It's No Fluke

Dani Newman is a Creator economy operator. She has spent over a decade at the intersection of Creator communities and the platforms that serve them. She currently leads Creator Growth at GigaStar, serving YouTubers across 20M+ subscribers and 250M+ monthly views. At GigaStar Dani specializes in building the automations and playbooks behind millions raised for Creators from fans and investors. 

Dani started her career as an early hire at Tumblr and spent nearly a decade at GIPHY, where she launched its first creative studio for brands like Converse, McDonald's, and Warner Bros, and scaled its 0-to-1 Creator program to 20,000+ Creators. She holds a Master's in Human Computer Interaction and Design and is endlessly curious about how technology enables communities to connect and sustain through monetization. Follow Dani on LinkedIn.

Lauren Ridgley is the CEO of Left Hand Agency, a boutique independent full-service media agency based in Portland specializing in CPG brands. Her team plans and buys across the full mix, including retail media networks, paid social, OOH, CTV, programmatic, and paid search, spanning both performance and brand investment. Left Hand isn't a performance-only shop or a digital agency; the team's differentiation is knowing how to balance brand and performance investment for long-term growth, not just short-term response.

Before founding Left Hand, Lauren spent years as a marketing director in TV and entertainment. She's deeply versed in the Byron Sharp and Ehrenberg-Bass frameworks around mental and physical availability, and Left Hand has been known to send clients copies of How Brands Grow to make the case.

Lauren is a regular voice in industry conversations, having appeared on multiple podcasts and panels, including a past panel with Indie Agency News. She's active in the Pacific Northwest marketing and creative community through NextNW (formerly Portland Ad Fed), and writes the CPG-focused High Five newsletter series.

The brain behind billions of views at Crocs, Duolingo, Smosh, TV and more. Sarah Whittle is an award-winning Director, Producer and Strategist that's worked across television, entertainment, tech, and CPG brands. In 2024, she was honored on AdAge's 40 Under 40 list and is currently building her own empire (Unicorn Social) consulting, directing and creating… You can see her (and her cats) on the internet @rudeunicorns and her internet expert musings on LinkedIn and her newsletter.

Bryan Smiley is CEO of Hard Carry Media (HCM), a digital-first media company dedicated to building multi-platform brands and IP specifically for Gen Z men. Under Smiley's leadership, HCM bridges the content gap for this demographic with plans to create and acquire a portfolio of digitally native brands for every stage of Gen Z male life across verticals, including sports, entertainment, comedy, and lifestyle. 

A veteran Hollywood executive with nearly two decades of experience spanning content development, production, and studio leadership, Smiley has a proven track record of scaling global media powerhouses. At HCM, Smiley oversees a seasoned team responsible for the company’s core offerings in development, sales, audience analytics, and in-house production out of its 20,000 SF studio in Los Angeles. HCM’s flagship entertainment brand, Full Squad, is one of YouTube’s leading variety and social entertainment channels for Gen Z with more than 11 million followers and 260 million monthly views. 

Prior to HCM, Smiley served as President & Chief Content Officer of Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat, where he oversaw more than $500 million in production and helped grow the company into a global studio with hits across TV, film, audio and digital for partners including Netflix, Peacock, Audible, and SiriusXM. Prior to that, he held an executive role at Columbia Pictures, where he led talent-driven deals including Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media and a multi-picture pact with Issa Rae. He has also consulted for Fox Digital Studio, 20th Century Fox’s digital arm for early web-first series and films with social influencers.

Joseph Marchese is Executive Vice President of Creator Strategy and Business at Bent Pixels, where he leads creator partnerships and strategic growth initiatives across the company’s evolving digital media ecosystem.
With more than 15 years of experience spanning digital media, the creator economy, and entertainment, Joseph has helped hundreds of creators, brands, and media companies grow audiences, diversify revenue streams, and build sustainable businesses.
Throughout his career, Joseph has worked at the intersection of content, technology, and monetization, developing partnerships across YouTube, podcasting, connected TV, and emerging digital platforms. He brings a deep understanding of the creator landscape and a passion for helping creators and partners navigate the rapidly evolving media environment.
At Bent Pixels, Joseph focuses on building innovative partnerships and growth strategies that create meaningful opportunities for creators while delivering long-term value for brands and media partners.

Melanie Love makes tools so pain relief doesn't have to hurt.

Love is the founder of unwind body works. Out of necessity, she created the (un)Block™, a stable, no-roll alternative to foam rollers and massage balls. And developed the unwind body works method, which uses four at a time to balance the body left to right, top to bottom, protecting the spine while giving Type A multi-tasking efficiency.

The necessity? Nerve damage in her low back from Bertolotti Syndrome, an unfused S1 vertebrae, combined with hypermobility. She went from walking 18 holes of golf to crawling out of bed in pain in under 6 months. She built the tool she needed but couldn't find.

Unwind integrates neurobiology for a fresh, self-directed, cringe-free approach to tight, sore muscles that works for practitioners and their patients. Better mobility work at home makes for better stability work at the clinic. Unwind offers (un)Blocks, group and 1:1 sessions, practitioner PD training, and at-home video content.

Love writes about trauma recovery on her Substack, which is how she learned about the nervous system and how much more it influences than most people realize, including pain relief.

Learn more at unwindbody.works or reach out on socials at @innatelymelanie

John Mathieu serves as Vice President and Creative Director at Pearpop, leading the company's creative and strategic direction across its portfolio of global brand partners. With nearly 13 years of experience spanning advertising and creator marketing, he partners with brands including Microsoft and Progressive to modernize how brands approach creator marketing.

Prior to joining Pearpop, John developed integrated campaigns across broadcast, digital and social for brands including the CDC's national anti-smoking campaign, Ocean Spray, Jack Daniel's, Hasbro and Sallie Mae. Among his work, he created Hacked, a YouTube series for Sallie Mae that earned the 2023 Shorty Award for Best Video Series.

Joy Osinloye is the Vice President of Customer Success, North America at CreatorIQ, where she leads Customer Success across enterprise, mid-market, and agency segments. She oversees retention, expansion, and long-term value creation and realization for a diverse portfolio of high-growth global brands. Partnering closely with revenue, marketing, and executive stakeholders, Joy equips the CreatorIQ customers with the necessary tools and insights to ensure their creator programs drive true measurable business impact.

Before joining CreatorIQ, Joy led influencer and integrated marketing initiatives for global brands including Airbnb, Huggies, L’Oréal, Adobe, and Kellogg’s. That brand-side experience now informs her approach to customer success by helping organizations operationalize creator marketing as a scalable, revenue-aligned growth channel rather than a series of one-off campaigns.

Joy is particularly focused on building resilient customer relationships, strengthening adoption at scale, and aligning creator investments to durable revenue outcomes. She is also a passionate advocate for people-first leadership and mentors emerging leaders across the marketing and technology ecosystem.

Jacob Wallach is a creator and strategist with a background in social media, creator marketing, and consumer insights. He previously worked at TikTok, advising Fortune 500 brands including Mars, Hershey’s, and Campbell’s on creator-led and social campaigns, and began his career at Nielsen, where he developed a foundation in consumer analytics and data-driven storytelling.

He later founded Social4TheWin, a creator and brand community that connected hundreds of creators with marketers, agencies, and companies through events and partnerships. Across his work, Jacob blends creative judgment, cultural fluency, and analytical thinking to understand how brands earn attention in modern media.

Sam Nebel is the Co-Founder and King of All Wipes of goodwipes, a bold and eco-conscious hygiene company revolutionizing how people wipe their butts. With a mission to break taboos and elevate the toilet paper aisle,

Goodwipes offers flushable wipes that empower people to feel fresh, clean, and GOOD. Prior to launching the company, he was a franchisee at Complete Nutrition, the fastest-growing wellness retail chain in the U.S. He also co-founded Party Degree, a collegiate nightlife agency that brought marquee EDM and hip-hop talent to campuses across the Southeast. A graduate of Florida State University with degrees in Finance and Entrepreneurship, Sam has scaled goodwipes from a grassroots idea into a nationally distributed brand, now on shelves in Target, Walmart, Kroger, and many more.

He is also an active industry advocate, serving on the board of the Responsible Flushing Alliance, where he champions sustainability and product standards for flushable wipes.

Beyond the brand: Sam is an award-winning ceramist, occasional trail runner, and spearfisherman. He’s a proud FUNCLE to his nephew Noah and niece Lila, an enthusiastic home cook (beta), and a lifelong learner who brings energy and curiosity to everything he does.