Social Media & PR in the Digital Age
Traditional media outlets have changed. The Chamber and GroundFloor Media will host the Social Media & PR in the Digital Age workshop, sponsored by Premier Members Federal Credit Union, on Friday, May 22 from 7:30 a.m. to noon at the St Julien Hotel & Spa, 900 Walnut Street in Boulder. Attendees will gain a greater knowledge of different social media venues and learn how to utilize available media to heighten marketing potential. Break-out groups of 10 will provide a greater understanding and more hands-on experience. Register now in order to secure your seat – space is limited and going fast! Click here for more information/register.
The program is now out. Click
here.
PRESENTING SPONSOR:
Premier Members Federal Credit Union
RHETT BARTLEY ROWE
Rhett B. Rowe joined Premier Members Federal Credit Union, a financial institution with eight branches serving
Boulder and metro
Denver, in October 2008 as President and Chief Executive Officer. Rowe has 20 years of extensive experience in lending, operations, general management, business development, credit administration and relationship management. Currently, he actively serves on the boards for Centennial Lending, Attention Homes and the Credit Union Association of Colorado Governmental Affairs committee.
Rhett is a graduate of the
University of
Detroit (MBA, Finance, summa cum laude) and previously received his BA in Economics (cum laude) from the
University of Michigan. He and his wife, Summer, live in
Broomfield with their eight-year-old daughter, Jillian.
LAURA LOVE - GroundFloor Media
As founder of GroundFloor Media, Laura Love provides vision and leadership for the Denver-based public relations agency she founded in 2001. In the past eight years, Laura has taken a business she started in her basement in Boulder, Colo., and built it into one of the region’s fastest growers, 
boasting a national client base that has included Coors Light, Starbucks Coffee Company, Qdoba Mexican Grill, the Special Olympics U.S.A. National Games, The Children’s Hospital, Corporate Express and CH2M HILL.
The agency has become an award-winning public relations firm and one of the fastest-growing companies in Colorado. GroundFloor Media was named the 2007 Best Boutique Agency to Work For in the nation by The Holmes Report, an influential public relations industry newsletter, and was recognized by the Denver Business Journal as the No. 2 small company on the 2008 Best Places to Work list. The agency was also recently recognized by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce as the number two top Small Businesses of the Year.
Hosts & Panelists Information
CARISSA McCABE – GroundFloor Media
Carissa McCabe has more than 12 years of public relations experience working for clients as varied as Qdoba Mexican Grill, Bellco Credit Union, The Wildlife Experience, Starbucks Coffee Company, and The Children’s Hospital. In the last few years, she has become one of GroundFloor Media’s resident social media experts helping guide clients through the development of integrated marketing/communications plans as well as helping to monitor online conversations and enact real-time online crisis mitigation tactics as needed. Carissa's active 
both personally and on behalf of clients on a number of social media mediums including Yelp, Facebook, Twitter and various Ning sites. She enjoys counseling clients, friends, and family about becoming involved with social media and finds herself learning something new every day about the ever evolving world of social media.
ANDREW HYDE - TechStars
Andrew Hyde is a speaker, designer, user interface builder, user experience creator, buzzword originator, 
blogger, politico, biker, runner, backpacker and nice guy. He grew up in Sisters, Oregon, went to school in Providence, Rhode Island and split the difference to live in Boulder, Colorado. The great company that he works for is TechStars, which is, according to Andrew, most certainly the finest startup accelerator in the land. He has founded four companies, including Startup Weekend and VCwear.
MIKE COTE - ColoradoBiz Mike Cote is editor of
ColoradoBiz the only monthly statewide business publication in Colorado.
ColoradoBiz publishes in-depth stories about the issues, people, and trends affecting Colorado businesses and publishes exclusive online articles, columns, videos, and podcasts at cobizmag.com. Mike joined the magazine in February 2007 after nine years with the
Daily Camera in Boulder where he served as business and city editor respectively.
He has also taught reporting and editing in the journalism school at the University of Colorado. Mike previously spent a decade working for newspapers in Florida as a reporter and editor.
AMBER BOROWSKI JOHNSON - Mile High MamasMile High Mamas is the brainchild of Amber Borowski Johnson, a former adventure-travel writer turned adventurous unraveling mother of two children. She is originally from Canada but spent a number of years working as a publicist for Utah’s ski and outdoor industry whilst moonlighting as a radio personality and travel writer. Currently, Amber works as a social media strategist at Pixo Web Design & Strategy and has been blogging at Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck since 2005. She has been the recipient of numerous blogging awards, 
including Mother’s Day Central’s Top 100 Mom Blogs, Best of MSN, Blogtrepreneur’s Top 50 Mommy Blogs and start-up powerhouse Sampa’s Top 10 Mommy Blogs You Should Read. She is a family travel writer and a regular contributor at Travel Savvy Mom, a reputable network of mothers all over the world who review family-friendly destinations, accommodations and travel gear. Prior to launching Mile High Mamas, she was also a regular contributor at DotMoms, cited by Time magazine as one of the 50 Coolest Web sites in 2005.
DOUG THIELEN - Qdoba
Before joining the Qdoba team, Doug received bachelor's degrees in communication and marketing and worked in both television and radio. Now, as the manager of non-traditional marketing and public relations for Qdoba Mexican Grill, Doug's responsibilities run the gamut from crisis communication and cause related marketing to sponsorships and viral marketing. He oversees Qdoba's e-mail marketing program, loyalty program, online promotions, national sponsorships, public relations programs, and the maintenance and redesign of qdoba.com.
Doug is also responsible for implementing nation-wide traditional and non-traditional marketing programs at the local store level. Outside of the burrito world, you'll find Doug doing anything that involves enjoying the Colorado outdoors. As soon as the snow starts falling he hits the slopes, and the minute the sun starts shinning you can find him on the trail for a long bike ride or at a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
LIBBY NIEMI - Daily CameraOnline Products Specialist Libby Niemi, has a wealth of experience in new media in particular and
media in general. She has a B.A. and M.A. in journalism and mass communication. Her past positions include online account manager, online editor and assistant marketing manager and she’s worked with accounts such as IZZE, Charter Communications, Medtronic Navigation, GoLite, Warren Miller Entertainment and Ski Magazine. She’s been in the industry for eight years. Libby has built Internet businesses from the ground up, and she’s ready to help you with yours.
ARI NEWMAN - Filtrbox
Ari Newman is an experienced entrepreneur who thrives on the challenges 
and opportunities that define early stage companies. In his 12 plus years in the high-tech sector, Ari has collected a broad range of experience working with Internet applications, enterprise software, service delivery, customer service, and product management. Ari’s prior companies include Newman Venture Advisors, CreekPath Systems, Novell/Volera, and others.
SCOTT ESMOND - Red Door Interactive Ask Scott and he’ll tell you successful relationships stem from continually creating marketing assets and competitive advantages for clients. As the business development expert in the Denver office, Scott helps new and existing clients migrate their business strategies around internet markets and technologies. 
After graduating from the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business in 1995, Scott earned his marketing stripes in the trenches of the San Francisco advertising community. At Hal Riney & Partners, Scott was a Media Planner for the Saturn Cars account and was also handpicked for the team to launch the first commercial electric car, the EV1 from General Motors. In 1999 Scott returned to Colorado to start Breckenridge Communications with his brother and the company was acquired in 2008 by Red Door Interactive.
KEVIN KAUFMAN - Daily Camera
Kevin Kaufman is executive editor of the Daily Camera, where he's worked the past 15 years, serving in various capacities including managing editor, special products editor and city editor. Kaufman has been involved with and an innovator of the Camera's suite of Web sites since the newspaper launched its first site in the mid 1990s. A graduate of the school of journalism at Colorado State University, he has a passion for journalism, news and story telling - although it took him a couple decades of wandering the world and dabbling in other careers to figure that out. He thrives on change - even at today's nearly impossible pace. Technology fascinates him, though he doesn't own a cell phone. And no, he doesn't believe newspapers are on their deathbeds - a challenging time indeed, but more a fantastic new adventure than a road to extinction.
TIFFANY CHILDS - Yelp
Tiffany Childs is the community manager of Denver Yelp and
a lover of all things champagne, even the champagne of beers. She studied Journalism at the University of Colorado, Boulder and has spent the past five plus years developing marketing departments for start-ups, copywriting in the SEO field, and now managing the Denver Yelp community online (and off). She loves live music, cheese plates and the wonderful city of Denver, which she is systematically exploring and then yelping about. You can see her reviews at
www.gumball.yelp.com.
TROY LERNER - The Booyah Agency
Troy Lerner is the co-founder and director of The Booyah Agency, a boutique online ad agency in Westminster.
Booyah offers expertise for paid search, organic search, banner media, email, social media and video advertising. Troy’s team manages online marketing programs for companies like Lillian Vernon, Vitamin Shoppe, NewsGator, Gaiam, Little Tikes
, Crispin Porter + Bogusky and about 30 others. Prior to Booyah, Troy worked at AvenueA/Razorfish. He graduated from the University of Virginia, and is cheered on by his wife and two children.
JONATHAN SACKHEIM - The Booyah Agency
Jonathan Sackheim helps companies make money using the Web. He's a Senior Account Manager at The Booyah Agency, the region's largest online marketing agency, where he focuses on social media, search engine marketing, SEO, and banner advertising. Jonathan's past experience includes being Director of Search Engine Marketing at NetQuote.com and Web Marketing Manager at Avaya Global Services. Jonathan holds a BS in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is a certified Facebook addict, lover of Excel, Boulder native, skier, golfer, and mountain biker. Connect with Jonathan at www.linkedin.com/in/sackheim.
HOLLY HAMANN - TheBlogFrog
Holly Hamann is founder and VP of Marketing for TheBlogFrog, a Boulder-based web2.0 start-up that offers social and community-building widgets for blogs. Holly brings 18 years marketing experience in the Internet, multimedia, online video, and other high-tech industries. She specializes in the rapid market launch, growth, and customer acquisition for technology start-ups. Holly previously served in senior level marketing roles at several high-tech companies including iggli.com
, Thought Equity Motion, LeftHand Networks, Service Metrics, Matchlogic, and spent six years at Verizon Communications doing 
sales and marketing. She holds a BA in Mathematics and Computer Science from Washington College and completed graduate studies in telecommunications at Johns Hopkins University.
CHRIS REINHARD - Motive: A Hybrid Agency
Chris Reinhard has been a copywriter and social media strategist for Motive: A Hybrid Agency since 2005. His experience in the experiential, online, and social media marketing arenas places him in a unique group of young marketers capable of satisfying creative and executional needs for a variety of clients. Since joining Motive, Chris has helped orchestrate interactive social media programs for Qdoba Mexican Grill, Native Eyewear, and Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard and aided in the execution of nontraditional programs for Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Vehix.com. Chris has been awarded a Denver 50 Award (as part of the Motive team) for his work on Mountain Dew’s ‘Dew Report’ branded entertainment series, and a 2009 SxSW Viewer’s Choice nomination for online writing.
ASHLEY COHEN - GroundFloor Media
Ashley Cohen brings more than a decade of experience to GroundFloor Media with a focus on technology PR, social media, consumer product PR and public affairs. A self-proclaimed social media junkie, Ashley spearheaded the development of the GroundFloor social Media (GFsM) program, which helps clients leverage social media elements such as blogs, social networks and podcasts to further expand their brand outreach and connect with new audiences. Originally from Louisville, Ky., Ashley earned a bachelor’s degree, with concentrations in public relations and history, from Indiana University. Ashley currently lives in Boulder, and in her spare time she enjoys hiking, running, reading and spending time with her husband and their neurotic dogs.
JENNIFER WILDHAGEN - MarketwireDuring Jennifer’s three years at Marketwire, she has served as a communications consultant to both public and investor relations professionals in Colorado and Utah,
working with companies such as Coors, Omniture and Teletech. Her main objectives are to consult her clients on their external communications to generate as much exposure and publicity as possible through both traditional and new technologies. Jennifer also provides consultative feedback on the best ways to optimize a press release and maximize exposure with social media communities.
DEB ROBISON - Rudy Media
Deb Robison has more than 10 years experience in public relations and marketing. Following her stint 
as the director for Asia in the Colorado International Trade Office she has worked with a variety of organizations on communication strategy. Currently she works with clients in telecommunications, consumer, and economic development markets and is serving as the marketing director for Learn About Web a new media and marketing conference for small and medium businesses. An MA in cross-cultural communication from Colorado College has served as great foundation for helping economic development organizations, small businesses and non-profits incorporate social media as a part of their marketing and public relations strategy.