Thursday 2023

Roger Brown
Session Panelist
Roger Brown is the Opinion Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, which he joined in November 2020.
Katie Sanders
Session Panelist
Katie Sanders is the managing editor of PolitiFact at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.
Julie Anderson
Session Panelist
Julie Anderson is Editor-in-Chief of two of Florida’s largest daily newspapers, the Orlando Sentinel and the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Zac Anderson
Session Panelist
Zac Anderson covers state politics for Gannett's Florida newspapers with a focus on Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Jamie Rich
Session Moderator
Jamie Rich is the founder of Flamingo, Florida's only statewide lifestyle magazine.
Gigi Ortwein
Session Speaker
Creative Director, Sarasota Magazine
Laura Walker
Session Panelist
A member of the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) leadership team since August 2016, Laura manages the NAVC Marketing and Sponsorship teams as well as the NAVC Media division which includes the peer-reviewed clinical journals Today’s Veterinary Practice and Today’s Veterinary Nurse as well as the business journal Today’s Veterinary Business and the suite of Veterinary Advantage distribution-facing media products.
John Sotomayor
Session Panelist
John Sotomayor is the publisher and Editor-in-Chief of EMBRACE Magazine, the first-ever and only LGBTQ+ publication in North Central Florida, based out of Ocala, and winner of the Florida Magazine Association 2021 Magazine of the Year.
Michael G. Kane
Keynote Speaker - Opening Session
Michael G. Kane was named SVP/Local Market Optimization for Gannett in January 2023.  He has served in many leadership roles spanning 41 years in the media business and joined Gannett in 1992.
Kyle McDowell
Session Speaker
Kyle McDowell is a USA Today and WSJ bestselling author, speaker, and leadership expert.
Corey Johnson
Keynote Speaker FSNE Awards Lunch
Corey Johnson is an investigative reporter for ProPublica.
Julian Placino
Session Speaker
Julian Placino is a recruiter turned speaker, recruitment marketing consultant, and media entrepreneur.