Albert Alcaraz leads positioning and sponsorship research for the Olympics and World Cup. He has a strong background in multicultural, creative development and audience insights. Alcaraz started his career as at Kantar Consulting and has worked as a mix-methods research lead fueling product development, audience segmentation, and brand positioning. Alcaraz is a graduate of the Marshall School of Business at University of Southern California.

Liz Castells-Heard is CEO and Chief Strategy Officer of INFUSION by Castells, a full-service Multicultural agency that provides Fortune 500 Clients best-in-class strategic leadership and consistent results, known for their analytics, marketing strategies, first-in-kind thinking, and cultural narratives that compel ROI-Powered ideas. Liz is an industry force with a Stanford MBA, finance and psychology training, ‘tell it like it is’ magnetic style, and nearly 40 years of General market, Client, and Multicultural experience including DDB NY, Campbell’s, Oriflame, and Conill/Saatchi. Her strategic acumen and foresight has helped many companies like McDonald’s, Toyota, Charter Communications, and Safeway grow their businesses. Her inspiration and demand for excellence galvanizes her team, and creates campaigns that earn ROI, awards and her “Our Fearless Leader” moniker.

Tinashe Chaponda is an influencer marketing expert and the founder of Sosani Studios, an agency focused on connecting brands to Gen Z and millennial culture.

Before becoming an agency owner in 2017, Tinashe was a former YouTuber who grew his channel to 25K subscribers with 30 million views. He attests that his success came from his college years and internships at some of the top companies at Stryker Medical and Goldman Sachs.

Since 2020, some of Tinashe’s most successful campaigns have been with brands from Lexus, Cash App, Warner Brothers, and Amazon, and worked with over 1000+ influencers and celebrities from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Lil Yachty, Justin Schmidt, Kayla Malecc, and many more.

His ultimate mission is to empower brands and creators, and create an impact within the industry while maximizing data and technology, AI, and cultural insights.

Merrill’s passion and dedication to the Insights community has been recognized with numerous national awards, most recently as a member of the inaugural class of the Insights Association’s Laureate Certification, the organization’s highest distinction. Other honors include Marketing Research Association’s Distinguished Service Award, the Meritorious Service to Marketing Research Award and the Honorary Lifetime Membership Award for outstanding service to MRA and the marketing research profession. He is past chairman of the advisory board for the Michigan State MSMR program and a board member for Hofstra University. Merrill’s prior industry contributions include the MRA Board of Directors, MRA National Treasurer, and AMA Boston Chapter’s President. In addition, he is a much sought after speaker for university lectures and industry conferences, co-chairing numerous AMA Leadership Summits.

Matthew Gottlieb has overseen research for NBC Sports advertising and partnerships – including the Olympics, World Cup, Sunday Night Football, golf and more – since 2019. He also leads NBCU’s campaign impact team, measuring the effectiveness of advertising and sponsorships across TV/Peacock. Gottlieb started his career as a political pollster; he previously led the Insights & Analytics team at Whistle Sports and worked on Verizon’s NFL sponsorship team. Gottlieb is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the NYU Stern School of Business. He cheers on his beloved Washington Nationals and Washington Commanders from his home in Brooklyn, NY.

Federico Garza, Senior Vice President, Research Strategy and Insights, leads all of research, insights and analytics to inform programming, marketing and digital strategies across Telemundo’s portfolio.

A seasoned consumer-insights professional with more than 20 years of experience and ample expertise across multiplatform data, audience measurement, and marketing strategies, Garza oversees and develops comprehensive research plans through consumer insights, data capabilities, and multiplatform measurement to achieve Telemundo’s business goals. Additionally, Garza oversees primary and secondary research and drives data-driven recommendations to enhance Telemundo’s multiplatform strategy and deliver on the content needs of the growing Latino consumer.

Garza was previously the Executive Vice President of Research and Insights at iHeartMedia, Inc., where he spearheaded thought leadership, developed analytics, and led cross functional strategic programs.  As a consultant at Bain & Company, Inc., for a decade, he conducted extensive management consulting work and developed business growth strategies based on data-driven insights for multinational companies across a variety of industries including airline, beverage, food, consumer goods, and financial services across Europe, Latin America and the U.S. out of Dallas, TX, and Mexico City.  

Garza received his undergraduate degree in computer system engineering from Monterrey Institute of Technology in Mexico and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

Montilla is the Executive VP & COO of NAICOM Corp., overseeing operations, corporate strategy, sales, marketing, distribution, and channel acquisitions.

In his previous role, Montilla served as EVP of Global Distribution at Olympusat Inc., where he worked directly with the company’s CEO on distribution strategies and execution of all traditional and digital FAST channels as well as Content Sales and OTT distribution worldwide.

Montilla has also held leadership positions in other media companies, such as Telecinco Inc., where he developed, launched, and managed two TV Networks – including ABC Television Network affiliate in Puerto Rico, ABC5, and the new local television network, Vive TV. He also served as Executive Vice President for Casiano Communications, the largest and most experienced Hispanic publisher of periodicals and magazines in the United States.

In 2005, Montilla became the President of the Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corporation, leading two television stations, two radio stations, and an Internet portal. He spearheaded the Corporation’s evolution to high-definition digital production with the inauguration of modern, state-of-the-art facilities, making the public station the first on the island to produce and broadcast in high definition.

Throughout his career, Montilla has been recognized for his contributions to the media industry. He received the prestigious Governor’s Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 2006. He was named Television Executive of the Year by AdNotas and received the Zenit Award from The Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce in 2015. In 2016, the Sales and Marketing Executive Association honored him with the prestigious Top Management Award. In December 2017, he received The Silver Circle Award given by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for professionals who have 25 years with a successful trajectory in the Television Industry.

Monique L. Nelson is the executive chair of UniWorld Group Inc., the longest-standing multicultural advertising and marketing agency in the United States. An industry thought leader and marketing visionary, Nelson purchased the controlling stake of UWG in 2012, becoming the chair and chief executive officer (CEO). UWG is best known for its audience insights, culture-driven storytelling, and breakthrough creative.

Nelson has expanded UWG globally under her leadership, placing offices in Canada and Africa. The agency has also increased client offerings beyond advertising and marketing to include cultural fluency, transformation and inclusion for its audiences; as well as providing strengthened name/image/likeness (NIL) product/brand strategies and launching UWG’s proprietary data and research tool Culture Labs. Culture Labs is the first data insights platform that allows marketers to accurately identify audiences, understand what influences their purchase decisions, and reach them through digital media channels.

Prior to joining UWG, Nelson was the global lead for entertainment marketing at Motorola Inc., where she ensured that the technology giant’s entertainment and music strategies and collaborations lived up to their promise as results-driven strategic marketing ideas worldwide.

She sits on the board for Student Athlete NIL (SANIL). She is also on the board of trustees at Brandeis University, the Advertising Week Global Board, and the AdWeek Diversity & Inclusion Council. Nelson is a founding member of BLACKWEEK.

She gives back to her community and serves on the boards of The Eagle Academy, Human Better EDU, and MOBB United for Change, as well as the New York Advisory Board for The Posse Foundation, of which she is an alumna. She is also a member of the Brooklyn Chapter of Links Inc.

Nelson has a bachelor of science degree in Human and Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University and a master of business administration degree in International Marketing and Finance from the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University.

Selective Awards include: 212NYC — Distinguished Work in Media and Advertising Award; Ad Age’s 40 under 40; Color Comm Circle Award; Media Village — Advancing Diversity – Hall of Honors Awardee; The Posse Star Award from The Posse Foundation; Root 100; 2015 Advertising’s Working Mother of the Year; 2016 United Way of New York City’s Women Leadership Council — Power of Women to Make a Difference awardee.

Jayzen Patria is a personal branding expert, diversity advocate, and keynote speaker, who helps transform organizations through the power of their people finding their true brand voice and bringing their best authentic selves to work every day.

A 25-year learning and development veteran of Fortune 100 companies, including General Electric, Comcast, and NBCUniversal, he has worked with some of the world’s top entertainment, media, and tech brands. At NBCUniversal, Jayzen led executive development and is noted as the architect of the Talent Lab, their uniquely branded corporate university.

Inspired by his multicultural background, he is a life-long equality advocate serving in roles to champion diversity, including leading global ERGs for fifteen years and creating development programs for female and other underrepresented employees.

Jayzen has been featured at international conferences, is the host of the popular Lead With Your Brand!™ podcast, and is proud to serve as the Chair of the American Red Cross’ National Diversity Advisory Council and on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

Romina Rosado is Executive Vice President and General Manager of Hispanic Streaming for NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. Rosado is responsible for developing, producing, and programming a robust content slate to super charge the growth of Latinos on streaming platforms, including the Tplus content brand on Peacock, the Telemundo app, the network’s YouTube properties, newly launched FAST channels and more. Rosado leads cross-company efforts and collaborates with NBCUniversal streaming leadership in the development of their Latino content, in order to effectively target and connect with the full spectrum of Hispanics. She reports directly to Luis Fernández, Chairman, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.

Most recently, Rosado served as Executive Vice President of Entertainment & Content Strategy for NBCUniversal Telemundo, where she oversaw the company’s omnichannel strategy and growth of Telemundo digital into a streaming powerhouse. Under her leadership, usage of the Telemundo App tripled in 2020 with record-breaking properties, including “El Señor de los Cielos” (Lord of the Skies) and “Pasión Prohibida” (Forbidden Passion). Rosado joined Telemundo in 2018 to develop the Noticias’ Telemundo digital strategy in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election. Prior to that, Rosado was Senior Vice President of Global Content at NBCUniversal´s E! in Los Angeles, where she oversaw all content, news gathering, audience development, and product for the company’s news division. During her time at E! News, she helped to expand programming and grow the brand’s footprint to more than 1 billion engagements per month in over 160 countries, making E! News the largest multiplatform entertainment news and women’s lifestyle brand globally. Earlier in her career, Rosado was Executive Producer at Us Weekly, where she was responsible for launching and executing the company’s digital expansion. She also advised some of the world’s leading NGOs and government agencies on their digital strategies and was a consultant to the European Central Bank ahead of the introduction of the Euro.

In recent years, Rosado has been a recipient of notable awards including being recognized as Multichannel News Wonder Women of Los Angeles, Cablefax’s Most Powerful Women in Cable, and Cynopsis’s Model D and IT List.

Rosado serves on the Teach for America Miami-Dade Advisory Board, a diverse network of leaders who work to confront injustice of education inequity through teaching, and the Advisory Board for Grate Media, a new food-driven media brand. Additionally, she serves on Moët Hennessy USA’s inaugural Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Advisory Council. Rosado received a Bachelor of Arts from Nebrija University in Spain.

Joe Schramm is a business strategist, conference producer, and marketing specialist with an expertise for attracting segmented audiences. Notable among those audience segments are executives in TV, film, sports and video, Hispanic consumers, soccer fans, maturing Americans, families, South Asians, women, LGBT, and others.

He currently holds two roles in television. One is as the Director of the Office of Film & Television for the Town of Huntington, Long Island, where he promotes “Huntington to Hollywood.” He has attracted to Huntington a series of major productions for streaming services which have in turn delivered millions into the local economy.

The other role is as the founder and president of the Schramm Marketing Group, a marketing communications and media services agency that specializes multicultural marketing, sports promotion, conference production, and sponsorship sales. The company’s clients include the leading brands in consumer services, television, sports, entertainment, publishing, and non-profits. He founded the New York-based company in 1993.

Schramm has earned a reputation for successfully attracting fans to sold-out international soccer matches, as well as attracting attendees to leading TV industry conferences like NAB, NATPE, and others. He is noted as the creator and producer of the Hispanic Television Summit, which is celebrating its 22nd consecutive year, presented by Future’s television industry magazines, B+C and Multichannel News.

Joe is a 30+ year veteran of the TV and video industry. He was honored as a member of the prestigious 2015 Class of Cable TV Pioneers. He has worked on the launch of “brand extension services” for numerous networks including ESPN, Fox, MTV, and The History Channel as well the launch of programmers like GOL TV, and others. Schramm has also helped to launch the Hispanic programming tiers with customer acquisition campaigns for the leading cable TV operators, satellite TV providers and streaming platforms. Earlier in his career, he held marketing and creative services roles with Cablevision, and Rainbow Media (now AMC Networks).

Mark Walton has devoted much of his professional career to helping independent film and TV producers distribute, market, and monetize their works, especially those in the multicultural media space.

He is currently an Associate Professor of Media Management at The New School in New York and regularly consults with media companies, government entities, and independent producers.

He is the former President of Sales & Marketing for One Caribbean Television, and prior to that, he was a member of the senior management team that launched The Africa Channel.

Mr. Walton has been a TV syndicator securing distribution and sponsorship for over 50 shows, including New York Undercover and the Hispanic Heritage Awards.

In the film arena, he was a founding partner at the independent film distribution company KJM3 that successfully marketed Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust and Raoul Peck’s The Man By The Shore. Walton began his career at the CBS Television Network in marketing.

Walton earned his BS in journalism from Boston University’s College of Communications and holds a Master’s from the Yale School of Management.

Adriana Waterston is Executive Vice President of Insights and Strategy for Horowitz Research, which in 2023 became a division of M/A/R/C Research. Adriana has overseen Horowitz’s multicultural practice for over 20 years, providing research and insights to inform their clients’ programming, distribution, marketing, advertising, branding, and positioning strategies to reach and resonate with America’s Hispanic/Latinx, Black, Asian, Gen Z, LGBTQIA+, and international audiences, among other diverse segments. Her work has spanned the United States as well as the Caribbean, LATAM, and Europe. She has served clients in multiple industries, including media and entertainment, telecom and technology, travel and hospitality, beauty and personal care, CPG, retail, toys, education, and not-for-profit.

Adriana is a pioneer in the multicultural space for the cable industry. Over the years, she has spoken at countless conferences both within and outside of the cable industry, including the Hispanic TV Conference, the NAMIC Conference, the Stream TV Show, the Media Insights and Engagement Conference, CTAM Think, ARF’s AUDIENCExSCIENCE, Quirk’s, the Corporate Researchers’ Conference, and more. For 17 years, Adriana ran Horowitz’s Cultural Insights Forum, the first-ever cable industry event focused on research and strategy to reach diverse audiences. She is frequently quoted in the press as an industry expert and has also received many industry accolades. Adriana is among the honorees for a 2024 Wonder Woman NYC Award for outstanding women in the media and entertainment industry. She was named one of the “Most Influential Minorities in Cable” by Cablefax Magazine, has won two CTAM TAMIs, received the Agency Executive Award for Research & Measurement for multicultural marketing, and in 2023, Horowitz was honored with the Rafael Eli Award for Corporate Pioneer in Hispanic TV at the Hispanic TV summit, thanks to Adriana’s dedication to the industry.