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Digital Marketing Series Episode 01

Dr. Jeff Semel / Atlanta Medical Institute

Optimum health is no longer as simple as being born with a good set of genes. It’s a proactive choice each person has to make. Living in a toxic environment requires an aggressive program, and a visionary captain at the helm. Dr. Jeff Semel, one of Atlanta’s leading physicians and pioneer of wellness, is realizing his holistic vision for health by offering advanced anti-aging medicine at Atlanta Medical Institute. Dr. Semel is a graduate of Life College and a post-graduate of The National College of Chiropractic specializing in Physiological Therapeutics, along with a license to practice in both Georgia and New York. He is specialized in holistic medicine as well as an expert in anti-aging medicine.  Throughout his career, Dr. Semel has worked extensively within the community to raise awareness of prevention and natural alternatives to wellness designed to retard the aging process. Dr. Semel is a board-certified member of the American Chiropractic Association for the past 16 years as well as a preferred physician for Fulton County. He is a well-known national speaker in the field of anti-aging medicine. Dr. Semel is one of the first doctors in Georgia to complete a fellowship and diplomate in anti-aging. He is also currently pursuing a master’s in functional medicine/anti-aging. He is considered one of the leading authorities on bioidentical hormone balancing, anti-aging medicine, and wellness in Georgia.

 

 

 

Thomas Harpointner (Co Host) / AIS Media
CEO

Thomas Harpointner is founder & CEO of AIS Media, Inc., an Atlanta-based, award-winning digital marketing firm. Thomas is a recognized subject matter expert on digital marketing strategy development and execution.

Thomas has served as a keynote speaker at trade organizations, conferences, and corporate events. He has appeared on Fox Business, Bloomberg Television, CNN Radio, CNBC, The Advertising Show, The Today Show and many other TV and radio programs. He’s been featured in publications such as Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, CFO, AJC, Fortune, and Wired.

At AIS Media, Thomas consults executives at leading companies on digital strategy. He’s led hundreds of digital marketing initiatives for clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations such as AT&T, Synovus Financial, Emory Healthcare, Wake Forest Innovations, Pfizer, and Maui Jim Sunglasses. Under his leadership, AIS Media has been recognized with dozens of prestigious industry awards.

LinkedIn      Twitter

 

 

Veterans Connect Radio Episode 013

Veterans Connect Radio

A spotlight episode of Atlanta Business Radio and powered by Business RadioX. Co-Hosted by Ryan “Redhawk” McPherson and Brandon Skolnick with Gathering Of Angels. Featuring veteran entrepreneurs, support organizations, outreach groups and more in the Atlanta area continuing to serve our families, our communities and our country. 

#VetsConnect
@VetConnectRadio

VCR Guys

Ryan Redhawk and Brandon Skolnick

 

 

 

IMG_1632Mike Brennen /  Disgruntled Vets
Editor

Mission Statement

We are a group of American loving patriots and Veterans who are Disgruntled with the status quo. We aim to create a high standard for our products through  motivation determination and a little bit of  whiskey.

 Who are we

After coming home from Afghanistan, a group of three friends decided to create a Facebook page to help vent our frustrations and problems with living a civilian life again. After a year of being home, we went from three friends venting, to a disgruntled community.

Facebook         Instagram

 

 

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Terri Denison with U.S. Small Business Administration, Kris Vaughn with GeorgiaForward and Josh Stephens with Georgia Department of Economic Development

 

Terri Denison / U.S. Small Business Administration
District Director

Terri Denison is the Georgia District Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). In this role since May 2002, she is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the SBA’s financial, counseling/training and business development programs for small businesses throughout Georgia. Terri began her SBA career in 1987 as a Presidential Management Fellow at the Agency’s Washington, D. C. District and Headquarter Offices. Other positions included working with the Agency’s Minority Enterprise Development and One Stop Capital Shop programs and Office of Field Operations. In 1994, she served as the SBA representative on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community Interagency Task Force. In the fall of 2000, she was one of seven individuals nationwide selected for the SBA’s District Director’s Candidate Development Program. Assignments included serving as the Acting Deputy District Director in the Los Angeles District Office and the Acting District Director in Wisconsin. As Georgia District Director, Terri has been recognized by the Atlanta Business League, Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Microenterprise Network, Greater Atlanta Economic Alliance, Atlanta Business Chronicle and Who’s Who in Black Atlanta. Terri holds a B.A. Degree in American Government from Cornell University and an M.A. Degree in Urban Studies from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She is also a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia. A native of Corpus Christi, Texas, Terri currently serves as the Vice President of the Cornell Alumni Association of Atlanta and a member of the Cornell University Council. Other personal interests include ballroom dancing and travel.

Twitter     LinkedIn

 

 

Kris Vaughn / GeorgiaForward
Executive Director

Kris Hattaway Vaughn serves as the Executive Director of GeorgiaForward, a statewide nonprofit working to unite Georgia through strengthened young leadership focused on community and economic development. Kris is no stranger to GeorgiaForward and its leading program, Young Gamechangers. She was in the inaugural class of Young Gamechangers and served as Program Director for its second class. Prior to joining GeorgiaForward, she served Senior Executive Assistant of Strategic Planning at the Macon Water Authority, an award winning water and sewer utility in Macon, Georgia. For five and half years before that she was the Director of Place for NewTown Macon as a leading member of the development team transforming downtown Macon. Kris is an active volunteer with the Junior League of Macon and the Macon Rotary Club. Kris is a 2008 graduate of the University of Georgia’s Grady School of Journalism. She is a 2010 graduate of Leadership Macon as well as the Georgia Academy of Regional Economic and Leadership Development.

Twitter     Facebook

 

 

Josh Stephens / Georgia Department of Economic Development 
Project Manager

Enterprising and service-minded professional with experience in economic development, public relations and policy, project management, relationship building and business development.

Specialties: Leadership, Sales, Marketing, Economic Development, Business Development, Project Management, Relationship Building, Public Relations, Public Policy, Government Relations

 

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Paul Masters with Birch Communications

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Paul Masters / Birch Communications
SVP Alternate Channels

Paul Masters serves as Senior Vice President of Alternate Channels and is responsible for planning, developing and implementing a strategic roadmap for future growth which includes sales, marketing, partner development, sales engineering, and client implementation. Paul Masters has over 20 years of demonstrated accomplishments in the telecommunications industry and in developing multi-channel operations, as well as leading Sales and Marketing teams focused on aggregating voice and data telecom solutions for enterprise firms. Prior to joining Birch, Mr. Masters served as the co-founder and President of Ernest Communications, a nationwide carrier focused on the distributed Enterprise. Mr. Masters hold a Masters of Business Administration degree from Emory University.

Twitter      LinkedIn

 

 

KSU Entrepreneurship Center Presents The Shrimp Tank

KSUEntrepreneurship

 Where can a young entrepreneur figure out how to turn their dreams into reality? Just take a step into the Shrimp Tank. The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the do’s and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. Then, the fun really starts when we bring in high school and college students to pitch their business ideas to the Shrimp Tank. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful business.

Hosts of The Shrimp Tank Chris Hanks and Ted Jenkin.

 

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Richard Howe / Howe & Associates Law Offices
Managing Partner

A native of Atlanta, Richard Howe is the owner and managing partner of Howe & Associates Law Offices.  As lead counsel in over 9000 litigation cases, he is a seasoned attorney and entrepreneur who combines decades of business experience with a keen knowledge of complex litigation to provide cutting edge solutions to his many corporate and individual clients. Since 1985, Howe & Associates has provided experienced and skilled Debt Collection and Personal Injury representation on an affordable contingency basis to the marketplace. Richard has achieved an esteemed “AV Preeminent” rating from Martindale Hubbell, the nation’s oldest and most recognized legal directory.  This rating – which is bestowed on a small percentage of attorneys nationwide, and those with over ten years of experience even being considered as candidates – is actually the highest rating available.
Richard is admitted to practice in the state, district and appellate courts in the state of Georgia and his memberships include the Georgia State Bar Association, The American Bar Association, The Commercial Law League of America, and the National Commercial Collectors Association.  An Atlanta, Georgia native, he received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Georgia Southern University and his Juris Doctor degree from John Marshall Law School.

 

 

Atlanta’s Most Trusted Advisors Features Cheryl Legare with Legare, Attwood & Wolfe, LLC

Atlanta’s Most Trusted Advisors interviews industry experts from in and around the Metro Atlanta Area. Our goal is to provide valuable information that all business owners and managers can use in their day-to-day work to help them succeed.

 

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Cheryl Legare / Legare, Attwood & Wolfe, LLC

Cheryl Legare’s practice focuses on representing employees in all aspects of employment law, including claims of disability discrimination and retaliation, sexual harassment, FMLA interference and retaliation, gender, pregnancy, race, religion,  national origin, and age discrimination, and wage and hour disputes. She also represents individuals in contract negotiations and employment separation negotiations. Prior to founding Legare, Attwood Wolfe, Cheryl represented employees at one of the largest plaintiff employment law firms in the southeast for seven years and worked for two large national law firms counseling management on employment law issues and defending employers sued in employment-related lawsuits in federal and state courts.
Cheryl is active in the Atlanta Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia, and the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers. She currently serves as Founding Co-Chair of GAWL’s Solo/Small Firm Affinity Group and as GAWL’s Representative-at-Large.  Cheryl is also a member of the National Employment Lawyers’ Association and serves on NELA-GA’s board.

Cheryl is admitted to practice law in Georgia and South Carolina. She is also admitted to the United States District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth and Eleventh Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court.
Cheryl and her husband Brad live with their dog Catfish and cat Dixie in the Oakhurst neighborhood of Decatur, Georgia. In their spare time, Cheryl and Brad enjoy spending time with friends, listening to live music and going to the beach.

 

LinkedIn

Tracy Neal with Tracy Neal and Company

 

 

Tracy Neal / Tracy Neal and Company
CEO

Tracy R. Neal is a mom, entrepreneur, innovator and author.  With more than 23 years of experience in corporate America, she has worked in various roles from a consultant at a global consulting firm to a lead position at a Fortune 100 beverage company.  She has two companies, Tracy Neal & Company (www.tracyneal.com) and TrustIntellect (www.trustintellect.com).  She also has a non-profit organization, focused on helping single parent entrepreneurs, with a specific focus on single mothers, start businesses from ideation to launch.  She has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Emory University in Atlanta Ga., and a Masters of Science in Project Management from The George Washington University in Washington D.C. She currently resides in a suburb outside of Atlanta.  She is an active member of On Board, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of females on Boards in the state of Georgia.   In 2014, she was inducted into the National Association of Professional Womens VIP Woman of the Year Circle 2014-2015. She is also a member and active contributor to the Harvard Business Review Discussion Group, a member of the Technology Association of Georgia, a member of StartUp Atlanta,  Atlanta Chapter Vice President of Women of Global Change.  She also owns 2 Copyrights and 5 Patents.

Twitter      LinkedIn

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Tracy Neal and Ryan “Redhawk” McPherson

 


KP Reddy with The Combine, Adam Jones-Kelly with Conway, Todd Stanton and Manori De Silva with Stanton Law LLC

 

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KP Reddy / The Combine
Co Founder

K.P. Reddy is a venture capitalist, angel investor, and AEC space expert with over 20 years of experience in disruptive innovation. He is a globally-recognized expert on advanced technologies including Building Information Modeling (BIM), Collaborative Communication, Artificial Intelligence, Mobile Applications and Cloud computing. Currently K.P. is the CEO of SoftWear Automation Inc, a leading developer of robotic sewing automation that promises drive down the cost of apparel and textile manufacturing while increasing quality and speed to market for retailers. He also serves as  Partner at The Combine. The Combine partners with enterprise organizations and technical founders to convert their promising intellectual property into viable, scalable businesses with a strict focus on achieving aggressive IRR and multiple targets.

K.P. is a respected expert in helping organizations accelerate change and growth through his highly sought after coaching and startup catalyst programs. IBM, Coca-Cola, UPS, and Cox Communications have all enlisted his services. He served as the Interim General Manager for one of the country’s top startup accelerators, Atlanta’s Advanced Technology Department Center at Georgia Tech.

In 2012, K.P. published BIM for Building Owners and Developers, a book on the adoption of advanced technology in the infrastructure space employed by leading companies and universities.

K.P. is also a prolific public speaker delivering addresses to audiences at universities across the U.S., various tech and startup events in the Southeast, and SXSW.

LinkedIn     Twitter

 

 

 

Adam Jones-Kelly / Conway
President

Adam Jones-Kelley is a leading expert in cross-border investment and corporate expansion strategy. He has worked with Conway, Inc., for 17 years and served as President for four. Prior to becoming President of Conway Adam managed the award-winning international magazine Site Selection.

He has broad experience in economic development publishing and marketing, has been a featured speaker at events around the world and has been interviewed for various news media in the US and Europe. Adam has consulted for dozens of government economic development agencies on six continents, helping them position themselves to attract domestic and foreign corporate investment and create jobs.

Adam is also an accomplished writer, having produced original content for Site Selection magazine, OnSite Travel and The FDI Report.

Over the last four decades Adam has visited 80 countries, 78 of which he’s really enjoyed. A deadly parasite in Ghana nearly killed him, as did stepping in front of a tram in Prague, adventures which he dutifully chronicled for the aforementioned OnSite Travel.

Adam grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and Auckland, New Zealand. He and his wife, renowned photographer Soo Jones-Kelley, reside in Peachtree Corners, a suburb of Atlanta where they’re raising a pair of rambunctious kittens.

This idyllic life leaves Adam a little restless. He’s an avid adventure-sport enthusiast who enjoys activities such as bungee jumping and diving with sharks, and does philanthropic work for endangered and abused animals.

Twitter

 

 

 

Todd Stanton/ Stanton Law LLC
Founder

Building upon his decade of big law experience with the reputable firms of Fisher & Phillips and Bryan Cave (formerly Powell Goldstein), and demonstrating the same entrepreneurial drive he admires in his clients, Todd founded Stanton Law LLC in Atlanta, Georgia. Seeking to combine the quality of large firm representation with the flexibility, responsiveness, and cost-effectiveness of a nimbler shop, Todds practice remains dedicated to the employer side of the employer-employee relationship. From on-boarding new talent and assisting with the development of workable job descriptions, personnel policies, and compensation plans, to guiding clients through sticky disciplinary, performance, and leave issues, to executing respectful and amicable separations, Todd provides practical bottom line-oriented legal advice to small and medium-sized employers.

As legal counsel, Todd is focused on helping companies avert employment-related issues without sacrificing managerial efficiency. In most instances, a proactive approach to employment issues can prevent months of disruptive headaches down the road. When the inevitable disputes do arise, however, his litigation experience allows his clients to consider all available options to efficiently resolve the problem. He regularly represents employers in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies such as labor departments, equal opportunity and human rights commissions, and employee safety administrations.

Twitter     LinkedIn     Facebook

 

 

 

Manori de Silva / Stanton Law LLC
Attorney

Manori de Silva is qualified as an attorney in England (solicitor) and the United States. She has spent the last decade assisting businesses and executives with a variety of employment and commercial matters. Manori uses her understanding of cultural differences to help European companies to do business in the United States and American companies navigate the complex web of worker protections in Europe. She also represents clients in actions to have foreign country monetary judgments recognized in the United States. Following her studies at the Royal Conservatory of the Netherlands, Manori worked as a recording engineer as well as writing music and editing radio and television commercials for large businesses in the Netherlands. She then attended law school in the U.K. and subsequently joined the London office of an international law firm, where she advised global brands and senior executives on hiring, termination, discrimination, redundancy, and dispute resolution issues. After moving to the U.S., Manori passed the Georgia Bar and worked for a boutique firm in Atlanta, providing counsel for the U.S. subsidiaries of European businesses on a variety of commonly encountered legal areas; these included hiring, termination, non-disclosure agreements, restrictive covenants, company policies, and discrimination. Manori is fluent in Dutch and proficient in French.

 

 

Renee Walsh with Wiithyu and Thomas Harpointner with AIS Media

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Renee Walsh / Wiithyu
Founder and CEO

Renee is a native of Washington, DC, and earned her degree in Public Communications and Marketing at American University. In the past 10 years since college, Reene has held several management and lead positions in marketing for companies such as AirWatch where she was responsible for both digital and traditional marketing, branding, and revenue management initiatives.

With an idea in hand for an online service, Renee made the leap from the corporate world to full-time entrepreneur.

LinkedIn     Facebook

 

 

Thomas Harpointner / AIS Media
CEO

Thomas Harpointner is founder & CEO of AIS Media, Inc., an Atlanta-based, award-winning digital marketing firm. Thomas is a recognized subject matter expert on digital marketing strategy development and execution.

Thomas has served as a keynote speaker at trade organizations, conferences, and corporate events. He has appeared on Fox Business, Bloomberg Television, CNN Radio, CNBC, The Advertising Show, The Today Show and many other TV and radio programs. He’s been featured in publications such as Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, CFO, AJC, Fortune, and Wired.

At AIS Media, Thomas consults executives at leading companies on digital strategy. He’s led hundreds of digital marketing initiatives for clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations such as AT&T, Synovus Financial, Emory Healthcare, Wake Forest Innovations, Pfizer, and Maui Jim Sunglasses. Under his leadership, AIS Media has been recognized with dozens of prestigious industry awards.

LinkedIn      Twitter

 

Atlanta’s Most Trusted Advisors Features Colin E. Blalock

Atlanta’s Most Trusted Advisors interviews industry experts from in and around the Metro Atlanta Area. Our goal is to provide valuable information that all business owners and managers can use in their day-to-day work to help them succeed.

 

Colin E. Blalock / JONES AND KOLB, CPA
Shareholder

A shareholder with Jones and Kolb since 1986, Colin's practice concentration is in tax controversy, nonprofit organizations, entrepreneurial businesses and individuals. His prior experience includes working with the Examination Division of the IRS in Atlanta. Colin is a member of the AICPA, the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Georgia Society of Association Executives, the Financial Planning Association and the

Atlanta Alumni of Revenue Agents. Colin is a Past President of the Georgia Society of CPAs and the Past Chair of the Gulf Coast Tax Exempt/Governmental Entities IRS Advisory Council. He currently serves as a Trustee (Past President) of the Georgia Federal Tax Conference. Colin is a prolific speaker on tax topics and facilitates several roundtable discussion groups. He is very active in his community serving on the Board of Directors of the Fowler YMCA and Chair of the Finance Committee at his church.

LinkedIn

 

 

 

Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk (Co-Host)/ bbr Marketing
President

Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk has been a member of the creative and marketing services community for over 20 years and does not appear to be leaving it anytime soon. As president of bbr marketing, she has relished the challenges of entrepreneurship as she worked to grow and nurture a new business. Since the firm’s inception in 2009, Bonnie has led the young company to become widely recognized and respected within the professional services marketing niche, with award-winning client websites and an outstanding history of business success having worked with clients in 23 states and 2 Canadian provinces.