Meet Our Speakers

Michael W. Allison is a U.S. Marine Purple Heart Veteran, international keynote speaker, TEDx speaker, and business strategist with over 20 years of experience in leadership, digital marketing, and content strategy. As the Founder & CEO of The Adversity Academy Leadership Group, Michael helps businesses, entrepreneurs, and marketing professionals master AI-driven social media strategies, relationship marketing, and brand growth. With a focus on resilient leadership, digital innovation, and social engagement, Michael has spoken at major industry conferences, including Microsoft FabCon, TEDx, and executive leadership summits, where he has trained thousands on leveraging AI, personal branding, and social media for business success. His insights have been featured by Microsoft, TEDx, ESPN, and VFW Magazine, making him an ideal speaker for Social Media Week Lima.

Valerie Morris is a digital marketing strategist focusing in authority-building content and brand positioning. She understands social media growth tactics and how they fit in with other digital marketing disciplines. Valerie founded Tintero Creative, a digital agency based in Colorado. After launching her bestselling book, We're All Ears: How to increase your impact, influence, and success online in a noisy world, she has built out programs to help other authors do the same and get strategic with their book ideas. Valerie is active in the digital community in Denver and a speaker at Denver Startup Week, SocialRock, Fuel Your Influence, and other innovative events. When Valerie "shuts off" her devices, she can be found running around with her dogs, doing Pinterest projects, or searching for the best queso this side of the border.

Shawn Quintero is a serial entrepreneur, author, podcast host, and owner of 10 businesses ranging from real estate to coaching to software. He is passionate about supporting founding owners become "Exit-Ready" and serves as a board member, fractional executive, and mentor to businesses looking to get acquired in the next 18 months to 3 years.

Aleasha Bahr is a sales strategist, speaker, best selling author and founder of the Black Sheep Sales Method. Because if it’s a fit, it’s a fact and there’s no selling involved.

She has 15 years of experience customizing sales strategies to your personality, audience and service (because sales is not a one-size-fits-all!)

Her methods empower business owners to effortlessly convert up to 80% of their leads without pressure, pitching or pretending to be someone else.

In her 15+ years in sales she’s sold $50 million+ in services herself and has helped others sell 17.5M over the last 4 years alone with her proven, personalized approach.

Makayla Boyd is a Senior Digital Content Specialist at the University of Cincinnati, which, also happens to be her alma mater. She earned her bachelor's degree in Electronic Media in 2020 and is expected to complete her master's in Marketing in the spring of 2025. Makayla has honed her skills and established herself as a published photographer, award-winning Videographer and experienced Social Media manager. Her passion for storytelling and visual aesthetics has not only enhanced her company’s YouTube channel but has also helped her gain over 1,800 followers in one year at her company.

Tracy Phillips is an Emmy-nominated video and visibility expert who has harnessed her 23 years of video production experience and award-winning documentary skills to help businesses create testimonial videos that do the selling, recruiting, or fundraising for them.

Tracy is celebrated for her unmatched expertise, her quick wit, and her boundless enthusiasm for guiding her clients and students in the effective use of video to impact both internal and global audiences.

Her signature 'laugh & learn' style of presenting has made her one of the most sought-after speakers, trainers, and workshop facilitators in her field.

Tracy's client roster boasts New York Times best-selling authors, top players in the real estate industry, and Fortune 500 companies.

Austin Armstrong is a lifelong digital marketer, public speaker, host of the TikTok podcast BusinessTok, 2X 7-figure entrepreneur, and CEO of Syllaby, an AI video marketing tool that takes you from idea to creation in minutes. Austin has posted over 4000 videos on social media, tripling his own business’s revenue and thousands more across his clients’ accounts. Austin has leveraged his success on TikTok to gain millions of followers across every social media platform. He loves sharing the strategies that have worked for him to empower you.

https://syllaby.io/
https://austinarmstrong.ai/
https://www.aimarketingworld.co/
https://x.com/socialtyPro/

Founder of Real Business Connections & Balbert Marketing LLC

Ben Albert transformed a challenging furlough into a thriving entrepreneurial journey. As the host of the Real Business Connections Podcast, Ben helps others find their voice and achieve success. Passionate about authentic connections and innovative marketing, Ben empowers business leaders to build impactful brands and create meaningful relationships. Join him to learn how to infuse your work with creativity, passion, and purpose.

Katie Brinkley is revolutionizing social media marketing with her less is more approach. With over 19 years expertise, Katie has developed a unique 4 post strategy that helps clients achieve more growth while posting less. This game-changing method leverages Katie's platform-agnostic storytelling tactics tailored to each brand's goals. From implementing social media growth for AT&T and DirecTV to providing done-for-you services for solopreneurs, Katie understands social media's evolution. Blending journalism and social media savvy, Katie helps clients attract their ideal audience and drive measurable results efficiently.

Jeff Howell has transitioned his marketing experience and predisposition to authenticity into a successful ecommerce career. Aside from being a subject matter expert on ecommerce, he has also has gained notoriety for helping others be their authentic selves online. His message is clear: Be yourself because you never know who needs to hear what you have to say.

Known as the Queen of Relationship Marketing, Jessika is on a mission to redefine corporate America and create something she wanted to be part of. Jessika founded NOW Marketing Group in 2010 with only a laptop and a vision to give people with heart an upper hand. NOW Marketing Group was recognized as Inc. Best places to work 2022, is a Forbes-recognized Agency Partner, Partnered with Facebook, Google and is a certified inbound partner with Hubspot.

NOW Marketing Group works with more than 100 clients across the United States and beyond, choosing to serve – not sell. Jessika lives by a personal mission of helping inspire people to love more, give more and be more through authentic relating and proving doing what’s right, not what’s easy, can turn a vision into a profitable agency that produces results.

Hello! I’m a firm believer that each person’s social media journey is unique to them. Mine is no different. Within my 14+ years of experience, I’ve seen a lot of things! Growing up in Houston, Texas we always had a motto to either “go big or go home.” Going big for me means being a social media ambassador to our industry. How can we grow understanding of our craft, our journeys, our passions? I’m here to share that journey with you.

My core strengths lie in strategic social media planning, dynamic content creation and management, adept B2C/B2B paid marketing, meticulous budget oversight, influential influencer and community engagement, insightful analytics utilization, revenue optimization, and inspiring team leadership.

I excel in aligning social media endeavors with broader business objectives, ensuring tangible outcomes such as revenue expansion and heightened audience engagement. Thriving in the rapid evolution of the digital landscape, I possess sharp adaptability skills, enabling me to swiftly pivot strategies to meet evolving market demands.

I'm Chad Illa-Petersen, but you can call me The Story Catcher. I weave the forgotten and unspoken into compelling tales that capture hearts and inspire action. With a keen eye for the extraordinary in the ordinary, I guide speakers and businesses through a treasure hunt of their own experiences, to share with the world. From tale spotting to tale telling, I turn your 'just another day' into 'let me tell you about this one time.' Join me on the mic, and let’s spin some story gold that makes your audience lean in and listen up!

George Whitcher is a seasoned programmer from New Hampshire. With professional experience dating back to 2006, he specializes in complex back-end programming, database queries, and server management. Beyond coding, he's a devoted husband and father, an avid snowboarder, a musician and composer, and a lifelong gamer—even writing cheat codes still found online. Proudly embracing his "nerd" identity, he’s always eager to learn and take on new challenges. He’s open to discussing projects, helping bring ideas to life, and sharing his wealth of knowledge with others.

Marc Bowker is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience as the owner of Alter Ego Comics, an award-winning comic book store located in downtown Lima, Ohio. With deep expertise in comic retail, Marc has helped shape the local and national comic book community, offering valuable insights into building a successful and sustainable business in the niche world of comics.

A certified Heroic Coach and personal development mentor, Marc specializes in guiding small business owners to increase their energy, productivity, and connection. Drawing from personal experience with anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder after a nervous breakdown in 2016, Marc is dedicated to helping fellow entrepreneurs navigate the challenges of mental health while achieving peak performance in both business and life.

Jennifer Watson is an Emmy winning TV Personality, Global Marketing and Social Media Strategist, a Meteorologist on The Weather Channel, Speaker and Podcaster. Jennifer is a dynamic talent with a passion for every aspect of digital media from building brand strategies, creating content plans, to getting executive buy-in. She motivates audiences from the stage and drives engagement, including launching numerous Facebook Live campaigns for the biggest weather brand, garnering millions of views. She has been featured in Chief Content Marketer Magazine, and on stage at Content Marketing World, Social Fresh, Social Media Marketing World and Social Shake-Up to name a few.

CEO of Yellow Barn Media - Small Business Coach + Cheerleader | Marketing Nerd | Natural Born Encourager & Happy Person | Lover of Email + Social Media