Wednesday, April 29th, 2015

10:45 AM - Noon

Track V: Marina Vista Room - Live Webcast from this Room

Women Entrepreneurs: Sharing Experience - Real Life Stories - Building the Brand, the Personal and the Company Identity

Erin Kapczynski, Vice President, Marketing, Purch

Kirsty Spraggon, Author, Motivational Expert, Kirsty Spraggon TV

Julie Spira, CEO, Cyber-Dating Expert and Social Media and More

Phoenix Gonzalez, Co-Founder & COO/Head of Business Development, Dotstudioz

Debra Fine, CEO, I Have A Dream, Board of Directors Maple Center

Linda Sherman, Co-Founder, The Courage Group, Moderator

startup acquired by WPP, and a strategic marketing consultant at Demand Media.  Previously, she held high-level marketing positions at Move.com and Herbalife HQ, where she focused on international marketing.  True to Erin's borderline obsessive love of all things digital media, she has served as an Interactive Emmy Awards judge, a MIXX Awards judge, and also co-authored the wildly entertaining Digital Video and Online Content industry standards through Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Committees.  A virtual LA native by way of Ukraine, Erin lives in Santa Monica, CA where she wears lots of sunscreen. When she's not correcting people on the spelling of her last name, she likes to browse art exhibits, lift kettle bells, and think about the world.  She speaks English, Russian, some French and a bit of Polish.

Debra Fine, CEO, “I Have a Dream” Foundation – Los Angeles: IHADLA has been sponsoring students, “Dreamers,” throughout Los Angeles since 1987. The Foundation sponsors an entire grade at an inner-city, Title 1 elementary school, and stays with those students for over ten years, providing after-school and summer programs, academic and cultural enrichment, counseling services, arts instruction, mentors and tutors. Upon high school graduation, IHADLA then provides each Dreamer a last-dollar scholarship for college or career training.  Debra Fine is a member of the Board of Trustees Committee for Economic Development based in Washington D.C.  She is on the Subcommittee for Conscious Capitalism and Education in the United States. This organization is a think tank and policy review entity. Debra currently serves on the board of The Maple Counseling Center. TMCC provides low cost mental health care to those in need in Los Angeles. Debra is a Member of Young President’s Organization and is a moderator for WIN (Women’s International Network) Lean In (Sheryl Sandberg’s women on boards movement) and Regional Chair for the Disadvantaged Kids and Musicians Network. Debra Fine is a delegate representing the 33rd California District for the 2016 presidential primary. Debra was awarded Female Entrepreneur of the Year in the Children’s Educational products space. She was also named one of the top 50 most influential women in entertainment for her for her role as CEO of Cloud9 Interactive, as one of the few women in technology. Debra has had over 20 years of experience in strategic planning, capital raising, marketing, operations and business development/strategic alliances. Debra Fine has been CEO of both private and public companies in the educational media, technology and consumer products sectors. She has created marketing strategy for some of the world’s best known brands such as Disney Interactive, Kraft and Quaker.  On June 7, 2013, Debra Fine survived a mass shooting at Santa Monica College. She is a nominee for the Carnegie Medal of Honor for saving the lives of others by putting herself between the shooter and two community members. Debra was shot four times. Ms. Fine founded the Fineline Foundation to promote community safety, advocate for proactive mental health treatment and help victims of violent crimes. She speaks at Corporations, Chambers of Commerce, Colleges, Empowerment Seminars and Conferences. Debra Fine has appeared on CNN with Piers Morgan, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, HuffPostLive, Business Rock Stars and other TV outlets. She has been featured and quoted in The Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Santa Monica Mirror and other leading publications. Debra tweets at @DebraLynnFine.

Kirsty Spraggon, Author, Motivational Expert, Kirsty Spraggon TV: Kirsty Spraggon attacks life like it's a chocolate cake. She is the Executive Producer & Host of KirstyTV. An international speaker, author & entrepreneur based in Los Angeles. With 21 years experience in every facet of the sales industry. Her outstanding career saw her ranked in the top 1 percent of individuals in RE/MAX's global network of 121,000 sales agents worldwide. She has continued her success in speaking, being awarded the 2011 Breakthrough Speaker of the Year, at the National Speakers Association. Kirsty hosts an online talkshow called Kirsty TV where people share their personal stories, the lessons, struggles and growth they have experienced. The show focuses on sharing inspirational and empowering stories. The Today Show recently referred to her as 'The Next Oprah'. Her online show has hit 100,000 views & she recently spoke at TEDx.

Julie Spira, CEO, Cyber-Dating Expert and Social Media and More Julie Spira was an early adopter of the Internet and began her digital career three decades ago. She’s presently the CEO of Cyber-Dating Expert, an online dating coaching and advice site and founder of Social Media and More, a social media strategy and branding company. Julie’s a top Online Dating Expert, media personality, and bestselling author. She writes about the marriage of love and technology and is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief at CyberDatingExpert.com. Julie’s passionate about social media. She’s received numerous honors and held positions including one of the "Top 10 Columnists to Follow on Twitter,” was named “One of America’s Ultimate Experts” by Woman’s World magazine, and ranks in the “Top 10 Most Influential People in Dating” on social media influence site, Klout. Julie’s branding has resulted in her becoming a Spokesperson for Clorox, Cupid.com, Spokeo, and a relationship expert for special events for Bloomingdales, Match.com, and JDate. Julie started her career in broadcasting as the first female radio show host and voice-over announcer at WAAL in Binghamton, NY. Her digital career began when she was the youngest female executive at RKO Radio Networks, the country’s first digital-delivered satellite radio network. She later went on to become an executive at IDB Communications, a global satellite and telecom provider serving the broadcast industry where she provided satellite services to sporting teams in the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL. She also helped create the Coca-Cola Radio Network for the Olympics in Barcelona, Albertville, and Lillehammer. Julie went on to become Executive Vice President of Sales/Marketing at InterPacket Networks, providing high-speed satellite services to Third World and emerging countries. The company was sold in 2001 to American Tower (NYSE:AMT). As a regular featured guest in the media, Julie’s dating and relationship advice have been featured over 500 times including in/on ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, Hallmark Channel, NBC, NPR, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Psychology Today, Washington Post, and Woman’s Day. Julie was called “The Pioneer of Online Dating” by Cosmo and is the author of the bestseller, “The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online.”  She’s the host of “Online Dating BootCamp” and “Mobile Dating BootCamp” and is the creator of “Facebook Love Stories.” Julie’s presently developing several television and film projects and is writing her second book, “The Rules of Netiquette: How to Mind Your Digital Manners.”

Phoenix Gonzalez, co-founder and COO at Dotstudioz, is a multiple-hyphenate entrepreneur with limitless determination for project success. She brings with her a 15 year background in business development  sales and marketing, clients include; Toyota Scion, Bare Escentuals, Wen, Cinemax /HBO and Victoria’s Secret. During the development stage of Dotstudioz, Phoenix successfully delivered the conceptual infrastructure to entertainment advisors at Verizon Ventures, Samsung Ventures,  Paradigm Talent, Lionsgate, Clearstone Ventures and Idea Lab to name a few. Most recently, after three years of intense business development, Phoenix and her partners have just released the next generation of Internet TV, dotstudioPRO, where she continues to assemble a world class team that delivers her company's Vision and Mission.

Linda Sherman, co-founder, The Courage Group: International, multicultural marketing pro, Linda brings a distinguished background of international subsidiary CEO/CMO to her Social Marketing expertise. These include CEO Club Med Japan, Barilla Japan and CMO Wal-Mart Japan. Linda Sherman has been featured and quoted in Forbes, The New York Times, Christian Monitor and other leading publications. She devised and implemented an innovative guerrilla marketing plan for ZIMA in Japan that produced a lasting, profitable success. She has hands-on technical skills in building and search optimizing WordPress websites. Linda has an influential on-line presence. You can find her social profiles at LindaSherman.me including Twitter @LindaSherman. Linda teaches Social Media for Business at the Kauai branch of University of Hawaii. Her company, The Courage Group, provides websites, digital film, personal and company branding, social marketing strategy and training.