Ophelia J. HarperSince the conception of ClayHouse Visual Branding Firm, Ophelia J. Harper has been fully aware of the building of a brand through cutting edge marketing, an unconventional approach, and the ultimate goal of development on various platforms. She has worked with clients in Fashion, Film, Beauty, Music, Business and everything in between. With her leadership, the ClayHouse Production Team has provided support to her patrons through photography, graphic deisgn, PR prep, Merchandise Development, Marketing Strategies, and so much more. In her former life, Harper has taken the stage as a vocalist with legends like, Stevie Wonder, Patti LaBelle, Jamie Foxx, Deitrick Haddon, and Kim Burrell, just to name a few. Harper has also been featured in a national commercial, brought characters to life through stage plays and films, and is a certified fashion designer, who has designed for television and celebrities. Harper’s marketing and cultural experience crosses global lines as she gleans from her overseas travels to places like Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the Carribeans and Venezuela. As a creative chameleon, her experience brings a deeper insight to any marketing approach and strategic plan. Her “conversations” will leave you inspired, equipped and motivated to pursue your vision. She believes in empowering others to live their dreams and fulfill their purpose. With her upcoming speaking engagements and in-house branding dinner party workshops, she look forward to meeting new faces and igniting the passion that they need to succeed. Harper is ready to connect with you, book her for your conference, workshops, and inspirational events today.
Shawn SmithRecognized as a leader in the public relations industry, Shawn Smith has served in senior communications roles with Warner Bros. Entertainment and The Walt Disney Company developing multimillion-dollar campaigns for global brands. Shawn is currently the director of public relations with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, developing strategic communications campaigns for products inspired by DC franchises including Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman, in addition to creating global PR campaigns for properties within the Warner Bros. Animation and Horror portfolio.
Previously, Shawn was the director of public relations and brand partnerships with MGA Entertainment, leading corporate communications and PR for one of the most successful privately-owned toy companies in the world. She created PR campaigns for hit brands including L.O.L. Surprise!, Num Noms, and Little Tikes. Under her leadership, L.O.L. Surprise! became a media sensation and was touted as the #1 toy of 2017.
In 2016, Shawn became the first senior manager of communications, diversity and inclusion for The Walt Disney Company, responsible for championing Disney’s commitment to diversity through a variety of communications channels to engage employees and the global community. Previously, in her role as a senior manager of communications with Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media (DCPI), she developed and executed strategic communications campaigns for DCPI’s $52+ billion licensing business while leading the public relations campaigns for global brands, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, as well as Disney films and media networks.
Shawn led a multi-year PR campaign to position Minnie Mouse as a global style icon and expand the franchise’s presence around the world. In 2010, Shawn led the PR campaign to launch Disney Store’s innovative store re-design and the launch of the first Disney Store in New York’s Times Square which featured Disney CEO Bob Iger and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg as keynote speakers. She also managed key TV and film franchise product launches.
Shawn began her career as a journalist before transitioning into public relations and she spent more than six years working at premier PR agencies. In her first PR role, Shawn worked under legendary publicist Pat Tobin at Tobin & Associates. She developed multicultural PR campaigns at Lagrant Communications and was a senior account executive in the film and television division of global public relations agency Rogers & Cowan. During her agency tenure, Shawn represented a broad array of clients including Southern California Edison, Wells Fargo Bank, Texas Instruments, and Toyota Motor Sales.
In 2019, Shawn became the first-ever African American president of the Public Relations Society of America Los Angeles Chapter, while continuing to serve as the president of the Black Public Relations Society of Los Angeles (BPRS-LA). In 2018, Shawn was presented with the Pat Tobin Award, BPRS-LA’s highest honor. In 2011, Shawn was named one of PR Week’s “40 under 40 Ones to Watch.” Shawn serves as a mentor to young professionals and has served as a guest lecturer for a variety of college courses.
A native of Southern California, Shawn earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Emily LiouEmily Liou is a career happiness coach and career expert at CultiVitae where she guides ambitious corporate professionals to design AND achieve careers they love. She believes life is way too short to not wake up happy on Mondays. As a former recruiter and HR professional for Fortune 500 Companies and Silicon Valley startups, she knows exactly what gets corporate professionals hired and promoted. Emily’s career advice has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Business Insider, Fairygodboss, and The Muse. She is also the creator of The Happily Hired Formula, a comprehensive do-with-you program that covers A-Z of the job search process from designing a career to negotiating your salary. Through her coaching programs, Emily not only provides the strategies to make any career transition possible but also works from the inside out, allowing clients to build a positive self-image to conquer all of their ambitious goals. When she is not geeking out over personal development topics, you can find Emily eating her way through Los Angeles.
Angelina Iyamah-WilsonAngelina Iyamah-Wilson is a talent management leader with expertise in designing professional development programs. Angelina currently works for The Aerospace Corporation as the Manager of Employee Career Development.
In addition to her role at The Aerospace Corporation, Angelina is an active member of the Association of Talent Development and recently served on the board of the Los Angeles Chapter as the Director of Membership Development.
Kimberly JonesKimberly Jones, a Global Talent Acquisition Strategist who has worked for some of the most recognized corporate brands. In her most recent role as the Talent Acquisition Director at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), she managed JPL’s recruiting team in the continuous recruitment of talent from early career to senior level positions.
Prior to joining JPL, she enjoyed a wealth of experiences at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, GE Aviation, Raytheon, Honda, and Nationwide. Her 20+ years of experience have allowed her to learn and thrive in a variety of industries and corporate environments. She’s been fortunate to lead and be a member of recruiting teams that sought to recruit the best and brightest both nationally and internationally. She has developed and implemented comprehensive recruiting strategies for organizations whose needs included accounting, administrative staff, business operations, communications, engineering, finance, human resources, IT, manufacturing, scientist, and skilled labor.
One of her most rewarding and challenging assignments occurred while working at Raytheon as the Recruiting and Diversity Manager for Raytheon Polar Services. The Polar Services team, assigned to the primary contract for National Science Foundation, staffed all program positions at the headquarters location in Denver, CO along with contractors deployed to Antarctica: Palmer Station, McMurdo Station, and South Pole. Kimberly successfully completed a 6 week deployment to Antarctica including time spent at South Pole. While at Nationwide she was responsible for managing internship programs for United Negro College Fund, INROADS, Hispanic Scholarship Fund, and the Tom Joyner Foundation.
Kimberly is a graduate of Wilberforce University, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Management. She has obtained designations in Six Sigma, SHRM PHR, Certified Project Manager, and Certified Internet Recruiter. Kimberly is from Columbus, OH and maintains office locations in both California and Ohio. She is actively involved in the talent acquisition community and is a member of the Orange County Talent Acquisition Leadership Forum and the Los Angeles HR Advisory Board for the Veteran’s Hiring Initiative.
Tatiana OueiniTatiana Oueini is a Senior Human Resources Business Partner providing strategic HR partnership to the Legal and Compliance division for Capital Group, one of the largest financial management organizations globally. Prior to that, Tatiana was the Regional HR Director for Saks Fifth Avenue for the West and Midwest regions of the country. She also spent a number of years working for Nestlé USA and held several HR positions within corporate, factory, and field capacities during her tenure. She began her career as an a Human Resources Manager for Target Stores where she not only got her start in HR but gained hands on business experience running multi-million dollar store operations. Throughout her career, she has been proud to advocate for and actively engage in initiatives that promote employee engagement, development, diversity and inclusion, as well as improve the professional experience and landscape for women within her organizations. Outside of work, when she’s not playing tennis or finding her next adventure, Tatiana spends her time in the community and university campuses where she delivers resume and interview workshops in addition to providing career counseling to students and young professionals. Tatiana holds a BA in Communications from UCLA.
Tiana SanchezTiana is an Amazon #1 Best-Selling Author and Corporate Trainer serving innovative companies throughout the U.S. For over 17 years she has trained and addressed top leaders in the private and public sector. Clients have included Southern California Edison, Activision/Treyarch, and a U.S. Government Agency.
Named 2018 “Best Executive Coaching” Program by HR.Com, the largest online destination for HR professionals with over 1M subscribers worldwide, Tiana Sanchez International provides world-class leadership programs, specialized keynote presentations, and training seminars. An ambassador for Gen Z, Millennials and emerging leaders, she frequently speaks at some of the most well-known Universities in California: UCLA, Stanford, Cal State LA, and UC Merced.
Tiana’s books can be found on Amazon: F’d Up: The Upside of Failure and Undefeatable: Conquering Self-Defeat.
Karl Muhlbauer Jr.Karl has over 20 years of progressive HR experience, including two international expatriate assignments for Fortune 500 companies. His experience spans a variety of industries, including Technology, Insurance, Materials and Manufacturing, Retail, Consulting Services, and Oil & Gas; and has managed and led the recruitment function in several of his past roles, including the development and implementation of recruiting processes for both small and large companies. He has also trained recruiters and managers on the recruitment process in both, times of rapid growth, and contractions in the economy.
Karl is well-versed at coaching recent graduates and seasoned executives, alike. He has extensive experience working with expatriates, first-generation Americans, those looking to progress in their current career, in either leadership or technical roles, as well as with individuals entering a new industry or those re-entering the job market after a sabbatical.
Karl earned a masters degree in labor relations and human resources, as well as a bachelors degree in history and political science, from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Karl is also a certified Leadership Trainer.
Dr. Tana M. Session, PHR, GPHR, SHRM-SCPDr. Tana M. Session is the CEO & Founder of a certified Women Minority Business Enterprise (WMBE) with over 20 years of Human Resources experience. Dr. Session specializes in cultural engineering, facilitated experiences and leadership & organizational development. She has spent 10 years as the top Human Resources executive for both domestic and international organizations where she led various change initiatives and up-leveled entire departments, including talent, systems, and infrastructure. She has partnered with hi-tech start-ups and fast-growth companies as well as McDonald’s, Topa Insurance Group, ThermoFisher Scientific, Xerox, Cognizant, Citibanamex, and many other multi-national for-profit & not for profit organizations. Her experience has enabled her to embed her passion for Diversity, Equality & Inclusion in everything she develops and implements. Tana was recently recognized as a Huffington Post “Top Female Expert to Follow,” and in 2019, Tana received her Honorary Doctorate (Ph.D.) degree in Philosophy/Humane Letters. Dr. Session is an international speaker who has spoken at professional events throughout the U.S. as well as Bangkok, Dominican Republic, Cuba and Jamaica.
Tana completed her undergraduate degree in Business Administration and her MBA in Organizational Psychology & Development. Recognized by the University of Phoenix as one of its Distinguished Alumni of Southern California, Tana also joined the team of UCLA Extension and California State University – Long Beach as an Instructor/Adjunct Professor. In 2019, Tana was selected as the only MBA alumni in American InterContinental University’s history to speak as the keynote speaker for the commencement ceremony where she shared a powerful message to over 7,000 attendees in Houston and Atlanta.
Tana is the author of three books, including the #1 Best-seller Get Your Career Life in Order. Tana is a recognized media contributor and has been a contributing writer for Forbes.com and BlackEnterprise.com, and has been featured in Huffington Post, Essence Magazine and on various television, syndicated radio and podcast shows. She is also a contributing Lifestyle Segment co-host for the nationally syndicated talk radio show, “In the Know,” where she shares career and motivational advice.
In her free time, Tana likes to travel and spend time with family and friends. In June 2014, Tana and her family relocated from New York to Los Angeles. She now enjoys getting to know her new home state.
MARVIS WYNN NETFLIXBorn and raised in New York, Mr. Wynn attended Edward R. Murrow high school in Coney Island, Brooklyn, and went on to study Mass Communications with a concentration in broadcasting at Buffalo State. While trying to get a job in the entertainment field, he started at The Princeton Review while working various part-time production jobs and pursuing his MFA in Film Production at Brooklyn College.
In 2011, he landed a job at NBCUniversal on the Cable Entertainment, Operations & Diversity team and later joined the Syfy Production Marketing team. After two years as a Production Coordinator, he was promoted to Project Manager of Production.
After 5 years of working at NBCUniversal, it was time for a new challenge. In 2016, he moved from New York to Los Angeles to work at Netflix as a Visual Communications Manager on the publicity team. Over the last three years, he has worked across multiple disciplines in Publicity and Creative Marketing, built and led a team overseeing creative publicity strategy for Latin American content, lived in Brazil for 9 months to provide leadership to the publicity team based in Sao Paulo, and most recently accepted a role on the Product Creative Strategy team overseeing the creative and strategy for Netflix Original Series.
Terrance McLaneyBorn and raised in the California Bay Area, Terrence McLaney attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Rhetoric with an emphasis in Public Discourse. Terrence recognized the importance of giving back to his community at an early age and has since been involved in several youth leadership and mentoring programs, including coaching basketball at all levels, serving as Executive Director of a youth camp, and as Dean of Students at a high school in Northern California.
In his current role as a Financial Services Professional with a Fortune 100 Company, Terrence furthers his community advocacy by educating and empowering his clients to take control of their financial future. Terrence has identified opportunities for closing the wealth gap that exists in America by exploring personal and historical relationships with money. He specializes in investments, retirement planning, insurance and legacy planning, wealth accumulation, and saving for college. Terrence is committed to increasing financial literacy and building generational wealth in underserved communities.
