Dana Schmidt

Slice Communications

Vice President, Strategy

Dana Schmidt is the Vice President of Strategy at Slice Communications. Driven by her passion for digital marketing, Dana champions brand storytelling across social media, PR and email platforms. 

Dana’s work has taken her from her hometown in Bucks County to New York City, to Denver, and back to Philadelphia – and even earned her an Emmy award along the way. She has shared her expertise with digital marketers through outlets like Adweek, NBC10, and as a speaker at several national conferences. Prior to joining the Slice team, Dana worked as the Director of Social Media for Visit Philly.

Having earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communications from New York University, Dana returned to NYU for her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Although she’d like to start her novel in her free time, she is more likely out hiking with her husband, Jesse, their son, Cooper, and their husky, Ghost.

Philippe Borremans

Author, "Mastering Crisis Communication with ChatGPT: A Practical Guide,"

International PR Expert

Philippe Borremans, your workshop leader, is an independent consultant with over 25 years of expertise in risk and crisis communication. He has worked with leading multinational corporations such as Volvo Group, Chanel, Mastercard Foundation, FedEx, Mars Group, Procter & Gamble, and Danone, providing practical advice, tailored training, and realistic simulation exercises to enhance their crisis communication capabilities.
In addition to his consultancy work, Philippe has collaborated with international bodies such as the World Health Organization, the European Union, and the West African Union on risk and emergency communication projects in the context of epidemics and natural disasters.
Before establishing his independent consultancy, Philippe spent a decade with IBM, focusing on corporate, crisis, and online communications, and gained early career experience at Porter Novelli International in Brussels.
As an educator, Philippe regularly shares his knowledge as a lecturer at European and North African universities and business schools. He is a sought-after speaker at industry conferences, discussing crisis communication and the impact of technology on public relations.
Philippe is the author of "Mastering Crisis Communication with ChatGPT; A Practical Guide," released in February 2023, and publishes the newsletter Wag The Dog, which provides insights into current trends in crisis, risk, and emergency communication.
 

Alexia Adana

Edelman

Director of Creative Technology

Mark Dollins

North Star Communications Consulting

President

Mark Dollins is president of North Star Communications Consulting, a consultancy with core capabilities in employee/change communications strategy and communications talent development. Founded in 2011, North Star has provided corporate communications consulting services to clients that include Visa, Toyota, Louis Vuitton, Xerox, PepsiCo, Tropicana Brands, United Technologies/Raytheon and Signet Jewelers, among others. He’s currently an adjunct professor with the University of Missouri School of Journalism, where he instructs  on employee communications and engagement.

In January, Mark was featured in Fortunes Time magazine as being among the 10 Most Influential Leaders in PR & Communication 2024. His consultancy was named Best Communications Consultancy by Acquisition International in 2023, and he was named one of the Top 10 Business Leaders to Follow in 2023 by Chief Navigators. His college text book, Engaging Employees through Communication, was published globally by Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group Press in Fall 2021.

Mark’s previous corporate experience spans more than 30 years with Fortune 500 companies. It includes serving as head of Executive & Global Employee Communications for DuPont, where he created and executed communication strategies that engaged 35,000 employees in the Company’s growth initiatives, and empowered 8,000 people leaders to measurably engage their teams during the company’s $130B merger with Dow.

He previously spent 17 years in executive communication leadership roles with PepsiCo. He was SVP and Chief Communications Officer at Pepsi Beverages and PepsiCo Americas Foods; and SVP of global internal communications, among other senior corporate roles. He led communications for PepsiCo’s 2011 acquisition of its anchor bottlers and ran merger communications for PepsiCo’s acquisition of The Quaker Oats Company, where he was VP of Corporate Communications. While at Quaker, he led both Corporate Communications and brand communications for Quaker, Life and Cap’n Crunch cereals, Aunt Jemima syrups and mixes, Rice-A-Roni, Gatoradeand Tropicana juices. He also led corporate public relations, internal communications, government affairs, philanthropy and community relations.

His career with PepsiCo followed 10 years in the energy sector, running Corporate Communications for Northern Indiana Public Service Company, and leading employee communications for Indiana Michigan Power/American Electric Power.

Mark began his career in broadcast and print journalism, working with ABC News and other print news outlets. He currently serves on the Forbes Communications Council and UVA’s Darden School of Business Communication Leadership Council. He previously served on the national advisory council of George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, served for eight years on LSU’s journalism advisory board for the Manship School of Communications, and has held a seat on The Conference Board’s Change & Transformation Council.  

He received a bachelor’s degree in Radio/TV from The George Washington University, and a master’s degree in organizational communications from Purdue University. He also is certified in Prosci Change Management, is a silver-level certified USA Wrestling coach, and four-time national USA Wrestling masters folk style champion and national place winner in Greco Roman wrestling.

Manail Anis Ahmed

Visiting Lecturer, Princeton university

Research Group Team Lead, Center for AI and Digital Policy

Ryan Brack

Meta

Former Privacy Public Affairs Communications

Priya Bates

A Leader Like Me

Co-Founder

As President and owner of Inner Strength Communication, Priya builds strategic internal communication, engagement, branding and transformational change plans that enable, engage and empower employees to deliver business results. Her clients include organizations and leaders across technology, retail, financial, healthcare, mining and manufacturing sectors looking to build strategic internal communication expertise.

Priya is also a co-founder for A Leader Like Me, a global consultancy focused on building inclusive cultures through communication, conversation, courage and confidence. Her book on Building a Culture of Inclusivity: Effective internal communication for diversity, equity and inclusion, co-authored with Advita Patel, was published by Kogan page and released in June 2023.

Priya is an Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) and was proud to become one of the first Certified Strategic Communication Management Professionals (SCMP) in the world. In 2010, she received the Master Communicator (MC) designation, the highest honour bestowed upon a communication professional from IABC Canada. In 2016, she was recognized as an IABC Fellow, a global lifetime achievement award for her contribution to the profession. Priya is also a passionate volunteer with the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), and is proud to have led the organization’s successful global rebranding effort.

Kristi Labrum

Oracle

Global Communications Lead

Daryl Drabinsky

PwC

Head of Social Media and Communications Team AI Champion

As a future-focused and innovative communications and corporate affairs executive, Daryl’s mission is to position global organizations at the leading edge of transformation in their industries. During her career, she has led internal and external communications initiatives to shape a purpose-driven strategy and narrative aligned to diverse stakeholders, markets, and cultures in consulting, finance, accounting, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, insurance, professional services and legal.

With a background in two Fortune Top 10 corporations, one of the world’s largest global communications and PR agencies and three multinational professional services brands, Daryl has led teams to influence marketing and branding, stakeholder engagement, social and digital media presence, company purpose/employee advocacy, ESG, and reputation and crisis management .

Daryl currently leads PwC’s social media team across the US & Mexico with a focus on brand stewardship, consumer communications strategy and corporate brand identity. She also leads the implementation and ideation of AI solutions across communications and is a co-lead of the 2025 communications strategy. 

Prior to PwC, Daryl led Weber Shandwick's digital health practice, and also served as lead digital strategist for our West Coast clients. Prior to this, she was Head of Digital, Social & Experiential Communications at CVS Health & Aetna. She led the enterprise COE with innovations in digital strategy, social media, analytics, thought leadership, employee advocacy and integrated content initiatives.

Described as a passionate, driven, and transformative leader, Daryl is skilled in facilitating and leading multi-disciplinary teams and partnering with P&L leaders to embed change into a company’s culture. She is a dedicated leader of ESG initiatives, specifically focused on women colleagues and people with disabilities. 

Daryl serves on the Board of Directors and is the Marketing Co-Chair for the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles and was a Founding Member of Chief’s Los Angeles network. Other recognitions include:
- 3 Time ’40 under 40,’ - PR Week 2019, Brand Marketers 2017, Wharton Alumni 2017
- Los Angeles Business Journal Rising Star Nominee, 2019
- Gartner Innovation in Digital, Social and Mobile Communications Finalist, 2019
- Women in IT US Digital Innovator of Year, Finalist, 2018
- Aetna Phenomenal Women in Tech, 2018

After graduating with a BA from Northwestern University, Daryl earned an MBA in Marketing and Management from the Wharton School - only two years later, at the age of 24. She is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States.