Content Compass 2021

Keynote

Speakers

Schedule 

Event Support

Ready to move forward into the world of content with renewed energy and a sense of possibility? Then, let’s Go Forth!

Get ready for insightful speakers, dynamic interactive sessions and practical advice that’ll steer your career and personal development in the direction you want.

Join us Sept. 21, 2021

Digital Swag

Skillshare 3-Month Gift Card*

Learn a new skill

(*limited to first 100 registrants)

Road Less Traveled Worksheets

Make your own road map

Content Compass Spotify® Playlist

Get pumped up!

Coloring Book Pages

Fun for everyone

Virtual Backgrounds

Show your Content Compass pride

BONUS! Free Productivity Plan

Up your time management skills

Keynote

Brandon Butler and Michael Jordan

Butter.ATL

Sit back and take it all in. Brandon and Mike are
going to give us an in-depth look at what it means to bring a brand to the next level. Roll down the windows, turn up the volume and join them as they navigate us through the intersections of innovation, culture, and content.

Speakers

Brandon Butler

Executive Director,
Butter.ATL

Brandon Butler wears two hats at Dagger: leading priority technology projects and overseeing day-to-day operations for the Butter team. ... He works with creative teams to produce innovative, relevant content for Atlanta’s culture channel. Prior to his career at Dagger, Brandon led creative and digital and teams at Accenture, Edelman, Public Broadcasting Atlanta and NBA Digital. Named to Adweek’s Creative 100 in 2021 and Atlanta Magazine’s 500 Most Powerful Leaders in 2020, Brandon has become an in-demand speaker and panelist throughout the region. Brandon obtained his bachelor’s degree of Information Technology from Georgia State University and his MBA from Georgia Tech.  Less

Lisa DeStefano

Vice President, Brand Marketing & Creative, The Home Depot

Lisa DeStefano is Vice President of Brand Marketing and Creative.... She is responsible for driving the marketing strategy and creative for the enterprise across all media channels, including brand and merchandise marketing, pro, services and private label brands. Prior to joining the Company in 2013, Lisa was vice president of strategic marketing for J.C. Penney. Lisa has a combined 28 years of extensive merchandising and marketing experience which includes various merchant, product development and private brand and marketing roles with retailers American Eagle Outfitters and Limited Brands. Lisa has BA's in merchandising and business administration from Ohio State. More

Jessica Higgins

Senior Manager, Digital Creative, The Home Depot

Jessica Higgins is the Senior Manager Digital Creative and works with the Retail Media+ and Transitional pods. ... A Creative Director with 15 years' experience, she has a passion for in-house creative teams and the value they bring to a company. Prior to joining The Home Depot in 2016, she created integrated advertising campaigns for brands like Chick-fil-A, CDW, Ford, Gold Bond and SeaWorld. A creative techie, she is married and a mother of three, and loves making exciting work that people want to engage in and develop to its full potential. She has a BS in Industrial Design from Georgia Tech.
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Rebecca Hood

Senior Manager,

Operations Process Creative Services & Operations, The Home Depot

Rebecca Hood is the Senior Manager, Operations Process on the Creative Services and Operations team. ... Her team provides analytics, process and technology solutions. She is responsible for change management for the marketing and creative organization, such as the Campaign Creative End to End process, DAM implementation, Workfront campaign tracking and the launch of a new Offer Management solution. A content creation and content management leader for over 10 years, Rebecca worked as an archives coordinator, broadcast news producer and content manager before joining The Home Depot.
  More

Ralph Johnson

Americas Ombud,
McKinsey & Company

Ralph is the McKinsey & Company's Ombud for the Americas region. ... He provides confidential, unbiased consultation on work-related or personal issues for the firm's clients. Prior to his current role, Ralph was the Director of Operations and Administration of McKinsey's Social Sector Office (SSO) in 2008 and before that he was the General Manager of the Cuyahoga County (Cleveland) Welfare Reform Agency. Ralph has an MBA from the Ross School of Business - Michigan, a BS in Industrial Engineering from Kettering University and a BSBA from Aquinas College. An Associate Minister and ordained Deacon, he lives in Cleveland with his wife, Dr. Lisa Johnson.
  More

Michael Jordan

Editor-In-Chief,
Butter.ATL

Michael Jordan is Editor In Chief at Butter.ATL. ... He is also a cofounder of Canopy Atlanta, a nonprofit organization that trains journalists to deliver news from inside communities historically underserved by traditional media. His career began in the marketing and creative departments at Atlanta recording company LaFace Records and then he moved into media, covering local and national stories in a variety of fields. He's been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, Playboy, Eater, AJC, Atlanta Magazine, Creative Loafing, and Thrillist. He co-authored former NFL linebacker Takeo Spikes' book, Behind the Mask, and is an avid home cook and plays alto saxophone.  More

Cory Lee

Accessible Travel Writer

Cory Lee is a world traveler and inspirational speaker who recounts his adventures across all seven continents in his powered wheelchair ... from his award-winning personal travel blog, CurbFreeWithCoryLee.com. Cory was recently selected to serve on the All-Inclusive Advisory Panel for a travel media brand that attracts 10 million visitors per month. He uses his platforms to share his messages about accessibility and inspire other wheelchair users to roll out and see everything the world has to offer.  More

Alex López Negrete

President and CEO,
López Negrete Communications

Alex co-founded López Negrete Communications with his wife, Cathy, in 1985. ... His passion and vision have made his agency one of the country’s most influential, independent, Hispanic-owned-and-operated agencies. Alex’s clients include Bank of America, Walmart, McDonald’s and United Airlines. A founding member of the ANA’s Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM), Alex believes in thoughtful, relevant, fully integrated, in-language and in-culture communications. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Latino Donor Collaborative and the Hispanic Marketing Council. Born in Houston and raised in Mexico City, Alex resides in Houston. He has two children and two granddaughters.
  More

Ellen McKay Lorenzo

CMO, 

Skillshare

Ellen McKay Lorenzo is Head of Sales and Business Development at Skillshare, ... an online learning community with thousands of inspiring classes for creative and curious people and 13 million members worldwide. Prior to Skillshare, Ellen was a senior leader at Levo, a venture-backed start-up focused on accelerating the success of professional women in the first 10 years of their careers.  More

Ashley Rakstis

Online Art Direction,

Creative Lead for Item Buying & Templates, The Home Depot

Ashley Rakstis is the Creative Lead for the Item Buying Community and the Templates Pod. ... She brings omni-channel campaigns to life while contributing to the creation of marketing packages and template libraries. Her love for all things orange started many moons ago, working agency side to support advanced planning, brand standards and newsprint initiatives for The Home Depot. After joining The Home Depot in 2013, she added social media and sports marketing to her toolkit and managed the OLA in-house creative team.
  More

Andrew Ramirez

Author, Speaker
and Business Strategist,
KARE Solutions

Andrew L. Ramirez is the author of 10 books and the founder of KARE Solutions, LLC, a training and consulting company. ... His presentations challenge audiences to create influence and impact by tapping into their personal stories. Prior to being an author, speaker and business strategist, Ramirez was a Fortune 10 leader for 22 years. His debut TEDx talk, “What’s Your InnerVoice Telling You?”, won the hearts of viewers with his inspirational approach. Ramirez advocates communicating through story with honesty and transparency to be an authentic voice personally and professionally. He has five daughters and spends his free time coaching girls’ soccer, entertaining guests or having backyard barbecues.
  More

Chris Reid

CEO,
Stretch Creative

Chris is an executive coach, military veteran, and the CEO of Stretch Creative. ... After retiring from the Armed Forces, he's spent the last decade of his life helping brands create content and stories through words, graphic design, photography, and video production. As a certified leadership coach, his joy and passion come from helping freelance creatives develop their emotional intelligence and leadership capabilities to understand their own story better, so they can create better stories for brands they work with and find more enjoyment in the process.   More

Jesse Galvon Reid

Chief Culture Officer,
Stretch Creative

Jesse Galvon Reid wants you to come out and play. That's how she rolls, as a dynamic executive coach integrating emotional intelligence and neuroscience. ... She is the Chief Culture Officer at Stretch Creative, serving as the heart and soul wrangler. She also serves leaders in tech and education to combat loneliness, slays their demons, and develop amazing resiliency. Uniquely joyful and unabashedly fearless, Jesse helps today's often remotely staffed companies create engaged, productive and connected cultures.  More

Jason Rice

Senior Director – Technology, The Home Depot

Jason Rice is a 23 year Home Depot veteran, having joined the company in 1998 as a software engineer. ... He currently supports our Marketing and Advertising Technology organization and is heavily involved in our company’s enterprise priority of Personalization. He is focused on data, technology and the systems that drive success within our Audience Marketing and Retail Media+ programs. In his previous life, Jason was a Marine Biologist. He is married with two daughters.  More

Lauren Schmuck

Comedian

Lauren Schmuck is an award-winning local comedian, actor and writer. ... As a member of the all-female improv group Pretty Much Sisters, she has entertained crowds from coast to coast, appearing in numerous prestigious comedy festivals, including New York, LA and Detroit. In addition to long runs in local sketch comedy shows, she can also be seen starring in the Amazon Prime series "SIDES" and the short film, "Unemployable." Currently, you can catch Lauren and her fabulous wardrobe in action performing standup comedy at venues across the Atlanta metro.
  Less

Carlie Schubert

Marketing Ops

Technology Manager,

The Home Depot

Carlie Schubert is the Manager, Content Management on the Marketing Technology Operations & Finance team. ... She currently leads the expansion and pilot of RevJet usage into digital channels inclusive of Social, OLA, Retail Media+, email, onsite creative & Rich Content. Carlie has 16 years’ experience at The Home Depot with various roles in creative production for newsprint, email and OLA as well as budget and vendor management.
  More

Ann Shen

Illustrator, author, and hand-letterer

Ann Shen is an illustrator, author, and hand-letterer based in Los Angeles. ... She has a degree in Writing from UCSD and a BFA in Illustration from Art Center College of Design. Ann has worked in the art and design industry for over 10 years and has been featured on doll packaging, digital stickers, book covers, editorial illustrations, calendars, theme parks and more for Disney, Facebook, and HarperCollins. Ann has written and illustrated three books: "Bad Girls Throughout History," "Legendary Ladies," and "Nevertheless, She Wore It."  More

Tracy Woodard

President,
Mad Housers

Tracy Woodard has a ton of street cred, literally. ... As President of Mad Housers and team lead case manager for Intown Collaborative Ministries, she's worked in street outreach, shelter construction and harm reduction strategies for decades. Mad Housers builds temporary, emergency shelters for homeless individuals and families. Tracy has an MA in Music from UGA and performs with The Atlanta Contemporary Ensemble, a mixed chamber orchestra specializing in avant-garde music.  More

Schedule

Stacie Santana

Lisa DeStefano

Andrew Ramirez

Coming off a roller coaster of a year can leave you excited for the future, but also weary and uncertain. Get a new view with a new Road Map. Join Andrew’s interactive coaching session and discover the course to take as you shift into your next adventure.

Tracy Woodard

Whether huts or low riders, Mad Housers' innovative and artful temporary shelters bridge the gap between home and homelessness. Discover how building relationships is the key to success. Learn about networking and the organization's media content strategy to effective audience engagement.

Jesse Galvon Reid & Chris Reid

There’s no shortcut to growth. Jesse and Chris will break down the importance of emotional intelligence, discuss why it’s important to be present and why being a good travel partner is essential for every career journey.

Lauren Schmuck

Join Lauren Schmuck, our THD wingwoman, as she leads us laughing through our lunch break. Lauren will host an Orange-blooded bingo game, with fun facts submitted by everyone in our lunch bunch! You'll learn a lot about your fellow associates and have instant icebreakers if you want to connect later.

Cory Lee

Through his blog and social media advocacy, Cory has gained a devoted following. But the road to becoming a go-to expert in the accessible travel field hasn’t always been easy. Learn about this 2021 Webby Award winner's successes and challenges to creating engaging content while traveling across all seven continents as a wheelchair user.

Ralph Johnson

Sometimes to get to your next destination, you need to stop and ask for directions. During this fireside chat, Ralph will provide travel tips for your career journey, including how to get in tune with your aspirations and what it means to show up as your best self.

Rebecca Hood, Jessica Higgins, Ashley Rakstis & Carlie Schubert

How do we serve up creative content at scale now and in the future? In this session, we break down content to the “atomic” level and explore what we can unlock with data. Find out everything you need to know about atomic assets, modular content, dynamic creative and tech like RevJet and DAM that are serving up the latest in piping hot content.

Ellen McKay Lorenzo & Ann Shen

Finding new ways to stay awake and inspired on the road to personal development can be tricky. Turn off the cruise control and listen as Ellen and Ann speak to the importance of creativity. Then pull over, grab your pencils, and stretch your creative muscles as Ann leads us through an interactive exercise.

Jason Rice

Power up your presentation and PowerPoint skills. Plug into Jason’s high-energy tips and tricks for making data and information irresistible. Learn how to go from dry and boring to a focused and engaging online presentation that grabs attention and gets your point across.

Alex López Negrete

Seamlessly merge cultural appreciation and content, without crashing into the roadblock of cultural appropriation. Alex will share a few industry trends, what to watch out for and tips on how we can get marketing to multicultural consumers right.

Brandon Butler & Michael Jordan

Sit back and take it all in. Brandon and Mike are
going to give us an in-depth look at what it means to bring a brand to the next level. Roll down the windows, turn up the volume and join them as they navigate us through the intersections of innovation, culture, and content.