Friday, April 5
8:30 – 9:30am
Keynote
Racism Untaught: From Theory to Practice
Terresa Moses
Creative Director at Blackbird Revolt
Lisa Elzey Mercer
Associate Professor of Graphic Design and Design for Responsible Innovation
College of Fine and Applied Arts (FAA), at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
9:45 – 10:45am
Session
Good writing skills don’t make you a good UX writer
Charlotte Claussen
Content Design and Strategy Consultant
Cogniwo Ltd
Session
Harnessing AI for Digital Marketing and Communication Professionals
Christy Moss
VP of Marketing and Membership
University of Illinois Alumni Association
Session
Visual to Verbal: An Introduction to Audio Description
Bob Dignan
Associate Director of Instructional Media
Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning
Ann Fredricksen
Coordinator of Accessible Media Services
DRES
11:00 – 12:00pm
Session
Building Trust in the Digital Age: Social Media Crisis Management and Reputation Strategies
August Schiess
Director of Digital Strategy
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Lea Peck
Associate Director of Social Media & Digital Strategy
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Session
Incorporating Storytelling Into Your Online Strategy
Jennifer Watson
Owner
Jennifer Watson Consulting
Session
Metta Meditation or LKM: An Exercise in Empathy
Bobbi Hardy
Communications and Customer Relations Coordinator
University of Illinois, Grainger College of Engineering, Engineering IT
12:00 – 1:30pm
Lunch
1:30 – 2:30pm
Session
Beyond the Fatigue: How to actually connect with your digital team
Jenna Frye
Lead account coordinator
Pixo
Session
Future Trends and Innovations in Accessibility
Michael Harshbarger
Senior Accessibility Trainer
Deque Systems Inc.
Heidi Kelly-Gibson
Director Project Management
Deque Systems Inc.
Session
Preparing for Google’s SGE: How to Optimize Your Content for the Snapshot Carousel
Rebecca Hofstetter
AVP, SEO, and Content
Carnegie
Kate McGowan
Content and SEO Specialist
Carnegie
Session
Storytelling In The Land Of AI Generated Content
Lisa Apolinski
Content Coach and Digital Content Futurist
3 Dog Write
2:45 – 3:45pm
Session
AI Photos and Art: Risk Strategies for Creators and Brands
Fred Zwicky
Senior Photographer
StratCom / University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Session
Adapting Traditional Media to the Digital Landscape: Insights from a Seasoned Journalist
Yamys Urbano Valencia
Bilingual PR Specialist
Openlands
Session
Design Ref! Graphic Design for Non-Designers
Sarah Coleman
Front-End Developer, Designer (contract)
NCSA, Calibrate Design LLC
Session
“It’s raining cats and…marketing emails?”: Making your marketing emails personal with drip campaigns
Anthony Warmack
Communications & Marketing Program Coordinator
University of Illinois Extension