Read biographies of feature guests for the 2018 Marketing, Media & PR Networking Forum being held tomorrow evening at Chicago Chop House

MODERATOR

Diana Gutiérrez, The Jam, News Reporter, WCIU
8602463056?profile=originalDiana Gutierrez is a Mexican-American Chicago native. Born to immigrant parents, she is a bilingual journalist. Diana is one of two news reporters on WCIU’s ‘The Jam’. Born on the city’s Southwest side, Gutierrez understands the importance of unbiased journalism and is passionate about storytelling. She is a first-generation college graduate and received her bachelor’s degree from DePaul University in 2016.

She is a former multimedia journalist at Weigel Broadcasting Co.’s WBND-TV in South Bend, Indiana, and previously served as a programming intern at Chicago’s ABC 7 News.

DISCUSSION PANELISTS

Julianne Bartosz, Public Relations Manager, Chicago White Sox
8602463871?profile=originalJulianne Bartosz is the manager of public relations for the Chicago White Sox, joining the front office team full-time at the end of the 2014 season. Her responsibilities include communicating the team’s off-the-field efforts, pitching promotional nights and player feature stories, planning the annual SoxFest convention that welcomes thousands of fans to the Hilton Chicago for three days as well as the Game Changers event series, overseeing the team’s market research program, creating ballpark experiences for influencers, writing content for pre-game activities and assisting with the Sox multicultural community outreach.

The Mokena, Illinois, native is proud to combine her writing and event planning skills with her passion for sports. She played multiple sports as a child and continued to play softball and ice hockey at the collegiate level during her time at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, where she graduated in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and public relations and minors in English and business. She was very involved at Saint Mary’s, participating in various student organizations and maintaining multiple jobs and internships on campus. Julie continued her education at Benedictine University while working for the Sox, earning her MBA with concentrations in marketing and entrepreneurship in December 2014.

While the baseball season keeps her busy, Julie is a creative person who enjoys giving back. She’s a member of the Saint Mary’s Alumni Board of Directors, a reading partner for Working in the Schools as well as a mentor through the Benedictine University Mentorship Program and various events as she meets aspiring professionals looking to break into the PR and/or sports worlds.

Freddie Baez, VP of Experiential, Flowers Communications Group
8602463690?profile=originalFreddie Baez brings more than 20 years of award-winning expertise in experiential marketing to Flowers Communications Group. Known in the experiential industry as the “go to” guy, he has served as a chief strategist, developed creative, trailblazing concepts and executed hundreds of brand experiences from event activations to concert tours to nationwide sampling programs. Freddie is focused on producing innovative, results-driven experiences that deepen consumer connections with the agency’s existing clients and helping to drive new business that leverages the agency’s experiential capabilities.

Freddie is also the managing partner of the experiential production agency TCG Collective. He has produced event platforms for brands such as Smirnoff Vodka, Don Julio Tequila, Midori, Guinness, and Viacom Networks. He was the event director on the reality show "Master of the Mix" on VH1, Madonna's Nightlife Exchange event with Smirnoff Vodka and co-creator of the Guinness "Live it Up" campaign.

Freddie believes in promoting diversity in the world of advertising and marketing, curating lifestyle campaigns, and producing experiences that truly resonate with consumers. He is also a member of the www.ADCOLOR.org.
Expertise: Producer, Ideation, Strategy, Television Production, Live Music Production, Brand Management, Sponsorship Activation, and Adult Beverage Marketing.

Judith Ruiz-Branch, PR & Community Outreach, Better Business Bureau Chicago
8602464070?profile=originalA Chicago native, Judith Ruiz-Branch is a passionate and driven media connoisseur. She graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Latino Studies. Judith has extensive news, media and public speaking skills and has gained years of experience at various outlets in Chicago including Crain’s Chicago Business, CLTV, WGN-TV, and Rivet Radio. Judith also co-founded a nonprofit, the Angel Gabriel Foundation, in memory of her Uncle who passed away from cancer. The foundation’s mission is to offer essential support for the fight against cancer and beyond. Combining her media experience, philanthropic spirit and passion for empowering people, she now proudly serves as the Public Relations, Community Outreach Coordinator, and Spanish Spokesperson for the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois.

Claudia Vera, National Category Manager, Hispanic, KeHE Distributors
8602464462?profile=originalClaudia Vera was an early transplant to the beautiful City of Wind, an environment that would later fuel her passion for diversity in food throughout her career. Earning a degree in English Literature and later additional studies in Marketing and Communications she proceeded to work with the Latin American group for Beam Suntory before her move to Grupo Bimbo, the largest baking company in the World. In San Diego, California she continued to develop and manage brands for General Mills before returning home to Chicago as Director of Business Development in Latin America for Mintel.

Now a seasoned Sales & Marketing professional in the American market she sought out the ability to effect the food retail market nationally as a Category Manager. Holding 15 years of experience developing a strategic approach to Sales & Marketing in the Natural & Specialty food channels, she is currently a Category Manager leading the national growth in the Hispanic Category for KeHE Distributors.

Outside of developing her career and development of knowledge in the Hispanic consumer Claudia enjoys time working out and following a Ketogenic lifestyle She enjoys taking boutique fitness classes like Lagree and Orangetheory and is currently traveling with her 17 year old son visiting colleges as he is about to embark in his very own collegiate experience.

Samantha Renovato, Sr. Manager, Diversity & Inclusion Analytics, Nielsen
8602464082?profile=originalSam Renovato is the Sr Manager, D&I Analytics at Nielsen. In this role, she is responsible for driving accountability through quarterly dashboards created for Nielsen Business Leaders to track and monitor trends and changes in Nielsen’s workforce. She also manages Nielsen’s participation in external diversity surveys that help benchmark and identify opportunities for Nielsen.

She began her career at Nielsen in 2012 and has held various roles in the Human Resources organization from HR Project Analyst to HR Business Partner. In October 2015, she joined the Diversity & Inclusion Team. In 2016, she was a guest speaker at the Colombia Leadership Workshop, held in Bogota, where she shared Nielsen’s D&I strategy. In 2017, she traveled to our Dubai office to understand diversity in the UAE.

Sam serves on the Board of the Aurora Puerto Rican Cultural Council and she is also a member of the HOLA Employee Resource Group. She was featured on Hispanic Executive Magazine as one of the #NextGenLideres: Chicago Talent to Watch. She is a graduate from Lewis University where she double majored in HR and Psychology and obtained a minor in Business Studies. Sam is a native of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

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