Carver	Dohrman	Fahnestock	Mayuga	Lawing	Pranikoff

 Click here for the full-day schedule and a breakdown of workshop sessions.

C. Leilani Carver, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Communication
Maryville University

Originally from Hilo, Hawaii, Leilani Carver obtained her undergraduate degree in business management and organizational communication at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, Calif.  After graduation, Dr. Carver was hired as a banking software trainer and installation specialist for Jack Henry and Associates and was promoted within a year, making her the youngest manager in the organization.  Later, Leilani pursued a new challenge working as a consultant at the Sprint Telecommunications headquarters where she created and implemented employee performance improvement programs. After two years with Sprint, Dr. Carver sought a career change and decided to teach English overseas in Jilin City, Peoples Republic of China.  After a year, she returned to the U.S. as the project manager of education for the American Public Works Association (APWA).  While working for APWA, Dr. Carver began taking evening master’s classes in organizational communication at the University of Kansas and found her passion. The University of Kansas then offered her a graduate teaching assistantship and she made the jump to full-time graduate student and university instructor in 2005. While attending KU, Dr. Carver taught university courses and served as assistant basic course director for the communication studies department, which involved helping manage KU’s public speaking course with approximately 1,000 students a semester. During her time at KU, Dr. Carver won two teaching awards. She finished her Ph.D. in August and now lives in St Louis. Her areas of expertise include generational differences in the workplace, career selection processes, cross-cultural communication competencie, and persuasive health communication campaigns. 

L. Dohrman, Ph.D
Assistant Professor of Communication
Maryville University

Rebecca L. Dohrman, Ph.D. (Purdue University, 2010) is an assistant professor of communication at Maryville University. Her teaching and research interests focus on emerging technologies, public relations, gender, and entrepreneurship. Broadly, Dohrman is interested in the changes in careers and work life that emerging technologies, particularly social media, are having in contemporary organizations. In her presentation, Dohrman will discuss Google Reader and Google Analytics. Part training session and part hands-on activity, this session will provide participants with a global understanding of these two tools, practice with using these tools, and with knowledge of how participation can adapt these tools for use in their organizations. Dohrman will assume participants have no experience or knowledge of these tools prior to the session.

Jonathan Fahnestock
Assistant Professor
College of Arts & Sciences
Maryville University

Jonathan Fahnestock has an M.F.A. in computer graphics design from Rochester Institute of Technology, which focused on the aesthetic, technical and theoretical aspects of interactive design.  His expertise is in graphical user interface design, usability, web design, multimedia application development and scripting, animation, and instructional multimedia.  He also has experience in 3-D modeling, and digital audio and video production. Fahnestock has extensive professional experience as a graphic designer, art director and multimedia specialist in the advertising, marketing and e-Learning industries prior to joining Maryville’s faculty and continues to work professionally on various web and interactive design applications.


Todd Jordan
Independent Blogger and Speaker, Member of Social Media Club 

Todd Jordan has blogged for more than a decade on topics including technology, social networking, and photography.  As a speaker, Jordan provides instruction and guidance on using blogs and social media. Personable, he's a storyteller over presenting lists.   He's advised organizations in the realty, home show, and small business avenues.  His motto: People over productions; relationships over marketing.


Michael Pranikoff
Director, Emerging Media
PR Newswire

Michael Pranikoff, director of emerging media at PR Newswire, is responsible for educating PR Newswire staff and customers about the role emerging media, such as RSS, blogs, social networks, search engines, and other emerging technologies, play in public relations and marketing.  Pranikoff joined PR Newswire in 1998.  He immersed himself in the technology industry in and around the Washington, D.C. area, working with clients such as XM Satellite Radio, AOL and the Consumer Electronics Association.  In 2003, Pranikoff was named the national technology markets specialist, and eventually led to being named PR Newswire’s first director of emerging media. Pranikoff has been a featured speaker and moderator at events across the country.  He is also a featured contributor to several blogs, podcasts, and newsletters. Prior to joining PR Newswire, Pranikoff worked for MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, which produces the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Pranikoff’s blog maintains links to sites and conversations pertaining to the intersection of technology and public relations. He has a degree in speech communications from Syracuse University.

Angie Lawing
CEO/Executive Producer
Mercury Labs

Angie Lawing is a storyteller. She writes ‘em, she tells ‘em and she sells ‘em. She has written and produced television content, corporate cinema and video marketing programs for dozens of the nation’s leading brands, including eBay, Adobe, Lindsay Olives, Wham-o and Sutter Home Winery. As a producer, she has resurrected the spirit of Hitchcock with meticulous pre-production and a clear visual path. Her scriptwriting skills keep audiences in their seats and hanging on every word. With 12+ years of experience in public relations and marketing, she has brought her buzz building and brand awareness expertise (not to mention her alliterative skills) to the silver screen. Her communications track record includes crafting messages, creating compelling stories and securing regular press coverage for dozens of small to mid-size companies, from EarthLink and NIKE.com to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, Neon Software and Radiant Logic. She knows how to leverage an existing brand with media, arranging over 100 media interviews within a week for the merger of a billion dollar company. And she understands how to build up a non-existent brand, getting prominent media attention for little-known start-up companies. Prior to founding Mercury Labs, Lawing was the staff media maven at Manning Selvage Lee in Los Angeles.


Ed Mayuga
Principal - Business Development and Social Media
AMM Communications, LLC

Ed Mayuga has developed and implemented sales and marketing campaigns, managed multi-state sales forces for companies such as United Parcel Service and Pfizer, and now consults small and mid-sized companies on business development strategies.  At AMM Communications, he parlays his years of experience to help clients understand how public relations, marketing and social media can increase their overall sales.  Prior to joining the firm, Mayuga held senior management and sales positions where he oversaw the creation and implementation for a company’s sales and marketing department. He also spent more than five years in the pharmaceutical industry as a district sales manager of sales representatives in multiple states, achieving $25M in sales revenue annually.  As a search consultant, he assisted his clients with sourcing and hiring “A players” for their growing organizations, guiding them through the process of developing the position, interviewing, and making the final offer.  Mayuga graduated from Saint Louis University with a bachelor’s of science with an emphasis in finance and a master’s of business administration with a concentration in international business.