When Silicon Valley speaks, the business world listens. Join CEOs, Founders and Business Owners to discover how we can engage in that conversation from the local level to national and beyond. Our panel will bring their experience from Forbes, NBC Bay Area, KRON, local interview series Valley Talks as well as podcasts, blogs and more.

Special thanks to our sponsor Silicon Valley Business Journal.

We’ll cover:

• What makes an impactful story
• How to engage with audiences and communities
• How to handle publicity we didn’t anticipate (good or bad)
• Dos and don’ts of pitching media
• Other ways of partnering with media including sponsorship, ads and branded content

Whether we’re leading a new startup or an established enterprise, these fresh media insights can help prepare us to leverage the right opportunities and partnerships in the future.

Guests will also have the opportunity to network over dinner at the Silicon Valley Capital Club.

Agenda:
6:00 Dinner, networking
6:30 Welcome
7:00 Panel with Q&A
8:00 Wrap up, networking

Panelists include:

Janice Edwards’ career includes more than 20 years of on-air and production work with San Francisco/Bay Area NBC stations- NBC Bay Area, KRON, CBS 5, CreaTV, and KBHK. Having begun as co-host of a teen radio talk show, then continuing a reporter for English and Spanish newspapers as an undergraduate at Harvard University and as a graduate student at UC Berkeley School of Journalism, she considers it a blessing to be able to fulfill what she believes is one of her life’s purposes, sharing stories of inspiration with others and boosting businesses visibility through her media company Edwards Unlimited. In addition to recognition from NAWBO, Janice has received awards including a 2018 and 2015 CreaTive Award for “Janice Edwards’ Bay Area Vista”, a 2015 WAVE nomination for “Signature Silicon Valley”, 2013 Trailblazer Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women San Francisco (which included congressional and legislative commendations), the 2013 Hometown Media Award to “Signature Silicon Valley” as Best Informational Talk Show, the 2011 CreaTiVe Best Series Producer award for “Bay Area Vista”, a 2010 Emmy nomination, 2011 and 2010 nominations for Woman Entrepreneur of the Year.

Hayley Leibson is an empathetic technologist and inclusion advocate with an entrepreneurial drive aspiring to make an impact and pursue interesting work that matters. She is the founder of Lady in Tech, an award-winning technology and lifestyle media company for next-generation female tech leaders and entrepreneurs. She writes a column for Forbes that inspires, motivates and moves millennial women to enter the tech industry and build impactful products at scale to improve the world. Hayley is featured in BBC World Service, ABC, Watch Her Work, BBC 100 Women and OZY.

Sylvia Gorajek is a founder, host and producer at Valley Talks – talk show on Silicon Valley startups. Inspired by her own experience as a startup founder, Sylvia is on a mission to portray the challenges of starting and growing a business in Silicon Valley. Her new, 3rd season tackles how to communicate startup mission and successfully grow a brand. Sylvia is also an owner and Executive Producer at a video production studio Denim Video where she produces video commercials for tech startups and established brands such as Mercedes, IKEA, HP, Uber, T-mobile, Samsung, Sharp. Previously, Sylvia has worked at Netflix and Apple and co-founded a venture-backed startup Spray. Sylvia received her Master’s Degree in Social Psychology in Marketing and Advertisement from Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Facilitator: Melissa Grimshaw-Vargas is the Director of Programs for NAWBO Silicon Valley as well as Founder and CEO of Launchwise, a Marketing and Strategy firm that launches products, brands and businesses that matter. She values the power that the right media partnerships can build for a brand and looks forward to the unique cross-section of experiences and perspectives these panelists will bring.

Media Sponsor: Silicon Valley Business Journal–Leading the Business and Economic Conversation in Silicon Valley with Daily Local Business News, Resources & more.