Meet the Staff

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Conference Producer

Meaghan Edlestein, Vice President of Social Media
In 2008 Meaghan Edelstein began her blogging career, writing about her personal experience with cancer. Through her blog and self branding Edelstein gained national attention. Edelstein went on to found Spirit Jump, a grassroots nonprofit organization with a mission to provide hope and comfort to the many men, women and children battling cancer. Prior to her career in Social Media Meaghan worked for as a Congressional Aide for United States Congressman John W. Olver.

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

meaghan.edelstein@gsmiweb.com
Byron Mignanelli
Managing Director & Co-founder
As co-founder of GSMI, Byron oversees the strategic vision and management initiatives for GSMI. Byron brings a wealth of experience within B2B media space and Executive Events.

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.

byron.mignanelli@gsmiweb.com
Luke Vinci
Managing Director & Co-founder
As a co-founder and managing partner of GSMI, Luke is responsible for the production and execution of GSMI events. He specializes in creating customized solutions and strategies for increasing corporate transparency and accountability.

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


  • Luke Vinci interviewed by CNN Money about the Little Italy community.
  • Luke Vinci discusses Ferragosto 2010 on NBC 7/39.
  • Luke talks with NBC San Diego about the 2011 Ferragosto celebration.
  • Luke Vinci is featured on Fox 5 San Diego discussing Little Italy's development.


    • luke.vinci@gsmiweb.com
    Michael Roche, Vice President of Sales
    Michael is responsible for the sales and marketing of the Social Media Strategy Summit and Mobile Marketing Strategies Summit. Michael has over 10+ years experience in sales and marketing, with more than half that time spent in the conference and continuing education training field.

    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.

    michael.roche@gsmiweb.com
    Ben Zvaifler, Director of Event Production and Content Manager
    Ben Zvaifler is a Conference Director and the Content Manager for the Global Strategic Management Institute. Ben is responsible for the research, communication, development, organization and execution of conferences and trainings relating to topics of technology and strategic management. Ben leads production for the Cloud Control Conference, Cyber Security Strategies Summit, GRC Summit, and Enterprise Tomorrow Conference and Exhibition. Ben also leads development of the VentureEngine Startup Competition, a Launchpad for companies who are seeking funding and support of new enterprise technologies.

    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.

    ben.zvaifler@gsmiweb.com
    Jessica Drew, Sales Director
    Jessica is responsible for delegate and sponsorship sales for multiple events at GSMI. She is focused on meeting our client’s needs through a diplomatic approach in cultivating client relationships. Her experience transcends several industries including social networking, finance, education, travel and fitness.

    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

    jessica.drew@gsmiweb.com
    Kara M. Mignanelli, Esq, Director of Legal Compliance & Education, In-House Counsel
    Ms. Mignanelli recently returned to GSMI as the Director of Legal Compliance & Education and In-House Counsel. In her new role, Ms. Mignanelli oversees numerous aspects of the business, including, but not limited to, keeping a pulse on the most current regulations and compliance requirements affecting corporations as well as working to ensure quality and professionalism in all aspects of the business. In early 2009, Ms. Mignanelli collaborated with GSMI to create the Governance, Risk Management and Compliance conference.

    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.

    kara.mignanelli@gsmiweb.com
    Matt Skraby, Director of Video Production and IT Management
    Matt Skraby is the Director of Video Production and IT Management for GSMI. As a Producer, Matt’s responsibilities include research, communication, development, organization and execution of Green Data Center Conference events. As well as conference production Matt serves as the video production director for GSMI. Video production duties include on-site filming, editing, publishing session videos, mp3's, and webinar production. Matt also serves as the website presentation manager which includes uploading presentations, and managing users.

    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.

    matthew.skraby@gsmiweb.com
    Mike Scharbarth, Director of Operations
    Michael is an accomplished professional with over six years of operations experience. He is in charge of event management including scheduling, logistics, travel and correspondence for national and international events. He is also responsible for preparing event materials and guest speaker trip agendas. At the chief liaison between producers and guest speakers, Michael works diligently as the central hub, communicating effectively and efficiently. As a GSMI team member, Michael has played a key role in weekly discussions focusing on promoting the growth of the company, reviewing business tactics, and implementing new organizational procedures.

    michael.scharbarth@gsmiweb.com
    Tim Suski, Sales Director
    Tim’s responsibilities include sales and marketing, creating media partnerships and developing relationships with event sponsors. He is currently working on developing these events: Cloud Control Conference and Exhibition, Quality Assurance Masters Training and GSMI's GRC Summit and Trainings. Tim’s sales and marketing background comes from nationally distributing and marketing progressive Printing Technologies for International Paper for several years.

    Tim graduated with a BA in Business from the University of San Diego. He also had the opportunity to study abroad in Madrid, Spain along with backpack and travel around Europe. During his time off Tim enjoys traveling, trail running, rec sports and anything involving water (ocean, lake or river).

    tim.suski@gsmiweb.com
    David Adams, Sales Director
    David is currently a Sales Director at GSMI. His duties have also included conference production, social media marketing, event management as well as extensive work in our non-profit division. He graduated with honors from the University of Southern California in 2010 with a degree in International Relations and emphasis in Middle East Studies. David traveled extensively throughout Lebanon and Syria while studying Arabic at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, Lebanon. David brings a global perspective to our team and is a key player in GSMI’s international events.

    David was born and raised in San Diego and currently lives in the community of South Park. On any given day you can find him in his favorite neighborhood of Little Italy where his family operates the historic Acme Piano Company. David enjoys writing music with his guitar, traveling, the outdoors and writing about himself in the third person. Be sure to follow his blog posts about social media marketing on www.socialaxcess.com

    david.adams@gsmiweb.com
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