Island.

Steve Newberry serves as CEO of Quu, Inc., creators of innovative technology enabling radio stations to provide an enhanced listener experience and monetize visual advertising through full control of the RDS/HD in-car visual display. Newberry brings over 40 years of broadcast experience and industry leadership to his role with Quu and its work to make radio look as good as it sounds. Immediately before joining Quu, Newberry was EVP/Industry Affairs and Strategic Planning for the National Association of Broadcasters, responsible for the organization’s television, radio, membership, and education departments, with primary leadership responsibility for NAB’s technology initiatives with the automotive industry. He also led the construction of the organization’s new Washington, D.C., headquarters. Before becoming a full-time NAB employee, Newberry had a long history of engagement with the group as a board member. Newberry is the founder and chairman of Commonwealth Broadcasting, a radio broadcast group with facilities throughout his home state of Kentucky.

Judd Norris is the Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships for the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, which is responsible for planning and executing a successful Super Bowl LVII in 2023. The committee works in partnership with the NFL along with local and national stakeholders. Norris previously served as VP/Corporate Partnerships for the Arizona Diamondbacks, overseeing all corporate sales and services initiatives at Chase Field, Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, and Legends Entertainment District. Norris joined the organization in 2009 as GM of the Legends Entertainment District, where he led all aspects of the multi-million-dollar out-of-home signage company. His accomplishments with the D-backs included bringing revenue growth to an all-time high and a pre-pandemic record for increasing gross sponsorship revenue every year since 2010. In 2018 Norris added oversight of the D-backs’ English-language radio network following five years handling all Spanish-language network sales. The team’s revenue from English-language radio grew more than 30% in the first year, while Spanish-language sales and promotions grew more than 50% under his direction. Norris earlier worked for the Phoenix Coyotes, starting as an AE and rising to VP/corporate partnership.

Tom O’Brien is President of Weather Group, the parent company of The Weather Channel and OTT streaming service Local Now. He also serves as EVP of Allen Media Group. At Weather Group, O’Brien leads all television and digital operations for the company, including content production, acquisitions, programming, advertising sales, marketing, and related corporate strategy and development. One of his key objectives is to ensure The Weather Channel remains the top-rated and most widely distributed weather network in America, and continues to serve as the market leader in news and weather information. Local Now provides unique and localized content and serves as an example of how a modern newsroom of technologists and journalists can create a disruptive platform. O’Brien is a television and digital business leader who successfully operates at the nexus of television, digital, and technology, with a track record of driving innovation and growth. Previously, he was a corporate officer of the Nexstar Media Group, where he led digital and revenue growth efforts. Before Nexstar, O’Brien spent 14 years in executive leadership roles at NBCUniversal, including the role of president and GM of NBC’s flagship station, WNBC.

Carolina Patino started her radio career in 1997 at Spanish Broadcasting System in New York as an AE for WSKQ-FM and WPAT-FM. In the year 2000, she was transferred to SBS Miami as an AE for WRMA-FM, where she became one of the top sales executives for the company. In August 2019, Patino accepted a position as an AE at iHeartRadio Miami, where she was able to build and grow advertising revenue for iHeartRadio’s Hispanic station WMGE-FM. In addition, she generated sales for the general market stations in the cluster as well as the digital platform. At iHeartMedia, Patino had the honor to be selected as an elite member of the Automotive Specialist Team. In June 2015, Patino was offered the opportunity to become the national sales manager for SBS Puerto Rico. She later became NSM for SBS Miami Radio and now is the general sales manager for SBS Miami, where she oversees both the local and the national divisions.

Grammy and Latin Grammy award winner Kika Pulido brings her versatile talent and experience as a composer, vocal coach and instructor, studio singer, and media voice talent to each project to which she dedicates herself. Her music feeds from Latin, soul, blues, folk, indie electronic pop, reggae, classical, jazz, tropical, Brazilian, indie country, classic rock, crooner music, and other eras. Her varied experience includes singing in the Opera Choir of Bogota, various jazz ensembles, and live background vocals for numerous artists. In addition to being part of the creative team of Spiral Monkey Music Group, Kika performs either solo or with her band or jazz ensemble in live music venues and events in South Florida.

Ralph Renzi is VP/General Manager of Cox Media Group/Miami. He began his career in 1995 in sales at Infinity’s WJFK/Washington, D.C. As a top performer, he was soon recruited to a higher-level position at Evergreen Radio’s WASH-FM in D.C. His performance there led to his becoming LSM at DC101, from which he was recruited yet again, to lead Bonneville’s WTOP/D.C. as local sales manager. After a year he was promoted within Bonneville to GSM of Z104/D.C., then to Z104 manager of operations and sales. After moving back to sales at WTOP, he joined Red Zebra’s launch of the Redskins Radio Network and quickly became sales manager. In 2007, he came home to WTOP as LSM. He moved up to director of federal sales in 2010, leading WTOP’s largest revenue vertical, and also served as GSM of Federal News Radio. In March of 2015, Renzi joined Cox Media Group Miami as director of sales, and in November of 2017 he was promoted to VP/GM, overseeing the four-station Miami cluster.

Albert Rodriguez is president and chief operating officer of Spanish Broadcasting System. He joined the company in 1999 and has been COO since 2012; he added the president title in 2021. In this expanded role, he is responsible for managing operations and overseeing the future growth and financial performance of the company’s radio, TV, digital, and experiential businesses and market-leading brands. Over the years Rodriguez has been chief revenue officer of the television segment and general manager of the Miami television market. He has also served as general sales manager for the Miami radio market.

Josh Ryan is the Creative Director for Zimmer Communications. For the past 14 years, Ryan has been the architect of numerous successful branding campaigns across almost every industry. He has written, voiced, and produced spots for radio, television, digital, and social platforms in markets across the country. A six-time Radio Mercury finalist, and 2022 winner for Best Radio Commercial by a Radio Station or Group, Ryan is always looking for new and innovative ways to tell clients’ stories through sound. His voice work has been featured in campaigns for some of the country’s largest companies as well, including NASCAR, 7-Eleven, and the Children’s Miracle Network. Whether working with clients who are national, regional, or local, his true passion lies in helping business owners achieve their goals and objectives by using ear-grabbing audio logos, rock-solid creative strategies, and copy that pops off the page. 

Ron Stone is the founder, President, and CEO of Adams Radio Group.  Stone is entering his 39th year in radio; he has solid senior-level multiple-station and multiple-market management experience, with an extensive background in startups and turnarounds. Stone’s background includes success in sales, operations, and finance. He began his career in 1984 in public accounting with McGladrey & Pullen, CPAs. Stone served Beasley, United Communications, and Adams Communications as CFO before moving into operations in 1992 with Adams Communications in St. Louis, where he was responsible for leading the turnaround efforts for KEZK-FM and KFNS-AM. After St. Louis, Stone continued to manage startups and turnarounds in Raleigh, Minneapolis, Detroit, and Duluth. Stone attributes his station management success to his keen sense of recruiting and ability to retain excellent teams. In 2020 Stone founded the Independent Broadcasters Association, with a focus on bringing scale to independents and offering opportunities that only large radio groups had enjoyed previously. 

Matt Sunshine is a Managing Partner at The Center for Sales Strategy, a sales performance company that helps sales organizations attract, retain, and develop the highest-performing salespeople. His areas of expertise include growing sales organizations, finding and developing sales superstars, sales process, lead generation, inbound marketing, and digital marketing, and he is a featured writer for one of the top sales blogs in America and a regular contributor to leading business blogs and magazines such as Inc., Sales and Marketing Management, Sales Hacker, and Entrepreneur. Sunshine also developed and launched LeadG2, an inbound marketing company that helps businesses establish thought leadership and lower lead costs. LeadG2 has earned Hubspot recognition as a Diamond Certified Partner. Sunshine is the author of “Getting Prospects to Raise Their Hand,” and Forbes magazine lists him as one of “20 Speakers You Shouldn’t Miss the Opportunity To See.”

Vanita Thompson, Digital Sales Manager for Howard University Radio Network, has over 25 years of experience in entertainment business management, digital strategy, and event production. She earlier spent eight years at Radio One as an integrated marketing manager. At the Howard University Radio Network, she oversees digital sales and execution for WHUR-FM, SiriusXM Channel 141, SiriusXM Channel 142, the student-run WHBC, and The Quiet Storm station.  Thompson is a Howard University alum, has a certificate in Women’s Entrepreneurship from Cornell University, and is a board member for both the Rap Plug Academy and Together Digital.

Elsten Torres, aka “Fulano,” is a 2x Grammy-nominated and BMI award-winning singer-songwriter, musician, and producer. Born in Havana, Cuba, raised in New York City, and living in Miami, Torres has a vast domestic and international fan base. He’s an accomplished artist, having reached Billboard’s top 10 charts over six times, including a number one hit for five weeks. Torres has performed on stages all over the country and all over the world. He is currently promoting his album Exitos Acusticos, a collection of his biggest hits recorded by other internationally known Latin artists. He also donates his time to charity organizations such as Musicians on Call and H.O.P.E.

Joe Weir, SVP/Digital Media for Cox Media Group, is a nationally recognized digital media sales and operations leader with demonstrated success in applying digital media technologies and data-driven sales methodologies to increasing revenues, market share, and earnings. He has 25 years in sales, sales management, digital media, ad technologies, and the implementation of operational strategies across multiple revenue channels. At Cox Media Group, Weir oversees CMGdigital, with responsibility for digital sales strategy, ad technology infrastructure, product development, data management, and operations. He was nationally recognized as a “Digital All Star” by Broadcast and Cable Magazine. Weir has served on multiple boards of startups and early-stage digital companies. He is a guest speaker at national conferences as an expert on digital sales strategies, mobile, programmatic, and email marketing.

Jennifer Williams, Director/Digital Media & Strategic Initiatives for Bonneville Digital, is a 21-year digital marketing industry native. Beginning her journey at a pioneering web development and SEO startup company, she was immersed in the world of tech and digital marketing early. Over her career, Williams has developed many dynamic, highly skilled digital sales and fulfillment teams responsible for managing over $65 million in placed digital media. Building digital teams from the ground up, her experience keeping up with the ever-evolving processes, procedures, and workflow required to deliver complex campaigns is how her team has led the digital revenue growth for Bonneville International. 

Roy Williams is a New York Times bestselling author and one of radio’s top spenders. His “Wizard of Ads” column in Radio Ink Magazine is a “must read” for radio sales and marketing professionals, chock full of advice and solutions-based marketing and copywriting tips. A lifelong student of humanity, Williams has spent a quarter-century asking, “What makes people do the things they do?” And he’s been using the things he’s learned to stimulate miraculous growth for his business clients for more than 25 years. His books and Monday Morning Memos are a constant source of fascination and entertainment for his students and friends around the globe. His first book, The Wizard of Ads®, was voted Business Book of the Year in 1998. His second book, Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads, was named the Wall Street Journal’s number one Business Book in America in 1999 and became a New York Times bestseller. The third book in the trilogy, Magical Worlds of the Wizard of Ads, reached bestseller status in late 2001. His fourth book, Accidental Magic, is a tightly condensed anthology of writing tips and insights, mixed with artistic examples provided by 106 of his amazing proteges.