Every year since 2009, IAB has brought small publishers to the nation’s capital for education on the latest topics in digital, and to meet with members of Congress and their staff. This year promises new experiences, new learning sessions, and more networking opportunities.
The event consists of two parts. On the first day, we provide learning on hot topics relevant to small publisher businesses. There is also a networking dinner at Google’s D.C. headquarters. For day two, we organize visits with Congress so publishers can talk to our lawmakers about what is important to their businesses, and show how digital advertising is more than just giant tech companies – it’s a small business engine as well. Participants will hear from the IAB government relations team about legislative and regulatory proposals that could impact their businesses. The goal is to make sure DC representatives have a fuller understanding of the challenges facing online entrepreneurs and the impact that legislation and regulations may have on their businesses.
“The Small Publisher Fly-in is the single best opportunity to tell key federal lawmakers your stories, and those of our industry, and to advocate for online advertising in the halls of Congress. Further, it demonstrates the diversity and breadth of content being funded by advertising. Join us and have your voice heard as elected officials consider legislation impacting your business.” – Dave Grimaldi, EVP of Public Policy, IAB
Shashi Bellamkonda, Speaker and Digital Marketing Expert, is Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Surefire Social – Bellamkonda is also the Adjunct faculty member of Georgetown University. Shashi is passionate about helping small business and has spoken on Small Business and social media tools at conferences like SXSW, IABC, PRSA, Mid-Atlantic Summit, MarketingProfs and Affiliate Summit. In 2015 Shashi Bellamkonda was selected as the top 40 CMOs in the Washington DC region by Trending 40. Shashi was honored with the Washington Business Journal’s Washington Minority Business Leader award. He was previously featured in Washingtonian’s Top 100 Tech Titans list in the Community and Thought leadership category and the Washington Business Journal called him the Social Listener. He has co-authored chapters in two books also been featured in 15 Books on marketing and social media.
Matthew Gaffney is Head of Video Content Solutions for ONE by AOL: Publishers. After studying film and television production at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and a brief stint in the world of contemporary video art, he moved into the relatively new field of online video programming at Dailymotion. He transitioned to a similar role at 5min, which had recently been acquired by AOL to establish what is now a vast video syndication platform. Matt’s team is responsible for the entire video library, from both an editorial and technical standpoint. He oversees editorial content strategy with the goal of increasing revenue and engagement for our many, premium content brands.
Susan Getgood has been involved in online marketing since the early 90s, and watched the web evolve from the first browsers to the interactive communities we participate in today.
Currently Susan is Senior Vice President of Influencer Marketing at SheKnows Media In this role, she leads the company’s influencer marketing practice and the teams responsible for delivering the social marketing products and programs that engage consumers and deliver results.
Previously, she was SheKnows’ SVP of Integrated Marketing, a role she assumed subsequent to SheKnows’ acquisition of BlogHer in November 2014. Susan joined BlogHer Inc..in 2010; prior to that, she was an independent consultant helping organizations integrate social media into their marketing strategies to meet their customers online, build their brands and drive revenue. Clients included HP, Kaplan University, Kraft, Goodwill Industries and CamelBak as well as PR agencies, start-ups and small businesses nationwide.
Susan also has held a variety of corporate marketing and management roles including Senior Vice President of Marketing at Internet software company SurfControl, General Manager of Cyber Patrol and Director of Corporate Communications at The Learning Company.
Her professional marketing blog, where she writes about social media and marketing strategy, is Marketing Roadmaps (getgood.com/roadmaps). She also writes a personal blog, Snapshot Chronicles (snapshotchronicles.com). Her first book, Professional Blogging For Dummies (Wiley), was published in July 2010.
Susan speaks regularly at social media conferences like BlogHer, Mom 2.0 and New Comm Forum. She is a co-founder of ethics initiative Blog With Integrity and appeared on the Today Show in April 2010 to talk about respect and responsibility in the blogosphere.
As VP of Marketing, Chris Glushko brings 15 years of digital marketing and communications experience to IAB. He spearheads internal and external communications efforts with IAB leadership in line with the numerous capabilities of the organization—public policy, mobile, video, professional certification, technical standards, and more. Various marketing campaigns under his supervision have effectively connected with publishers, advertisers, media buyers, ad creatives, technologists, and legislators, as well as consumers who turn to the ad-supported web every day for news, information, and entertainment.
Prior to working at IAB, Chris served as Manager, Interactive Marketing for Century 21 Real Estate Corporation. In that role, he was responsible for building the company’s interactive marketing and digital advertising capabilities, as well as its CRM strategy and deployment.
Chris holds a BA in Sociology from Centenary College and resides in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife, Allie Carson, and canine companion, Willis. An avid live music fan, he donates a great deal of his spare time to supporting the Mockingbird Foundation, a nonprofit organization that has granted over $1 million dollars to music education programs for children.
Dave Grimaldi is Executive Vice President for Public Policy at IAB, and is based out of the Washington, D.C. office. He leads the the IAB policy team, which advocates on behalf of IAB member companies before Congress, federal agencies, and involves direct lobbying, political fundraising, issue campaigns, and policy development.
Dave joined IAB from Pandora Media, where he directed the company’s public affairs strategy and opened its Washington, D.C. office. Dave worked to craft Pandora’s policy messaging toward political and national media, while cultivating and strengthening relationships with a broad network of journalists, third party validators, and other music industry and technology representatives.
Prior to Pandora, Dave served as Chief of Staff to FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, serving as the Commissioner’s advisor on all matters. Dave prepared Commissioner Clyburn for congressional oversight hearings, the review of proposed mergers and various FCC rulemakings, and helped guide the office through Clyburn’s tenure as Acting FCC Chairwoman.
Before the FCC, Dave served as Senior Counsel to House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn of the U.S. House of Representatives. He advised the Whip in a variety of capacities, from policy positions to floor strategy, and coordinated with the House’s committees and other Leadership offices to prepare legislation for consideration by the full House.
Before joining the Whip’s office, Dave was a Principal at The Raben Group, where he advised corporate clients on issues relating to intellectual property, financial services, and telecommunications.
Dave earned his BA in English at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, followed by a J.D. at Catholic University Law School.
Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a custom content and media company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship, and the blog SmallBizDaily.com. She’s a nationally- known speaker, best-selling author, and authority on entrepreneurship, and for more than 30 years, she was the long-time Editorial Director of Entrepreneur magazine.
Lesonsky regularly writes about small business for numerous websites and for corporations targeting entrepreneurs.
Lesonsky has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, The Martha Stewart show and Oprah, and can regularly be seen on MSNBC’s Your Business. .
Many organizations have recognized Lesonsky for her tireless devotion to helping entrepreneurs. She served on the Small Business Administration’s National Advisory Council for six years, and was honored by the SBA as a Small Business Media Advocate and a Woman in Business Advocate. In 2009, she was honored as one of publishing’s top innovators. The Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization honored her for helping drive “the entrepreneurial revolution in secondary education.” The ASBDC awarded her a “Champion of Small Business” award and in 2012 she received the prestigious Lou Campanelli award from SCORE. She’s been named one of the nation’s top 100 Small Business Influencers and is a long-time member of the Business Journalists Hall of Fame.
Aaron and his team lead Google’s relationships with advocacy groups and associations. Before moving to Washington DC in July 2014, Aaron spent 3.5 years at Google Chicago building successful digital marketing campaigns for Fortune 500 food & beverage companies. Prior to joining Google, Aaron spent 7 years in brand management at Procter & Gamble, leading marketing and innovation for global brands like Tide/Ariel, Gain, and Downy. He lives in Maryland with his wife Jean and sons Ethan and Alex.
Stephen Strong is Director of Publisher Development for over-the-top video news brand Newsy. Stephen manages relationships with top-tier publishers and leads business development for new and emerging platforms, including OTT and CTV, audio and out-of-home. With a strong background in the digital video space, Stephen works with his partners to create a premium content experience that drives meaningful revenue and audience engagement, and with technology platforms to conceive new ways to deliver and distribute Newsy products. Prior to Newsy, he worked in the digital video space at AOL and Viacom. Stephen resides in New York City with his wife Marissa and daughter Sadie.