Nora is the CEO & Co-Founder of new entertainment company Mason Media. She most recently covered the latest innovations and technologies across entertainment and business as a news anchor on Cheddar, where she was the daily co-host of “Between Bells” and “Closing Bell.” At Cheddar, she co-created and co-hosted a weekly series envisioning our post-pandemic future called “Fast Forward: Life After Covid-19” and a series examining and celebrating diversity called “All Hands: Race Toward Inclusion.” Nora previously led teams of engineers and designers as a Senior Product Manager at e-commerce company Jet.com, which she joined prior to its launch and subsequent $3.3 billion acquisition by Walmart. She started her career by advising institutional investors on equity investments and IPOs as an Asian Equities Analyst at Goldman Sachs. Nora graduated from Harvard with a bachelor’s degree in Statistics and Quantitative Finance. Nora is an avid violinist and indoor boulderer in her spare time, grew up in Minnesota, and currently lives in New York City.

Tiffany “The Budgetnista” Aliche, is an award-winning teacher of financial education and is quickly becoming America’s favorite, personal financial educator. The Budgetnista is also an Amazon #1 bestselling author of The One Week Budget and the Live Richer Challenge series. More recently, Tiffany authored a children’s book, Happy Birthday Mali More; and will be releasing her first traditionally published book, Get Good With Money in March 2021.

Through her company, The Budgetnista, Tiffany has created a financial movement that has helped over 1 million women worldwide collectively save more than $200 million, and pay off over $100 million in debt, purchase homes and transform the way they think about their finances. These women that participate in this global movement call themselves, Dream Catchers.

Tiffany credits her experience as a preschool teacher for 10 years in Newark, NJ for defining her purpose behind The Budgetnista…education.

In 2019, Tiffany transformed her commitment into legislation when she partnered with

Assemblywoman Angela V. McKnight to write a bill that was later signed into Law A1414 (The Budgetnista Law). This law made it mandatory for financial education to be integrated into all middle schools in New Jersey.

To further her mission Tiffany has created and teaches numerous financial classes both online and in person. Her signature course is her annual, Live Richer Challenge with over 900,000 women participating in one or more of her Challenges.

She also blogs about personal finance for The Huffington Post and The Budgetnista Blog, co-hosts an award-winning podcast, Brown Ambition, and has an online school, the Live Richer Academy that teaches women how to create, implement and automate their own financial education path.

The Budgetnista and her financial advice have been featured on Good Morning America, the TODAY show, PBS, TIME, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, ESSENCE Magazine, FORBES, Fox Business, MSNBC, CNN/HLN. She is also the featured financial expert for the popular daytime talk show, The Real.

Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley are ”sisters” (Alaina is technically Ash’s aunt) and co-creators of Morbid, a cultural phenomenon that consistently sits atop the podcast charts. In addition to Morbid, they are also the owners of the Morbid Podcast Network and co-hosts of Parcast’s Crime Countdown. When they aren’t in front of the mic or researching their next episode topic, Alaina is an autopsy technician and Ash is a hairdresser.

Ariana Aspuru is an associate producer for The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything podcast.

Before joining the Journal, she interned at NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered and her hometown paper, the Miami Herald — where her work contributed to the Herald’s 2022 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news.

She graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. In her free time, she likes to bake, crochet, and go to concerts whenever she can.

Conal Byrne is the Chief Executive Officer of the iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group, which includes the company’s fast-growing and high-profile podcasting business and #1 podcast publisher globally according to Podtrac, as well as the industry-leading iHeartRadio digital service; the company’s digital sites, services, newsletters and programs; and its digital advertising technology companies, including Jelli, RadioJar, Unified, Voxnest and the recently-announced Triton Digital acquisition, upon its completion.

Prior to joining iHeartMedia, Byrne was President and CEO of Stuff Media, Inc., home of the incredibly popular HowStuffWorks (HSW), which pioneered the podcast space with leading shows including “Stuff You Missed in History Class” and “Stuff You Should Know.” Byrne joined iHeartMedia when the company acquired Stuff Media in October 2018. Prior to Stuff Media, Byrne served as Senior Vice President of Digital Media for Discovery Communications, where he ran digital for all of Discovery’s U.S. networks’ sites and social platforms and led the launch of Discovery VR.

J. Clara Chan is a digital media writer at The Hollywood Reporter, where she covers the business of streaming, audio, digital creators and more. Her work has also appeared in publications like The Atlantic, The Wrap, New York magazine, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Vice. As a moderator, she has led panels for SXSW, Podcast Movement and Fender, among others. She is a graduate of Columbia University’s Barnard College.

Harry Clark is the CEO of Soundrise, a revenue partner for independent and mission-driven audio. Harry was previously a part of the leadership team at sister company, Market Enginuity, the leader in public media sponsorship sales. Harry is a 30-year media veteran with experience developing large-scale customer solutions across both commercial and public media.  With a deep understanding of the podcast business, Harry works behind the scenes to bring the best people together and support their success. Harry envisions a world of diverse, unfettered creators who can express themselves in any way they choose; and is committed to helping them get there.

David Cohen joined IAB in April 2020 as President and was named Chief Executive Officer in September 2020. Cohen is a widely respected advertising agency leader who, prior to IAB, served as President, North America for MAGNA, Interpublic Group’s (IPG) centralized media intelligence, investment, and innovation arm. In this role, Cohen was responsible for more than $20 billion in media spend. During his tenure, Cohen structured and executed large global transactions on behalf of IPG and its clients, with such major IAB member companies as Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Spotify, Twitter, and Verizon Media.

Prior to MAGNA, Cohen served as Chief Investment Officer of UM, ensuring that digital innovation, data, and technology acumen flowed throughout the agency to drive performance. From 2001 to 2011, Cohen served in critical, transformational roles at UM during the explosive growth of digital advertising, including Chief Media Officer, Chief Digital Officer, and Executive Vice President, U.S. Director of Digital Communications. In the late 1990’s, Cohen was responsible for launching and building IPG’s digital practice.

Cohen has a long history of working with trade organizations including IAB and 4As, where he served as chairman of the Interactive Marketing Committee from 2009-2013. He has also been instrumental in initiating several vital industry-wide programs, including the Future of Television, facilitated by EY. Cohen is a Queens native, with a bachelor’s degree in communications from Adelphi University. He was recognized by Adweek as a “Media All Star” and was part of the “Adweek 50” in 2012.

In 2016, David was elected to the Board of Directors of Partnership with Children a non-profit whose mission is to strengthen the emotional, social, and cognitive skills of vulnerable children in New York City to help them succeed in school, society, and life.

David enjoys spending time with his wife and two teenage daughters. A self-described gadget-geek and sometimes fitness fanatic – he ran the NYC Marathon in 2014 and 2019 and Boston Marathon in 2016.

In addition to being Vice President of Sponsorship at New York Public Radio, Jake Dobkin is also the co-founder of Gothamist and author of Ask a Native New Yorker.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson is a Tony-Award winning actor, author, producer, and host known not only for his creative work but, for his ongoing advocacy in the LGBTQIA+ community. 


Ferguson recently wrapped his return to Broadway in the revival of playwright Richard Greenberg’s Tony®- winning play, TAKE ME OUT. He earned his Tony® Award in the category of ‘Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play,’ for his role as accountant “Mason Marzac,” as well as the Outer Critics Circle Award and Drama League ‘Distinguished Performance Award’ nomination for this role. 


He was most recently featured in Universal’s COCAINE BEAR directed by Elizabeth Banks and his scripted podcast GAY PRIDE & PREJUDICE was released exclusively on Spotify in May 2022, which he executive produced and lent his voice to. Ferguson also produced the documentary BROADWAY RISING under his A Kid Named Beckett Productions that premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2022. In addition, Ferguson served as an executive producer on David France’s BAFTA-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary, WELCOME TO CHECHNYA, based on the anti-gay purges in Chechnya of the late 2010s. Ferguson and co-author Julie Tanous also released his first cookbook in 2021, Food Between Friends, which pays homage to their hometowns as they whip up modern California food with Southern and Southwestern spins. 


Ferguson starred as the widely beloved character “Mitchell Pritchett” on the Award-winning ABC comedy MODERN FAMILY, which ran for an impressive 11 seasons. The show has earned five Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, a Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Comedy Series and four Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Ferguson has also received five Emmy Award nominations and four People’s Choice Award nominations on behalf of the show.


Ferguson made his Broadway debut at the age of 21 as “Chip” in George C. Wolfe’s revival of ON THE TOWN. He later went on to originate the role of “Leaf Coneybear” in the Tony Award– winning Broadway musical THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE . He has also worked extensively with The New York Public Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park in various notable productions.


A longstanding advocate for marriage equality and LGBTQIA+ rights, Ferguson co-founded Pronoun, previously known as Tie The Knot, in 2012 with his husband Justin Mikita. Since 2012, Tie The Knot has released a collection of products – in collaboration with some of their favorite fashion and design partners – inspired by their favorite art, fashion, and more – with all proceeds benefitting LGBTQ organizations and causes worldwide. In 2021, after years of progressive awakening in racial, gender and queer movements and beyond, and recognizing the inevitability of intersectionality necessary to equality’s progress, Pronoun was born. The organization has proudly raised over 1.5 million dollars and has supported important and impactful LGBTQIA+ orgs across the nation. 

Veteran award-winning science correspondent Ira Flatow is the host and executive producer of public radio’s Science Friday, now in its 30th year. Each week he brings a lively, informative discussion of science to two million radio and podcast listeners.

Ira has shared his enthusiasm with public radio and TV fans for more than 50 years, including as a three-time co-star on the hit CBS comedy, The Big Bang Theory.

His recent honors include the National Science Board Public Service Award, AAAS Journalism Award, the Carl Sagan Award, the Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest and the Isaac Asimov Science Award. Ira has also received honorary doctorates from Pennsylvania’s Muhlenberg College and the State University of NY at Buffalo.

Ira is also founder of the Science Friday Initiative, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization that supports the program and is dedicated to increasing the public’s access to science and scientific information.

Ashley Flowers is the Founder and CEO of audiochuck, a female-focused podcast network, home to both scripted and unscripted podcasts in the crime space.

Ashley was born and raised in the midwest and has been true-crime obsessed since birth. She grew up with aspirations of becoming a detective and solving cold cases, and ultimately went to college at Arizona State University to study biomedical research. After college, she got a job doing genetics research at the University of Notre Dame. She eventually moved into software sales, and was working at a local software company in Indiana when she was drawn to the idea of working back in her original passion, and began producing the podcast.

In what little free time she has, Ashley enjoys spending time with her husband and their beloved dog, Chuck. She also credits exercise — like hiking or hot yoga — as a method to de-stress from the emotional work of researching heavy crime cases.

Gina Garrubbo is President and CEO of National Public Media (NPM), a subsidiary of NPR owned in partnership with PBS and WGBH. As a full-service corporate sponsorship organization, National Public Media supports the continued growth of NPR and the public media system via funding from corporate sponsors across multiple platforms, from broadcast radio and podcasts, to the NPR app and NPR.org. National Public Media includes NPM Creative, its in-house creative studio offering brands long-form custom audio production, including branded podcast production. NPM Creative won the 2022 PR Daily Content Marketing Award for Best Branded Podcast in partnership with YouTube.


Outside of National Public Media, Garrubbo sits on the IAB Executive, IAB Finance and IAB Audio Committees, working with leaders across the industry to build industry standards, best practices and resources for audio marketing.


Prior to NPR, Garrubbo spent more than 20 years growing marketing and sales teams, launching brands and building companies, with extensive experience in both legacy and emerging media. She was one of the builders of women.com, one of the first websites for women, and BlogHer, a network of bloggers which brought independent voices to millions of readers. Garrubbo built advertising sales teams for Oxygen Media, Discovery Communications and in syndicated television. She sits on the Board of Directors of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), and Glen Highland Farm.

Miles Gray is a Los Angeles native with an encyclopedic knowledge of 90s media and a deep love for basketball. (Seriously, he has a conversational knowledge of everything.) As a producer, writer, and director of award-winning digital content for companies like YouTube and Conde Nast he transitioned to podcasts when he joined the HowStuffWorks/iHeartMedia podcast network. Of course, he also co-hosts The Daily Zeitgeist. Although he did not grow up on NBA courts, he is a life-long die-hard Lakers fan and knows everything about the team. He also thinks he can still touch rim.

With over 9 years in podcasting, Jay was at the forefront of audience membership working with the IAB to create their current measurement standards. Having held executive positions at PodcastOne, AdLarge, Cadence13, and Audacy; Jay was integral in evolving podcast operations through attribution, brand safety, and the overall education and evangelism of the marketplace. He maintains a seat on the Board of Governors of The Podcast Academy and continues to speak at conferences, webinars, and industry events.

Suzanne Grimes, a prominent executive with over 30 years of experience in the media industry, currently serves as the President of Westwood One and the EVP of Corporate Marketing at Cumulus Media. At Westwood One, Grimes oversees the largest audio network in America, providing nationally syndicated news, sports and entertainment programming to more than 9,400 radio stations nationwide, reaching a quarter billion monthly listeners. Under her leadership, Westwood One has expanded its digital footprint, growing streaming audio and launching the top-ranked Cumulus Podcast Network with over 1.4 billion podcast downloads annually. Grimes also leads corporate marketing at Cumulus Media, where she is responsible for developing and executing marketing strategies that promote the company’s brand and drive revenue growth.

Prior to joining Westwood One and Cumulus Media, Grimes held executive positions at other media companies, including iHeartMedia, Reader’s Digest Association, Condé Nast, and News Corp. Throughout her career, she has been recognized for her leadership and industry expertise. She has been named a “Women to Watch” by Advertising Age and a Top Woman in Media by Cynopsis Media. She has been included in Radio Ink magazine’s “40 Most Powerful People in Radio” and “Most Powerful Women in Radio” each year since 2016, and currently serves on the Executive Committee of Radio Advertising Bureau’s Board of Directors.

When CNN wanted to know the origin of the phrase woke, they called Michael Harriot. When MSNBC needed someone to explain critical race theory, they called Michael Harriot. When Black Twitter was asked to choose one name that embodied its collective ethos, Michael Harriot was the runaway answer.

Michael Harriot is a journalist, author and cultural critic whose work is cited by peers who routinely hailed him as ”one of the most eloquent writers in America.” His acerbic wit, biting commentary, and investigative reporting have influenced everything from presidential politics to pop culture. As the originator of the phrase “invited to the cookout,” his social media posts contextualizing history are shared by millions, while his award-winning journalism has appeared in the Washington Post, The Atlantic, your television, and his mother’s refrigerator. He was one of the first journalists to ring the alarm on the online underground movement called the alt-right, a little-known group called the Proud Boys and was among the first to propose a then-radical idea: student loan forgiveness.

Michael earned degrees in mass communications and history from Auburn University and earned a master’s degree in macroeconomics and international business from Florida State University. He earned National Association of Black Journalists Awards for digital commentary, television news writing and magazine writing. His “How Did We Get Here” segment on the Amber Ruffin Show earned a 2021 Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. 

He is the author of the upcoming book Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America and currently serves as a columnist for The Guardian and theGrio.com, where he covers the intersection of race, politics, and media…

And animal attacks. 

But mostly the politics and race stuff.

Bron Heussenstamm has been on all sides of a myriad of celebrity sports, lifestyle, and entertainment engagements.

At age 19, he turned professional for surfing as the number 3 ranked amateur in the USA. He appeared as the international Ambassador for Bud Light and the face of an international Pepsi campaign opposite David Beckham.

Post surfing, he was the internal publicist for Sanuk Sandals, brokering deals and placing shoes with such A-listers as Brad Pitt, Paris Hilton, Anthony Keidis, Matthew McConaughey, Avril Lavigne, among others

In 2010, he founded Alex Maine apparel. Highlights include being named best men’s’ retail store in Los Angeles, available on Nordstrom, and featured by the media countless times on dozens of select celebrities, including Ashton Kutcher, Stephen Amell, Joe Jonas, Dylan O’Brien, and Brody Jenner.

Bron launched a new division as Head of Sports at BWR Public Relations, continuing to connect key celebrities and athletes to industry leading brands. Bron left BWR to launch Beaar Company, bringing his clients. Projects during this time featured Jay Glazer and the Launch of MVP, Ryan Leaf’s comeback as a host, Ian Sommerhalder as the face of the Oncam App, TOMS Shoes on two nominated attendees at the Oscars, Billabong’s Pipe Masters, Rosario Dawson for charity Cure Batten, and more.

From Beaar, Bleav was Launched. Bron was looking for a location to launch podcasts for Jay Glazer and Ryan Leaf and could not find a business that fit the needs of his clients. Now Bleav boasts over 800 hosts including 175 athletes, whom just like Bron were looking for a business to help them launch their podcast, Youtube show and digital brands.

Bron lives between Memphis and Los Angeles with his wife Molly and their three children. When he gets a rare tiny moment of free time, Bron is surfing, golfing, or watching sports. Bron is a proud graduate of the University of Southern California, majoring in Entrepreneurship.

Dr. Jonathan P. Higgins (DoctorJonPaul) is an educator, national speaker, freelance journalist, thought leader and media critic who examines the intersections of identity, gender and race in entertainment. Named Business Equality Magazine’s “Top 40 LGBTQ People Under 40”, they have worked with top brands like Fox, the NFL, Apple, Disney, Instagram and most recently completed work on GLAAD’s 2021 HIV Stigma Report. They have also been a featured speaker for TEDx and competed on the latest season of Netflix’s hit show, “Nailed It”.

As a reporter who was the first Latina in many newsrooms, Maria Hinojosa dreamt of a space where she could create independent, multimedia journalism that explores and gives a critical voice to the diverse American experience. In the early parts of her career it was simply that a dream. When she began as a reporter for NPR, Hinojosa was among the first to report on youth violence in urban communities on a national scale. During her eight years as CNN’s urban affairs correspondent, Hinojosa often took viewers into communities rarely shown on television and continued that work longform on Now on PBS. Additionally, Hinojosa was the first Latina to anchor a PBS FRONTLINE report, “Lost in Detention.” which aired in October 2011 and was the first to explore abuse at immigrant detention facilities, garnering attention from Capitol Hill as well as both the mainstream and Spanish-language media.

After Hinojosa’s nearly 30-year career as an award-winning journalist which included reporting for PBS, CBS, WNBC, CNN, NPR, and anchoring the Emmy Award winning talk show from WGBH Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One, she was able to make her dream of an independent, Latina-led newsroom a reality. In 2010 she launched Futuro Media, an independent, nonprofit newsroom based in Harlem, NYC with the mission to create multimedia content from a POC perspective.

Futuro is now the home of Latino USA, the longest running Latino public radio show in the history of American radio. . In The Thick, as Maria says, a direct response to Meet the Press from a POC view. Futuro studios, a podcast creation unit with greats such as LOUD, La Brega, and The Sum of US as highlights. And her brand new Latina lead Investigative unit Futuro Investigates.

In 2019 she became the inaugural Journalist in Residence at her alma mater Barnard College. She is the author of four books, Crews, Raising Raul, Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America. She has won four Emmys, The John Chancellor Award, multiple Robert F Kennedy awards, an Overseas Press Club award, and most recently a Pulitzer Prize for her 30-year-long reporting piece Suave.

She lives in New York with her husband, their puppy Benito, and cats, Miko and Safiya.

Jack Hough is an associate editor at Barron’s, writing stories with a focus on investing. Before joining Barron’s in 2012, Jack spent nine years at SmartMoney and wrote a weekly investment column for The Wall Street Journal. Before that, he spent eight years on Wall Street as an investment advisor.

Eric John leads the IAB Media Center, a dedicated unit within the IAB whose mission is to simplify the video and audio supply chain, providing best practices and education for brands, agencies, and media companies. Eric drives the center’s efforts in the development of market-making research, industry standards, best practices and buyer/seller terms and conditions. Before joining the IAB, Eric served as VP of Digital Services and Strategy at the Alliance for Audited Media and as Global Director of Publisher / Developer marketing at Nokia, managing the company’s world-wide mobile app developer ecosystem. Prior to Nokia, Eric launched and led advertiser brand engagement solutions for Yahoo!, creating advanced, data-driven video, mobile and interactive campaigns for brands such as Pepsi, L’Oréal, GM, Audio and Nikon. Eric began his career at internet advertising pioneer DoubleClick (Google) where he led product development and marketing within the DART for Publishers (DFP) and DART for Advertisers (DFA) business units where he launched the industry’s first post-click measurement tools. Eric is an alumnus of Miami of Ohio (BA) and Indiana University (MA) and is a graduate of Columbia University’s Product Management Program.

As head of NPR’s science desk, Andrea Kissack leads the network’s coverage of medical research, public health, consumer health and mental health. She also oversees the desk’s coverage of global health, climate and general sciences. She works collaboratively to develop high-impact initiatives that engage diverse audiences across platforms. Kissack has helped to launch several initiatives at NPR including the daily science podcast Short Wave and the public service consumer podcast Life Kit. Through powerful storytelling, teamwork and partnerships, her mission is to bring a deeper understanding of the events and actions that shape the world around us.

Previously, Kissack served as the Deputy Senior Supervising Editor of the digital team on the Science desk, where she provided leadership, integration, and collaboration of the desk’s work in visual, animation, text, graphics, and audio.

Prior to her time at NPR, Kissack worked at KQED, where she was Senior Editor for ten years of the station’s award-winning multimedia science coverage. She also served as the Senior Producer for the California Report, KQED’s statewide news service. In addition to having worked at other member stations including KLON in Long Beach and WUSF in Tampa, she has reported for KNX, the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles.

Kissack has shared her varied experience as a teacher of multimedia storytelling and broadcast journalism at several colleges and universities. She graduated from Ohio University and received her Master of Arts in telecommunication management.

Ryan Knutson is the co-host of The Journal, The Wall Street Journal’s flagship daily podcast.

He has worked at the Journal since 2013. Before joining the podcast, Ryan covered the wireless industry, and was responsible for a string of scoops including Verizon’s $130 billion buyout of Vodafone’s stake in their joint venture, Sprint and T-Mobile’s never ending courtship, and a hack of the 911 emergency system that spread virally on Twitter. He also spent a year on the business side of Dow Jones, helping lead the company’s strategic relations with tech companies like Apple and Google. Before WSJ, he reported for ProPublica, PBS Frontline and OPB, the NPR affiliate station in Portland, Ore. He grew up in Aloha, Ore. and graduated from the University of Oregon.

Marshall Lewy is the Chief Content Officer of Wondery, and oversees all original podcast content for Wondery and Amazon Music. Lewy oversees the slate of productions and development through release, as well as the television/film development and production pipeline. He has overseen the launch of notable podcasts, including Dr. Death, Business Wars, Even the Rich, The Apology Line, Against the Odds, and many others. Lewy is listed as an executive producer on the many Wondery original shows that have been adapted for scripted television or streaming series. These adaptations include Dr. Death on Peacock and The Shrink Next Door and WeCrashed, both on Apple TV+.


Lewy and the content team also collaborate on co-productions with many leading creators and prominent news organizations, including kids and family podcast company Tinkercast, the hosts of Morbid, Pineapple Street Studios, Bloomberg, and The Boston Globe.


The Harvard and Columbia graduate has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy as an Executive Producer for HBO’s Project Greenlight, has been a contributor to This American Life, and has written and directed two feature films that have premiered at both the Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals.

For over 20 years, Angel N. Livas has used her expertise as an award-winning journalist and executive producer to create and oversee shows for such iconic hosts as Larry King, Jane Pauley and Tamar Braxton, to name a few. She’s also worked for such prestigious networks as NBC, Stitcher (now SiriusXM), and Bloomberg Television; however, after seeing the disparity that exists for Black creatives to monetize equitiably, be amplied equally, and maintain full ownership of their IP, she birthed her innovative media-tech company: the ALIVE Podcast Network. This mobile app focuses on amplifying black voices, while helping them monetize and maintain content ownership!

Award-winning journalist Lori Lizarraga is a co-host of NPR’s Code Switch, the preeminent podcast about race and identity in America. Before joining NPR, she reported across the country in Texas, California, Colorado and internationally in Ecuador. She has a reputation for breaking news and a passion and energy for covering under-reported communities, civil rights and issues surrounding immigration and Latinos in the U.S.

When she’s not telling stories alongside her co-hosts Gene Demby and B.A. Parker or traveling to Texas to see her best friends — her abuela, her four siblings, or her 2-year-old nephew, Liam — she is most likely eating soup dumplings, cooking something spicy, making friends wherever she goes or dancing to her latest playlist.

Julia Longoria is the host and managing editor of More Perfect. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, Longoria grew up in a conservative pocket of Miami, and attended Brown University, which often felt like a liberal ivory tower. That contrast made Longoria a storyteller drawn to contradictions, complexity, and rich characters. She got her start in local public radio newsrooms, at WLRN in her hometown of Miami, and then at WNYC News. She was previously the host of The Experiment, The Atlantic’s flagship weekly show, and produced narrative audio stories for the New York Times. Her work has also aired on Radiolab, Latino USA, Marketplace, The World, and Planet Money. She currently lives in Denver.

Erik Lundberg, Claritas Chief Growth Officer, Agency and Media, is a 25-year industry veteran with a proven track record of innovation and growth.

At Claritas, Lundberg leads the commercial team working collaboratively with Media Companies & Agencies across Claritas’ full spectrum of AI, measurement, data, and personalization solutions.

Lundberg’s career is marked by a pioneering spirit. He was a Charter Member of the IAB and developed the first interactive audio ads using RealAudio technology for Sony. He even co-founded the Professional Gamers League (PGL) and initiated one of the first five search engine keyword ad buys online.

This leadership in innovation translates to business success. Lundberg’s leadership as CRO at ArtsAI resulted in their recognition as the fastest growing private ad technology company in America by Inc. Magazine and the merger with Claritas. He has a history of driving significant growth, previously achieved at Kleiner Perkins funded pogo.com (acquired by EA) and NativeX (acquired by Mobvista). He also founded the AddRev agency.

Lundberg graduated with a double major from Middlebury College.

Adrian Ma covers the economy and other “business-ish” as a co-host and reporter for NPR’s daily economics podcast The Indicator from Planet Money. Have a question, story or tip you’d like him to look into? Here’s how to get in touch.

To try to understand our ever-changing economy, Ma has ridden with an Amazon driver, explained inflation with a time-traveling demon and documented the curious ritual that is ‘speed dating for economists.’ He’s also analyzed racial disparities in lending, explored what it’s like to deliver groceries during an outbreak and captured the final hours of a cafe crushed by the pandemic.

Before joining NPR in 2021, he covered the business beat at member stations WBUR (Boston) and WCPN (Cleveland). Prior to that, he was a producer at WNYC (New York). Since becoming a reporter in 2017, Ma’s work has been recognized with multiple national awards.

In 2022, he received a National Edward R. Murrow Award and a Public Media Journalists Association (PMJA) award for his story about what it takes to close a restaurant. In 2021, PMJA awarded him for breaking news coverage of racial justice protests in Boston. In 2019, he received a National Edward R. Murrow Award and a Gracie Award for his story on why the Chinese government bought out an American softball team. (Later that year, he traveled to China, where he reported on the effects of the US-China trade war and on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.)

Ma’s prior work as a local reporter also earned regional accolades. In 2021, he received a Regional Murrow Award for Excellence in Writing. In 2018, the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists named him the winner for Best Radio Feature Reporting, which included a story about how a tiny Midwest convenience store became a Japanese retail giant. In 2017, the Association of Independents in Radio named him a New Voice Scholar, an honor which highlights emerging talent in the field of audio journalism and storytelling.

His interest in journalism began while studying media law at the University of Maryland School of Law. Later, while working for a federal judge in Baltimore, he decided to roll the dice and change careers. In 2016, he obtained a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. Some years before that, he worked as a prep cook in a ramen shop.

Rachel Martin is a founding host of NPR’s award-winning morning news podcast Up First. Martin’s interviews take listeners behind the headlines to understand the people at the center of those stories.

She spent six years as a host of Morning Edition, and was previously the host of Weekend Edition Sunday for four years, where she launched the “For the Record” series.

Martin also served as National Security Correspondent for NPR, where she covered both defense and intelligence issues. She traveled regularly to Iraq and Afghanistan with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and his successor Leon Panetta, reporting on the U.S. wars and the effectiveness of the Pentagon’s counterinsurgency strategy. Martin also reported extensively on the changing demographic of the U.S. military – from the debate over whether to allow women to fight in combat units, to the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Her reporting on how the military is changing also took her to a U.S. Air Force base in New Mexico for a rare look at how the military trains drone pilots.

Martin also worked as a NPR foreign correspondent based in Berlin from 2005-2006. During her time in Europe, she covered the London terrorist attacks, the election of Angela Merkel as Chancellor to Germany, the 2006 World Cup and issues surrounding immigration and shifting cultural identities in Europe.

Her foreign reporting experience extends beyond Europe. Martin has also worked extensively in Afghanistan. She began reporting from there as a freelancer during the summer of 2003, covering the reconstruction effort in the wake of the U.S. invasion. In fall 2004, Martin returned for several months to cover Afghanistan’s first democratic presidential election. She has reported widely on human rights issues in Afghanistan, the fledgling political and governance system and the U.S.-NATO fight against the insurgency. She also reported from Iraq, where she covered U.S. military operations and the strategic alliance between Sunni sheiks and the U.S. military in Anbar province. She traveled to Saudi Arabi in 2015 to report on women’s rights and in 2022 she reported from Ukraine’s border with Belarus in the leadup to the Russian war.

Martin was part of the team that launched NPR’s experimental morning news show, The Bryant Park Project, based in New York — a live two-hour daily multimedia program that she co-hosted with Alison Stewart and Mike Pesca.

In 2006-2007, Martin served as NPR’s religion correspondent. Her piece on Islam in America was awarded “Best Radio Feature” by the Religion News Writers Association in 2007. As one of NPR’s reporters assigned to cover the Virginia Tech massacre that same year, she was on the school’s campus within hours of the shooting and on the ground in Blacksburg, Va., covering the investigation and emotional aftermath in the following days. In 2011, her story on racial discrimination in Hollywood won a Salute to Excellence Award from the National Association of Black Journalists and her series on the effects of the opioid epidemic on children won a Gracie award in 2019.

Martin started her career at public radio station KQED in San Francisco as a producer and reporter.

She holds an undergraduate degree in political science and an honorary doctorate from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash. Martin also holds a Master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University.

She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and two sons.

Heather McDonald’s wildly successful comedy and pop culture podcast, JUICY SCOOP WITH HEATHER MCDONALD, is in its seventh year and has over 600 episodes and 100+ MILLION downloads. The show has over 20,000 five-star reviews on iTunes and is ranked #2 in Comedy Interview charts and the #1 Female Comedy Interview Podcast. Her loyal Juicy Scoopers continue to laugh out loud as they get the juiciest inside scoop from Heather and her celebrity guests.

Heather has released stand-up comedy specials on Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Showtime. Her latest stand-up Special, JUICY SCOOP, racked up an unheard of 1,800 five-star reviews in its first two weeks of being available. It continues to grow and make people laugh daily. Her debut stand-up special, I DON’T MEAN TO BRAG, was released on SHOWTIME and NETFLIX. She is a headlining comedian who has sold-out shows at theaters and clubs throughout the country.

Her stand-up comedy, podcast, and other creative content are celebrated for their relatability. She is always sharing authentically about her over 20-year marriage, two teenage sons, and being a stepmother, all while making girl’s nights out her main priority in life.

Heather’s celebrity impressions and comedic pop culture sketches have gone viral on multiple social media platforms and continue to bring joy to the world.

She is most recognized from E!’s top-rated show CHELSEA LATELY where she wrote, produced, and appeared for its entire 7-year run. She also starred in the mockumentary series AFTER LATELY. Heather was also a contributing writer who had featured roles in the major motion films “White Chicks” and “Dance Flicks” by The Wayans Brothers.

She has hosted TLC’s All About Sex and Hollywood Today Live. She has been seen on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, The Bachelorette, Wendy Williams, HLN, Nightline, CNN, 25 Words or Less, Punchline, RuPaul’s Drag Race, The Tonight Show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, and more.

She has two New York Times Bestselling memoirs, titled YOU’LL NEVER BLUE BALL IN THIS TOWN AGAIN and MY INAPPROPRIATE LIFE.

DeRay Mckesson is the Executive Director of Campaign Zero, a social justice organization leading nationwide structural change to create equity and justice in our criminal legal system. Beginning as a Youth Organizer in Baltimore as a teenager, he has been an advocate and activist on a range of issues impacting people of color for much of his life.

As a key leader in the Ferguson Uprising in 2014 and a leading voice in the Black Lives Matter Movement, DeRay remains committed to providing activists, community members, and policymakers with commonsense policies and tools that ensure and scale equity. He has been praised by President Obama for his work as a community organizer, advised officials at all levels of government and internationally, and continues to support and collaborate with activists, organizers, and leaders to make an impact.

Born and raised in Baltimore, he graduated with a B.A. with honors from Bowdoin College and holds honorary doctorates from The New School, the Maryland Institute College of Art and Bowdoin College. He serves in board and advisory capacities for a number of policy, advocacy and media organizations including Council on Criminal Justice, Alliance For Justice, Rock the Vote, The Podcast Academy, Robinhood, Index of Impunity, Ameelio, Rock the Vote, Firework Foundation, Freedom Forum Council of Advisors, and Lemonada Media.

Kelsey McKinney is a reporter and writer who lives in Philadelphia.  She is a co-owner and staff writer at Defector.com She is the host and co-creator of the podcast Normal Gossip. Her first novel, God Spare The Girls, was published in the summer of 2021 and her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, and GQ Magazine, among others.

Lulu Miller is a Peabody award-winning science journalist, co-host of the award-winning WNYC Studios show Radiolab, and cofounder of NPR’s Invisibilia—a show about the invisible forces that shape human behavior (which received over 50 million downloads in its first season). She is the author of Why Fish Don’t Exist, a nonfiction scientific thriller and memoir that The National Book Review called a “small marvel of a book” and left the New York Times “smitten.” Her written work has been published in The New Yorker, VQR, Catapult and beyond. Her reporting interests include disability, mental health, and, inexplicably, entomology. Radiolab was the show that made her fall hard for radio and it is a surreal honor to be joining the team as cohost.

Angie More is the Head of Advertising at Wondery and resides in Los Angeles, CA. In her role at Wondery, she is responsible for delivering unique and scalable advertising solutions to podcast marketers – developing the podcast monetization business through operational framework, go to market, content migration and show management. Prior to joining Wondery, she was the Global Head of Podcast Sales at Spotify. Angie has over 25 years building and leading revenue teams across audio, content, digital and advertising technology.

Latif Nasser is co-host of the award-winning WNYC Studios show Radiolab, where he has reported stories on everything from snowflake photography to medieval robots to a polar bear who liked to have sex with grizzly bears. Earlier this year, he hosted the miniseries The Other Latif, about his Moroccan namesake who happens to be Detainee 244 at Guantanamo Bay.In addition to his work in audio, Latif is the host and executive producer of the Netflix science documentary series, Connected. He has also given two TED talks, and written for the Boston Globe Ideas section. He has a PhD from Harvard’s History of Science department.

Elizabeth Nonemaker is the Executive Producer of QXR Podcasts. She brings to that role a background as a composer, writer, educator, and journalist specializing in arts and culture coverage. Prior to joining New York Public Radio, Elizabeth wrote about classical music for The Baltimore Sun and other publications, and served as the managing editor and in-house audio producer for the online music magazine 21CM.org, a publication devoted to exploring what it means to be a 21st century musician. She worked for the arts and entertainment show “The Frame” on Southern California Public Radio as well as The Children’s Radio Foundation in Cape Town, South Africa. As an Annenberg Fellow at the University of Southern California, Elizabeth co-founded the online arts publication ampersandla.com.

Conan O’Brien was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, and started his path in comedy when he served twice as the president of The Harvard Lampoon. Conan went on to become a writer and producer on several television shows, including “Saturday Night Live” and “The Simpsons,” until 1993, when NBC tapped him to take over as host of “Late Night.” Since then, he’s won four Emmy Awards, seven Writers Guild Awards, and the People’s Choice Award for “Favorite Television Host.” Conan has hosted two Emmy Awards, and performed at the White House Correspondents Dinner for two presidents. In 2010, his live comedy tour was the subject of the documentary “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop,” and led to a second multi-city stand-up tour in 2018.

In 2021, O’Brien concluded his 11 year run with “CONAN” on TBS, solidifying his 28 year career as a late night host and one of the longest tenures in late night history. His Emmy award winning “CONAN Without Borders” series has visited 13 countries and his podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend” currently has over 430 million downloads since it launched in 2018. With more than 50k ratings and reviews on Apple Podcasts, the show maintains an almost perfect 5-star average and has won numerous awards. His award winning digital brand Team Coco, which spans across digital and branded content, live events, merchandise and expertly produced comedy specials was acquired by SiriusXM in 2022.

Zibby Owens is an author, award-winning podcaster, entrepreneur, and CEO. Owens founded Zibby Media, a privately-held media company, in 2018, with her award-winning podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books. The company has since grown to include the publishing house Zibby Books, the magazine Zibby Mag, the podcast network Zibby Audio, the education platform Zibby Classes, and community events like retreats, a book club, and a writing community. She was celebrated as “New York’s Most Powerful Book-fluencer” by New York Magazine. Owens is a regular contributor to “Good Morning America” and other broadcast outlets. She is the author of the memoir Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, the children’s book, Princess Charming, and the editor of two anthologies. Owens is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Business School. She lives in New York with her husband, Kyle Owens of Morning Moon Productions, and her four children. Follow her on Instagram @zibbyowens.

Jonathan leads the Ad Tech team as the Director of Ad Tech Partnerships & Solutions at Audacy, a leading multi-platform audio content and entertainment company. With over 9 years in the ever-changing audio space, Jonathan has helped build the medium into a highly desirable solution for Audacy’s clients with new and exciting products coming to the market. Jonathan began his career within Ad Operations at CBS Local Digital Media and then moved to Entercom Communications Corp. to grow and lead their Revenue Operations. He is always looking for new technologies entering the space that will help continue the acceleration of both live streaming and podcasting.

B.A. Parker is a co-host of NPR’s Code Switch, the preeminent podcast about race and identity in America. Prior to NPR, her work was heard on The Cut podcast with New York Magazine, where she was co-host and lead producer.

In a previous life, Parker was a film professor at Morgan State University and Stevenson University, where she forced 19-year-olds to watch Point Break and Face/Off. She found her way to a production fellowship with the radio show This American Life, which she still can’t believe happened. She’s recently guest-hosted NPR’s It’s Been a Minute and has produced for NPR’s Invisibilia, Gimlet’s Heavyweight, and WNYC’s Nancy. In 2019, she was selected for the Third Coast Radio Residency at Ragdale.

Until last year, her mom thought podcasts were those little cubes that make coffee, so her daughter’s entire career trajectory has been moot.

Will Pearson oversees the company’s podcast operations, leading the growth strategy of iHeartPodcasts, the development of its original podcast IP and all partner audio content. iHeartPodcasts amasses more than 386 million global downloads a month, making iHeart the No. 1 podcast publisher globally. In Pearson’s time at iHeart, the podcast division has developed and launched several slates of top tier sports networks with partners including Sports Illustrated, NBA and NFL as well as individual sports focused fan favorites like “All The Smoke,” “Snacks” and outdoor sporting podcast network Meateater. Additionally, iHeartPodcasts is home to the Big Money Players slate with Will Ferrell, a Shondaland Audio slate with Shonda Rhimes, and co-production slates with Pushkin Industries, Bloomberg and more. With a focus on bringing greater diversity into podcasting iHeartPodcasts has also launched The Black Effect Network with Charlamagne Tha God, the world’s largest podcast network dedicated to Black voices; My Cultura, the fastest growing podcast network dedicated to Latinx voices; and most recently, Outspoken which aims to amplify, elevate and reflect the diversity, richness and humanity of the voices throughout the LGBTQ+ community. Pearson joined iHeartMedia in 2018 when the company acquired Stuff Media. At Stuff Media, he served on the leadership team responsible for growing the podcast division, secured an investment from the Raine Group and led the integration of the division into iHeartMedia. Prior to joining HowStuffWorks, Pearson was the Co-Founder and President of Mental Floss, a media company he launched in 2001 with co-founder Mangesh Hattikudur. Over his 16-year leadership at Mental Floss, Pearson oversaw the launch of Mental Floss Magazine, the publication of several bestselling books, the creation of a children’s education series called SmartyPants and the growth of a digital audience of more than 20 million regular readers and viewers. In 2011, Pearson and Hattikudur sold Mental Floss to Dennis Publishing. In his spare time, Pearson and his wife Georgia work together to support organizations in their hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, including Magic Moments, a wish-granting organization where he served as board chairman, The Nature Conservancy and Glenwood, which provides services to those in the autism community.

Hey, I’m Joe, Director of Brand Marketing for IBM. I work with a fantastic team to educate the market on who IBM is and what IBM does. Before leading Brand Marketing, I helped redefine IBM’s social media strategy, build our social data & influencer practice and establish our governance process.

Before IBM, I spent 15 years working for leading ad agencies. I was lucky enough to grow YouTube as a brand and cultural force, reinvent BMW’s .com experience and help revolutionize how products are created and marketed at Hasbro.

I graduated from Quinnipiac University with a degree in Marketing and served as co-captain of their NCAA Division I lacrosse team.

Outside of work, you can find me with my wife, our two boys & our dog, helping a local charity raise money for children’s education or making pizza in the backyard.

New York Times best-selling author Emily Ratajkowski has established herself as a multifaceted talent: entrepreneur, writer, actress, model and activist.

Most recently, she added podcast host to her list of titles, launching an original series titled “High Low with EmRata.” The podcast marries highbrow and lowbrow topics, exploring whatever is on Ratajkowski’s mind, from politics, philosophy and feminism, to sex, pop culture, and beyond. There are two episodes per week in addition to a bonus episode.

Over the past five years, Ratajkowski has successfully translated her 29M+ following on Instagram into a successful DTC apparel line, Inamorata, all while continuing to work as a highly sought after fashion model. She has appeared on the covers of dozens of major fashion magazines and is currently the face of L’Oréal’s hair care line Kerastase as well as multiple other fashion companies. As an actress, she has appeared in films such as David Fincher’s Gone Girl and Amy Schumer’s I Feel Pretty. Ratajkowski is also outspoken politically, continually using her platform to advocate for her beliefs.

Her debut essay collection “My Body” was released by Metropolitan Books on November 9, 2021, becoming an instant New York Times Best Seller. “My Body” is a profoundly personal exploration of feminism, sexuality, and power, of men’s treatment of women and women’s rationalizations for accepting that treatment. The essays chronicle moments from Ratajkowski’s life while investigating the culture’s fetishization of girls and female beauty, its obsession with and contempt for women’s sexuality, the perverse dynamics of the fashion and film industries, and the gray area between consent and abuse. Her book deal was solidified by her New York Magazine essay – the magazine’s most read story of 2020 – entitled “Buying Myself Back,” which led to widespread discourse around copyright and image ownership. Following the essay, in April 2021, she created a conceptual art piece and NFT that was sold via Christie’s auction, continuing to raise questions about the nature of authorship while returning an appropriated Instagram post to its digitally native terrain. 

A former US Navy SEAL, CIA Contractor, and Host of the “Shawn Ryan Show”.

Shawn enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 18 and began his journey of becoming a Navy SEAL where he served with SEAL Teams 2 and 8, deploying to multiple conflict zones and fighting in both OIF (Iraq) and OEF (Afghanistan). After leaving the US Navy Special Warfare Community, Shawn continued to serve his country as a Contractor for the Central Intelligence Agency, where he was involved in US intelligence clandestine operations.  Shawn has a combined 14 years of combat experience within U.S. Special Operations and CIA.

Shawn is now host of the “Shawn Ryan Show,” which is a long form interview podcast that captures stories of sacrifice and valor, documenting the lives of our nations finest warfighters and the realities they face coming home from war. The show has become a trusted source for uncovering inconvenient truths where mainstream media falls short.

Shawn Ryan Show currently has over 900,000 subscribers on YouTube, 17,000 iTunes reviews, is consistently a top ranked show, and has ranked as high as #55 out of over 8 Million podcasts.

Anna Sale is the creator and host of Death, Sex & Money, the podcast from WNYC Studios about “the things we think about a lot and need to talk about more.” Anna won a Gracie for best podcast host in 2016 and the show won the 2018 Webby and 2021 Ambie for best interview show.

Before launching Death, Sex & Money in 2014, Anna covered politics for nearly a decade. She is the author of the book Let’s Talk About Hard Things, which The New Yorker wrote “shows us how supportive listening happens.” She grew up in West Virginia and now lives in Berkeley with her husband and two daughters.

Dr. Laurie Santos is Professor of Psychology and Head of Silliman College at Yale University. Professor and podcast host Dr. Laurie Santos is an expert on human cognition and the cognitive biases that impede better choices. Her course, “Psychology and the Good Life,” teaches students what the science of psychology says about how to make wiser choices and live a life that’s happier and more fulfilling. The class is Yale’s most popular course in over 300 years and has been adapted into a free Coursera program that has been taken by over 3.3 million people to date. Dr. Santos has been featured in numerous news outlets including the New York Times, NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, CBS This Morning, NPR, GQ Magazine, Slate, CNN and O, The Oprah Magazine. Dr. Santos is a winner of numerous awards both for her science and teaching from institutions such as Yale and the American Psychological Association. She has been featured as one of Popular Science’s “Brilliant 10” young minds and was named TIME’s “Leading Campus Celebrity.” Dr. Laurie Santos is the podcast host for The Happiness Lab, which launched in 2019 has over 75 million downloads.

Matt Shapo is a product development and digital strategy leader who brings more than 20 years of experience overseeing the creation and multi-platform delivery of online content and internet advertising to his role as the Director of Digital Audio and Video at the IAB.

Before IAB, Matt served as VP of Digital Content for the All Access Music Group, a music marketing company and audio industry news publisher where he planned and led advertising, editorial, and other growth initiatives for AllAccess.com, a B2B website that delivers breaking news, data, and commentary to an audience of professional audio content creators, salespeople, and decisionmakers.

Over the course of his career, Matt has directed and measured the effectiveness of integrated advertising and email marketing campaigns for multiple leading record labels and radio companies. He has also led the ideation, development, launch, and continuous iteration of profitable digital media products, including an industry leading digital audio distribution platform that delivers new music and related content to a nationwide user base of radio stations, streaming services, tv networks, podcasters, and others.

Matt holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from Tufts University and an M.F.A. in Radio, TV, and Film Production from Florida State University, and he is a devoted fan of his hometown Miami Dolphins. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their wonderful son Evan, in Randolph, NJ where he is an enthusiastic hiker and a proud member of the Randolph High School Marching Rams parents’ road crew.

Nick Southwell-Keely is Vice President of Advertising Sales at Sony Music Entertainment (SME). Overseeing SME’s Global Podcast Sales team, Southwell-Keely is responsible for generating revenue across the division’s robust podcast slate, building key partnerships with holding groups, agencies and brands, and leading a team of dynamic sellers aimed at growing the company’s global podcast sales pipeline. Originally from Sydney, Australia, Southwell-Keely has nearly 20 years of international digital media and sales experience. Most recently, Southwell-Keely served as the US Director of Sales and Brand Partnerships at Acast, where he oversaw the company’s go-to-market strategy. He also held previous sales roles at premium publishers including The Financial Times and Fairfax Media (Nine).

Hala Taha dubbed the “The Podcast Princess,” is the host of Young and Profiting (YAP) Podcast, frequently ranked as a #1 Business and Entrepreneurship podcast. Hala is also the founder and CEO of YAP Media, the premier podcast network for business and self-improvement podcasts with a full-service social media and podcast marketing agency for top podcasters, celebrities and CEOs. She is well-known for her engaged following and influence on Linkedin.


Young and Profiting podcast is a Top 100 podcast globally, and Hala has interviewed star-studded guests from the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Alex Hormozi, Deepak Chopra, Daymond John, Seth Godin and countless others. Her show was recognized as a 2022 Webby Honoree.

Avery Trufelman is the host and creator of Articles Of Interest, named a best podcast of 2022 by The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic. Previously she was a producer of the design podcast 99% Invisible, and former host of The Cut from New York magazine, and Nice Try! from Curbed.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is a renowned astrophysicist, best-selling author, and host of StarTalk, a weekly podcast and video series discussing all-things space and science alongside celebrity and comedic co-hosts. When he’s not hosting StarTalk, Neil is also the director of the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium in New York City.

As President for Futuro Media, Julio Ricardo Varela is responsible for the business side of the organization and plays a key leadership role in overseeing the company’s editorial vision, alongside Maria Hinojosa.

Previously, he was the company’s Editorial Director, leading the teams at Latino USA, In The Thick, Latino Rebels and the Community Podcast Lab. As Vice President of New Business Development for Futuro Studios, he headed up the division’s new business initiatives, which have received industry accolades and have positioned Futuro for continued, sustainable success.

In 2011, Julio founded Latino Rebels, one of the top U.S. Latino digital media sites in the world. In 2018, LR officially joined the Futuro Media family. He has hosted Latino Rebels Radio since 2014 and continues to do so. He also co-hosts In The Thick with Maria Hinojosa. He is a frequent contributor to Latino USA, and as Digital Director for Futuro from 2015–2020, Julio expanded the show’s digital footprint, overseeing historic gains in online and social audiences.

Currently, he is also an MSNBC Opinion Columnist.

Before joining Futuro, Julio was Digital Producer for Al Jazeera America’s “The Stream” and his work has been featured in many global outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC News, Quartz, Le Monde, WGBH, WNYC, Face the Nation, Fusion, Univision and Telemundo. He has made numerous national TV appearances throughout his career.

In 2015, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists honored Julio with its inaugural DALE Award, “given to an individual or company that steps up and goes above and beyond to ensure Latinos are fairly and accurately represented.” A native of Puerto Rico, Julio spent his childhood between San Juan and the Bronx. He was also a contributing reporter at The Boston Globe and a top publishing executive. Julio graduated cum laude from Harvard College.

Gynn Washington is the host of Snap Judgment and Snap Judgment Presents: Spooked. Before creating the Snap Judgment radio show, Glynn worked as an educator, diplomat, community activist, actor, political strategist, fist-shaker, mountain-hollerer, and foot stomper. Glynn composed music for the Kunst Stoff dance performances in San Francisco, rocked live spoken word poetry in Detroit, joined a band in Indonesia, wrote several screenplays, painted a daring series of self-portraits, released a blues album, and thinks his stories are best served with cocktails.

Lizzie Widhelm is the SVP, Ad Innovation & B2B Marketing at Pandora | Stitcher. In her present executive role, she leads B2B marketing, ad product innovation, The Insights Lab research division, as well as in-house audio creative consultancy, Studio Resonate. Lizzie is an Advertising Hall of Achievement inductee, where she was celebrated for her professional successes bringing impactful audio ad products to market throughout her 15-year tenure at Pandora.



Under Lizzie’s focused leadership since the company’s early formative years, the company has grown into the industry-leading audio platform it is today, offering advertisers the largest addressable audience nationally, 150-million monthly listeners across SiriusXM Holdings’ properties. Lizzie has led the launch of all major audio ad capabilities across the platform — enabling greater personalization across formats, as well as monetization efforts for Pandora’s Podcast Genome Project. From the rise of the connected home surging listenership in podcasting, Lizzie continues to push the boundaries of digital advertising by focusing on the future.

Raquel Willis is an award-winning author, activist, and media strategist dedicated to Black transgender liberation. She has held groundbreaking posts, including director of communications for Ms. Foundation for Women, executive editor of Out magazine, and national organizer for Transgender Law Center. She co-founded Transgender Week of Visibility and Action with civil rights attorney Chase Strangio and currently serves as an executive producer for iHeartMedia’s Outspoken, the president of the Solutions Not Punishments Collaborative’s executive board, and is a WNBA Social Justice Council member.

Her debut memoir, The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation, will be released in October 2023 via St. Martin’s Press. 

She published the GLAAD Media Award-winning “Trans Obituaries Project,” and in 2022, she executive-produced and hosted “The Trans Youth Town Hall” with Logo. The work was nominated for the GLAAD Awards and won Gold distinction in the Webbys. Her writing has been published in Black Futures by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham, Bulgari Magnifica: The Power Women Hold edited by Tina Leung, The Echoing Ida Collection edited by Kemi Alabi, Cynthia R. Greenlee, and Janna A. Zinzi, and Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha Blain. She has also written for Essence, Bitch, VICE, Buzzfeed, The Cut, and Vogue.

Raquel is a thought leader on gender, race, and intersectionality. She’s experienced in online publications, organizing marginalized communities for social change, non-profit media strategy, and public speaking while using digital activism as a major tool of resistance and liberation. 

Rick Wilson is a renowned political strategist, infamous ad-maker, writer, speaker, and political commentator. In December 2019, Rick co-founded the Lincoln Project, a political action committee whose goal is to hold accountable those who would violate their oaths to the Constitution and would place their loyalty to others before their loyalty to the American people and democracy. Rick has authored two New York Times bestsellers and regularly brings his unique insights to national cable audiences on CNN and MSNBC, NPR, and American and international news national outlets. He’s a frequent guest on Real Time With Bill Maher and has written for The Washington Post, Politico, Rolling Stone, The Hill, The Bulwark, and the London Spectator. 

Jennifer Witz is the Chief Executive Officer of SXM Media, the leading audio entertainment company in North America. Prior to being named CEO in 2021, Jennifer was SiriusXM’s President of Sales, Marketing and Operations. She has been with the Company since 2002, holding a variety of senior leadership roles including Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President, Finance.

Prior to SiriusXM, Jennifer served in senior financial and operating roles at global media company Viacom Inc., and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), the leading entertainment company focused on the production and global distribution of film and television content. Jennifer began her career in the Investment Banking division of Kidder, Peabody & Co Inc. Jennifer is a member of the Board of Directors of LendingTree, Inc., a leading online lending marketplace.

She received an MBA from Harvard Business School, a BA from University of Pennsylvania, and BS in Economics from The Wharton School.

Wailin Wong is a long-time business and economics journalist who’s reported from a Chilean mountaintop, an embalming fluid factory and lots of places in between. She is a host of The Indicator from Planet Money. Previously, she launched and co-hosted two branded podcasts for a software company and covered tech and startups for the Chicago Tribune. Wailin started her career as a correspondent for Dow Jones Newswires in Buenos Aires. In her spare time, she plays violin in one of the oldest community orchestras in the U.S.

Darian Woods is a host of The Indicator from Planet Money. He blends economics, journalism, and an ear for audio to tell stories that explain the global economy. He’s reported on the time the world got together and solved a climate crisis, vaccine intellectual property explained through cake baking, and how Kit Kat bars reveal hidden economic forces.

Before NPR, Woods worked as an adviser to the Secretary of the New Zealand Treasury. He has an honors degree in economics from the University of Canterbury and a Master of Public Policy from UC Berkeley.

Jeanine Percival Wright is the Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Operations and Commercial at Wondery.  She oversees revenue, licensing, partnerships, operations, strategy and new market expansion. Jeanine has worked with startup and growth companies for over a decade, specializing in technology, finance and media. Before joining Wondery, Jeanine was the CFO at AdsWizz and the COO at Simplecast. Jeanine has led multiple companies through high growth stages to successful transactions. Jeanine was a Board Member of ProductPlan and stewarded it through its recent sale to PE firm, Bow River. After having been its first investor, Jeanine sold Simplecast to SiriusXM. Before that, Jeanine co-led the auction process to sell Media Temple to GoDaddy. Jeanine enjoys angel investing, mentoring high-potential women professionals and serving on corporate boards. She was one of the earliest private investors in podcasting and is regarded as one of the top 50 most influential women in the podcast industry.

Notes from America with Kai Wright is a show about the unfinished business of our history and its grip on our future. In addition, Wright served as one of the hosts of Indivisible, a national live radio call-in show that WNYC convened during the first 100 days of the Trump Administration to invite Americans to come together across divides. The show aired on 165 public radio stations across the country.

He has also hosted other WNYC Studios limited-edition podcasts with social justice themes: Caught: The Lives of Juvenile Justice, which was honored with an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award; The Stakes; and There Goes the Neighborhood, a podcast about gentrification and development. After a first season focused on Brooklyn, There Goes the Neighborhood went on to partner with KCRW in Los Angeles and WLRN in Miami to produce seasons focused on the same issues in those cities. 

Wright’s journalism has focused on social, racial, and economic justice throughout his career. As a fellow of Type Investigations, he covered economic inequality, access to healthcare, and racial inequity. Wright is the author of Drifting Toward Love: Black, Brown, Gay and Coming of Age on the Streets of New York, as well as two surveys of black American history. Most recently, he was a contributor to the New York Times bestselling collection 400 Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019.

As Senior Vice President of WNYC Studios, Kenya Young sets and oversees the strategic direction of WNYC Studios’ portfolio of award-winning podcasts. Young is an experienced public media and newsroom leader who has produced and led teams responsible for telling stories in new, innovative and impactful ways.

Prior to joining New York Public Radio, she spent 15 years at NPR, staying committed to her many roles to elevate NPR’s public service journalism. As the Managing Editor for Collaborative Journalism, she grew and supported NPR’s network by fostering Member station relationships and building news partnerships. As a senior leader in the NPR newsroom, she also helped run NPR’s day-to-day news operations. Young was the executive producer of Morning Edition and Up First, the first Black journalist to hold those roles.

As a producer and editor, Young has contributed to many reports and series that were awarded with the industry’s top honors, including two Society of Professional Journalist awards, two Gracie awards, one Edward R. Murrow award and one National Association of Black Journalists award. She also was honored with two NPR awards, the Success Award for her efforts in prioritizing diverse sources and the President and CEO Award. Young received a B.A. in American Studies with a concentration in Journalism from The University of Notre Dame.

Manoush Zomorodi is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.

Zomorodi is a co-founder of Stable Genius Productions and is the co-host and co-creator of ZigZag, the business podcast about being human. She also created, hosted, and was managing editor of the podcast Note to Self in partnership with WNYC Studios, which was named Best Tech Podcast of 2017 by The Academy of Podcasters.

Prior to her time at WNYC, Zomorodi reported and produced around the world for BBC News and Thomson Reuters, including a few years in Berlin.

She was named one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2018 and has received numerous awards for her work, including The Gracie for Best Radio Host in 2014 and 2018. Her book “Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Creative Self” (2017, St. Martin’s Press) and her TED Talk are guides to surviving information overload and the “Attention Economy.”

Zomorodi received a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University in English and fine arts. She is half-Persian and half-Swiss but was born in New York City, where she lives with her family.

Tamara Zubatiy is the CEO and co-founder of Barometer, an AI company building AI measurement solutions for brand suitability in audio advertising. Tamara has over 10 years of experience working in applied machine learning across both academic and industry roles. Tamara started her career at the Salk Institute where she worked on computational neurobiology problems under the guidance of world class science faculty including Tatyana Sharpee. She studied Cognitive Science with specialization in Machine Learning and Neural Computation at UC San Diego and Human Centered Computing at Georgia Tech. She graduated with distinction from the UC San Diego honors program for Cognitive Science and defended her undergraduate thesis about her research on human centered design for open an open sourced hearing aid. In her time out of office Tamara enjoys cooking gourmet vegan food, reading, running, as well as practicing and teaching yoga.