Career Accelerator for Women in Media and Entertainment

Gay Bell

CEO, Platform Communications

As Chief Executive of Platform Communications, Gay Bell brings more than 30 years international business experience focused on the technology and media markets. She is known as a saavy communications strategist who knows how to build a market presence for her agency’s many global high tech and media clients.

Gay is highly experienced at helping companies – from start-ups to multi-nationals – message and communicate technology and corporate leadership, mergers and acquisitions, and market diversity to a wide range of external and internal stakeholders. Clients include: Amino, Edgecast, Grass Valley, The Switch, Videon and Yahoo, among others.

Tracey Bissett

MBA, CFA, Financial Trainer, Bissett Financial Fitness Inc.

As Chief Financial Fitness Trainer of Bissett Financial Fitness Inc., Tracey educates and empowers individuals, notably young adults, and entrepreneurs to take control of and live their financial lives with confidence. As a former executive at TD Bank, one of Canada’s Big 5 Banks, Tracey has worked with and in support of thousands of individuals and entrepreneurs to secure the financing they needed.  This hands on experience coupled with her formal financial education, Masters of Business Administration and Chartered Financial Analyst designation, position Tracey uniquely to coach about all things money.

Tracey is a full time professor in the financial services faculty within the Business School at Centennial College. She leads speaking engagements and is the Executive Producer and host of the Young Money podcast all focused on increasing financial fitness. Tracey was named the Silver Award winner for The IFSE Institute Award for Financial Literacy Champion through the Wealth Professional Awards 2020 and Bissett Financial Fitness Inc. a Worldwide Finance Awards 2020 winner.  

Adrena Ifill

CEO and founder of Ifill/DoubleBack Global Group

Adrena Ifill has over 20 years of experience in strategic planning, marketing management, public relations and documentary video production. Her firm has an international portfolio, and specializes in cultural heritage management, event management, educational curriculum development and media production for private corporations, government agencies and non-profit institutions and often focusing on global Black communities and culture. An award-winning filmmaker, Ms. Ifill has written, directed and produced historical films that have screened internationally, and has led a range of media and multi-platform projects with an eye towards historic authenticity and creativity. Recent projects include The National Visionary Leadership Project and its Oral History Archive, with stories and first-hand accounts of American historical events as told by legendary African American leaders, artists and visionaries; work for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation; The Howard University South Africa Project; and a film on the African-American Experience in the National Park Service.

A graduate of Williams College, Howard University and George Washington University’s Documentary Center, Ms. Ifill is part of the cohort of AADHum Scholars, a fellowship at the University of Maryland for 2020.

Susan Borke

Principal, BorkeWorks

“If you don’t ask, you don’t get.” Susan Borke first used this simple principle as a financially-strapped college student who needed to find a way to get course credit for an unpaid internship, without paying tuition. It was one of her first successful negotiations and helped to spark her passion for teaching this strategy, and other effective negotiating techniques, to business people of every level.

Susan Borke, the Principal of BorkeWorks is passionate about helping people develop as effective negotiators. She believes no one is born a master negotiator. Great negotiation skills come from a combination of knowledge, training, and practice.  Susan has over 25 years of negotiating and negotiation training experience with domestic and international commercial companies, educational institutions, and nonprofits as a media executive at CBS and in-house counsel at National Geographic.

April Carty-Sipp

Executive Vice President, Industry Affairs, National Association of Broadcasters

April Carty-Sipp has over 20 years of experience in the television industry leading marketing, branding, creative and programming teams for corporations such as Disney ABC Television Group and Comcast/NBCUniversal. She is currently the Executive Vice President of Industry Affairs for the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and previously served as the Senior Vice President of Television and Radio.

Prior to working at NAB, Carty-Sipp was vice president/director of programming at Disney ABC-owned WPVI-TV Philadelphia. In that position, Carty-Sipp led local programming, production and the public affairs departments at WPVI. She also supervised original programming at the station. Before her five-year stint at WPVI, Carty-Sipp worked for 12 years in the creative and marketing departments at Comcast/NBC Universal. She was ultimately promoted to Senior Vice President of Creative Services and Brand Integration for NBC Regional Sports Networks, which consisted of 14 sports and entertainment networks in 50 million U.S. homes.

Amy DeLouise

Creative Director, DeLouise Enterprises LLC; Founder, #GALSNGEAR

Amy DeLouise has built a career as digital storyteller. She has helped Fortune 500’s, nonprofits and associations tell their story, engage stakeholders, explain challenging subjects, and motivate audiences to action. Her work includes more than 400 short non-fiction films for live and virtual events, social media, and streaming distribution. Passionate about communicating with diverse audiences, Amy also helps train other storytellers, authoring eleven LinkedIn Learning courses and two recent books with Routledge Press: Sound and Story in Nonfiction Film and Video (2019) and The Producer’s Playbook: Real People on Camera (2016).

Winner of more than 40 top creative awards for directing and producing, Amy has been an outspoken leader for gender equity in media and is the recipient of the prized Woman of Vision Leadership Award from Women in Film & Video of Washington DC.  In 2016 she launched the #GALSNGEAR initiative to amplify, support, and connect women across screen media.For brand storytelling tips, follow her on Twitter @brandbuzz, on Instagram @adbrandbuzz, and her blog at www.amydelouise.com

Tricia Iboshi

CEO, Videon

Tricia is a 20-year broadcast and media industry veteran in IP video technology, including nine years at the Platform, now part of Comcast Technology Solutions. She has been driving operations at BlackArrow, Make.TV and LTN Global. Combining a strong background in sales and operations, Iboshi drives the global Videon go-to-market strategy.

She lives in San Francisco, CA with her husband, daughter and two little rowdy dogs.

DeShuna Elisa Spencer

Founder and CEO, kweliTV

 As the Founder and CEO of kweliTV, a streaming platform that celebrates global black stories and amplifies storytellers of African descent, DeShuna is a former radio host and producer of emPower Hour, a show that examined social justice issues affecting people of color, on Washington, DC’s 89.3 FM WPFW. DeShuna graduated from Jackson State University where she studied communications and journalism.

She has written for The Clarion-Ledger, The Oakland Tribune and the Crisis Magazine. She is a Halcyon Incubator Fellow, a Voqal Fellow and a Google NexGen Policy Leader. She was first place winner of the 2017 Harvard Business School African Business Conference Pitch Competition and is featured in the book, “How We Fight White Supremacy” as one of the more than 60+ black leading organizers, artists, journalists, entrepreneurs, etc., combating white supremacy through their work. In 2019, the Digital Diversity Network named DeShuna the Innovation & Inclusion Social Entrepreneur of the Year. 

Claudina N. López

Director, Gaming Software Partnerships & Enablement, DELL

Claudina loves being able to bring gamer’s passions to life, and has been with Alienware, DELL’s gaming division, since 2003. She joined the team prior to the DELL acquisition, and saw the brand grow from a small venture to a growing business inside a Fortune 500 company. Having started as a marketing assistant and evolving into her director role, Claudina has a passion for growing team members and helping them bring their best selves to their career progress. 

Born in Argentina and raised in Miami, Florida, Claudina holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Florida International University and an M.B.A. from the University of Florida.

Ellyn McKay

Founder, CEO Vision

Ellyn McKay founded CEO Vision “to do my part to ensure that women leaders realize the power and value of their leadership in the workplace, the economy and the world. Because I believe that women leaders can be great leaders, I help them to: Uncover and celebrate their powerful leadership brand.”

For almost 30 years, Ellyn has assisted hundreds of women leaders who have successfully transformed themselves, their teams and their organizations. They understand that when they are at the top of their leadership game, they are better equipped to build, lead and inspire high-performing teams that deliver results.

Ellyn McKay is a pioneering advocate for the advancement of women leaders. She played key roles in AWED, the Women Presidents’ Educational Organization (WPEO), The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), and is an award-winning, authorized partner for Everything DiSC®, a Wiley company. Elly graduated cum laude from Georgetown University with a degree in Psychology and earned a master’s degree from American University in Organizational Development. She has also attended Oxford University’s Trinity College (English Literature) and Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business (executive business program for women executives).

Pamela Sams

CRPC®, BFA™, Financial Advisor Jackson Sams Wealth Strategies

For 19 years, Pamela has been helping women improve their personal and financial wealth through solid financial life planning. She focuses on helping her clients secure their financial futures so they can sleep well at night.

Pamela has become a strong voice in the area of personal finance for women. Her knowledge in this area has made her a sought-after speaker. She has been quoted in articles in various financial publications. She has membership in the Million Dollar Roundtable (MDRT). Membership in MDRT is a highly recognized mark of excellence for the most successful in the financial services profession. Pamela holds a Behavioral Financial Advisor designation, awarded to advisors who have undergone training to learn to help clients make financial decisions using a rational, values-based approach. She was featured in the Women in Wealth section of Fortune Magazine November 2020 issue as a top Wealth Manager in the Washington DC metro area.

Jen Whelan

Vice President, B2B Marketing, Yahoo

As Vice President of B2B Marketing at Yahoo, Jen loves telling tech stories without the geek-speak. Jen joined Yahoo in 2020 and brings 23+ years of marketing experience to her role; having led successful growth initiatives in advertising technology at Criteo and Innovid and across global brands such as Qualcomm, T-Mobile, Microsoft and Intel. In addition to B2B marketing, Jen has driven key B2C strategic initiatives and integrated marketing campaigns for Office 365, Windows Phone and T-Mobile flagship devices. 

Jen hails from Alaska and earned her degree from the University of Oregon. She is a member of the NYC CMO Breakfast Club, ANA CMO Growth Council and has spoken at Innovate@UCLA and the Stanford’s Continuing Studies program. When Jen isn’t busy driving new initiatives at Yahoo, she cultivates the advancement and professional development of the women within the tech industry. Jen was a 2021 AdColor judge in the “Change Agent” category.  Outside of the Yahoo walls, Jen can be found perfecting her downward-facing dog, hitting the slopes, exploring new locales, and shamelessly scraping out the last few bites of Talenti Peanut Butter Fudge gelato.

Cynthia Kanner

Sr. Vice President, Post Production, HBO/WarnerMedia 

Cynthia Kanner is Senior Vice President, Post Production, for Home Box Office/WarnerMedia, responsible for overseeing post production on films, miniseries and series. Among the more than 100 projects she has worked on are the critically acclaimed and award-winning Big Little Lies, Sharp Objects, His Dark Materials, My Brilliant Friend, Game Change, American Splendor, Maria Full of Grace, The Laramie Project, The Gathering Storm, Angels in America, Silicon Valley, and Girls.  

Kanner joined HBO as Director, Post Production for HBO Pictures in October 1995.   

Prior to HBO, Kanner freelanced in both production and post production and was a production executive at Kings Road Entertainment, where she oversaw the production of five features. She started her career as an accountant at Coopers & Lybrand working on audits, mergers and acquisitions. 

Kanner has always been passionate about mentoring and expanding opportunities for underserved communities. To that end she co-founded “Digital Dove” at Covenant House, an award-winning program that teaches filmmaking and life skills to homeless youth. Currently she has started programs in NY/LA/London to train, credential and prepare diverse talent for careers in post production.  

Kanner holds a BA in History from Yale University and an MBA from New York University. 

Yvette Whittaker

Chief Corporate Officer, Falcon’s Beyond

Yvette Whittaker is the Chief Corporate Officer of Falcon’s Beyond Global, LLC. Her responsibilities include acting as a client liaison, determining the corporate strategy, and helping to maintain the public image. Yvette is also known as a caring and nurturing role model and an accomplished ambassador who inspires the entire Falcon’s Beyond team.

Prior to becoming the CCO, Yvette was the Executive Vice President of Operations for the start-up Falcon’s Creative Group. Working alongside the dynamic husband and wife team of Cecil and Marty Magpuri, Yvette immediately made her mark on the operations side of the business, innately understanding what it would take to guarantee that the small company would not only meet but exceed their own expectations. Yvette also represented the company’s diversity, not only because she was a female leader but because she is a first generation American and came to Falcon’s after a stint as a stay-at-home mom. Because of her background, she has an uncanny ability to juggle multiple challenging projects at once while ensuring that each one receives the same attention, quality, and care that is synonymous with the Falcon’s name.

Yvette’s steady guidance has paved the way for success on dozens of projects that Falcon’s produced during its 21-year history. Four of those earned Thea Awards for Outstanding Achievement: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Curse of DarKastle, Dragon’s Treasure™ attraction, and Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Dr. Jane Goodall.

Christine Zmuda

Chief of Staff, Industry Solutions Services Americas, Microsoft

Christine Zmuda has held several leadership and individual contributor positions at Microsoft, Yammer, and Mobil Oil. In her current role, Christine serves as the Chief of Staff for Microsoft Consulting Services, for the United States, Latin America and Canada regions. As Chief of Staff, Christine is responsible for strategy activation and scaling the business to achieve better customer outcomes for a multi-billion-dollar business at Microsoft. Prior to this role, Christine was the Executive Sponsor on the LinkedIn Acquistion and responsible for the launch of the Microsoft -LinkedIn Relationship Sales solution worldwide. Christine has worked in both Public Sector and Commercial businesses and has had the opportunity to do business in 14 countries.   

Ms. Zmuda is a graduate of Michigan State University (B.A. degree) and American University (M.B.A.)  Ms. Zmuda is a member Women in Technology, and also serves on the board of the Ted Rullo  Foundation, a not for profit designed to further education opportunities for student athletes.