“Following our benchmark-exceeding debut as an independent conference with Women of the West in L.A. in June, I’m humbled by the enthusiasm from our speakers, sponsors, partners and attendees for this conference series’ return to NYC for the first time as a Melinc production,” said event founder, journalist Melissa Grego, former Editor-in-Chief of Broadcasting & Cable. “We are presenting our most expansive program yet in this series, with five speaker sessions, the break-out networking round and a mimosa breakfast all designed to fit conveniently into the start of participants’ business day.”

Women of New York is the second event in the Keynotes & Cocktails series which follows the Women of the West event that was held in June. Photos and a recap of Women of the West here.

Women of New York will feature the following panels –

REINVENT YOURSELF

Veterans of big, successful career transitions share how and why they made the leap, what surprises they encountered in their new chapter and other wisdom they picked up along the way. You may just be inspired to shake your own career up!

Moderator: Michelle Miller, Correspondent, CBS News

Panelists:

• Karen Aviram Beatty, Managing Director, Global Search Partnerships, Google, Inc.
• Ivana Kirkbride, Chief Content Officer, go90
• Caryn Mandabach, Television Producer
• Lisa Schwartz, Co-President, Sundance Selects and IFC Films

BRAND YOURSELF

Many of us in media are pros at branding, well, brands. But what about branding ourselves? In this inspiring and candid session, leading executives reveal how to apply what they know about running businesses to running their own careers. Learn from them how to tap into the power of your professional brand.  

Moderator: Mona Scott-Young, Founder & CEO, Monami Entertainment and Executive Producer, Love & Hip Hop on VH1

Panelists:

• Shelley Brindle, Principal at Brindle and Associates, LLC and Global Ambassador, Vital Voices
• Nancy Mendelson Gates, Partner and Co-head, Television Talent Department, United Talent Agency
• Kathleen Grace, Chief Creative Officer, New Form Digital
• Laura Molen, Executive VP, Lifestyle and Hispanic Advertising Sales Group, NBCUniversal

INVESTMENT, INCUBATION AND INNOVATION

Guess who is uniquely positioned to spark growth and innovation among female-led and -driven businesses? You! From gender lens investing to the inside track on identifying investors, partners and incubators, this panel of experts reveals what you can do today to both give and receive support from other women in media, entertainment and technology — and be an innovator yourself.

Moderator: Rebecca Jarvis, Chief Business, Technology & Economics Correspondent, ABC News; and the Host, Creator, and Managing Editor of Real Biz with Rebecca Jarvis

Panelists:

• Amber Allen, CEO/Chief Strategist, Double A Events
• Heather Cabot, Co-Author, Geek Girl Rising (St. Martin’s Press May 2017); Angel Investor and Adjunct Professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
• Jennifer Kavanagh, Principal, Brave Media Ventures
• Julie Menin, Commissioner, NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment

Women of New York will dive deeply into the hot topics most important to women working in media, entertainment and tech with expert-led networking breakout sessions. Each registered attendee will be invited to request in advance which breakout they wish to join. 

Topics/Leaders are:

• Fostering an Innovative Mindset  | Amber Allen, CEO/Chief Strategist, Double A Events
• How to Build Great Corporate Culture | Shelley Brindle, Principal at Brindle and Associates, LLC and Global Ambassador, Vital Voices
• Ad Sales + Marketing | Camille Garriga, Head of Business Development, Vertebrae VR
• Digital Media | Joy Jones, VP of Products, The Associated Press
• Building a Career in Marketing | Tricia Melton, President, Melton Marketing
• How to Find What’s Missing In the Marketplace | Christina Miller, President Turner’s Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Boomerang
• Changing Careers | Marie Nelson, VP, News & Public Affairs, PBS
• Are You A Freelancer or an Entrepreneur? | Maria Rapetskaya, Founder/Creative Director, Undefined Creative
• Programming + Development | Christina Wayne, CEO, Assembly Entertainment
• Inside the Minds of Digital Influencers | Ivana Kirkbride, Chief Content Officer, go90
• Virtual Reality | Rebecca Howard, Senior VP of Emerging Platforms and Partnerships, Discovery Communications

SPONSORS AND PARTNERS: Sponsors and partners in this year’s edition of Women of New York, include Gold Sponsor AMC Networks; Silver Sponsor HBO; Scholarship Sponsor Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Boomerang; Brand Sponsors The Associated Press and PBS; Raffle Partners Cartoon Network, Panty Drop, Rent the Runway, Roku and Vera Bradley; Official PR Partner Scandal Co-Active, Event Production Partner Beck Media & Marketing; Marketing Partners Broadcasting & Cable, NATPE, NAMIC, PromaxBDA, BAFTA NY, SAG-AFTRA, Westside Digital Mix and Horowitz Research; Snack Partner Bare Snacks.

EVENT BACKGROUND: Keynotes & Cocktails, the premier, off-the-record conference series for women of media, entertainment and tech, was founded in Los Angeles in 2010 to serve the women of our business community. Presented annually in Los Angeles (as Women of the West) and New York City (as Women of NY) by Melinc.com, (mel-link dot com), the conference and networking company founded by journalist Melissa Grego, former Editor-in-Chief of TV business publication Broadcasting & Cable, the conference series provides a powerful combination of the most high-interest speakers and unique networking features.

In late 2015, Grego, acquired Keynotes & Cocktails from B&C, which continues to support the event as one of the conference series’ founding Marketing Partners.

Additional information on the conference, including individuals and companies who have participated in the past, can be found at melinc.com. A limited number of tickets and sponsorship packages are still available. For agenda, speaker gallery, sponsor information and to register go to www.melinc.com/ny.

*The use of The Paley Center for Media’s facilities does not constitute endorsement by the Paley Center of any views expressed during this event.