Conference Producer
Meaghan Edlestein, Vice President of Social Media Through her blog and nonprofit organization Edelstein has become heavily involved in Social Media. She has been an in-house Social Media Director, freelance consultant and in September 2010 joined the Global Strategic Management Institute as a conference producer and the Senior Editor for the Social Axcess Blog. Edelstein is also a regular contributing writer for Mashable and guest posts for Tech Tonic as well as a licensed attorney in the state of Florida. Meaghan has spoken at numerous social media conferences including Blogworld, NTEN and Gravity Summit. She has been featured on such programs as NPR, Good Morning America and CBS on The Hill in Washington DC. Edelstein has been quoted in numerous Mashable articles, Cure Magazine and Inc.com [email protected] |
Byron Mignanelli Managing Director & Co-founder Formerly, Byron served as Conference Director for Palladium Group / Balanced Scorecard Collaborative (BSCol). Byron has management experience in corporate start-ups, specializing in ad networks, development of interactive media sites, and business-to-business ventures. Byron was an original member of the American Strategic Management Institute (ASMI) and was eventually promoted to President. Inspired by the outdoors, Byron is an active member of the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world's oceans. He is also a proud member of UNICO, an Italian American service organization and currently sits on the Board of the local non-profit, Meals-on-Wheels. [email protected] |
Luke Vinci Managing Director & Co-founder For nearly a decade, Luke has been coordinating corporate events and management trainings for organizational improvement of fortune 500 companies as well as small businesses. Through his work, he has gained performance management expertise in the fields of human resources, finance, and corporate governance. Specifically, Luke has collaborated with numerous organizations to apply performance management strategies to Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies to convert internet traffic into positive business growth. Prior to GSMI, Luke was an original founder and COO of the American Strategic Management Institute (ASMI). He also has extensive experience in managing political campaigns across the state of California. Currently, Luke serves as an advisory member to various organizations. He is the Secretary of the Little Italy Association and is the Honorary Mayor of Little Italy in San Diego. Luke also operates as a public servant in his elected seat to the Center City Advisory Committee (CCAC), a community organization that works to advance the growth and redevelopment of downtown San Diego by providing a link among citizens, the CCDC, the City Council and Redevelopment Agency. Luke is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles and currently resides in San Diego. In the Media[email protected] |
Michael Roche, Vice President of Sales Michael is originally from New Jersey. He attended Norwich University, a prestigious private military school, in Northfield, VT. After graduation, Michael began working in NYC in the staffing industry. He moved into educational training in 2005, specializing in the Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Bio-Tech industries. In 2010, he moved to San Diego where he enjoys hiking with his dog Gray, practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, playing golf and enjoying all outdoor activities. [email protected] |
Ben Zvaifler, Director of Event Production and Content Manager Along with his production responsibilities Ben acts as the Content Manager and Senior Editor for TechAxcess.com, an enterprise focused technology blog. As the content manager Ben composes articles, manages a team of writers and edits contributor work. Before joining GSMI Ben gained experience working as a freelance author and residential real estate assistant in Southern California. [email protected] |
Jessica Drew, Sales Director Jessica is originally from Long Island, NY and attended the State University of New York at New Paltz where she was an accomplished short stop for their softball team. She enjoys current events, volunteering on political campaigns and spending time with her cat, Thomas Jefferson [email protected] |
Kara M. Mignanelli, Esq, Director of Legal Compliance & Education, In-House Counsel Prior to her return to GSMI, Ms. Mignanelli was the managing associate at Boyd Contreras LLP. Her practice focused primarily on civil litigation involving business disputes. Ms. Mignanelli's litigation experience includes business litigation, partnership and contract disputes, personal injury, labor and employment law, trade secrets misappropriation, and legal malpractice. Before practicing law, Ms. Mignanelli was Director of the Social Policy Center at the Performance Institute where she managed conference production staff and successfully executed over 30 conference and training events, accounting for the largest profit generating center of the company. She also created and implemented multiple e-newsletters focusing on best practices and performance management for Health and Human Services and Nonprofit Performance Management. Ms. Mignanelli obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Public Relations from Rutgers University. She earned a J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law and is a licensed member of the State Bar of California. She is a member of the San Diego County Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the Lawyer's Club of San Diego. [email protected] |
Matt Skraby, Director of Video Production and IT Management As well as his other responsibilities Matt is the onsite audio/visual tech for GSMI events. This includes the smooth operation of presentations,transition of sessions, and audio/visual components within the presentation. [email protected] |
Mike Scharbarth, Director of Operations [email protected] |