Geekend Boston Speakers

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Seth Priebatsch

Chief Ninja, SCVNGR

Seth Priebatsch was born in Boston at the age of 7. At the age of 12, he founded his first web start-up. It failed gloriously, achieving profits several times those of Twitter. After completing his freshman year at Princeton (the official requirement to achieve the term dropout), Seth took a “leave-of-absence” to pursue SCVNGR. The goal? To build the game layer on top of the world. As Chief Ninja of SCVNGR, Seth is solely responsible for corporate acquisition of all Nerf-based technologies. An avid supporter of blood drives, Seth consistently donates plasma for use in large-screen televisions.

David Burn

Chief Storyteller, Bonehook - Editor, AdPulp.com

Portland, Oregon-based David Burn, is a writer, creative director and brand strategist dedicated to helping companies of merit build their brands and grow their businesses. Burn is also a micro media entrepreneur. He co-launched AdPulp.com in October 2004 with a former colleague from Bozell/Omaha. AdPulp.com is now one of the leading sources for marketing news and opinion on the web.

Roy Christopher

Writer and Author

I marshal the middle between Mathers and McLuhan. I was assistant editor of Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky's Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Culture and Music (MIT Press, 2008). My first book is Follow for Now: Interviews with Friends and Heroes (Well-Red Bear, 2007). I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Communication Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. I have written, edited, designed, and consulted for such diverse organizations as Microsoft, Nike, MIT Press, MSN Music, ESPN, the United States Army, Xbox, and Zero Skateboards. My next book, The Medium Picture, is due out in 2012 on Zero Books.

Beth Davidz

Product Lead, AOL

Beth Davidz is a journalist, designer and developer working as a product lead at AOL in New York. She’s an organizer for the journalism-tech groups, Hacks/Hackers and the Online News Association. Before moving to Brooklyn, she worked as an award-winning multimedia journalist at the Associated Press in Washington, D.C. Beth received a Masters in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School. As part of the program, she worked as a Washington correspondent for MarketWatch.com and at the International Herald Tribune in Paris.

Andrew Davies

Lead Creative Juicer, Paragon Design Group

With degrees in Illustration, 2D Animation and Broadcast Design, Drew's multifaceted interests have taken him from small beginnings in advertising in Barbados to Mississippi where he helped build the ad agency MadGENIUS Inc. In addition, he's managed to throw in some work with The Weather Channel, CNNi, Gulfstream and numerous ADDYs and Tellys to boot. Drew now leads the creative team at Paragon where, in addition to speaking on matters of design and creativity, he straddles print, web and motion graphics media. He's also convinced Layers magazine, American Corporate ID, and the Travelling Caribbean Film Festival to show his work somehow.

Michael Durwin

Director of User Experience & Marketing, Boston Technologies

Michael Durwin is a serial early adopter. He launched his first website in 1993, first web video in 1994, and first social media campaign in 1995. He has continued to innovate online and off for brands like Microsoft, Comcast, HBO, Disney, GMC, Coca-Cola, ESPN, Liberty Mutual, Reebok and ABC. He has won a handful of awards from PR to mobile, Mark to Emmy and is a member of the Boston Social Media Club. He is currently hard at work on the Social Media Constitution and is the Director of User Experience & Marketing at Boston Technologies. Find him by Googling "mdurwin."

Kim Gaskins

Director of Content Development, Latitude

Kim Gaskins is the Director of Content Development for Latitude, a research consultancy that helps clients create engaging content, software and technology that harness the possibilities of the Web. She consults on thought leadership projects for Latitude’s partners and clients, including The New York Times and MTV Networks. Kim oversees study design, content creation, marketing, and strategic partnerships for Latitude’s own ongoing series of innovation studies, the Latitude 42s, which explore how the Web will continue to transform a variety of life experiences. She is also a contributor to Shareable Magazine and ReadWriteWeb.

Patrick Haney

Designer/Developer, Hanerino, Inc.

Patrick Haney is not a sausage. He helps make the magic happen at Hanerino, a web design and development studio just north of Boston. He's also an adjunct instructor at the Center for Digital Imaging Arts, a certificate program at Boston University, where he teaches classes in both Web Design and Web Development. In his spare time he organizes monthly events for Refresh Boston, an open group for folks interested in web-related topics in the Boston area.

Craig Johnston

Head of Engineering & Development, Sudjam

Craig Johnston heads Engineering and Development at Sudjam, a software development company specializing in the entertainment industry. As the former Director of R&D at Napster and Universal’s Farmclub, Craig has led Sudjam to develop a variety of projects from platform development for NBC.com to online and mobile development from Trent Reznor to Lisa Kudrow. Craig recently led NBC’s flagship iPad application “NBC Live,” a second-screen, synchronized experience for NBC viewers.

Tony Jordan

Founder & Chief Visionary Officer, AWOL

Tony Jordan is the Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of AWOL, All Walks of Life, Inc., a small non-profit youth development agency based in Savannah. Tony founded the organization in 1997 as a student at Savannah State University. What first began as just a group of friends and likeminded individuals that all shared a love for Hip-Hop culture grew into one of Savannah’s leading spoken word and Hip-Hop based arts organizations. After leaving school, Tony worked for 10 years with at-risk youth in mental health facilities and throughout the juvenile justice system. Frustrated by what he saw, and reminded by his own troubled youth, Tony decided to focus AWOL’s mission on providing arts and education for local youth.

Jenna Marino

Designer & Co-Founder, Hanerino

Jenna Marino is a designer and co-founded Hanerino, a design studio based in Boston. She is also Principal User Experience Designer, part of Blockbuster’s User Experience team, and has 13 years print, interactive, marketing and advertising experience. She has worked previously at AOL and Xerox, as well as agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi, Hunt & Gather, and TMP Worldwide.

Olivera Medenica

Co-Founder & Partner, Wahab & Medenica LLC

Olivera Medenica is the co-founder and partner of Wahab & Medenica LLC, a Manhattan-based law firm with practice areas in Business Transactions, Intellectual Property, Privacy, Technology and Media. Olivera practices primarily in Business, Media and Intellectual Property law. She’s lectured in a variety of venues including the New York County Lawyers’ Association, New York City Bar, New York State Bar, Manhattan School of Music, the School of Visual Arts, South by Southwest Interactive 2011 and at Wikimania 2006 held at Harvard Law School. She also serves on the board of New York County Lawyers’ Association.

Darryl Ohrt

Executive Creative Director, Carrot Creative

Darryl Ohrt is a former punk rocker and Executive Creative Director at Carrot Creative, in NYC. He founded the Brand Flakes for Breakfast blog and went on to become a blogger for the all new Adverve. He's also a regular contributor to Advertising Age’s Small Agency Diary, as the voice of the small guy in a big, big world. After founding the legendary agency Humongo, he sold out to the man, left the entrepreneurial life and joined Carrot. Now he’s the self proclaimed Prime Minister of Awesome, and he’s Tweeting, blogging, and exploring the internets as if it matters. He knows just enough to be dangerous, and is always ready for action.

Jessica Reinis

Senior Analyst, Latitude

Jessica Reinis is a Senior Analyst at Latitude, a research consultancy that helps clients create engaging content, software and technology that harness the possibilities of the Web. Jessica specializes in the design and execution of cross-platform advertising effectiveness studies for global media companies and digital content providers such as ESPN and MTV Networks. She has also recently become involved with user experience and mobile technology studies. Jessica brings a deep understanding of how children interact with media and technology and expertise in creative methodologies for conducting research with children.

Patrick Rodgers

Community Editor, Connect Savannah

Patrick Rodgers spends his days as the Community Editor for Connect Savannah, covering news for the premier weekly arts and entertainment paper in Savannah. During his free time, he collects records, DJs, teaches music production, drinks whiskey and runs a blog about music at stopplayrewind.blogspot.com. He lives with his wife Carrie and their two cats.

Dwight Schultheis

Vice President, Mimoco, Inc. (the MIMOBOT® Company)

As VP at Mimoco, makers of the MIMOBOT® line of arty, cool, and fun character-based designer USB flash drives, Dwight's main responsibility is managing global business development of the company's flagship product, the MIMOBOT® designer USB flash drive. Mimoco is recognized as a pioneer in personalizing electronics products by infusing personality, style, and digital soul. Prior to Mimoco, Dwight launched a|MEN|ity skincare, a consumer products Company that specializes in solving skin problems related to shaving. Schultheis holds an MBA from Babson College and a BA from Kenyon College.

Sean Shadmand

CSO & Co-Founder, Socialize Inc.

Sean Shadmand is the CSO and co-founder of Socialize, Inc. and the visionary behind AppMakr.com. Previously, Sean helped Tagged.com grow from a startup with two million users to a profitable company with 40 million users. He excels in viral tuning, user acquisition, large-scale systems, and product development. Additionally, Sean is a co-founder of FamilyOven.com. He oversaw its growth of 500,000 members as it became operationally profitable within its first six months. He was featured on Bloomberg TV as a guest expert and in The Washington Post, Wired, ABC News, Entrepreneur Magazine, and TechCrunch. Washington Post dubbed him a "strategic genius."

Hal Thomas

Content Manager, BFG Communications

Hal is Content Manager at BFG Communications in Hilton Head, SC. He manages the social media presence for several brands in the Coca-Cola portfolio, including Mello Yello. Hal was one of the first people to Tweet his way to a job, first catching the attention of MSNBC, The Huffington Post, and The New York Post back in 2009. BFG's "Tweet For A Job" campaign would go on to win a 2010 PROMO Magazine Award for New Media Promotion. Hal’s Twitter bio reads: writer, raconteur, dreamer, philosopher, foodie and coffee snob. Just an ordinary guy with exceptional hair.

Jayna Wallace

Principal UX Designer, Blockbuster

Principal UX Designer for Blockbuster, cautious optimist, and always rooting for the underdog.

Murray Wilson

President, TPS Consulting LLC

Murray Wilson has consulted in the professional broadcast television industry for over 20 years. He was heavily involved in the industry’s transition from analog to digital and played an integral role in the development and deployment of some of the largest multi-channel digital broadcast facilities in the world, working in North America, Europe and Asia. He is President of tps Consulting, an experienced broadcast television consultancy that delivers operational analysis and workflow design to professional broadcast integrators and television technology providers. His clients include SONY, Galaxy Latin America, DIRECTV, DIRECTV Japan, MTV, MediaFLO, Viacom, and Hughes SPACEWAY. Born and educated in England, Murray has lived in the US since 1979. He has held a life-long deep fascination for matters technical and divides his time between high-technology and volunteering for AWOL.