Nellie is a sales and marketing leader at heart with almost 20 years’ experience. She holds a diverse background in media that includes stints in publishing, broadcast (TV & Radio), public relations, digital marketing and strategy. Some of her successes include launching Citibank’s first ever mobile app, orchestrating Hershey’s 100th Anniversary, creating a Millennial targeted platform for TIAA-CREF, managing broadcast multichannel Olympics campaigns for several P&G brands and worked on several FDA approvals, major mergers and acquisitions. When working with clients, she is creative, resourceful, consultative, and passionate, forging lifelong relationships with key players across the world’s largest brands and agencies such as Prudential, Edelman, Astra Zeneca, JPMorgan Chase, Ogilvy, Pfizer and Cotton Incorporated, to name a few.

Cynthia Morgan Jenkins’ career has focused on mainstreaming underserved minority cultures in advertising for over two decades. She has sold linear TV, digital, radio, and print media for and to brands committed to reaching diverse consumers. She is a native New Yorker, a natural storyteller, and a risk-taker. Her career began as a salesperson with Howard Stern at K-Rock Radio. Cynthia was a part of the team that founded and launched HOT97, setting the tone for the 50+ billion-dollar influential hip-hop lifestyle relevant today. A well-known, stellar sales rep, she also sold for Ebony/Jet, Working Mother magazines, and Pfizer, Inc. Not one to shy from a challenge, Cynthia has been with several media properties at launch: WQHT-FM, Air America Radio, BET’s Centric/BET Her, and has led sales teams on a national and international level. All the media properties she has touched are still in existence. Before GroupM, Cynthia Jenkins was VP of Economic Empowerment at Dentsu. Cynthia is currently the Head of Supplier Diversity for GroupM and collaborates with US investment, planning, clients, and diverse media vendors to increase awareness and diverse representation in advertising media.

Audrey Cochran is the Vice President of Research for TV One Networks, the largest African-American owned and operated multi-media company. She is a skilled media scholar whose experience spans over 25 years researching and promoting the value of the African American consumer market for cable networks, including: Black Entertainment Television (BET), The Gospel Music Channel (GMC), UPTV and ASPiRE TV. For most of her illustrious career, Audrey has been responsible for conducting research on the television landscape, particularly programming targeting diverse viewers. Audrey considers herself a “SUPER” fan of television programming across a litany of genres. Her passion for television and in-depth knowledge of the landscape has made her a content expert in this field. The organizations she has supported have depended on her strategic guidance in the decision-making process for procuring new talent and programs. Audrey began her research career at Nielsen Media Research where, in 2007, she helped launch Nielsen’s first Employee Resource Group, Sustaining Active Black Leadership & Empowerment (SABLE). 15 years later, SABLE continues to partner with broadcasters and advertisers to highlight and address the lack of diversity within the media landscape.

Joe Bernard is a top media executive with marketing and sales experience in both mature and startup entertainment media companies. Bernard is an equity partner and Chief Revenue Officer at NGL Collective, a leading digital media and entertainment company serving the U.S. Latinx marketplace. At NGL Collective Joe leads revenue and partnership relationships for the company. Bernard was born in Harlem, NYC. and lives in NJ with his wife and three sons. His career milestones include leading revenue for mun2 at NBCU where he recreated Pepsi Música, the 1-hour music show and launched I Love Jenni with superstar Jenni Rivera.

Danielle DeLauro serves as VAB’s executive vice president and works directly with the CEO to determine VAB’s strategic vision and set the internal agenda and direction for all departments within the organization. She led the VAB through a comprehensive transformation into a marketer-first, insights organization that inspires companies to reimagine their media strategies for the modern digital and videocentric world. Prior to joining VAB, she spent her career at advertising agencies developing cross-channel media strategies for a range of high-profile brands across multiple categories. She was named one of Cynopsis’ Top Women in Media for 2020 and has previously been recognized among Advertising Age’s 40 Under 40.

Dr. Joe Ruthruff is an accomplished researcher and data scientist with over 20 years experience in research & development, data analytics, and media measurement. Dr Ruthruff has been with Comscore for nine years and is currently Senior Vice President of Television & Cross-Platform Analytics. He leads an organization of thirty team members responsible for the audience measurement methodologies in both syndicated TV and cross-media products for Comscore. Prior to joining Comscore, he completed his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where his dissertation focused on the use of experiment design and statistics to bring scalable coverage and efficient error detection to static and dynamic program analysis techniques for software development and testing. Dr Ruthruff has also served as a Senior and Principal Member of Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories for over six years, where he led several R&D and engineering initiatives in Sandia mission spaces. He is the author of two dozen technical research publications, conference papers, and journal articles - some of which earned distinguished paper awards. Dr Ruthruff completed his M.S. in Computer Science and his Honors B.S. in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics at Oregon State University. 

Ashley Arena is PHD US’s Head of Advanced Video Activation, where she works across the agency’s client portfolio to develop and execute video activation strategies that capitalize on modern video marketplace and consumption trends. In this role, Ashley works across clients to tailor their approach to video, whether it be leaning into audience-first buying, testing new measurement and currencies, or beginning to make the shift from a Linear-led strategy to including more emerging platforms. Previously, Ashley was an Executive Director of Digital Activation at PHD, and Group Digital Director at OMD, overseeing digital investment and activation in Programmatic, Display, Video, Search and Social for a variety of clients across verticals. With more than 15 years in the media industry, Ashley has extensive experience and knowledge in driving tangible growth to both her clients and agencies, against a backdrop of a constantly evolving media landscape.

Armen is the co-founder and CEO of DISQO, a platform helping companies make smarter business decisions by measuring brand experiences with every customer, and across every touchpoint and outcome. A relentless builder and serial entrepreneur, Armen is passionate about empowering organizations to make confident, customer-centric, and data-driven decisions. He believes that market leaders and disruptors alike only win by putting customers at the center of every decision. Some of the world’s most iconic brands, agencies, and media platforms use DISQO’s brand experience platform to answer crucial brand questions and to passively measure online consumer journey behaviors, together revealing peerless insights on media and advertising effectiveness.

As VP of Measurement Solutions, Benjamin Vandegrift leads the Measurement group at VAB. His mission is to educate and empower others to stay ahead of what’s next in the ever-growing world of video measurement while highlighting what matters most & simplifying the complex, so that marketers are able to make better-informed decisions utilizing cutting-edge video measurement technology.

With over 30 years in the direct to consumer business, Marilyn leverages her deep business and media experience to help advertisers adapt to modern multi-channel marketing. Passionate about helping our clients achieve transformational growth, she leverages data and marketing insights, to provide strategic guidance to help clients build their brands. Marilyn started her DRTV career at American Telecast Corporation, where she transformed the in-house media-buying division into one of the nation’s leading media-buying agencies. She’s helped launch many of the industry’s top campaigns for marketers such as Total Gym, Bare Escentuals, Murad, Smile Direct Club, AdoreMe, Leesa and BISSELL.

With a deep background in strategic planning, and over 20 years of experience, Robin joined Rain the Growth Agency in 2012 to manage the media planning teams. As the Executive Vice President of Integrated Media Investment + Planning, Robin is responsible for strategic oversight of media plans across multiple categories, and manages cross-functional agency teams inclusive of national and local broadcast, video, audience, print, digital and non-traditional marketing disciplines. At the agency, Robin has been responsible for managing some of our most successful ecommerce campaigns, including Chewy.com, Peloton, SimpliSafe, TaxACT, and Wayfair. In addition, Robin oversees the media strategy across our direct-to-consumer client base. Robin loves looking at data, and finding the story that will help clients achieve the next level of growth that they were seeking when they decided to partner with us.

David leads the digital video practice at Rain the Growth Agency. At Rain, David employs his expertise to innovate privacy-conscious and data-supported alternative targeting approaches, aiming to reshape how brands reach and engage audiences. His dedication to pioneering strategies ensures Rain the Growth Agency's clients are constantly staying ahead of the curve in an ever-evolving landscape.

Tylynn Pettrey specializes in applying the latest data science techniques to large, complex data sets. She is currently the VP of Data Science at Chalice Custom Algorithms, which provides programmable AI software to brands who want full control over their advertising decisioning. After earning a master's degree and completing the coursework toward a PhD in applied mathematics, she transitioned to Chalice from acadamia in 2021. Tylynn leads the Chalice data science team, which has developed award-winning custom algorithms that prioritize unique KPIs, transparency, and innovation.

In her role, Marianne is the connective tissue between VAB’s Insights, Measurement, Marketing and New Business teams. She ensures that VAB’s priorities, initiatives, and thought leadership are seamlessly integrated throughout the organization and communicated out effectively. Prior to joining VAB, Marianne spent nearly 20 years working within advertising agencies to develop integrated communication strategies across a range of high-profile clients. The experience of working directly with marketers and brand leaders informs her point of view and how she works with the team to concept marketing programs to support VAB and the community it serves.

As the Media & Entertainment Industry strategist at LiveRamp, Tara Franceschini empowers LiveRamp’s sales team with her twenty year expansive TV buying background. This entails spearheading the company’s global TV advertising ecosystem strategy: driving strategic initiatives, and overseeing the business development and go-to-market strategies for TV products and initiatives.

Rose McGovern is the Head of Programmatic and Digital Ad Sales for DIRECTV Advertising and is responsible for leading the organization’s digital go-to-market strategy, as well as programmatic and digital sales and account management across DIRECTV’s streaming offerings. Prior to that, she held leadership roles in ad operations, digital integrations, and inventory and yield management across all digital products and endpoints. Before DIRECTV Advertising, Rose led Digital Client Success, Ad Operations, and Programmatic Operations at WarnerMedia, where she was part of the team responsible for launching HBO MAX with Ads.

A 30-year veteran in the video advertising investment business, Lisa has proudly built her career at full service independent LA-based advertising agency, RPA. She has worked with a plethora of categories including auto, QSR, Entertainment, Travel and Retail.   Lisa’s guiding principle is to anticipate and adapt to the latest trends and innovations in the fast-evolving media landscape. She diligently tracks the “business of the business” allowing her to understand entertainment, technology, data and the dynamic media ownership models that exist to properly guide RPA clients through investment decision-making to meet their business needs.   To influence and learn from the marketplace, Lisa has seats on multiple industry boards such as the ANA, ARF, IAB and JIC.