Speakers

Miro Copic is Principal and Co-Founder of Bottomline Marketing, a business, marketing, and brand strategy consulting firm. Bottomline Marketing has clients ranging from start-ups to Global Fortune 500 across all sectors, including non-profits  Miro has led marketing and sales for Fortune 500 companies such PepsiCo, Hasbro and NewsCorporation (20^th Century Fox). He has also been a General Manager and start-up CEO. 

He has been on the board of two venture funded technology companies and a wealth management firm. Miro has taught branding and marketing in the MBA program at San Diego State University and has a weekly program on KPBS (The Friday Business Report) and is quoted regularly on marketing and business topics in national media. 

Tyson McDowell is a successful entrepreneur. He has built 8 ethical-AI-driven technology startups in the healthcare, media & entertainment, and future of work arenas as CTO, CEO and lead investor. Currently, he is Managing Partner of GreatScale Ventures, a VC firm that has a unique approach to investing in firms for the long term. He is also a thought leader in AI. He’s given significant thought to how AI is integrated in society, how it becomes more and more a part of who we are as people, and how we operate as a local and global society. He has given TEDx talks about AI and humanity. 

Ron Hadler is VP of Data and Innovation at Red Door Interactive As a Marketing Technologist, Ron brings software development, DevOps, data engineering, and data science to marketing disciplines ranging from business intelligence and web development to paid media and marketing analytics. He also leads research and development at Red Door through organizational innovation contests focused on emerging technologies and thought leadership. In his off-line life, Ron is a home chef, ceramicist, organic gardener, cheesemaker and lives by the saying, “wine is the nectar of the Gods.

Aaron Elkins, PhD is a professor of Management Information Systems Director of the James Silberrad Brown Center for Artificial Intelligence at the San Diego State Fowler College of Business. The Center has provided a new home for all AI research being conducted at SDSU. AI research is the combined multidisciplinary of big data, statistics, machine learning and engineering and how it impacts humanity and business. 

Mark Newcomer is a business and brand strategist with over 15 years of experience across market research firms, digital agencies, and management consultancies. Mark serves as the Chief Strategy Officer of CourtAvenue, a leading marketing acceleration firm serving brands like Kia, Dell, UnitedHeath Group, Epson, and General Mills. Prior to CourtAvenue, Mark help leadership positions at Teneo, WPP, and Accenture.

Sam Pntazopoulos is the Co-Founder and CEO of Vizer, a platform Democratizing Wellness®. Sam is a brand strategist, connector of people and ideas, and accomplished speaker and writer. She is the recipient of multiple social entrepreneurship awards and was named the Rising Star Entrepreneur of the Year at the Women's Venture Summit.

Anna Green leads the Brand Strategy and Management Team at Qualcomm where she oversees the management of the Qualcomm and Snapdragon brands. She joined the company in 2004 with a background in advertising and digital marketing. Since then, she has held several marketing positions with the company in which she developed her marketing expertise in the technology space. Her passion lies in creating and managing brand identities that are uniquely positioned, authentic and moving. Anna has led several strategic brand evolutions, migrations, and campaigns in her years at Qualcomm. She is currently most excited about her team’s latest work - evolving Snapdragon to becoming a consumer-facing power brand. She holds a BA in Communication from University of Colorado at Boulder.

Alex Villafuerte, the Executive Director of Pacific Arts Movement, is a Filipino-American and has been a prominent community organizer and advocate since 2016 through their work with organizations such as Asian Business Association, San Diego Pride, San Diego Asian Pacific Islander Coalition, and NQAPIA advocating for the rights and building the capacity of marginalized, intersectional communities and individuals.

During their advocacy, Villafuerte oversaw the creation of a number of organizations and programs including the San Diego Queer APIMEDA Coalition, San Diego API Coalition, and the San Diego Pride Youth Art Show. During his time at San Diego Pride, Villafuerte generated over 3 million in San Diego Pride Festival ticket sales allowing the organization to increase its philanthropic giving to over 3.2 million since 2022.

Villafuerte is a proud alumni of Morse High School in Southeast San Diego as well as San Diego State University receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

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Angel Mason Broadus is the President & Founder of the fabulous, do-gooding, creative and colorful nonprofit marketing and branding agency, Puzzle Pieces Marketing. Angel founded the agency in 2009 and co-owns and operates it with her wife Kristine. Focusing on social good and providing services that benefit their community, the marketing agency works with nonprofits and mission-driven businesses to develop strategies that inspire action. 

In the spirit of giving back, Angel also serves as the President of the Board of Directors and Chair of the DEI & Marketing Committees for North County Philanthropy Council, is a member of United Way of San Diego County’s Women United Steering Committee and Marketing Committee, and Moonlight Cultural Foundation DEI committee.

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Andrew has been part of the San Diego marketing landscape for nearly 20 years. He specializes in marketing and branding on both the agency side and the corporate side. Andrew was an instrumental part of the Westfield UTC expansion, his expertise includes luxury retail as well as high end dining. Most recently he opened two Ruth's Chris Steakhouse locations in Denver, CO. and has now returned to San Diego to head up the marketing efforts at Fashion Valley (Simon Properties). Andrew has been involved with the San Diego chapter of the American Marketing Association in various positions over the years and is currently serving on the board.

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Anetra Henry is the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Institute for Public Relations where she leads many of the diversity, equity, and inclusion programs including Diversity in the PR Classroom, student awards, and IPR ELEVATE. She is the liaison for IPR with CPRE (Commission on Public Relations Education), the DAA (Diversity Action Alliance), and several other partner organizations. She also develops sponsorship initiatives and contributes to the research focused mission of IPR. Anetra is a graduate of Savannah State University, serves on the board of directors of the San Diego Savannah State University Alumni Chapter, and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She lives in Murrieta, California, where you can often find her enjoying the beautiful mountain view at a local winery with family and friends. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Aaron Byzak is a healthcare leader, policy wonk, career planning guru, prolific mentor, and recognition rainmaker. Each description applies to Aaron Byzak, an enthusiastic and influential leader in health care strategic public affairs and management. A motivational and energetic public speaker and 4-time Emmy Award winning writer and producer, Aaron is a developer of high performing teams, a popular trainer/coach, and the creative designer of multiple national, state, and regional best practice public health and advocacy initiatives. Aaron earned his MBA in Healthcare Management and Policy from UC Irvine’s Merage School of Business and a BA in Social Science from Chapman University. Along the way, Aaron also earned certificates in leadership from Cornell University and UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and achieved Board Certification in Healthcare Management as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). Aaron resides in Vista, California with his family

Sunaina Mehta is an award-winning brand strategy and customer insights leader with 20+ years of experience growing brands for Fortune 500 companies. She was most recently VP Global Head of Insights at HP where she led her team across 10 regions to catalyze customer-centric business transformation. Sunaina has previously been Head of Strategy at MullenLowe Boston, Wieden+Kennedy Delhi and Leo Burnett Delhi, where she inspired brand campaigns that earned multiple marketing effectiveness awards.

Sunaina holds a Master’s in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s in Architecture from Sushant School of Art & Architecture. She is currently an executive student at Parsons School of Design pursuing an Executive Master’s in Strategic Design for Global Leadership.

Jen is responsible for Sony Electronics’ customer marketing to include data management, analytics, marketing technology as well as planning and execution of email marketing, paid media, personalization, and customer journey CRM initiatives.   A senior marketing leader with over 20 years’ experience, she brings a data-focused approach to developing marketing strategy to achieve short and long-term business objectives. Jen holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from San Diego State University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Politics from George Mason University.

Janice Jung is the Director of Research at Meta, leading researchers and cross-functional teams on Core Ads and Generative AI Monetization. Her global team is focused on driving thoughtful product development for Ads and AI, creating valuable connections between advertisers and consumers. Before joining Meta, Janice led the data and research divisions at a mobile app start-up and conducted research for Medicare and IARPA. She was trained in the field of Behavioral Economics as part of the Wharton Marketing PhD program, where she obtained an M.S. in Marketing.