Gordon Borrell

CEO
Borrell Associates
1643 Merrimac Trail
Williamsburg, VA 23185

Gordon Borrell is a sought-after speaker for conferences and company meetings and is the local media industry’s leading analyst. He is ranked in the top 2% among Gerson Lehrman Group’s 150,000 consultants worldwide and is quoted frequently in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Ad Age, Forbes and other publications. He has appeared on CNN and other TV and radio programs discussing trends and forecasts for local media. Prior to starting Borrell Associates, Gordon was vice president for new media for Landmark Communications, where he worked for 22 years. He started his career as a reporter and editor for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1989 he began pioneering interactive ventures and helped establish the first TV, newspaper, cable and network TV websites. Mr. Borrell conceptualized and helped create InfiNet, an Internet access and hosting company later split up and sold to Earthlink and to Gannett Co. He chaired the Local Media Association from 2015-2017 and was president of the Newspaper Association of America’s New Media Federation in 2000. He is married, has five children, and lives in Portsmouth, Virginia, where he has been active on boards and organizations supporting public education and community sports.

Chris Weatherly

Director of Digital Sales and Products
WRAL
2619 Western Blvd.
Raleigh, NC 27606

Chris is the the Director of Sales and Operations for WRAL Digital Solutions and WRAL.com and is passionate about simplifying the complex world of digital advertising and marketing for local businesses. His main day-to-day responsibility is making sure the talented team at WRAL Digital Solutions continues to evolve and generate great results for our clients. Additionally, Chris oversees the programmatic and local sales strategy for WRAL.com, sits on the Local Media Foundation Board and has spoken at industry conferences on a variety of topics including OTT, DMPs, beacon targeting and WRAL Digital Solutions.

Prior to his current role, Chris held positions in broadcast media sales and sports marketing. Outside the office, Chris is active in his church, serves on the Meals on Wheels of Wake County Young Professionals Board, enjoys Cross Fit and traveling with his wife Kristina.

Tom Sly

VP, Digital Revenue
E. W. Scripps Company
312 Walnut Street
2800 Scripps Center
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Tom is the Vice President of Digital Revenue at The E.W. Scripps Co. and leads digital revenue development and strategy across Scripps’ broadcast, and digital operations.  He joined Scripps in 2012 and prior to that led business development, revenue, and operations for a number of large and privately held broadcast companies and several digital startups including Nowlive.com, 10LocalCoupons.com, and Vehix.com.

Erica Smith

Erica Smith | Managing Editor for Digital, Times Union
Erica.smith@nulltimesunion.com

Liz White

Publisher
Record-Journal
500 S. Broad Street
Meriden, CT 06450

Liz White is the publisher of the Record-Journal in Meriden, CT and she is the 5^th generation of the family business. The Record-Journal is 150 years old but has evolved into a cutting edge business, and the company was recognized nationally in March 2016 by Editor & Publisher Magazine as one of 10 Newspapers That Do It Right.

Liz is excited for the opportunities for growth and innovation in the future as the company evolves in a quickly changing environment. She has an MBA from Yale, a BS from Boston College and was recognized nationally in April by Editor & Publisher Magazine as one of The 25 Under 35 in the industry and in July by the Hartford Business Journal as one of The 40 Under 40. She is also currently serving her third year as president of the Meriden-New Britain-Berlin YMCA board of directors.

Lisa Bishop

Chief Digital Officer
Heartland Media, LLC
4521 Leavenworth St
Omaha, NE 68106

Lisa Bishop joined Heartland Media as Chief Digital Officer in October 2015. Bishop is a digital monetization and product specialist who has led transformational change in the local media industry for the past 17 years.

In her role at Heartland, Bishop oversees all digital operations, strategy, monetization and business development of audience and revenue for the growing station group.  Bishop led the launch of PulseLocal Marketing, Heartland’s digital agency in the spring of 2016 offering solutions such as: responsive web site development, social media management, reputation management, database and email marketing, and search engine marketing.

Prior to her time at Heartland, Bishop conceived and executed the formulation of Gray Digital Media in 2002 under the leadership of then COO Bob Prather. As the VP of Digital Media, she was the catalyst to a culture transformation of Gray’s local television stations and the creation of their local digital properties by transforming a traditional media distribution company to focus on content gathering and syndication across multiple digital platforms.  Bishop was responsible all digital initiatives including web, mobile, online operations, business development and revenue and monetization strategies. She also led the efforts to build out a fully supported digital agency, LocalX Marketing.

In the early 2000’s – Lisa led the first interactive team for Benedek Broadcasting, Benedek Interactive Media (BIM), from 2000-2002, bringing many local TV stations online for the first time.

In addition to broadcast experience, Bishop also served as a sports correspondent for Chicago’s local newspaper The Daily Herald, covering local high school sports. In 1998 she served as Sports Information Director Assistant for Montreat College where she brought the college’s sports coverage online for the first time with the development of their Web site.  She also wrote sports articles for a small local newspaper in North Carolina, the Black Mountain News.

Lisa holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Montreat College in North Carolina. Additionally, she has earned a Masters of Business Administration from the Keller Graduate School of Management.
She lives in the Charlotte area with her husband and their two children.

Brock Berry

Berry is an accomplished senior executive, entrepreneur, consultant, and board member with over 17 years of success in marketing, advertising, and technology. His broad areas of expertise include radio, TV, broadcast, video, digital, online, and mobile advertising; search engine marketing (SEM); social media and email marketing; new business development; sales management; and people development.

Berry has held leadership positions at AdCellerant (Co-Founder/CEO, 5 years); Affinity Express; AdTaxi; Digital First Media; Clarity Media Group; The Denver Post; and Schurz Communications. He has been responsible for co-founding AdCellerant, a leading digital advertising and technology company, leveraging award-winning proprietary ad software platform that delivers digital marketing plans based on campaign industry and objectives, creating operational efficiencies and revenues. In its first 4 years, the company experienced over 4,000 percent growth.

Shana Black

Samantha Johnston

Samantha Johnston
Publisher | The Aspen Times
Associate GM | CMNM West
Swift Communications | Colorado Mountain News Media

Tanisha Leonard

Tanisha Leonard
President | RTM360°

Stephanie Slagle

Senior Director, Brand Agency & Sales Strategy
Graham Media Group

Stephanie Slagle is the Senior Director, Brand Agency and Sales Strategy for Graham Media Group.  In her role, Slagle is responsible for multiplatform revenue, driving digital confidence and driving digital talent at Graham Media Group’s local media hubs.

Stephanie has over 20 years of media experience with companies such as Dispatch Broadcast Group, Lin Media, and Sinclair Broadcasting Group. She has established a well-earned a reputation for her knowledge and passion for cutting edge concepts in the digital space.

Slagle has a passion for mentoring talented future leaders. She helped launch and she served as the president for Columbus Women in Digital, where she helped many women begin their digital careers.

Guy Tasaka

Founder/Managing Partner
Tasaka Digital
8400 North Bristol Pike
Levittown, NY 19057