Social Media Day Expert Panelists
Erika Napoletano - @redheadwriting
Erika Napoletano holds no fancy titles and is an expert at nothing except screwing up royally and learning from her mistakes. As the person behind the RedheadWriting online persona, she’s been hailed by Forbes as a “spinless spin doctor” for her BS-free perspectives on business, marketing, branding, and life in general. She's the Head Redhead at RHW Media, a Denver-based marketing consulting firm, where she works with companies from all walks of life to keep them from looking like idiots online (and whatever that might entail). She’s a twice-pulished author, including The Power of Unpopular (Wiley 2012), a columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine, and speaks at conferences across the U.S. on the inherent power of truth in business… or as she refers to it, the power of unpopularity. In spite of lactose intolerance, she remains a fan of grilled cheese sandwiches and banana milkshakes. You can connect with her if your modern sensibilities allow on Twitter or Facebook and learn more about her at www.erikanapoletano.com.
Tonya Hall - @TonyaHallRadio
Tonya Hall is founder and CEO of Barzhini. She's a media journalist and host of the Tonya Hall Show. The Tonya Hall Show offers captivating interviews from industry movers and shakers that have mastered the power of Social Media. It's the only one of its kind on the radio!
Julie Abel - @JulieAbel
Julie Abel has been serving as the Executive Director of Family Life Services, one of COS longest running 501 c3 organizations, since 2009. Prior to this appointment, Julie served on the FLS Board of Directors. Her professional career has been dedicated to serving in ministry positions that utilize her gifts and impact local communities.
Julie brings over fifteen years of non-profit organizational experience to the Family Life Service team and is often sought after by other local nonprofits across the country as a consultant to help with their marketing and brand development.
This spring she was named by the Colorado Springs Business Journal as one of their forty Rising Stars under age forty. She and her husband Jeff reside in Colorado Springs with their two children Jacob and Jessa. Julie loves connecting on Twitter and Facebook or you can try to catch up with her on a Colorado 4wd trail with her family in their Jeep Rubicon.
Kevin Knebl - @kevinknebl
Kevin Knebl is a professional speaker, author, trainer and advisor and the owner of Knebl Communications, LLC, a Colorado-based professional speaking and training company. Kevin speaks to, trains, and advises small, medium and Fortune 500 companies like State Farm Insurance, Herman Miller, Dale Carnegie, Grubb & Ellis, Quizno's, RE/MAX, Lorman, Standard & Poor's and hundreds more on Online and Offline Networking, Social Media, Relationship Building, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Kevin is a McGraw-Hill published author and is the coauthor of "The Social Media Sales Revolution: The New Rules for Finding Customers, Building Relationships, and Closing More Sales Through Online Networking" and is a frequent guest blogger for a number of organizations. He has over 20 years experience in interpersonal skills training, sales, networking and related areas of expertise. Kevin is recognized as a LinkedIn subject matter expert and has trained hundreds of organizations and tens of thousands of individuals on the most effective uses of LinkedIn since 2004. Kevin also has more Recommendations (900+) on his LinkedIn profile than anyone else in the world among over 100,000,000 LinkedIn users.
Tamarin Mullenaux - @pikespeakacura
Tamarin Mullenaux has been Pikes Peak Acura’s Internet Manager since before Twitter hatched. Beginning on a new Honda sales floor in 2002 , Tamarin saw a future beyond holding the parking lot down and began focusing her skills towards the online customer. A move to Colorado Springs and Acura allowed her to take a fledgling corner of the dealerships three stores and stretch it to her full time obsession. With a business motto of “If it’s online, it’s my fault,” and the changing preferences of the modern car customer, the internet is now the primary source of business traffic, and social media, it’s store greeter. Tamarin once shot a commercial with John Elway and has been Twitter blocked (briefly) by the mayor’s office. You can find her at work, or the closest hot spot.
Ryan Wanner - @rnrcoffeecafe
Ryan Wanner is the Owner and Roast Master of R&R Coffee Café in Black Forest, Colorado. He has been in the foodservice business since he was old enough to have a job, and was fortunate enough to receive formal Italian Barista Training while helping a friend open a coffee bar. He is self-taught in the world of coffee roasting, and is in the process of creating a serious coffee community in the northern reaches of Colorado Springs. He won a Best Of 2012 award from the Gazette for his coffee workshops, enjoys drinking more caffeine than he likes to admit, and is trying hard to find that perfect balance between the coffee bar and his wife and daughter. He is active in social media—especially Twitter and Facebook—and is a strong proponent of everything social media has to offer for small businesses
Mariana Wagner - @mizzle
Mariana Wagner has been an active Colorado Springs real estate agent since 2001 and blogger since 2006. About that same time she started integrating herself and her business in the world of social media - first with blogging, then with MySpace, then Twitter and then Facebook. She has been a real estate trainer for Keller Williams since 2005, focusing on incorporating online technology and tools in business. Mariana and her husband, Derek, are in the top 1% of producing agents in the area with over 85% of their business coming from their involvement in blogging and social media.
Erica Meyer - @HSPPR
Erica comes from a diverse background of Public Relations & Advertising clients and techniques. She is currently responsible for HSPPR’s social media campaigns, as well as media relations. She believes that social media truly is saving the lives of companion animals by educating the public on responsible pet ownership, the importance of adopting homeless animals, and about community and volunteer programs at the shelter one “like & tweet” at a time. Plus, her job allows her to post as many funny pet photos and videos as she wants.
Ed Stedman - @edsgym
Ed Stedman moved to Colorado Springs in January of 2011. In April of 2011 he opened Ed's Gym, a human performance and fitness facility. Ed started living in the gym in high school, learning about training methods, programming, and techniques from experienced lifters, athletes, and coaches. He began also began reading and studying any training related material he could get his hands on, a practice he still continues.
During his career as a fitness coach, Ed has worked to help people achieve a range of fitness goals from extensive weight loss to sport specific, athletic preparation and development. He loves to help people achieve the fitness they need to live the life they desire. He has learned from and been taught by some of the top fitness professionals and coaches in the world.
Ed's Gym was created to be more than a fitness facility, but an active community within Colorado Springs. Ed is passionate about working to help Colorado Spring grow and thrive, and continue to be a great place to live and work. Ed is married to Katie and is the Proud Papa of Rhys and Guy.
Wendy Carson - @springsalliance
Wendy Carson is a grant writer working for several different non-profits, focusing on organizations who serve abused children and foster kids. In 2010, Wendy started Barely Escape in response to the resources directing residents to only locally-owned businesses and ideas. In April of 2011, she founded the Colorado Springs Community Alliance, an organization focused on supporting locals in making Colorado Springs a better place to live. The Colorado Springs Community Alliance is a small local organization whose mission is to provide the residents of Colorado Springs with opportunities to engage with each other, support locally owned businesses, small community projects and local food and "fresh perspectives."
Paul Berry (Moderator) - @pauleberry
Paul Berry is the Social Media Client Specialist for The Gazette. Paul works with internal and external clients to help them leverage social media to improve their revenue and customer satisfaction. In addition to his clients at the Gazette, he is a regular guest instructor for social media workshops and consultant for local non-profits.
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