Speaker Bios

 

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Jon Alper, Owner, 89 System
Jon’s career spans more than 20 years with the Mac from work in I.T. and systems management, to  all phases of digital media production. He spent more than 10 of those years at WGBH Interactive where he built digital media workflows, managed infrastructure and technical staff for award winning web and new media projects.  Web projects Jon has been a technical lead on have won BAFTA, ID and a runner up Apple Design Award.Jon has been a regular speaker at Macworld Expo and QuickTime Live! in addition to presenting at NAB, W3C and many other events.

Prior to and since WGBH, Jon operated a systems and IT and media production consultancy for companies and research labs including labs and work groups at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health and MIT’s Sloan School of Management . His move to the technology industry followed more than a decade working as a lighting and production designer for concerts, special events, and television.

Greg Badolato, Assistant Vice President for International Programs, Berklee College of Music
An accomplished saxophonist, Greg Badolato has performed in the Broadway shows “Promises, Promises” and “Grease,” and as a featured soloist in jazz festivals and clubs in the U.S., Europe, South America, and Asia. His numerous recording credits include Last Trip’s Up with ‘da Funk, Greg Hopkins 16-Piece Jazz Orchestra’s Okavongo, and Milan Svoboda Quartet and Big Band’s The Boston Concert.The former chair of Berklee’s Ear Training Department, Badolato currently is the assistant vice president for international programs. He has traveled extensively for the college as a musical and educational representative to various parts of the world.

Jed Bell, Video Whiz, Heads Will Roll Films
Jed Rosenthal Bell is a filmmaker who started out as a community organizer, learning graphic design along the way by making posters and flyers, protest signs and newsletters. Jed wound up combining the collaborative skills of activism with the visual storytelling of graphic design to start making films. His first short, the noir crime drama “Foucault WHO?,” has toured the globe, winning “best of fest” awards in the U.S. and Europe. His kvetchy animated satire “DRIVE THRU” made its way around the world after winning “Best Animation” at San Francisco’s Rough Cut Film Festival, and the new hip hop narrative “Crash” has premiered in New York and San Francisco.

Corliss Blakely, Artist
Corliss now paints on the iPhone and iPad her new canvas. Established artist and seventh generation Vermonter, Corliss Blakely paints still life and Vermont landscape in a classically realist style. She received her formal art training in Boston while she studied at the Vesper George Art School and classes at The museum School Of Fine Art. Corliss is an internationally recognized artist for her work in several media, including watercolor, oil, and egg tempera. Her paintings hang in collections worldwide.

She is now painting on the iPhone and iPad, which has “opened up a new world for artists,” she says. “The world is changing and artists now have a new canvas to create on.” Corliss has translated her meticulous sharp focus technique in oils to these new technologies.

Corliss is one of many professional painters who are embracing a technology that lets them create any where without the space requirements, supply expenses, and prep time of traditional media. Corliss offers workshops with ArtStudio, her favorite painting app to other artists so they can create with this exciting new medium. http://ipadpaintings.com/ipad_paintings/Home.html

David Blatner, Co-Owner, InDesignSecrets
David Blatner is the author of many videos and books on a number of subjects, including Photoshop, InDesign, QuarkXPress, flying, and the number pi. He is the co-host of InDesignSecrets.com and the editorial director of InDesign Magazine. He’s been teaching creative professionals how to work more efficiently for over 20 years and still has his Mac 128K (and a lot of 400K floppies).

Chris Breen, Senior Editor, Macworld Magazine
Christopher Breen has been writing about Apple and its technology since the latter days of the Reagan administration for such publication as MacUser, MacWEEK, and Macworld. Currently a Macworld senior editor he pens the Mac 911 tips and troubleshooting column, hosts the Macworld Podcast, is author of The iPhone Pocket Guide, 6th edition (Peachpit Press), and offers video training on such subjects as OS X Lion, the iPad, and screencasting for Lynda.com. When not engaged in journalistic endeavors he’s a professional musician in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Kyle Brumbaugh, Director of Technology, San Mateo Union High School District
As a life-long educator, Kyle Brumbaugh has had a variety of experiences around the use of technology in education as a Social Sciences Teacher, Technology Coordinator, Vice Principal and currently, as Director of Technology for San Mateo Union High School District. He is also a proud CUE Board of Directors member. As a teacher, he wrote some of the first technology grants to obtain computers in his classroom. As Technology Coordinator, he advanced a variety of Educational Technology initiatives, including creating 6 courses to develop a Technology Arts Department.

Kyle created partnerships with local businesses to provide Internet access to students on free and reduced lunch, and been awarded numerous grants to increase student access and work toward increased equity awareness and sensitivity. As a result, Kyle was also a California League of Schools Teacher of the Year Finalist in 2007.

Kyle was one of the first 50 Google Certified Teachers and has led a variety of professional development sessions for Google, CUEtoYou, CLHS and MacWorld. He enjoys playing and coaching softball, traveling and shining his noggin.

BT, platinum-selling artist, visionary producer, film composer and technologist
Given his enviable resume and illustrious fifteen+ year career, it is difficult to imagine that platinum-selling artist, visionary producer, film composer and technologist BT may only now be beginning to create the best work of his career. An internationally-renowned recording artist himself, he is trusted by superstars such as Sting, Britney Spears, Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Madonna, Seal and Peter Gabriel to produce modernist and memorable hits, with a bleeding-edge electronic flair. He has composed unforgettable scores for films The Fast and the Furious, Go, Stealth and Oscar-award winning Monster. With his latest two-hour, double-disk opus, These Hopeful Machines, BT definitively weaves both the technical prowess and compositional mastery that reminds us all why he’s the composer that all other composers and producers study.

On his last full-length LP, This Binary Universe, he created an entirely new genre of evocative electro-acoustic music. As Keyboard Magazine wrote in their review of the album, “In a hundred years, it could well be studied as the first major work of the new millennium. It’s that good.” Throughout his illustrious career, BT has been able to seamlessly weave together complex, groundbreaking musical elements into compositions that resonate with listeners of all types without seeming academic and incomprehensible.

From an early age, BT, born Brian Transeau, demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for playing and understanding classical music. He was heavily influenced by avant-garde and romantic composers such as Igor Stravinsky, Bela Bartok, Claude Debussy and Sergei Rachmaninoff. His biggest influences, however, were from everyday sounds that most would take for granted. Growing up in his childhood home in Maryland, BT would notice the meter of the grandfather clock in his foyer, the micro-rhythms of crickets and cicadas and the ambience of passing trains at night.

“When examining my creation process, it makes perfect sense why I am a forced technologist,” he explains. ”I frequently face the fact that the tools I need to compose music simply don’t exist. It is like being an architect without bricks or mortar. I routinely create my own bricks and connective tissue as the diving off point to the compositional process.” The drive to actualize the tools BT envisions has led to his evolution as one of the most cutting-edge programmers and technologists in music today. He has expanded this reach into a visionary software venture, Sonik Architects which launched its critically- and commercially-acclaimed iPhone application, Sonifi™, last fall. In late-2010, leading software manufacturer iZotope Inc. acquired Sonik Architects, and BT’s proprietary Stutter Edit® was among the first releases under the new company.

“I make protracted compositions in classical form with a modern tonal palette. I like to incorporate expanded harmonic structures and tonalities that you don’t typically hear in popular music,” remarks BT. “The goal is for my audience to feel something evocative and meaningful but qualitatively different than anything they’ve heard or experienced. It’s like searching for a new species of music. In a way, I am more of an explorer than an composer.”

BT is the earliest of early adopters and widely accredited as a maven of modern sound techniques. “There is a very specific lineage of great composers who blazed a new path in music because they weren’t afraid to experiment with new sounds, new techniques and new technologies. These progenitors – Cage, Stockhausen, Xenakis – are the people who set the foundation. Let’s not forget that the piano was a radical new technology in its time. I had a music theory teacher as a boy who once said to me, ‘Nothing new will ever happen in the arts again. It’s all about studying what’s already been done and how you combine things.’ I don’t think I slept for weeks after that. I knew that was an incomplete idea and set out to prove it wrong ever since.”

An avid lover of both mathematics and physics, BT looks for inspiration by experiencing natural phenomena, frequently discovering complex mathematical patterns and structural relationships in everyday objects and environments that are often taken for granted. “I find things in the natural world that resonate with me on a very humanist level, those things are typically the core drive for the creation process. My music is an expression of that awe and admiration of the natural world”, he explains. “Quite simply, music is applied mathematics. It is aesthetically beautiful as well as practically beautiful. Rhythm, harmony and structure are all mathematical and math, quite simply, is beautiful.”

“I am looking for the symmetry between patterns that are embedded in the natural world and emotions, feeling states and the human condition. I think my life’s work is about dissecting, studying and defining that overlap. Music and mathematics are two sides of the same thing. I am constantly looking for a meeting point of these two ideas,” BT clarifies. “I am looking for the symmetry between patterns that are embedded in the natural world and emotions, feeling states and the human condition. I think my life’s work is about dissecting, studying and defining that overlap.”

“My ultimate goal is to keep the emotional counterpoint and the integrity of the song intact, even when pushing the envelope with style and technique. The faster things get, the less people are willing to take in a body of creative work. How many people can stand in front of a painting and deeply take it in? There are so few things now that will engage us. The intent of consuming music is usually to have an awareness or a feeling, to have a truly, empathic connection to others. Whatever it is that you’re going through, music makes you feel less alone. You feel a primordial connection to people and the natural world. My hope is to create something that makes people feel that they have consumed something that completes a void. I want to create something lasting.”

In 2010, BT was nominated for “Best Electronic/Dance Album” for These Hopeful Machines for the 53^rd GRAMMY® Awards.

Joe Bustillos, Educator
Joe Bustillos has taught technology and media to every grade level from kindergarten to 8th grade in California public schools for 13 years and has taught media usage in the classroom to Full Sail University students in the emdt online Master’s degree program for the past three years. The one constant has been, “Tech is meant to serve us and not the other way around.” He also loves working with video and still photography, playing guitar and chronicling it all in his blog.

Serenity Caldwell, Staff Editor, Macworld
Serenity has been writing on, talking about, and tinkering with Apple products since she was old enough to double-click. She wears many hats, both figuratively and literally: She writes and edits for Macworld; sketches, sings, and scribbles on her blog; rants endlessly about books, television, and film to just about anyone who will listen; and—in her secret superhero life—plays roller derby.

Elizabeth Calhoon, Assistant Principal, San Ramon Valley Unified School District
Elizabeth Calhoon is a CUE Lead Learner, Google Certified Teacher, Google Apps for Education Regional Leader, Leading Edge Professional Developer and Assistant Principal in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. Heralding from a family of educators, Elizabeth began her career as a crossing guard and moved from adult teacher’s aide in elementary school to High School English-Language Arts Teacher/Curriculum Leader and has been an administrator in both High School and Middle School settings. She presents on various topics, including: Response to Intervention (RtI), Using Game Shows in Education, Social Media in Schools, Google Apps for Education and iPad in Education.

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Mike Carrera, Manager, Faculty Technology Services, Berklee College of Music
As a nationally award-winning producer in the U.S. and a multi-insturmentalist performer and composer, Mike Carrera sees computers as the driving force in the music industry today. “Computers & Macs, really have completely leveled the playing field when it comes to making music. With a Mac, a microphone, and a little bit of musical knowledge, people can create professional-sounding tracks that are comparable to what’s currently out there on the radio. Twenty years ago, you had to go to a studio. Now, computers have completely changed how we do music. I love it!”

As a lecturer, teacher, and trainer, Mike is able to share this love of making music with computers. “So many people have musical ideas but can’t seem to get them out of their head sounding the way they would like. There’s nothing more thrilling for me than to show someone how to take their ideas and make them sound great using a Mac. It gives them hope to realize that it’s something they can do, that it’s within their reach!”

At Berklee, Mike supports and trains the faculty on how to incorporate technology into their teaching. When not “working,” Mike is an active producer and performs with his band LedFoot and the children’s musical group Debbie and Friends.

Ben Chen, Photographer, So Cal Pixels
Ben Chen is a freelance photographer located in Southern California. He photographs weddings, portraits, corporate, sporting events for a living. On his spare time, Ben goes on vacations and love to creative majestic landscape photos. Ben has been involved in professional photography for the past 20 years.

Ben has photographed the Rose Bowl, Academy Awards Announcement, The Lingerie Bowl, and NBA, MLB, Division 1 Football, PGA, WTA, NASCAR.  Ben’s photos were published in ESPN Magazine, Cosmopolitan Magazine, ESPN NFL Draft Guide, ESPN.com, Street & Smith’s NFL Pro Annual, ESPN Fantasy Football, Sports Weekly, Sporting News, Popular Photography Magazine, PC Photo Magazine, Range Finder Magazine, Professional Photographer of America Magazine, USA Today, L. A. Times, New York Daily News, Maui News, San Gabriel Tribute and Pasadena Star News.  Ben also has one of his photos published on the cover of sports photography book current can be ordered at Amazon.com.

Ben’s have taught seminars in various professional trade shows range from Imaging USA, WPPI (Wedding Portrait Photographer International), MacWorld, Photo Marketing Association (PMA), Pro Photo Expo (Professional Photographer of California), MTPPA (Michigan Triangle Professional Photographer Association), Apple Computer and POMA (Professional Outdoor Media Association).

Wally Cherwinski, Videographer, Magic 22
Dr Wally Cherwinski is a Communications Consultant based in Ottawa, Canada. He brings over 30 years’ experience in communications, from print journalism to documentary film to communications strategy.

He has been a Mac user since 1984 and an avid videographer since video moved onto the desktop. His Apple “”museum”" includes 25 working Macs (not to mention Newtons, iPods, iPhones & iPads). He is a regular Macworld attendee and has sailed on four MacMania cruises, delivering video workshops in 2011 and 2012.

Wally holds both a PhD in chemistry and a graduate degree in journalism & communications. He spent a portion of his science career conducting research and teaching at the University of Cambridge, England while doubling as a freelance photographer and writer. In the days of 16mm film, he wrote and directed several documentaries including projects with Canada’s National Film Board.

Wally’s background includes over 10 years managing communications for the Canadian Space Program including the Canadarm space shuttle project, the Canadian Astronaut Program, and the establishment of the Canadian Space Agency. In 2004, he was nominated for Canada’s prestigious Michael Smith Award for the Public Awareness of Science.

Michael Clawson, Chief Fish, Big Fish Creations
Michael Clawson is ‘Chief Fish’ at Big Fish Creations, an advertising and digital media company in the Sierra town of Graeagle. His background began in Silicon Valley when Apple Computer and Adobe Systems first made their mark in Desktop Publishing. He was introduced to interactive media early in his career, transitioned to production artist, and later, creator and lead principal of an Interactive Department at a major advertising agency. Specializing in branding across multiple media platforms, his diverse repertoire includes a hybrid combination of designer and developer with emphasis on graphic design, branding, photography and communication.

Marshall Clow, Bad Influence, Idio Software
Marshall Clow has been a Mac developer since 1984. He has presented at several MacWorld Expos, going back to MacWorld Boston. He currently works at Qualcomm, contributes to several open source projects, and has a genealogy hobby.

Peter Cohen, Executive Editor, The Loop
Executive editor of The Loop and co-host of the Angry Mac Bastards podcast, Peter has been part of the Apple ecosystem since 1986. He’s had several careers along the way: tech support for Mac hardware and software makers, IT and journalism, including a decade-long stint as senior editor at Macworld, where he posted daily news to the MacCentral and Macworld Web sites and wrote the Game Room column in the magazine. A freelance journalist, Peter’s reviews, news and analysis also appears on the pages of Mac|Life, Tap! and other publications.

Jon Corippo, Co-Creator, Minarets High School
Jon is the co-creator of Minarets HS, a fully 21st Century High School in the Ca foothills. He has been in education for 16 years and a Mac user since 1988. Jon is an Apple Distinguished Educator, a Google Certified Teacher, a CUE Best of 2010 Presenter as well as the Madera County and CVCUE Teacher of the year (2010).

Bill D’Agostino, Director of IT Training & Support Services, Berklee College of Music
Bill D’Agostino serves as the Director of IT Training and Support Services at Berklee College of Music where he also teaches and plays drums for specialty programs such as Percussion Week and Guitar Week.

Bill graduated from Berklee with a B.A. in Performance in 1989 and immediately became a full time drummer playing in countless settings including concerts, musical theater productions and recording studios. Interfacing music with computers, Bill has produced, recorded and played on projects that led him to France, Italy, England, Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand, Australia and throughout the USA and Canada.

Bill’s recent projects include presenting drumming and technology clinics at the MacWorld Expo San Francisco in 2007, 2008 and 2009. He is currently recording and playing with Debby and Friends, an award winning children’s music group, the Hip Pocket Orchestra and other musical groups in the Boston area.

Nicole Dalesio, Fifth Grade Teacher & Technology Trainer
With her feet “in the trenches,” and her head in “the cloud,” Nicole is a fifth grade teacher and technology trainer whose specialty is “creativity and technology in education.” Because she spends so much time with children both at school and at home, she offers a fresh perspective on how to integrate digital literacy skills into the curriculum, and is a strong advocate of introducing them at an early age. Nicole teaches technology workshops for educators both inside and outside of her district, is a MERIT instructor at the Krause Center for Innovation, and serves on the board for her local history museum. She is an Apple Distinguished Educator, a Google Certified Teacher, and an Adobe Education Leader, but is probably best known for her award-winning videos and “Photoshop for Kids” screencast tutorial series. Nicole is proud to call Cupertino her hometown, but now lives and teaches in nearby Pleasanton where she has been recognized for her innovative teaching strategies, earning the “Heritage Award” as “Teacher of the Year.” In her free time, this California native can often be found wandering around her home state taking pictures, making videos, geocaching, traveling back and forth to Brazil, and hanging out on her favorite social media sites where she loves to collaborate, teach, and learn from other creative, like-minded educators.

Danielle Deahl, DJ, Journalist, producer, Dani Deahl
Dani Deahl lives in the city that invented house music – Chicago. She has a record label with one of the most respected names in dance music, Satellite Records. She writes for the United States’ top industry publications including URB and TimeOut. She tours around the world and has a host of tracks on the industry’s top labels. This is Dani Deahl. Dani recently was a headliner at the world renown 2011 Lollapalooza Music Festival.

Her signature pink and black hair has become just as much of a calling card as her sound. Beyond the image, Dani is just as known for her personality as she is for her flawless sets, top notch production and working in multiple areas in the dance industry.

Scott Dennis, Owner, TTC
Scott Dennis graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Computer Science (Software engineering and mathematics) in 1989.  He has done lots of cool stuff, but lately ais building a company to do augmented reality, incorporating GPS, compass and QR codes.

Parth Dhebar, Founder, Simple Reviews
Parth Dhebar is a 17 year-old entrepreneur. He is the founder of simple-reviews.com, a blog focused on reviewing iPhone and iPad applications. He leads a team of writers from all over the globe to develop content for this blog. Parth is a recognized name in the industry, known for covering Apple news. He is an editor at Techie-Buzz.com covering new on Apple. Parth is also in charge of business development at Teens in Tech Labs.

In addition, he is an avid painter, a musician, and a senior at Lynbrook High School, a blue-ribbon distinguished school in San Jose, CA.

Charles Edge, Partner, 318
Charles has been working with Apple server offerings since 1999. He also splits his time working with the Microsoft Windows Server family of products and various Linux Operating Systems. Charles maintains certifications with Microsoft, Comptia and Apple.

Charles started looking to share his knowledge of the Mac OS X Server operating system in 2004. His first speaking appearance at a large conference was DefCon 2004. Since then he has spoken at conferences such as MacSysAdmin, MacWorld, LinuxWorld and BlackHat. Charles is also the author of 6 books, including the Enterprise Mac Administrator’s Guide, Enterprise Mac Security and the Enterprise iPhone and iPad Administrator’s Guide. For the past 12 years, Charles has been the Directory of Technology for 318, a Mac-first consultancy based in Santa Monica, California. Charles is also the author of krypted.com, a site dedicated to heterogenous networking.

Tracy Evans, Co-founder, Product Design, Theatrics.com
Tracy Evans, Theatrics COO, is the co-creator and product designer for Mass Participation TV (MPTV) and Beckinfield. He leads a team of artists and technologists in building the Beckinfield web site, the interactive experience and the back-end systems that support it.

Tracy brings 35 years experience in the performing arts, theatrical production, video, animation, multimedia, and web production. For the last 14 years, he has operated Tracy Evans Productions, a multimedia company which has introduced a number of technical innovations for interactive communications. Tracy has won industry awards across a wide range of mediums including interactive media, animation, video production and live performance.

Glenn Fleishman, Senior Editor, TidBITS
Glenn Fleishman writes about technology for The Economist, Macworld, and Ars Technica. He is a contributing editor and programmer at TidBITS, a senior contributor to Macworld, and a columnist at The Seattle Times. His first computer was an Ohio Scientific C1P with 8,192 bytes of RAM. He and his wife live with their two children in Seattle, along with five iOS devices and at least nine Macs—maybe more.

Nick Floro, President, Sealworks Interactive Studios
Nick Floro is the president of Sealworks Interactive Studios. Nick has over 20 years of experience developing e-Learning solutions, applications and web platforms. He has worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies to help them understand the technology and develop innovative solutions to help their teams and customer base. In 2011 Nick designed and launched a new web application, Launchcycle.com, to help developers and designers manage projects simply. Nick has won several awards from Apple and Fortune 500 organizations for productions and services. Nick is passionate about how technology can enhance learning and loves to share his knowledge and experience to teach, inspire and motivate.

Katie Floyd, Podcaster, Mac Power Users
Katie Floyd is a litigation attorney and the co-creator and host of the acclaimedMac Power Users Podcast distributed by the 5by5 Network. Mac Power Users teaches listeners how to get the most from their Apple technology with focused topics and workflow guests. Mac Power Users was ranked the number two technology podcast in iTunes and routinely featured featured by Apple. Katie is a regular presenter at Macworld Expo, a member of the influential Mac Roundtable Podcast featuring a panel of Mac luminaries, and frequent speaker and consultant on all things Apple and technology related. Katie serves as the President of her local Macintosh Users Group.

Dan Frakes, Senior Editor, Macworld
Dan Frakes is a respected technology writer, book author, and editor, as well as an authority on digital media and consumer audio. He is currently a Senior Editor and the “Mac Gems” columnist at Macworld, where he also covers the Mac platform, general and mobile computing, iOS devices and accessories, digital media, and consumer audio. He was previously the Senior Reviews Editor for Playlist magazine and website, and at various times an Editor, Contributing Editor, and columnist for MacFixIt.com. He has written countless articles over the past decade and has authored or contributed to over 20 books; he also created one of the early e-books 15 years ago. One of the creators of ChangeShortName, a popular Mac OS X utility, Dan has also run his own consulting practice; worked as an analyst at a research and consulting firm where his projects included the evaluation of educational technology policy; and worked in IT at a major university.

Jonathan Frakes, Actor/Director, “Star Trek TNG”
Jonathan Frakes, actor/director, is currently appearing as Dylan Marks online in the worlds first Mass Participation TV (MPTV) series “Beckinfield.” He is best known for his role as Commander William Riker in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Frakes directorial credits include “Leverage,” “Burn Notice,” and “Roswell.”

Lex Friedman, Staff Writer, Macworld
Lex Friedman’s relationship with his Apple devices borders on unhealthy. Prior to joining Macworld as Staff Writer, Lex held that same role at TidBITS. He’s also worked as an Internet professional, serving as Demand Media’s Senior Director of Community and Product Development, and previously co-founded The Daily Plate, a diet-tracking startup that’s now part of livestrong.com. He lives in New Jersey with a painfully adorable family, and blogs with alarming irregularity at http://blog.lexfriedman.com/.

Jeff Gamet, Managing Editor, The Mac Observer
Jeff Gamet is Managing Editor of The Mac Observer, contributing editor for Design Tools Monthly, and you can see his InBrief column in InDesign Magazine. He also co-hosts the Apple Context Machine and We Have Communicators podcasts, is a member of the Mac Roundtable podcast team, and is actively involved in the blogging and social media world. Jeff is the author of “The Designer’s Guide to Mac OS X,” and travels around the U.S. speaking on design and Apple-related topics, including popular events like Macworld Expo and the RSA Conference on technology security. Jeff dreams in HD.

Stephen Garcia, Director of Product Management / MOG
As Director of Product Management at MOG, Stephen defines product direction and feature sets for MOG’s Web and Desktop applications, primarily focusing on creating next generation music experiences that are personalized, social and remain stable through periods of rapid user growth.

Prior to joining MOG, Stephen was Director of Product Management at Yahoo! Stephen worked within multiple groups including the Media vertical on new product prototyping, the Music property evolving their music discovery and editorial experiences, and within Yahoo’s Social platforms group driving a social aggregation strategy with Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms.

Previously, Stephen worked internationally in London and India as a design and technology consultant. He had the opportunity to work on design, development and strategy for companies such as Nissan, Infiniti, the UK government, Walmart, and Janus. His work for the UK government was recognized by the Royal National Institute for the Blind and has been used to set standards for several government web agencies across the country.

Stephen brings over 11 years of experience in the user interface design, interaction strategy and product lifecycles. Stephen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics and Information Design from Abilene Christian University.

Bob Gebert, Co-founder, VP of Creative, Theatrics.com
Bob Gebert, Theatrics VP of Creative, created the concepts behind MPTV and is in charge of all aspects of the grand story of Beckinfield, such as the plot twists, actor communications and the ongoing storylines. Bob leverages his extensive acting experience to develop tools and tutorials that instruct actor participants on character creation, storytelling and performance.

Bob brings 35 years experience as an actor and coach, screenwriter, producer and director to Theatrics. In addition to his appearances on prime time network television series’ like “The Office” and “Monk,” he has written a screenplay for Paramount, written, produced and directed numerous plays as well as the multi award-winning feature film “11 Minutes Ago,” now available on Netflix streaming.

Phil Goodman, Owner, Goodman Consulting
Phil Goodman founded Goodman Consulting in 1987, a computer consulting firm specializing in Mac OS X, troubleshooting, portable computing and database development. For many years, Phil was a faculty member and textbook author at UCLA teaching computer literacy and programming and he is also the founder and President of the Los Angeles Portable User Group. He holds multiple Apple certifications for versions of Mac OS X since 10.1 and is also an Apple Certified Trainer. In 1989, Phil was a founding member of what is now Apple’s Consultant Network and was on the group’s Advisory Council for five years. As a professional database developer, he is also a member of the FileMaker Business Alliance. Phil has been speaking at every Macworld Expo on various IT related topics since 1998.

Wendy Gorton, Google Certified Teacher, Google Apps EDU Certified Trainer
Wendy Gorton is an enthusiastic Google Certified Teacher, Google Apps EDU Certified Trainer, and a lifelong learner. She has taught 4th graders in Los Angeles, been an elementary technology coordinator, a university technology specialist, online teacher, and curriculum developer and research assistant. She is passionate about project-based learning and using awesome technology like Google Apps to open her students up to collaboration and to the world! She loves to travel and most recently has been based out of India as a secondary technology integrator at an American school and loves working with teachers to find out how technology can make learning come alive for their students. Her Master’s degree is in educational technology, where she focused on finding out how real-world science projects using technology increased motivation in her students, and she particularly enjoys research experiences for teachers, helping bring the world of science and social studies to her students using technology as a NOAA Teacher at Sea, Earthwatch Educator Fellow, PolarHusky Teacher Explorer, JR Teacher at Sea, and NEH Fellow, everywhere from learning archaeology in Wisconsin to helping build shelters for sick Tasmanian devils in Australia to dog-sledding in Scandinavia! She enjoys reaching out and volunteering with international organizations and currently is collaborating with educational projects in Jamaica and Nepal.

Jonathan Grauel, Visual Artist
Jonathan Grauel is a visual artist living in Charlotte North Carolina. He works in acrylics, oil pastels and on the iPad. He is currently continuing to develop his “village” series and creating numerous collaborative works with his partner in crime Fabric Lenny. His art is semi & non-representational narratives portraying the places “man” travel. His work depicts not just physical locations, like the coffee shops and restaurants he frequents, but also mental, emotional, and spiritual places. His art is a response to his surroundings and the relationships they contain. Jonathan has been featured in MacForum Magazine – Digital Artist Showcase and on the cover of OrthoCarolina Magazine. His work hangs on the walls galleries, museums, homes and even a few boats all over the world. Jonathan has drawn on napkins while waiting tables, worked at a frame shop and taught high school art, now he pays the bills doing web development. http://bluestudioonline.com/

Shellie Hall, Consultant, Ducktype Digital
Shellie is a recognized specialist in many phases of the graphics and publishing industry and is an Adobe Certified Expert in Adobe InDesign CS5. During her 20+ years in the biz, she has done everything from traditional paste-up and film stripping to high-end computer-to-plate workflows. Her specialties lie within creative application training, asset management, color management and typography. She is also a relentless, always suffering, never-stop-believing, die-hard Cubs Fan (heaven help her).

Dave Hamilton, President & Podcaster, The Mac Observer / Mac Geek Gab
In 1998 Dave Hamilton co-founded The Mac Observer, an online magazine and one of the leading daily news sites for the Macintosh community. Dave is also President and co-founder of BackBeat Media, a publisher service agency representing the advertising and operations activities of consumer technology-focused websites and podcasts, helping them to grow their businesses.

Additionally, Dave is the publisher and co-host of The Mac Geek Gab Podcast, launched in 2005 and one of the top Mac podcasts in the market today

Mark Hammons, Educational Technology Consultant – Instructional Technology Services Team, Fresno County Office of Education
Mark Hammons is an Educational Technology Consultant for the Instructional Technology Services team at the Fresno County Office of Education. Mark regularly spends his time working with teachers, conducting hands-on workshops and speaking at conferences about the power of technology and how best to integrate and effectively use it the classroom. Mark also serves on the web services team and provides custom websites for agencies throughout California. Mark is an Apple Distinguished Educator, Google Certified Teacher, Google Apps Certified Trainer and travels the country as a Lead Learner for CUEtoYOU! Prior to his arrival at FCOE, Mark spent three years as a Consultant for Accenture, a global management consulting firm.

Richard Harrington, CEO, RHED Pixel

Lisa Highfill, Fifth Grade Teacher
A thinker, philosopher, debater, and educator interested in helping to develop 21st century thinkers best describes Lisa Highfill, an 18 year 5th grade teacher in Pleasanton, Ca. She has a passion for innovative learning strategies and actively works to share and collaborate with teachers, parents, and community members in order to improve the quality of education. Lisa has spent the past ten years as a district mentor and staff developer for technology after completing her masters in Ed Tech leadership. Her specialty is combining reader and writer’s workshop with authentic integration of 21st century learning models and technology. She has presented at the California Reading Association conference, CUE, and the Merit program, sharing ideas to improve the way kids experience learning. Lisa is a Google Certified Teacher and a part of the inaugural group of YouTube Star Teachers.

Arthur Hull, Drummer and Experiential Team Building Facilitator
Arthur Hull is recognized as the father of the community drum circle movement. He is a motivational speaker, keynote presenter and an internationally acclaimed master at facilitating groups of people through a common experience using music and rhythm. Since 1985, Arthur has used the Village Music Circles™ metaphor to build team spirit and promote unity in corporations, schools and communities worldwide. Arthur’s unique awareness of human dynamics allow him to work successfully with diverse populations. From corporate executives to kids at risk, from the self-proclaimed “rhythmically challenged” to professional musicians, Arthur inspires full, enthusiastic participation. Arthur has taught Village Music to over 7,000 students at the University of California in Santa Cruz. Apple Computer, Silicon Graphics, Patagonia, Kinko’s, Motorola, McDonald’s, Microsoft, The Wall Street Journal, ExonMobile, World Bank, Sony, and Toyota are among the hundreds of corporations who have found the spirit of community through Village Music Circles™ events.

Based on years of experiences Arthur has authored a book/CD and a video in which he shares his stories and techniques in facilitation and rhythm. Drum Circle Spirit: Facilitating Human Potential Through Rhythm and The Video Guide to Endrummingment are available through Village Music Circles™ Products. Arthur has been nationally awarded for his success in using rhythm as a tool for social awareness and change. His awards include:

2001 Infinity Foundation Spirit Award, 2000 Drum Magazine’s Drummie Award for Best Drum Circle Facilitator, 1998 Drum Magazine’s Drummie Award for Best World Beat/New Age Percussionist of the Year, 1994 All One Tribe Foundation’s Drumming Education Award.

As a performing musician for 30 years Arthur has studied and worked with many renowned percussionists including Babatunde Olatunji (left), Hamza El Din, and Mickey Hart of The Grateful Dead. His studio work has placed his rhythms on many recorded albums including those of The Small Village Music Ensemble; The Nigerian Highlife Orchestra, Katoja; and Babatunde Olatunji’s African Rain.

Arthur is a Signature Series Endorsee for REMO, Inc. He has designed many REMO World Percussion Drums and facilitates national and international REMO sponsored events.

Arthur’s mastery of group facilitation and musical talent combined with his spontaneous humor and wisdom guarantee fun and inspiration for all.

Charles Joiner, Producer/Host, The MacVoices Group
Chuck is the producer and host of The MacVoices Group of internet shows that includes MacVoices, MacVoicesTV, MacNotables and The MacJury. His passion for technology fuels content that is curiosity-driven and designed to both entertain and inform.

Chuck’s credentials include five years as Chairman of the Apple User Group Advisory Board, Macworld Conference & Expo speaker, and seven-time User Group University faculty member.

Joe Kissell, Senior Editor, TidBITS
Joe Kissell is Senior Editor of TidBITS and the author of numerous books, including Take Control of iCloud and Mac Security Bible. He is also a Senior Contributor to Macworld, was the winner of a 2009 Neal award for Best How-to Article, and is on the MacTech 25 list. Joe has worked in the Mac software industry since the early 1990s, and previously managed software development for Nisus Software and Kensington Technology Group. He currently lives in Paris, France with his wife, son, and cat.

Zoey Kroll, UX designer, Civic Actions and Hayes Valley Farm
Zoey Kroll connects dirt and technology to build community. As a User Experience Designer at CivicActions, she builds websites and online apps for international advocacy organizations. At Hayes Valley Farm, a 2.2 acre farm in the heart of San Francisco, she leads the Photo Adventure Club, an activity group with members ages 4 to 74. Visit her for a tour of Hayes Valley Farm, and follow her on Twitter @edibleoffice.

Jordan Kurland, Founder, Zeitgeist Artist Management
Jordan is the founder of Zeitgeist Artist Management and oversees the careers of such artists as Death Cab for Cutie, Bob Mould, The Head & The Heart, New Pornographers, and She & Him. Zeitgeist’s intention is to help artists develop long-term careers in a manner that is consistent with their creative philosophy and vision. Trusted relationships with their clients and business associates, a forward-thinking approach to opportunities presented in the digital space, and a global perspective are valued by the entire team. Jordan also co-owns and produces two respected music festivals, Noise Pop and Treasure Island.

Chuck La Tournous, RandomMaccess, The Mac Observer
Chuck La Tournous (twitter.com/RandomMaccess) is a writer, marketer, musician, speaker, podcaster, pundit, art director, web developer and all-around geek. In addition to writing for RandomMaccess and The Mac Observer, Chuck speaks about technology and marketing issues and appears on podcasts like the MacJury and Your Mac Life. Once a year or so, he dusts off his bass guitar to play with the Macworld All-Star Band.

Ted Landau, Columnist, Macworld / The Mac Observer
Ted Landau has been writing about Apple products since the 1980′s, starting as a contributing editor for MACazine and MacUser. He is currently a columnist for Macworld (Bugs & Fixes) and The Mac Observer (Ted Landau’s User Friendly View). He is a regular guest on podcasts, most notably MacNotables with Chuck Joiner.

In 1996, Ted founded the MacFixIt website where he remained as editor for the next 6 years. Ted is the also the author of several troubleshooting books — from the #1 bestselling Sad Macs, Bombs and Other Disasters to Take Control of iPhone iOS.

Mike Lawrence, Executive Director, Computer-Using Educators (CUE.org)
Mike Lawrence has been impacting education as a Teacher, Administrator, Technology Coordinator and non-profit Leader for close to twenty years. He is a respected presenter at national conferences and events and was named an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2003. He assisted in the development and launch of the Discovery Educator Network (DEN) and co-founded the Google Certified Teacher program. Mike is an author and editor and can often be found at his local coffee house on his iPad. He currently serves as Executive Director of Computer-Using Educators (CUE.org), supporting its membership by advancing student achievement through technology on an international level. Each year, thousands of educators attend CUE’s conference events and CUEtoYOU professional development, making it the premier Educational Technology association of the Western US. He was also recently named the director of the California Student Media Festival (mediafestival.org); the nation’s oldest such festival. In 2010, Mike received a “Gold Disk”, CUE’s longest standing recognition, honoring his contributions to the organization and to technology in learning. He was also elected to the ISTE Board of Directors the same year.

Don Lee, Inventor & Founder, Nomad Brush
Don Lee is the inventor and founder of Nomad Brush, the first paintbrush stylus for the iPad. Don, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (1994 – BFA and Bachelors in Architecture), practiced architecture in New York City for 16 years before moving to Portland, Ore in 2010 with his wife and two young children. In February 2011, Don launched Nomad Brush with the Original Mil Series long tip brush. Since then, Don has gone on to create the Original Mil Series short tip, the Nomad Mini for the iPhone, the Nomad Compose (the first dual tipped paintbrush and stylus), and Nomad Play (the first paintbrush stylus designed just for kids).

Nomad Brush is a company dedicated to finding innovative ways to help you create in your daily life, whether you’re an artist by training, a doodler by nature or picking up an iPad for the very first time.

David Lenna, Chief Technology Officer, South Park
David Lenna joined South Park in 2008 as the show’s first full time developer. Coming from Weta Digital in New Zealand he was able to use the skills he developed working on feature films to demonstrate the value of production focused programming to such a fast paced environment.  As the Chief Technology Officer he now heads a team of developers and sys-admins dedicated to keeping South Park moving forward and its artists happy and sane.

Fabric Lenny, Artist, Image–maker & Filmmaker
Fabric Lenny is an artist, image–maker and filmmaker based in the hills of Northern England. He makes distinctive and engaging paintings, prints, drawings, illustrations and objects. He loves to work collaboratively, and to date has collaborated with dancers, musicians, writers, photographers and other visual artists in the creation of interesting visual meanderings which are candy for the eye and musings for the soul.

For Fabric Lenny everything starts with drawing, it’s a way for him to propagate ideas, clarify thinking and make discoveries. These ‘starts’ can be doodles, observed drawings, or just a series of marks which offer up hidden images, suggest unusual shapes and concepts, or unlock the door to new imagery and fresh ways of working. www.fabriclenny.co.uk

Sam Levin, Host, AppMinute
We feature all things pertaining to Apps in under 2 minutes.. HEY! we even list Macworld as sites we like! — http://www.appminute.com/about/

Cali Lewis, Host of Tech Show GeekBeat.TV, Tech Expert for CNN/FOX/SiriusXM, Tech & Social Media Speaker
Cali Lewis is the host and producer of GeekBeat.TV, an online video show covering the latest gadgets, technology news and research that is affecting our future. Cali has been podcasting since 2005 and knows from experience how to build, grow and maintain a successful online brand. In addition to the show, Cali does live streaming weekly and often gets 15,000 people watching. She makes regular appearances on TV through a variety of channels like CNN, MSNBC, NBC, ABC, FOX and G4 Canada. As a public speaker, Cali talks about the impact of technology we experience today, amazing research that will become the technology we’ll use in the future, the importance of social media, and video production tips and tricks. She is also quite fond of bacon.

Darby Lines, TheAngryDrunk.com
Darby Lines is a host for the podcast Angry Mac Bastards.

Burt Lo, Educator
Burt Lo has been a middle school teacher, professional development coordinator, instructional technology and assessment director for a variety of educational entities in northern California. He has also been an instructor for the University of San Diego’s Continuing Education department.

Burt is thrilled that his first book, “GPS and Geocaching in Education” was published by ISTE in December 2010.

Diane Main, Educator, Milpitas Christian School
Diane Main teaches grades 1-8 technology classes at Milpitas Christian School in San Jose, CA. She’s originally from New Jersey, but she’s feeling much better now. Diane’s been in California since 1997 and has never really looked back. She holds a Masters degree in Educational Technology from San Diego State University and presents at conferences and conventions throughout California and elsewhere. She loves geocaching, genealogy, and photography, and always looks for ways to spark such interests in her students. Diane is a CUE Lead Learner, Google Certified Teacher, Google Apps Certified Trainer, and MERIT faculty instructor. Diane lives in San Jose with her husband Alec, son Cameron, and tortoise Shelby. Read Diane’s blogs and articles at http://www.freeteachertools.com

Jonathan Marks, Photographer / Multi-Media Artist, Jonathan Marks Photography
As a skinny kid with short hair, long legs, and the inability to ever enter the 7-11 store near his home again after trying unsuccessfully to steal balloons at the age of 12, Jonathan discovered photography as a means of expressing himself during his awkward early teens.  Since then he’s filled out (well, a little!), his hair has grown (a lot), he’s mastered the art of balloon animals (more or less), and his photographic style has developed to the point of becoming a well known visual storyteller/artist with his iPhone. His work is guided by a feeling the moment he captures the initial image, be it a person, a place, or a thing, and while always grounded in reality, his final creations are embellished by his vivid imagination and myriad iPhone Apps.

Having shot for private commissions, commercial clients, and fine art with his trusty 35mm and medium format equipment for decades, Jonathan has developed an uncanny way of capturing and processing images exclusively with his Apple iPhone in such a manner as to allow the viewer an opportunity to see his creative, unique, and somewhat introspective take on the world around him, from the mundane to the magical, the absurd to the banal, and always with an eye toward balance between his sense of aesthetics and the technique used to communicate this. Regardless of the subject matter Jonathan finds that every image has a voice and emotion, a feeling associated with it that if given the opportunity, will emerge with honesty and sincerity.

Be it with his iPhone or his 35mm/medium format equipment, Jonathan is versed in all types of shoots and productions and is available for private commissions, commercial, advertising, and editorial assignments, and yes, even weddings, though be forewarned he does have a predilection for breaking out in an uncontrollable urge to dance.

Jonathan’s work has been exhibited in the US and Japan and is in private collections in the US, Canada, Europe, and Japan. Additionally, Jonathan is currently at work on a gallery exhibition using his iPhone images as the basis for mixed media pieces utilizing purified beeswax and Damar resin, available in limited editions of five.

For more information or to speak with Jonathan about iPhone photography presentations and/or leading seminars around the world, he can be reached at 415.307.0505, or www.jmarksphoto.com.

Tony Marvuglio, Assistant Vice President for Academic Technology, Berklee College of Music
Tony Marvuglio is Assistant Vice President for Academic Technology at Berklee College of Music. His role is to develop and implement strategies for supporting the academic mission of the college through the creative use of technology. An expert in information and music technologies, Tony works with deans, chairs and faculty to support the college curriculum with appropriate hardware and software. He leads the Faculty Technology Services department that is responsible for faculty development in using technology through the Center for Technology in Music Instruction, and the Student Technology Services department that provides technical support services to students through the Student Computer Support Center.

A professional guitarist and a recording engineer, Tony was an early user of computer & music technologies.  He has presented the use of technology in music education at MacWorld, the Technology Institute for Music Educators (TI:ME), the National Association for Music Education (MENC) and the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) conferences. He continues to perform professionally as a guitarist in a variety of venues, incorporating the use of available technologies. His most recent project was as mix engineer for legendary bassist, Eddie Gomez’ CD “Per Sempre”.

David Mash, Vice President for Technology and Education Outreach, Berklee College of Music
David Mash is Vice President for Technology and Education Outreach at Berklee College of Music. He is charged with strategic planning and leadership in the successful integration of technology into all college processes. He was the founding chair of the music synthesis department, the first degree-program in MIDI and music synthesis in the United States. He is also leading the development of the Berklee City Music Network – a consortium of community based organizations providing after-school music education to youth from underserved communities at no cost to them, currently in 32 cities across the US, and developing the Berklee PULSE music method, an online curriculum and library of music teaching and learning materials focused on American popular music and targeted for middle and high school-aged students

Author of nine books and a sought-after leading authority on music technology and education, David Mash has been featured on national and international media broadcasts such as 3-2-1-Contact, Newton’s Apple, World Monitor, CBS Evening News, All Things Considered and Voice of America. A pioneer in music and multimedia, David has scored many digital films, including Maria Lionza, 1992 Documentary of the Year at the International QuickTime Movie Festival. David has collaborated on development and artistic projects with leaders in the multimedia and music industries such as Kodak, Adobe Systems, Digidesign, Opcode, and Korg and has consulted on product development for many manufacturers of music technology products. Rolling Stone magazine has called David “the industry’s leading evangelist for the marriage of music and technology.” David was named an AppleMaster by Apple Computer for his contributions to the fields of music, technology, and education.

David is past Chair for Electronic Music for the International Association of Jazz Educators, and maintains an active schedule as speaker and presenter at national and international clinics and workshops on art, technology, and education. He has also been the recipient of grants, fellowships, and awards including the Arts Partnership grant for Composition/Performance, and Jazz Composition Fellowship from the Mass Council on the Arts and Humanities.

Don McAllister, Host/Producer, ScreenCastsONLINE
Don McAllister is the host and producer of the successful weekly video podcast — ScreenCastsOnline. As one of the Podcasting pioneers, Don has been producing ScreenCastsOnline since August 2005 delivering up to the minute video tutorials on Apple Mac software to a global audience.

In March 2006, Don gave up his day job in Corporate IT and became a full time podcaster and introduced one of the first paid for premium subscription based podcast services. Don combines his weekly show with podcasting consultancy and the production of video tutorials for corporate customers including Apple, The Omni Group, 37 Signals, RealMac Software, Smile Software and many, many others. Dons video tutorials are also regularly featured in the UK iCreate, MacFormat and Macworld UK magazines.

Gaining a growing reputation as a popular and engaging speaker and trainer, Don has spoken at many International Events including Macworld, Blogworld and New Media Expo as well as being a regular instructor on the MacMania cruises taking him as far as China, Japan, South Korea and most recently South America.

As well as his own podcast, Don is a regular member of Bageltech Mac, MacBreak Weekly, The Mac Roundtable, MacVoices, and The MacJury podcasts as well as a contributor to many other popular podcasts.

Carol Anne McGuire, Founder & Lead Rocker, Rock Our World
Technology Integration Specialist, Apple Distinguished Educator, Discovery Star Educator, ISTE Teacher of the Year- Carol Anne McGuire is an award-winning educator who began her career teaching blind and visually impaired students over 20 years ago. She is the founder and “Lead Rocker” of an international project called “Rock Our World.” ROW connects students on every continent to collaborate in music composition, film making and meeting each other in live video conferences. Carol Anne has worked with Apple, Discovery, Disney, American Film Institute, Google, and Will Smith. ROW’s latest global music video can be found at: http://tiny.cc/lifewegot

Cliff Miller, Chief Marketing Officer, Spashtop, Inc.
Cliff Miller has founded and managed high tech companies for the past 20 years.

Cliff is currently President of Asia Pacific & Chief Marketing Officer of Splashtop. Splashtop’s flagship application is Splashtop Remote Desktop, which allows users of an iPad, iPhone or other devices to run Macintosh and Windows programs.  For example, an iPad user can run business applications like Excel, Word and Powerpoint, Flash videos, or even Windows games such as WoW, Starcraft2 and FIFA, from a remote computer.  Splashtop works closely with chip manufactures on hardware optimization, enabling multimedia performance that is 3 to 15 times better than competitive remote desktop products. Splashtop Remote has been the #1-ranking application in the Apple App Store in China, the US and many other countries.

Cliff’s first company, Pacific HiTech (later known as TurboLinux), created the top-selling CD-ROM series “”Info-Mac”” in the early 1990s, which was one of the earliest compilations of Macintosh software.  Info-Mac CD-ROM was hugely successful, particularly in the United States and Japan, where it was one of Softbank’s most popular software packages for many years.

Marilyn Miller, Musician and Teacher, LAUSD
Singer/Musician, Teacher/Trainer, Storyteller, Sci-Fi fan and Computer Fanatic, I started with computers in 1985 , when MIDI was a baby and AOL wasn’t even born! I’ve always been enamored with the many creative options computers bring, the Empowerment they give to us.  Musical experiences the average joe could never touch before, video capabilities to rival Hollywood, the ability to create our own animations, to print our own books, to make our own Radio-Dramas, to – the list is long! I’ve done all these, and shared the products within my own small community.  I’ve also taught many students and their teachers as well how to use this wonderful technology themselves.  I love to teach, to create, to play!!

moe. – Vinnie Amico, Rob Derhak, Chuck Garvey, Jim Loughlin, Al Schnier
The rock group moe. Formed in Buffalo, New York, moe. is one of the finest groups in the jamband movement today. Their tours have taken them from Woodstock ’99 to New York’s Central Park, as well as to Japan and Europe. moe. has toured with legendary acts such as The Dead, The Allman Brothers Band, Robert Plant, and The Who. The band is also critically acclaimed for its songwriting and studio work; the group’s 2001 studio album, DITHER, was awarded four stars by Rolling Stone. 2003′s WORMWOOD received four stars by Blender Magazine. THE CONCH received rave reviews including Rolling Stone, Paste, Blender and many more. moe. released Smash Hits, Volume 1 on the band’s Fatboy Records label on June 1st, 2010. The album celebrates moe.’s 20th anniversary and includes newly recorded fan favorites that encompass the band’s entire career. On January 24,  2012, moe. will release WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LA LAs on Sugar Hill Records. moe. hosts Snoe.down Winter Music & Sports Festival in Central Vermont, Summer Camp each Memorial Day Weekend in Chillicothe, IL and moe.down each Labor Day Weekend in upstate New York.

moe. is recognized for its charitable work: the band hosted a Tsunami Benefit concert at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City on February 10, 2005 and raised $150,000 for Tsunami survivors. The concert earned moe. its second Live Performance of the Year Jammy Award. moe. also raised over $100,000 for various charities, including the Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina survivors and for the music department at Bradley Elementary in Utica, NY, to help keep music in children’s lives. moe. kicked off its 20th anniversary tour in January 2010 with a special benefit for WHY (World Hunger Year) http://www.whyhunger.org/. moe. has also participated in and has hosted events to bring awareness to World Hunger issues, as well as Headcount, Freedom for Burma, and other charities. For more information about moe. visit http://www.moe.org.

Bert Monroy, Artist, Author, Lecturer
Bert Monroy was born and raised in New York City where he spent 20 years in the advertising industry as an art director and creative director for various agencies as well as his own. Bert currently lives with his wife in Berkeley, California.

Upon discovering computers with the introduction of the Macintosh 128 in 1984, he embarked on a new digital career. He embraced the computer as an artistic medium and is considered one of the pioneers of digital art. Bert’s work has been seen in every major trade publication of the computer industry. His work has also been featured in scores of books which include Making Art on a Macintosh, The Photoshop WOW Book, The Illustrator WOW Book, The Art of Digital Painting, The Grey Book and The Photoshop A to Z in Japan.

His work has also been used to introduce many software products such as Photoshop, VideoWorks (predecessor to Director), PixelPaint, SoundCap and ImageStudio (predecessor to Painter).

Bert was a founding partner in the New York firm Incredible Interactivity that was responsible for interactive multimedia presentations as early as 1986 before the terms had been coined. Presentations were created for such clients as General Motors, American Express and Knoll International.

Bert co-authored, with David Biedny, The Official Adobe Photoshop Handbook, which was the first book on Photoshop and the only one for almost two years. It won various awards. He also co-authored Adobe Photoshop: A Visual Guide to the Mac which was published in multiple languages, Photoshop 4, published in Japan by Agosto and BNN, and Photoshop Channel CHOPS, co-authored with David Biedny and Nathan Moody, which concentrates on the most advanced features of the program not covered anywhere else. In 2000 he released his first solo book from New Riders called Bert Monroy: Photorealistic Techniques with Photoshop and Illustrator. It concentrates on the techniques he has established over the years in the creation of his fine art works. It is available at Amazon.com. His second solo book Photoshop Studio with Bert Monroy, from New Riders, is another compilation of his techniques specifically for Photoshop 7.0. January 2004 saw the introduction of Commercial Photoshop with Bert Monroy, from New Riders. It is also a compilation of techniques but deals with Bert’s commercial illustrations where photographs are sometimes used. This book deals with aspects of production that the two previous technique oriented books did not — such as image retouching. In his latest book, Photoshop Studio with Bert Monroy: Digital Painting, published in 2008 from New Riders, Bert shares with the reader the techniques he has developed in the creation of his photo-realistic paintings.

An accomplished teacher and lecturer, Bert has served on the faculty of a list of institutions that includes The School of Visual Arts (New York), Center for Creative Imaging (Maine), California College of the Arts, the Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging (California) and currently teaches at San Francisco State University. Bert was a monthly regular on Tech TV for over three years. He recently hosted Pixel Perfect with Bert Monroy, a weekly Photoshop podcast for Revision3.com. Bert left the show after 160 episodes. He also consults with and trains corporate clients, including Pixar and Disney Animation. His film credits include work for Industrial Light & Magic, Pacific Data Images, and R/Greenberg Associates. Bert also continues to serve his installed base of clients which include Apple Computer, Adobe Systems, Pioneer Electronics, Fujitsu, SONY, AT&T, Chevron and American Express. A popular speaker at many worldwide conferences, Bert currently teaches a national seminar: Photoshop CS5 Creativity Tour for the Kelby Media Group.

Bert is a member of the Photoshop World Dream Team. In 2004, Bert was inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame.

Dan Moren, Senior Associate Editor, Macworld
In the more than five years that Macworld Senior Associate Editor Dan Moren has been writing about Apple, he’s owned five Macs, half a dozen iPods, four iPhones, and three iPads. Last year, to the delight of many of his acquaintances, he rounded that collection out by finally buying a sofa.

Peter Mui, Founder, Fixit Clinic
Peter Mui is the founder of Fixit Clinic: guided disassembly and hopefully, repair of your broken stuff –> http://www.facebook.com/FixitClini. Fixit Clinics have been held at science museums, Maker Faire, MIT, and now — MacWorld!

Alan B. Oppenheimer, President & Founder, Open Door Networks
Alan B. Oppenheimer, president and founder of Open Door Networks, Inc. worked for Apple Computer from 1983 to 1994, helping to design the AppleTalk network system for the original Macintosh computer and playing key roles in such products as the LaserWriter printer, AppleShare file server, Apple Internet Router and Apple Remote Access.

Alan founded Open Door Networks in 1995. Open Door is an Apple-focused Internet company, specializing in mobile apps and Internet security software. Under Alan’s direction, Open Door shipped the first Macintosh firewall in 1998 and shipped iPhone and iPad apps on the first day possible for each of these groundbreaking devices. Alan is co-author of the books “Internet Security for Your Macintosh and iPhone: A Guide for the Rest of Us” and “Inside AppleTalk,”as well as the creative force behind the top-selling Art Authority app line. He is also president of the Alan and Priscilla Oppenheimer Foundation.

Susan Orlean, Author
Susan Orlean is the bestselling author of eight books, including My Kind of Place; The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup; Saturday Night; and Lazy Little Loafers. In 1999, she published The Orchid Thief, a narrative about orchid poachers in Florida, which was made into the Oscar-wining movie, “Adaptation,” written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze. Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend, a sweeping account of Rin Tin Tin’s journey from orphaned puppy to movie star and international icon published in 2011, was a New York Times bestseller and a Notable book of 2011.

Orlean has written for Vogue, Esquire, Rolling Stone, and Smithsonian, and has been a staff writer for the New Yorker since 1992. She has covered a wide range of subjects – from umbrella inventors to origami artists to skater Tonya Harding – and she has often written about animals, including show dogs, racing pigeons, animal actors, oxen, donkeys, mules, and backyard chickens. She lives in upstate New York and Los Angeles with one dog, three cats, eight chickens, four turkeys, four guinea fowl, twelve Black Angus cattle, three ducks, and her husband and son.

Andrea Pejrolo, Assistant Chair of the Contemporary Writing and Production Department, Berklee College of Music
Andrea Pejrolo (www.apejrolo.com) is the Chair of the Electronic Production and Design department, and former Assistant Chair of the Contemporary Writing and Production department at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Andrea is a composer, sound designer, producer, audio engineer and bassist. He is the author of Creative Sequencing Techniques for Music Production (1st edition 2005, and 2nd edition 2011) and Acoustic and MIDI Orchestration for the Contemporary Composer (2007) and has written several articles for music magazines, including Sound On Sound, Bass World Magazine (USA), Muralann and Boheme Press (Canada), and Il Capitello Publisher (Italy). Andrea has extensive and active professional experience as a sound designer, audio engineer/producer, MIDI programmer and composer for film, TV, theater and multimedia. Some of his recent collaborations and projects include iAcoustica Studio drum library, iDrum Rock Edition for iPhone/iPad in collaboration with Izotope, arrangements and recording with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, Kevin Bacon’s “Lover Boy”, Harry Davis’ “MVP”, Don Sebesky, ABC, CBS, Cy Coleman, Burning Petals Music Production (U.K.), the Broadway Show “”Swing”" (St. James Theater, NY), and the Grand Canyon Music Festival.

Andrea holds a Ph.D. in jazz composition/performance from New York University, a Master in Composition for Film, TV, Theater and Multimedia from the University of Bristol (U.K.) and a Music Diploma in Jazz Performance from  Manhattan School of Music in New York City.

David Pentecost, Project Manager, Technology, LESGC Center for Community
Musician/Composer, television editor/producer, media consultant, community technologist. After 20 years editing at the television networks, I spent 7 years working with archaeologists and ecologists in the jungles of southern Mexico. In recent years I helped build a massive media server at Televisa Networks, Mexico City, and then planned and designed all technology for the Center for Community, a community science center in lower Manhattan. In late 2012 we will open the Center with a 30 foot planetarium, and a recording studio inside a converted 1958 Airstream trailer.

Michael Pfeiffer, PhD candidate in social research, Bryn Mawr College
Michael Pfeiffer is an avid collaborative and educational tech frontiersman.

Paul Pierson, Partner & Design Director, Carbone Smolan Agency
Paul Pierson began his design career with a Macintosh Classic, Microsoft Word 4.0, and the only third grade paper with a multi-column layout. While his tools have evolved, his core belief that good design has the power to enhance any message and connect to any audience has persisted.

This belief guides his work today as partner and design director at Carbone Smolan Agency, designing for world-class brands in the photography, technology, luxury and professional services sectors. Paul has brought elegantly simple design systems to complex institutions such as law firm Sullivan & Cromwell and the New York Botanical Garden. He has created exciting yet strategically sound web sites for clients from W Boston Hotel and Residences to Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Most recently, he has been leading clients into the mobile world with apps for Canon and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. His work has been featured by Communication Arts, AIGA, and Information Design Workbook. He will be featured in an upcoming book published by Rockport on branding in the mobile space, and has presented at the PDN PhotoPlus Expo in New York City. In 2011, GD USA named him a ”Person to Watch.”

Always wanting to please his left and right brain, Paul split his college years between Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design, majoring in psychology and philosophy in addition to design. Outside the office, you’ll find Paul practicing his

Les Posen, Chief Magician, Presentation Magic

Russell Poucher, CEO & Sr. Systems Engineer, Creative Resources Technology Group, Inc.
Russell Poucher, CEO and Sr. Systems Engineer comes with over 20 years experience as an Apple Specialist.  A distinguished ACSA Master Trainer, Mr. Poucher teaches the latest Apple Certification courses for the Macintosh Operating System.  His leadership to provide full level IT support for customers brings the highest level of technical knowledge and expertise in the industry. Integrity, professionalism and trust are elements that Mr. Poucher contributes to the successes of the clients he works with.  With over 15 years as an Apple Consultant, his problem solving and development of new solutions, provides a highly responsive, world-class solution to those he services.

Robert Pronovost, Second Grade Teacher & MOUSE Squad Student Tech Advisor, Belle Haven Elementary
Robert Pronovost is a second-grade teacher and MOUSE Squad Student Tech Advisor at Belle Haven Elementary in Menlo Park, CA. Robert has been a teacher in the Ravenswood City School District for five years since graduating from the Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP) with his Masters in Elementary Education. He has been featured in news articles and spoken at conferences around the nation about integrating technology into the elementary classroom and was recently named the SVCUE Outstanding Emerging Teacher for 2011-2012.

Matt Purcell, Secondary School Teacher, Canberra Grammar School; Coordinator, Code Cadets
Matt Purcell is a secondary school teacher at Canberra Grammar School in Australia, teaching Year 8 Commerce, Year 9 Web Design and Application Development, Year 10 iPhone and iPad Application Development, and Year 11/12 Software Design and Development. During 2010 Matt was awarded the Microsoft Innovative Teacher award for use of technology in his classes.

Matt is also the coordinator of the Code Cadets – a group of Year 7 – 12 students at Canberra Grammar School who meet after school and on weekends to discuss and develop iOS applications. In addition, the entire Code Cadets group of 15 students has made the journey from Australia to San Francisco to attend Macworld 2012.

Ryan Quincy, Animation Producer, South Park
Ryan Quincy started working with South Park as an animator on 1999′s feature, BIGGER, LONGER, AND UNCUT. He’s been with them ever since and is now an animation producer on the show. During his breaks from South Park, Ryan has developed animated shows for Nickelodeon, 20th Century Fox, and Walt Disney Television.

Peter H. Reynolds, NY Times Best-Selling Author/Illustrator; Founder, FableVision
Creativity champ, Peter H. Reynolds is a NY Times best-selling author/illustrator and founder of FableVision, an award-winning educational multi-media company co-located at the Boston Children’s Museum.

Published in over 20 languages, Peter’s books The Dot, Ish, Rose’s Garden, I’m Here, So Few of Me and The North Star inspire children and “grown up children” with his messages about authentic learning, creativity, bravery, empathy, and courageous self-expression. Peter also illustrated the best selling Someday by Alison McGhee, Guyku by Bob Raczka, Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and the Judy Moody series by Megan McDonald, which sold over 12 million copies worldwide.
Peter lives in Dedham, MA, where he founded The Blue Bunny, a family-owned and operated children’s book, toy, creativity store.

Much of Peter’s spare time is spent giving back to the community ~ revitalizing the businesses and landscape in his beloved Dedham Square, supporting schools, caring for homeless children, promoting literacy and learning, and inspiring all of us to use our gifts to make the journey a meaningful one.

To that end, Peter and his twin brother Paul, recently launched the Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning, and Creativity (TLC). The center is a not-for-profit organization that encourages creativity and innovation in teaching and learning. It is dedicated to ensuring that all learners develop the vision, confidence, knowledge and skills needed to move their own lives forward, and to use their talents, strengths and energy to move their communities and the world to a better place.

Kyle Richter, Founder, Dragon Forged Software
Kyle Richter is CEO and Founder of Dragon Forged Software LLC, based out of Denver Colorado. He first started writing code using BASIC on a Commodore 64 in the early ’90s. Kyle has been writing shareware for the Mac since early 2004. Dragon Forged Software was an early adapter to the App Store, releasing the first trivia game for the iPhone. Kyle has also worked on the hit iPhone titles Handshake and Transactions. He now runs a full time consulting business, working on market-leading software for iDevices and Macs.

Tim Robertson, Founder, MyMac.com
Tim Robertson started the Macintosh publication MyMac in 1995. He has been podcasting since the medium was invented. Currently, Tim is also the COO of MacSpecialist of Chicago.

Jamie Sampson, Marketing & Partnerships Manager, Schematic Labs/ SoundTracking
Jamie Sampson is the Marketing & Partnerships Manager at Schematic Labs, makers of the popular app SoundTracking. He comes from the music industry, where previously he co-founded Flatiron Management and worked with My Morning Jacket and Flight Of The Conchords.

Guy Serle, Podcaster, MyMac.com, guy@mymac.com

Allison Sheridan, Podcaster, NosillaCast Mac Podcast
Allison Sheridan is the host of the NosillaCast Mac Podcast – a technology geek podcast with an EVER so slight Macintosh bias – which has been running for over six years with more than 300 episodes. She produces her show weekly as audio and also broadcasts the creation of the show live on video every week to an audience who affectionately call themselves the NosillaCastaways.

Allison is an active member of the Mac Roundtable, producing bi-monthly shows all about the Mac. Allison is also host of the podcast training series Podcasting on Podcasting which has helped many a budding podcaster get their shows off the ground. She enjoys teaching through podcasting as well as written tutorials on all kinds of technology subjects.

In her day job Allison is an engineer and an IT fellow with over 30 years in industry. Her thirst for technology started with Apple with the Mac 512K in 1984, and blossomed into a love of gadgets and applications and operating systems.

Allison has an avid interest in assistive technologies, especially for the blind. She is fascinated at what we can accomplish without being able to see and promotes accessibility solutions wherever she can so everyone can participate.”

Hank Shocklee, Grammy nominated producer, composer and new media company executive, Shocklee Entertainment
Sonic architect on the Future Frequency

Grammy nominated Producer, composer and new media company executive Hank Shocklee has worn many hats in the music business throughout the years. Perhaps best known for founding the group Public Enemy and the production outfit the BOMB SQUAD, Shocklee has managed to work with and develop a large variety of artists and musicians across many genres all while keeping a very innovative approach and a distinction for pushing the envelope in his productions. Shocklee has been a force behind some of the most significant music and film projects of the last two decades including artists Mary J. Blige, Anthony Hamilton, Ice Cube, LL Cool J, Slick Rick and films such as Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, Ernest Dickerson’s Juice and countless others.

Sampling in music is now a part of the mainstream culture and Hank Shocklee, is responsible for bringing the art of sampling to the forefront by creating techniques such as filtering, multiband micro-loop sampling, introducing the use of sine waves to create kick drums and bass lines, truncating and mapping samples on keyboards and drum machines and using tuning to create warping in the late 80’s–early 90’s. With Shocklee’s creation of the group Public Enemy and his Bomb Squad production unit these techniques were introduced to the world stage via his landmark albums with Public Enemy such as It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back and Fear Of A Black Planet, two albums which consistently rank high amongst most of the ‘greatest albums of all time’ lists such as those by Rolling Stone, Spin, Pitchfork, VH1, Vibe, Mojo, NME, The Village Voice and many others.

Shocklee’s name became synonymous with sampling shortly after creating the BOMB SQUAD style. He has been at the centerpoint of debates on copyright laws and studied by pop culture historians and academics alike. As a constant developer of numerous audio production and sampling techniques, he has been both an inspiring force for music producers and a disruptor of music industry politics.

In our current digital landscape, Shocklee has expanded his reach and grown into a film composer, media company and champion of electronic music worldwide. Always seeking new and innovative ways to transform the audio arts, Shocklee launched his NYC based company Shocklee Entertainment, to develop a series of multimedia projects which he calls the Future Frequency. “I’ve always had a good sense of where entertainment needs to go next and right now I’ve honed in on the next dimension of sight & sound”. His growingly popular website Shocklee.com highlights a curated mix of future music, tech, film and multimedia culture.

Shocklee is launching his label via Shocklee Entertainment in 2012 with various releases lined up including a BOMB SQUAD album and several solo projects that will explore electronic, bass, dub, techno, afrotech, hip hop & world vibrations.

For more: http://www.shocklee.com

Danny Silva, Educator; CUE Lead Learner
Danny is formally an Agriculture Teacher, Technology Coordinator and Administrator. He is an active CUE Lead Learner, a Google Certified Teacher, and Google Apps Education Certified Trainer. He has led multiple Google Teacher Academies around the world as part of CUE’s Lead Learner team. Danny also maintains an educational blog and co-hosts his own “Small School, Big Tech” podcast with Andrew Schwab.

Danny and his wife Wendy live in Madera, CA with their two children Cayla and Jacob.

Steve Simon, Documentary Photographer, stevesimonphoto.com
Steve Simon has been passionate about documenting the beauty and drama of the human condition with his Nikon’s his entire photographic life. The author of four critically acclaimed photography books with works in major museum collections around the world, he has had solo shows in New York, Buenos Aires, Toronto and Montreal and his work has been featured three times at the Visa Pour L’Image Photojournalism Festival in Perpignan, France. He is on the Apple Aperture Advisory Board. International awards include: Art Director’s Club of New York, The Canadian Newspaper Photographer of The Year, Global Health Council Photography Award for his work on AIDS in Africa, Alfred Eisenstaedt Magazine Photography Award Nomination, PX3. He has lead workshops all over the world, including Mentor Series, Macworld, PhotoPlus Expo and Gulf Photo Plus in Dubai. His new book The Passionate Photographer from Peachpit has just been released. He is a regular host on the popular podcast This Week in Photography and is a member of the SanDisk Extreme Team.

Stephen J. Smith, PhD, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine
Prof. Smith’s laboratory explores the development, structure, function and disorders of the brain’s neural circuitry. The lab’s experimental approach has typically begun with the invention of a new optical imaging method followed by applications of that method to attack important but previous untractable experimental challenges. Early on, Smith invented a novel fiber-optic spectrometer for calcium sensing that enabled the first detection and measurement of calcium transients in vertebrate neurons, the first quantitative measurements of presynaptic Ca transients, and the extraordinarily significant discovery of Ca influx through NMDA receptor channels. Later Smith lab imaging inventions led to numerous significant neuroscience discoveries, including retrograde actin flow within neuronal growth cones, intracellular Ca waves in astrocytes, the active role of dendritic filopodia in synaptogenesis, and the packeted delivery of synaptic protein components during synaptogenesis, and to the first optical measurements of single synaptic vesicle release, the first in vivo imaging of synaptotropic dendrite growth, and the first in vivo functional imaging measurements of visual receptive field development in a vertebrate animal. Most recently, they have invented a unique high-resolution proteomic imaging method called “array tomography” and are now working to apply this novel method to explore the molecular architecture of cortical microcircuits in mouse and human. This work is currently focused on efforts to identify the circuit loci of the specific changes in synaptic connectivity associated with specific memory traces, i.e. the physical “engrams” of experience. This work is referenced more fully in the Smith “Biosketch” and “CV“ documents to be found on the Stanford School of Medicine Molecular and Cellular Physiology web site.

Rachel Smith, Director, Digital Facilitation Services, The Grove Consultants
Rachel S. Smith is a Senior Consultant and the Director of Digital Facilitation Services for The Grove Consultants International, a San Francisco-based consultancy and publisher that offers services and tools to help organizations, teams, and individuals successfully envision and implement innovation and change. A specialist in project coordination and user interface design, Rachel develops ways to integrate technology into visual practice, including digital products and services for The Grove’s clients. She has a deep understanding of new media and its application to education through her previous role as Vice President for Services of the New Media Consortium, and prior experience leading her own graphic design company. She holds a Masters Degree in Education with an emphasis on educational technology from Stanford University and a BA in Art Education from Florida State University. Rachel is a skilled visual facilitator and recorder and works with groups both both face-to-face and virtually. She is recognized for her work in making new technologies approachable through talks, trainings, and written materials and has authored instructional materials, guides, and monographs on the creative and technical aspects of teaching with technology.

Sal Soghoian, Guitarist
Sal bought his first guitar at 16 (a fabulous imitation blonde Vox teardrop) for $32, and was promptly told by his mother that he would soon tire of it, sure to orphan the guitar to his closet within two weeks. A lifetime later, Sal still plays with the same passion and resolve of that young man who discovered he could escape into a world inside and outside of himself.

After learning to play and gig in rural Virginia clubs, where knowing how to dodge punches was as important as playing the best licks, he escaped to San Francisco and played on the streets, working many day jobs, including a stint at Hamilton Audio-Sonics, a local electronics company that repaired amps for everyone from Santana to Elvin Bishop. A blues-oriented musician from the beginning, Sal was introduced to Jazz by his brother Stephen and John Handy’s class at San Francisco State College, which he attended without the benefit of registration. His life was changed by this indoctrination.

Inspired by a new appreciation of Jazz, Sal moved to Boston, where he enrolled in the Berklee College of Music. Having previously studied the Schillinger System with Edward Haines, he quickly adapted to the school’s methodical approach, deciding to major in instrumental performance and improvisation. It was during those years at Berklee where Sal developed his “Freddie Green” chops, playing with local society and big bands, including the Winiker Family Bands and the notorious White Heat Swing Orchestra, whose repertoire was a trunk-full of original Fletcher Henderson/Jimmie Lunceford charts and a cooler of cheap beer hidden in a drum kit. After graduating from Berklee in 1979, Sal changed his focus to playing solo guitar and in duos, often accompanied by sax-man Dave Stringham, in the appropriately named duo “Stringham & Sal.” For years, they remained a nightly favorite at the Flower Garden Cafe in Faneuil Hall.

Leaving the city, Sal migrated to Delaware Water Gap, an artsy town in the Pennsylvania mountains, populated by some of Jazz’s finest cats including long-time music bud, Mo Rolland. Moving into a room above the local roadhouse bar, Sal took a solo gig at the famous Deer Head Inn as the lead-in for piano master Johnny Coates, and soon found himself asked to perform in the Delaware Water Gap Jazz Festival. His initiation to the event was to play a set of solo guitar after a blistering performance by Phil Woods playing with a big band. Quite the experience and introduction. Warmly welcomed into the Gap music community, Sal soon recorded his first album “To Be with You,” featuring new Gap-friends songstress Stephanie Nakasian and bop-master Hod O’brien on the piano. But it was through his friendship with Phil Woods that Sal became inspired to pursue a new direction in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he found destiny in a quartet named Blue Indigo, a rambunctious and inspired group anchored by master-organist George Melvin, and spiced with Carter Beauford (drums), and LeRoi Moore (sax), who a year later became the essential cogs of DMB. Soon after their departure, Blue Indigo reignited with the inclusion of saxophonist Jeff Decker and percussionist Phil Riddle, leading to the recording of “Catwalk,” a collection of Sal’s original songs.

Sal now resides in the Bay Area with his wife Naomi, and his current musical musings are derived using a Godin MIDI guitar, which he plays through Logic Studio’s MainStage digital performance module, sounded by a Bose T1 system. Stop by and visit Sal in the Macworld Music area, as shares experiences and plays some tunes. See you there!

Jason Snell, Vice President & Editorial Director, Mac Publishing, LLC

Luke Soules, CXO, iFixit
Luke Soules is the co-founder and CXO of iFixit, the largest online repair community and Apple parts retailer. iFixit is dedicated to helping people everywhere keep their hardware running longer. Luke has traveled widely to be the first in the world to tear apart Apple devices, including Australia and New Zealand. Luke attended Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering. In his spare time, Luke plays the clarinet in several groups, including the SLO Wind Orchestra and Central Coast Clarinet Choir.

David Sparks, Author, Podcaster, Blogger, MacSparky.com and Mac Power Users Podcast
David Sparks is a trial attorney in Orange County, California, where heʼs been eating other lawyersʼ lunch for years using Apple Technologies. David is also the editor of MacSparky.com and the co-host of the popular “Mac Power Users” podcast (macpowerusers.com).

David speaks and writes often about Apple technology. David is a past speaker at the Macworld Conference and Expo and a regular faculty member for the American Bar Association’s TechShow, the premier technology conference, held annually in Chicago where he speaks on the Mac, iPhone, iPad, and productivity. David recently released a book for Wiley Press called “Mac at Work” and is finishing a new book, “”iPad at Work”" for release in October 2011.

Ben Spear, Brand Designer, Thinkside
Ben Spear graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts in Graphic Design, having trained classically in drawing, painting, and sculpture. He worked for several years at a boutique studio, Schwadesign, gaining master-level competency in brand-sensitive print and web production. A natural interest in neuroscience led him to work for Harvard Business School-based research firm Olson Zaltman Associates, using Photoshop to learn about consumers’ behavior for Fortune 100 brands. In 2006 he began consulting, combining his understanding of the human consciousness with a mastery for market-level cultural logistics: Thinkside is a branding and identity firm with clients around the world, most of which hail from arts and culture and new media sectors. His work is continually informed by the unique landscape of Boston’s coworking community.

Eric Stough, Animation Director & Producer, South Park
Eric Stough is the animation director and producer of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning television series South Park. He was also the animation director of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and has worked with Parker and Stone on Orgazmo, Team America: World Police and the Broadway hit The Book of Mormon. Eric met Parker in high school where they did short films and were in plays together. Matt Stone was in Eric’s short film The Diner in college at the University of Colorado. Prior to his work with Parker and Stone, Stough had internships with Jim Henson Productions and Walt Disney. Eric Stough is originally fromEvergreen, Colorado and the South Park character Leopold “Butters” Stotch is based on him.

Gordon Straub, Claymation Movie Creator, Moose Movies / Director and Producer
By looking at Gordon Straub you would think he is a typical Junior at Monte Vista High School in Danville, but looks can be deceiving. Gordon is not your typical 17 year old; he is a multi-talented artist and musician who specializes in playing the bass and producing award winning claymation shorts.

Gordon has won several awards for his videos including two Danville International Film Festival Young Animator Awards and an Award of Excellence from the National Parent Teachers Association.

Allana Taranto, Photographer, Ars Magna Studio
Allana Taranto earned her Masters in Art Education from Massachusetts College of Art, and holds a Bachelors degree in Photography and Media Studies from Hampshire College. She spent several years teaching studio art in the Boston Public Schools. In Holyoke, Massachusetts, she worked as program director for Positive Development, an after school photography program for at-risk youth. Allana also was a teaching artist through the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum, The San Diego Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. She currently runs a photography studio out of a coworking space in Boston.

Brett Terpstra
Brett Terpstra is a senior web developer for AOL Tech. In his free time he produces Mac applications such as Marked and nvALT. He can often be found sharing his mad scripting science at brettterpstra.com.

John Turner, Chief Technologist, Assistronics, LLC
John Turner has over twenty years in the technology field. Currently John develops iOS applications with a small group in North Carolina. John holds degrees in Computer Science from the University of Kentucky. While at UK, John also studied photography, video production, and interactive art. Recently John started work on a documentary film project.

Anthony Veneziale, Creator, Freestyle Love Supreme
Anthony Veneziale is the creator of the internationally renowned improvised hip-hop show Freestyle Love Supreme. Veneziale has acted in two feature length films (including Che! directed by Steven Soderberg), five television shows (All My Children, Trauma, Very Funny Live, The Electric Company), directed spots for AMC and appeared in numerous commercials (both featured in and voice over). In 2007 he helped to redevelop the children¹s television show The Electric Company that is now airing on PBS (as a creative producer, writer, lyricist, and actor).

Benjamin Waldie, President, Automated Workflows, LLC
Ben Waldie is president of Automated Workflows, LLC, a company offering AppleScript, Automator, and workflow consulting services to Mac-based businesses. For years, Ben has developed professional automated solutions for companies such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Adobe Systems, Apple Inc., CNN, Microsoft, NASA, PC World, and Time Magazine. Ben is the author of “Automator for Mac OS X: Visual QuickStart Guide” (Peachpit Press) and “AppleScripting the Finder” (Automated Workflows, LLC), has written content for Apple.com, Macworld, MacTech, MacScripter.net, and more, and is the host of the “Mac Automation Made Simple” video podcast series (Peachpit Press). Ben is also the author of an AppleScript training CD for the Virtual Training Company, and is a frequent presenter at Macworld and other industry events.

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John Welch, Director of IT, The Zimmerman Agency
John C. Welch is the head of IT for  the/zimmerman/agency, one-third of Angry Mac Bastards, the mind behind bynkii.com, a regular contributor to Macworld Magazine, part of the Mac IT COnference Advisory Committee, and a regular speaker at MacWorld Expo since 1999. He has been dealing with all things Macintosh since the Lisa, and has been involved with networking and the Mac in IT for almost twenty years

It is rumored that he has non-computer parts of his life as well, such as his son, Alex, his amazingly talented wife, Melissa, his guitar, and a long involvment with Korean Martial Arts.

Bill Wiecking, Energy Lab Director, Hawaii Prep Academy
Dr. Wiecking has been an educator in Hawaii for over 30 years. Several years ago, his team took up the vision of creating a learning facility for the study of energy and sustainability, using the Big Island of Hawaii as a model for a sustainable planet. The result was the HPA Energy Lab in Waimea, the first school in the world to achieve the highest rating in sustainable building: the LIving Building Challenge.

Dr. Wiecking and his students are currently working on such projects as brain wave control of automated buildings, energy monitoring systems, PCR cloning in the classroom, enhanced virtual reality using HTML5, and iOS security using captive portals. He lives with his family on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Kyle Wiens, CEO, iFixit
Kyle Wiens is the co-founder and CEO of iFixit, the largest online repair community and Apple parts retailer. iFixit is dedicated to helping people everywhere keep their hardware running longer. In 2011, he started Dozuki, a software company that is revolutionizing online technical documentation. He co-authored the first free repair manuals for Apple hardware while studying Computer Science at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Kyle is a board member of Softec and the IEEE CE Society. He has spoken widely on cloud computing, technical writing, repair, making service documentation accessible to a global audience, and sustainable consumer electronics device design. In his spare time, Kyle kayaks and tinkers with robots.

Dave Wiskus, Chief Creative Officer, Black Pixel
Dave Wiskus is the Chief Creative Officer of Black Pixel, a leading design and development shop. Aside from being the creative lead on world-class products like NetNewsWire, Dave also travels the world to visit clients and inspire others to make great things.

Gregory Wyatt, Coroner, Sacramento County
Gregory Wyatt is the current Coroner of Sacramento County. He has 25 years of Law Enforcement/Forensic Death Investigation experience. Previously, Wyatt’s responsibilities have included Vice President – California State Coroner’s Association, President – California State Child Death Review Council, Secretary – National Institute of Justice / F.B.I. Scientific Working Group for Medical-Legal Death Investigation, Advisory Member – U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) Sudden Unexplained Infant Death Registry, and Member- Sacramento County Cold Case Homicide Investigation Team. Wyatt is an avid Apple User/Enthusiast.