Stephen M. Brown, APR
Executive Vice President/Managing Director, Cohn & Wolfe – Atlanta
In his role as Executive Vice President and Managing Director in the Atlanta office of Cohn & Wolfe (www.cohnwolfe.com), Stephen M. Brown, APR, is in charge of managing dynamic account teams for both corporate and consumer accounts and providing creative new approaches to reaching and impacting influencers. He currently works on clients in the retail, restaurant, risk management, entertainment and technology industries. Drawing from an early career as a features reporter for Gannett Newspapers in the Southeast and a contributor to entertainment media, he focuses on breakthrough
media relations and building influencer relationships in both traditional and digital spheres. He co-leads the firm’s executive media training programs and has trained more than 1,000 executives in ten years, ranging from CEOs for national print and broadcast to a soft drink company’s chief scientist for a Today Show interview to a home improvement retailer’s specially-selected associates for TV appearances nationwide. Stephen’s 20-year agency career includes work within advertising, public relations, marketing and interactive agencies on primarily consumer accounts. His clients have included Dean Foods, Coca-Cola, UPS, AT&T, IBM, Cisco, Union Pacific, Purina, InterfaceFLOR and McDonald’s. Stephen is president of PRSA Georgia and Actor’s Express boards, secretary for the Curing Kids Cancer board and the board liaison for marketing for The Center for Puppetry Arts.
Todd Murphy
Vice President, Universal Information Services
Todd Murphy is VP of Universal Information Services, where he specializes in the development of news monitoring and PR measurement solutions. Universal Information Services is a managed services provider for print, broadcast, web, and social media tracking. With interests in business intelligence, process management, and U.S. legislation impacting the media, Todd is positioned to continue the success that Universal has enjoyed for over 100 years.
James Orsini
Chief Integration Officer, VaynerMedia
James Orsini is Chief Integration Officer for VaynerMedia a social first digital agency. Working alongside founders AJ and Gary Vaynerchuk James helps manage the agency for success. Mr. Orsini was Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Single Touch Systems Inc. (SITO:OTCBB), the mobile media solutions provider serving retailers,advertisers and brands. A proven leader and author of business articles (Monetize or be cannibalized and The Race for mobile relevance) and white papers (The Authentic Network, Reverse 360 mentoring and Mastering Procurement). James has over 25-years of finance and operations experience across a broad range of marketing and communications disciplines in both the Ominicom and Publicis Groupe holding companies. He currently serves on the Board of Regents for Seton Hall University.
Doug Spong, APR, PRSA Fellow
President, Spong
An amalgamation of deep insights, smart strategy and creative imagination, Doug is the razor-sharp standard by which we judge all things we create and release to the world. He’s also the quintessential moving force. He has held key leadership positions with PRSA and the Council of Public Relations Firms. Doug has been awarded a number of the industry’s highest individual honors, including the PRSA Gold Anvilfor lifetime achievement and the SABRE Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement from the Holmes Group among others. Besides the awards, it’s Doug’s perfectionist nature and battle-tested counsel that our clients value most.