Small Business Summit Speakers

Laura Allen's passion in life is helping people market themselves more effectively while having fun getting the word out about what makes them the best at what they do. She has over twelve years of experience in book publishing, advertising, online marketing, and sales. In addition to speaking and teaching 15SecondPitch™ workshops, Laura assists private clients seeking to improve their existing pitches or develop new ones.

Since co-founding 15SecondPitch.com in 2002, she has been featured in national and regional media including Adweek, The Financial Times, Crain's New York Business, The Wall Street Journal, and ABC News. Laura has been a guest speaker at "Networking Nights", co-sponsored by The New York Times and Starbucks; The M.I.T. Women's Alumni Group; Pace University; Downtown Women's Club, NAWBO and New York City Women in Technology.

Laura is currently writing her first book titled How to Craft the Perfect 15SecondPitch in 4 Easy Steps.

Marian Banker, MBA, is a Business Leadership Coach and President of Prime Strategies, providing the small business community with coaching, consulting and training in business leadership skills since 1996.

Marian has provided targeted training and workshops in academic, professional and corporate settings for such sponsors as AT&T, AWED, McGraw-Hill, Citibank, Melard Technologies, Westchester Community College, Hunter College, Webgrrls and others. She was featured Business Coach on ABC's World News This Morning and Channel 12 News New Jersey. She has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal and numerous small business publications.

In 2006 she completed and launched the unique self-study Business Success System Course, which provides entrepreneurs with the tools, techniques, strategies and guidance to set their business on the fast track to success.

Jason Boltax is the president and founder of JHB Human Capital Management, a human resources strategy consulting firm, specializing in HR management, organizational assessments and workforce development. Jason has more than 11 years of experience in implementing strategic business solutions through integrated HR services and technology. He has held positions in HR operations, client delivery, project management, and currently provides consultative services to organizations to assist them in meeting their human resources challenges. He is recognized for his innovative bottom-line driven solutions and programs.

Jason is also the founder of the New York Human Resources/Human Capital Management Group, an organization that helps HR professionals broaden their business networks, share knowledge and expertise and keep abreast of the latest trends, strategies and best practices in human resources.

Jason earned his masters degree in organizational psychology from Columbia University with a concentration in organizational change and consultation.

Harry Brooks, Director of Search Marketing for Network Solutions, manages sales and search marketing education programs — seminars, webinars and partner programs. Harry has trained thousands of business owners on how to develop a search marketing strategy. He created and launched the Internet Marketing Webinar series for Network Solutions in September 2007, which covers topics like Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Advertising Campaigns, Link Building and much more.

Harry regularly engages business consumers in a variety of capacities, including being a regular contributor to Network Solutions Online Marketing Blog, and has appeared as a featured guest on Technically Speaking Radio to discuss search marketing. In 2008, he will play a key role in growing and directing Search Engine Marketing education and sales programs for Network Solutions, LLC.

Anita Campbell is CEO of Small Business Trends, LLC, a media and information company. In that role she closely follows trends in both the small business market and technology. Trained as a lawyer, she was most recently a senior executive with Bell & Howell Company, including serving as CEO of a technology subsidiary of Bell & Howell.

A respected speaker and emerging trends resource, Ms. Campbell's expertise has been noted or her opinion quoted in numerous major business and entrepreneurial publications. She was acknowledged as a participating source in the Intuit Future of Small Business Report. Her popular website, Small Business Trends, is regularly noted as a rich informational resource. In 2005 the site won the "Best of the Web" award for small business blogs from Forbes and numerous other awards and honors.

Ridgely Evers is Founder and CEO of NetBooks. Ridgely got his first computer in 1967 and started his first business in the early 1970s. In 1988 he joined Intuit, where he was responsible for the creation of QuickBooks, and later instrumental in creating their online banking system.

Since Intuit he has been CEO of several technology startups, including Exactly Vertical, a pioneer in supply-chain automation for small business, and nCircle, one of the leading companies in internet network security. In 1990 he founded DaVero Sonoma, which he and his wife Colleen McGlynn have built into a premier producer of extra virgin olive oils, wines, and other artisan food products. In 2003, Ridgely began development of NetBooks.

He earned a BA, with distinction, in International Relations from Stanford University, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Michael Findling joined Salem Global Internet Website Marketing in December 2006. As Chief Marketing Officer he develops, plans, and executes the marketing campaigns of Salem Global's clients. This includes all search engine optimization, social media, interactive public relations and lead generation practices.

Prior to Salem Global, Michael worked in both marketing and global e-learning development roles at Goldman Sachs and Standard & Poor's.

Michael is also a leading figure within "young leadership" and Jewish outreach in New York City. He has been the Director of Operations for several Jewish non-profits, including One Family Fund and Dor Chadash, and has organized hundreds of social, educational, and fundraising events on behalf of Israel and the Jewish community. In February of 2006, Michael was selected as a member of the Professional Leaders Project, a national initiative dedicated to inspiring and educating leading "young professionals" within the Jewish community. Michael holds a BS/BA from Boston University.

Nina L. Kaufman, Esq. is an award-winning edutainer and small business attorney. Through both her NYC-based law practice, AskTheBusinessLawyer.com, and as President of her legal information company, Wise Counsel Press LLC, she has spent over a decade successfully navigating hundreds of entrepreneurs and small businesses through the legal issues that they face in starting and running their own companies.

An occasional stand-up comic, Nina is a sought-after professional speaker and has given seminars, workshops, teleclasses, and presentations for numerous organizations in the New York area on subjects ranging from business partnerships and collaborative alliances to intellectual property and social media. She has also been featured in the Wall Street Journal, SmallBusinessComputing.com, The New York Law Journal, the American Bar Association Journal, and Entrepreneur magazine and has appeared on Fox Channel 5's Good Day NY program.

A prolific writer, she is a regular columnist and contributing author for several journals, blogs and other publications.

Brent Leary is a technology analyst, advisor, speaker, consultant and award winning blogger. He is co-founder and Partner of CRM Essentials LLC, an Atlanta based CRM advisory firm focused on assisting companies in understanding and effectively utilizing CRM and Web 2.0 tools and strategies to improve business relationships. He has over 16 years of IT and management consulting experience working on projects for Microsoft and Research In Motion, among others.

Recognized by InsideCRM as one of 2007's 25 most influential industry leaders, Leary also received CRM Magazine's Most Influential Leader Award in 2004. He serves on the national board of the CRM Association as VP of Technology, and participant in Newsweek magazine's Driving Innovation expert roundtable series. His articles have been featured in various publications, including Direct Marketing News and CRM magazine. Leary writes a weekly online column for Black Enterprise, and hosts the popular Technology For Business $ake radio program.

Marshall Makstein is the President and founding partner of eSlide, a graphic design company that specializes in presentation design and production. eSlide produces visuals that are more than pretty PowerPoints, but electronic slides with visual value that allow the speaker to communicate their key messages effectively. eSlide clients include many Fortune 100 company executives that come to eSlide when they need to insure success when announcing a new product or service, a company-wide initiative, or winning a billion dollar deal.

Marshall earned a Bachelor of Science in Communications with a specialty in organizational communications. For the past twenty years he has worked with executives to improve their presentation support. He has started over ten small businesses to date and is always thinking about the next possible big one.

Adrian Miller is the President of Adrian Miller Sales Training, a training and business consulting firm that she founded in 1989. Her firm provides practical, hands-on, customized skills training and business development programs, based on real-world selling situations and specific client needs. Her training is conducted in person and through teleclasses, video conferences and webcasts.

Adrian works with clients that range from Fortune 500 companies to small entrepreneurial firms, encompassing a vast diversity of industries, including financial services, publishing, manufacturing, accounting, biotechnology, legal, healthcare and technology.

Adrian is a nationally recognized lecturer, a sought-after conference speaker, and the author of The Blatant Truth: 50 Ways to Sales Success.

Barry Moltz has founded and run several small businesses , experiencing both success and failure, for more than 15 years. After successfully selling his last operating business, Barry founded an angel investor group, an angel fund, and is a former advisory member of the board of the Angel Capital Education Foundation.

His first book, You Need to Be A Little Crazy: The Truth about Starting and Growing Your Business describes the ups and downs and emotional trials of running a business. It is in its fourth reprint and has been translated into four languages. His second book, Bounce! Failure, Resiliency and the Confidence to Achieve Your Next Great Success, will be published by Wiley on January 11.

Barry is a nationally recognized speaker and expert on entrepreneurship and was appointed by the Illinois Governor in 2005 to serve on the board of the Institute for Entrepreneurship Education (IIEE). He has taught entrepreneurship as an adjunct professor at IIT( Illinois Institute of Technology) and was elected to the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame in 2004.

Maitland Muse, Director of Wireless Data Solutions, NY Metro Region, joined Verizon Wireless in September 2005 to assist in the growth and penetration of Verizon Wireless' Advanced Data initiatives. His organization is responsible for providing wireless data solutions and technical support for more than 600 points of distribution throughout the NY Metro region.

Prior to Verizon Wireless, Maitland spent 7 plus years with Global Crossing, holding several positions within the sales organization, most recently as the Area Vice President for NJ. In this role, Maitland was responsible for growing Global Crossing's market position within the enterprise space selling Global Network Solutions.

A veteran of the Telecommunications industry since 1988, Mr. Muse earned his Bachelors degree in Economics with a Finance Minor from Rutgers University in 1990. Maitland is married with 5 children residing in New Jersey.

Nancy Ploeger, President of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce has been with the Chamber since January 1994. She has spearheaded the growth of the organization from 250 to almost 1,500 members and has instituted many seminars, events, an active website and other benefits for members, including international outreach. In addition, Ms. Ploeger developed and oversees the MCC Community Benefit Fund (CBF) and the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce Foundation, both 501c(3) affiliates of MCC.

Ms. Ploeger was honored by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney in 2004 on her 10-year anniversary with MCC and noted in the US Congressional Record.

Karen Quintos serves as vice president of marketing for Small and Medium Business (SMB) at Dell. Ms. Quintos is responsible for driving marketing programs, campaigns, communications and offers to reach millions of SMB customers every day.

Prior to her current role, Ms. Quintos was vice president and general manager of Dell SMB Services, and held various executive roles in Dell's operations, services and contact center organizations. Ms. Quintos joined Dell in 2000 from Citigroup, where she served as vice president of global operations and technology.

Ms. Quintos holds a master's degree in marketing and international business from New York University and a bachelor of science in business logistics degree from The Pennsylvania State University State College. She has served on multiple boards and currently serves on the Dell Foundation Board, Dell's Hispanic Networking Board, and Board of Visitors for Penn State's Smeal Business School.

Ramon Ray is the editor of Smallbiztechnology.com and author of Technology Solutions for Growing Businesses (Amacom). He has written thousands of technology articles and news items for Smallbiztechnology.com. He is a contributing editor to the New York Enterprise Report and has written business small business technology articles for Inc Magazine, Black Enterprise Magazine, CNet, Var Business, TechTarget, Entrepreneur.com, Small Business Resources and other media.

Ramon has also written for technology vendors including Microsoft, FileMaker, Everest and others. He is often quoted in the media, including the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Entrepreneur Magazine, Inc Magazine, WCBS Radio, Crains New York, National Federal of Independent Business, Small Business Advocate Radio Show, Wells Fargo Small Business Roundup and more.

Not "just" a technology writer, but as a former small business technology consultant, Ramon has years of hands on experience in building networks, installing software, upgrading computers and supporting the technology small businesses use on a daily basis.

Jennifer Shaheen, eMarketing and Technology Therapist®, is an expert at helping small and mid-sized companies use technology to leverage effective marketing strategies and increase business productivity.

A strong advocate of small women-owned businesses, Jennifer has partnered with organizations such as NOW-NYC, NAWBO, and SCORE. She also serves on the board of the American Marketing Association, Southern New England Chapter, developing and promoting eMarketing strategies.

Jennifer is a certified software trainer and web development instructor. She has been a featured speaker at national business conferences on topics including eCommerce essentials for start-up businesses, effective email marketing, and winning business online. Jennifer is an active contributing author for Womenandbiz.com and Women's Radio, and writes a business blog which was nominated for a bloggers' choice award and ranked in the top 20 of business blogs.

Martha Soffer has proudly served the business community for seven years as an Economic Development Specialist for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). She specializes in building win-win strategic alliances with community-based economic development organizations in Manhattan and the Bronx. She helps small business owners obtain SBA guaranteed loans to start or grow a business, free technical assistance including business plan development, free business counseling, and surety bonds and certification for government contracting business development programs.

Prior to joining the federal government, Ms. Soffer directed several Fortune 100 corporate marketing research departments. Born and bred in NYC, Ms. Soffer has earned an M.B.A. degree in marketing from Baruch College and a M.A. degree in Oriental Art History from CUNY.

Laurel Touby, founder & senior vice president of mediabistro.com, started her career at Young & Rubicam, in the Media Planning department, back when there was one!

After three years trying to break into the Creative Department at Y&R, she busted out of the Ad Agency business for good. After a long "stint" as a journalist (working for everyone from Working Woman Magazine to Business Week to New York Magazine), she launched her business, mediabistro.com.

The original idea for mediabistro.com was cooked up in 1993, when Touby — who was still contributing to Glamour magazine at the time — and a friend decided to host a mixer for media people. About 10 editors, writers, and other content creators came to that original cocktail party at Jules Bistro in the East Village. The parties quickly grew, and soon Touby had 4,000 of New York's top media talent on her email list. After creating a web site in 1997 and adding features such as job listings, bulletin boards, classes, e-classes, and a freelance marketplace, Touby's business began to take off. Today, 700,000 media professionals have registered for various mediabistro.com services around the world. Users log upwards of 7 million page views a month.

Jennifer Walzer, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Backup My Info!, Inc., has an extensive background in technology and business strategy consulting. Prior to founding Backup My Info!, Jennifer spent her career helping organizations from start-ups to Fortune 1000 companies develop their back office systems and online web presence. Jennifer also successfully launched and sold a software development company focused on developing Interactive Voice Response Systems for Multi-Employer Benefit Funds.

She has been invited to speak on various topics such as Disaster Recovery and Data Security at major conferences across the country and has been featured in numerous national magazines. Jennifer is also an active member of YEO (Young Entrepreneurs Organization).

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