• Understand how AI tools like ChatGPT can enhance the learning experience in digital marketing education – From manual processes to AI-driven efficiencies, students are learning to blend both approaches.
• Learn how to create and implement effective AI prompts – Mastering prompt generation as a critical skill for both educators and marketers to leverage AI in everyday tasks.
• Explore the creative and practical applications of AI in academia and beyond -Discussing how AI can inspire ingenuity and creativity in various roles across the educational spectrum.    

Danny Gavin is the founder and chief strategist at Optidge since 2011, an award-winning Houston-based digital marketing agency where he leads a team of 30+ that provides expert SEO, Paid Search, Paid Social, and CRM services for established businesses looking for serious ROI. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Houston’s C.T. Bauer College of Business where he teaches Master’s level classes and Executive education on social media and search engine marketing. In 2021, Danny launched ODEO Academy, an online training program in digital marketing for the public. He has trained 600+ students to date in graduate-level digital marketing strategies. Finally, Danny is the host of “The Digital Marketing Mentor”, a podcast he started in January of this year, where he explores his guests’ history with mentorship and guiding others and delves into how these connections have affected their careers, marketing strategies, and lives.

• AI technologies on the market and how they can help you save time
• How to use AI in the pre-event, live event, and post-event stages
• The value and impact of AI on your events

Heather Hernandez is a Principal Account Manager on the Third-Party Partnerships Team at Cvent, Inc. She cultivated a multi-faceted career in the hospitality industry that ultimately led her to Cvent in early 2022. After graduating from Texas A&M University with a BBA in Marketing, through happenstance she landed a position at the then brand-new downtown convention hotel in Houston and the rest is history as they say. Heather has worked in hotel sales and operations, convention center sales, CVB city wide sales for the 4th largest city in the US and has overseen event sales and operations for a Texas-based restaurant management group.

Over the years, she has held leadership positions with the Meeting Professionals International Houston Area Chapter and the Fort Bend Junior Service League, has been actively involved with the Executive Women International Houston Chapter, and she still supports her high school alma mater St. Agnes Academy as an Alumni Class Agent. Heather is a born and bred Houstonian who lives just south of Houston in Fort Bend County with her husband, 5-year-old son, and rescue dog Sonny.

• Understand copyright basics
• Understand trademark basics
• Understand how AI contributions affect ownership of copyrights/trademarks

In addition to practicing law, Erin is a classically trained clarinetist, and also plays the piano, accordion, and guitar. Erin has performed as a vocalist with Dave Brubeck and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and currently performs with Houston bands The Wheel Workers and Houston’s Accordion Super Stars, among others. She was recently designated as a Core Artist with Catastrophic Theatre.

This session explores the transformative potential of AI-powered personalization, covering:

• The science behind AI-driven personalization: machine learning, natural language processing, and data analytics.
• Success stories: Real-world examples of AI-driven personalization in industries like e-commerce, media, and finance.
• Strategies for implementation: data collection, segmentation, and content optimization.
• Measuring ROI: Quantifying the impact of AI-driven personalization on user engagement and conversion.
• Future directions: Edge AI, Explainable AI, and the evolving role of human intuition.

At Verizon Wireless, Abhi is managing Digital Marketing, Personalization, and Lead Generation to drive top, middle & lower funnel programs by using innovative web media intelligence, analytics, customer experience, behavioral targeting & marketing technologies to execute disruptive marketing strategies. Abhi also works as an adjunct instructor of Mobile Marketing – Tools, Tactics and Strategies at SMU. He is a co-organizer along with SMU CAPE of a Meetup group on Mobile Marketing & Strategy in Dallas.

He frequently speaks about the disruptive mobile technologies and how brands can use it to drive engagement and improve customer satisfaction. Vyas has several years of marketing and management experience at DexYP (former Dex Media) and Metromedia in various senior marketing management & leadership positions

• Laughing at an emotionless A.I.
• Patterns of cringe are easier to recognize than patterns of acceptability
• Using terrible ideas to achieve faster results

Royce Banuelos studied Media Arts and Animation at the Art Institute of Houston and after graduation, joined a punk band and spent 10 years playing, creating, and living in a packed van.

After the band it was back to the real world where he started drawing coloring books for a U.S. manufacturer. After working his way up to Art Director, the Covid19 pandemic set him on a course of rebranding himself that eventually led to joining the B2B world of LED lighting.

Now he’s the marketing manager for an LED lighting manufacturer. He has 2 kids, studies Jiu Jitsu, and lives in Richmond, TX.

Royce Banuelos studied Media Arts and Animation at the Art Institute of Houston and after graduation, joined a punk band and spent 10 years playing, creating, and living in a packed van.

After the band it was back to the real world where he started drawing coloring books for a U.S. manufacturer. After working his way up to Art Director, the Covid19 pandemic set him on a course of rebranding himself that eventually led to joining the B2B world of LED lighting.

Now he’s the marketing manager for an LED lighting manufacturer. He has 2 kids, studies Jiu Jitsu, and lives in Richmond, TX.

• Where AI is going
• What the promises of AI holds
• What to be concerned about beyond privacy and the threat of AI replacing people

Divya Visentini is a seasoned leader with nearly 25 years of experience in marketing, sales, and client management, known for driving B2B growth, account-based marketing, and data-driven strategies. With deep expertise in first-party and zero-party data strategies, customer data platforms, and advanced marketing technologies, Divya has helped organizations stay ahead in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Her success is rooted in a data and outcome-driven approach, seamlessly integrating strategy, creativity, and technology to solve complex client challenges.

At her previous roles at Accenture, Dentsu (Merkle), and Hearst, she has lead multi-dimensional engagements, blending creative, data, and technology to elevate brand and help them engage with their customers in connected, measurable, and memorable ways.

Divya holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Bangalore University, an MBA in Corporate Finance & Strategy from the University of Hull, UK, and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Houston. She also has a certification in Executive Leadership from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Business.

Divya is a Governing Board Member at SEARCH Homeless, a Houston-based organization working on ending homelessness in Houston.

In this session, Plum’s Michelle Meehan, VP of Marketing, and Jason Putnam, CRO will explore how to future-proof your career by identifying the skills and talents that will not only keep you relevant but help you flourish. Discover strategies to adapt, stay resilient, and leverage psychometric data as a partner in your success, while ensuring you remain a vital part of tomorrow’s workforce. Join us to learn how to navigate this new era and secure your place in the future of work.

Michelle Meehan, Vice President of Marketing at Plum, the revolutionary talent assessment provider, is an award-winning creative professional focused on bringing significant branding and growth strategy expertise to her role. Before this, Michelle served as Plum’s fractional Head of Marketing and operated The Silver Thread, a brand consultancy. 

Leveraging her top skills, revealed by her Plum Profile, Michelle brings a wealth of Communication, Innovation and Management skills to her position. Since joining the company, Michelle has achieved significant momentum by leveraging out-of-the-box strategies to differentiate Plum from competitors and educate attendees on Plum’s value at industry-leading events.

Jason Putnam, an award-winning sales leader, oversees Plum’s strategy, driving revenue generation initiatives and expanding into new markets to meet customer demand. Since joining Plum in December 2021, Jason has helped drive substantial growth in the company’s pipeline and client base, which under his guidance, jumped 20 percent in six short months. Prior to Plum, Jason served as Senior Vice President and General Manager for the Enterprise Business Unit of PandoLogic, where he increased the company’s new business pipeline by 6X. Before that, Jason was Chief Revenue Officer at BountyJobs, a third-party recruiting platform for collaboration between employers and search firms. Throughout his career, Jason has repeatedly grown businesses to exit, having held strategic sales and business development titles at Noesis Financing (acquired by LeaseQ), MFG.com, Oodle (acquired by QVC), Jobfox (acquired by Doostang), and KnowledgeStorm (acquired by TechTarget).

• All business development and marketing successes can be traced to some kind of human connection.
• The key to building healthier relationships both at home and at work is to comprehend the hidden needs of those we are working with and marketing to.
• Insights from valid and reliable metrics have the power to reveal what is difficult to see and to deepen our understanding of the many ways humans are complicated and complex; the many ways we differ and what we all share, no matter the industry, the company or the country where we live or were born.

Sharon Birkman began her role as Birkman International’s President and CEO in 2002, becoming Chairman & CEO in 2019. As the daughter of company founder and influential industrial-organizational psychologist, Dr. Roger W. Birkman, Sharon cultivated her deep expertise in human perception and organizational behavior through her lifelong interest in The Birkman Method. Before succeeding Dr. Birkman as CEO, Sharon served in several roles including VP Corporate Relations, Training, and Career Coaching.

Sharon’s leadership has been instrumental ushering in a new era of product development, technology, and training initiatives during a time of unprecedented growth. In this period, Sharon and the business have been recognized with a multitude of awards. These include EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2016, the Women President’s Organization’s Mary Lehman MacLachlan Award for Economic Empowerment in 2017, Houston’s Best and Brightest Places to Work For from 2014-2019, National Best and Brightest Places to Work For (2014-2018), the Houston Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business Award in 2017 and 2018, and as a Houston Power 50 Woman Leader in 2018.

In addition to her responsibilities at Birkman, Sharon volunteers her services as a Board Member of Houston Public Media (NPR and PBS), Goodwill Industries of Houston, and as a lay-leader for Chapelwood United Methodist Church. She also served as a long-time Board member for ESCAPE Family Resource Center.

Sharon has an M.A. from the University of Texas and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s OPM (Owner/President Management) program. She co-authored the book “The Birkman Method: Your Personality at Work” (2013), and is currently working on her second book due for release by ForbesBooks in 2019.

In her personal life, Sharon confesses to collecting “too many” books and loves to recharge with long walks, classical music, NPR and theater. She is the mother of three grown daughters and along with husband, Richard, treasures time with their grandchildren Morgan, Declan, and Emerson.

• Refine Audience Segmentation: Learn how Custom GPTs can break down complex datasets into highly targeted, actionable consumer segments.
• Enhance Brand Messaging: Discover how AI can assist in writing brand claims and key messages that resonate with your target audience, grounded in data-driven insights.
• Accelerate Concept Development: Explore how Custom GPTs simplify concept writing for new products and campaigns, boosting creativity while ensuring strategic alignment.

Yogesh Chavda’s 25+ years as a marketing executive are highlighted by pivotal roles and impactful initiatives at organizations that dominate their field and have left a cultural impact. In addition to stints at Spotify, Pinterest, Amway, Kimberly Clark, and WS Audiology, Yogesh’s background includes a 16-year run at Procter & Gamble, where he held various senior-level positions across 6 countries.

Yogesh is the Director of the Center for Marketing Solutions at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business, renowned for its international business program. Besides leading the Marketing Center, he is a Lecturer on Strategic Marketing, Applications of Insights, and AI in Marketing for Seniors and MBA students. He’s also the founder of Y2S Consulting, where he’s brought his passion for empowering and facilitating content on brands impacted by stigma.

Yogesh hosts a Podcast called the Next Frontier In Insights where he interviews thought leaders and innovators at the forefront of Marketing.