Barbara “Bob” Allen

Barbara  “Bob” Allen is a Los Angeles-based journalist, trainer and consultant. She is the founder and director of CollegeJournalism.org, author of the College Journalism Newsletter and editor of the Student Press Report. Her 25-year track record of improving journalism education and the student journalist experience began when she served as a reporter and teen section editor for her hometown newspaper. She then assumed the role of adviser to the student newspaper at Oklahoma State University before being named the director of student media. In 2018, she moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, to serve as the managing editor of the Poynter Institute, where she later was named Director of College Programming.

She founded College Journalism in 2025, working with journalism educators and students across the country. She loves being outdoors, fishing, reading, playing games and listening to live music with her husband, a professional musician.

Leire Bascaran

Leire is the vice president of demand at flytedesk, leading the corporate business and connecting brands to the university space to reach students on campus.

Previously, Leire served as chief strategy officer and co-founder of Helen & Gertrude, a digital agency, where she integrated client services, media and analytics to build award-winning marketing campaigns for Fortune 500 companies. Her background spans sales and marketing at Xerox, data analytics and client delivery leadership.

Brian Block

Brian Block is a nighttime economy management expert with 25 years of city government experience specializing in planning, placemaking, live music and entertainment. For nearly a decade, he has served as the inaugural nightlife and entertainment manager for the City of Austin. In this role, Brian leads Austin’s best-in-class sound management program, serves as a liaison and resource for local venues, and fosters vibrant, safe, and well-managed entertainment districts while balancing residential quality of life. Brian is also the founding president and current board treasurer of the Nighttime Economy Culture & Policy Alliance (NITECAP), a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing nighttime management in the US.

Robin Cangie

Robin is Director of product marketing on flytedesk’s Service R&D team, where she leads go-to-market strategy for products moving from experiment to launch. Her marketing career spans nearly 20 years in the technology, software and corporate learning industries. She’s done the corporate thing, the startup thing, and is now happily doing the mission-driven thing at flytedesk. Robin is also the co-founder of Small Robin Press, an indie press devoted to supporting, celebrating, and amplifying the stories and voices that traditional publishing overlooks. In her spare time, she travels, gardens and writes fantasy stories for children and former children. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her partner and two magical cats.

Gaby DeLeon

Gaby DeLeon is a marketing and events professional specializing in conference programming, brand partnerships, and experiential marketing. At SXSW, she oversees partner programming, developing opportunities for leading brands to integrate across SXSW programming, engage target audiences and showcase their content and talent through thought leadership sessions and live music events. Her career includes leadership roles in marketing sponsorships, and event experiences across technology, higher education and the arts.  As head of marketing at Stellic, vice president of marketing at Acadeum, and director of events at Civitas Learning, Gaby built marketing functions from the ground up, leaning into event sponsorships and user conferences as strategic growth drivers. Now Gaby applies these core marketing and community-building principles to the entertainment industry at SXSW, bringing a unique perspective on creating impactful event experiences that connect people, brands, and ideas around common goals to unlock meaningful business growth.

Brett Eden

Brett is vice president of campus partnerships at flytedesk, where he focuses on university partnerships, commercialization and new models for corporate engagement in higher education. Previously, he spent nearly 20 of his 30 years in higher education at the University of Utah working across business development, corporate partnerships, auxiliary services, licensing, branding and campus engagement. His background centers on helping universities create greater value through collaboration and more coordinated approaches to external partnerships.

Nathan Engebretson

Nathan has spent his career turning important messages into meaningful action, from connecting people with health care to encouraging civic participation. As an account director at flytedesk, he helps nonprofit, advocacy and political clients reach college students through campaigns built around their goals.

Previously, Nathan spent 20 years at mission-driven organizations, moving from community health education to national and regional marketing leadership. His campaigns helped patients find care, challenged stigma and built brand trust. Having been the client himself, he understands how to turn a mission into a campaign that delivers.

Outside work, Nathan enjoys sailing, a good book or movie, and trips to the dog park with his two pooches.

Matt Fasano

Matt leads strategic growth initiatives for NEXT GEN·TEAM’s business unit, including new and existing partnership expansion and commercialization, product and service offering innovation, and value creation for client partners by integrating THE·TEAM’s institutional and audience access. When not negotiating complex deals with his 4-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter, Matt enjoys cycling and snowboarding.

Sarah Fowler

Sarah is a senior manager of media at NEXT GEN·TEAM, where she leads the strategy, planning and execution of media campaigns designed to reach the next generation of consumers. Since joining the team in 2022, she has specialized in campus media strategy, connecting brands with college audiences through on-campus advertising and university-related publications. A University of South Carolina graduate, Sarah is a proud Gamecock fan who also enjoys baking and art.

Piper Jackson-Sevy

Piper is the co-founder of flytedesk and currently leads the Service R&D team supporting new initiatives to fund and support student media. She lives in Boulder, Colorado, and spends her free time skiing, running, climbing, biking or gardening.

Sasha Kalinia

Sasha Kalinia is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin studying advertising with a minor in business. As student business operations manager at Texas Student Media, she brings hands-on experience in advertising, social media and student leadership. Throughout her time at TSM, she has managed influencer partnerships, led social media initiatives and supported advertising operations. Passionate about media, marketing and collaboration, she loves to explore new ways to connect brands with their audiences.

Andy Langer

Andy Langer is an Austin-based journalist, broadcaster and moderator who currently serves as co-director of arts and humanities at the Moritz Center for Societal Impact at The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work. He previously served as UT’s first-ever senior director of live music and entertainment. He has been a writer at large for Texas Monthly since 1997 and spent 14 years covering music and culture as a contributing editor at Esquire. He also spent two decades as an afternoon radio host at KGSR and Austin City Limits Radio. A six-time winner of the Austin Chronicle’s Best Music Journalist award, he hosted Texas Monthly’s National Podcast of Texas, and his work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, Bon Appétit, Southern Living and Billboard. He got his start, way back when, at UT’s Daily Texan.

Will Louis

Will Louis is a junior at the University of Texas at Austin studying advertising. As the social media and revenue specialist at Texas Student Media, he brings a strategic eye for brand storytelling, digital engagement and community building. In his prior roles, including leading initiatives and campaigns across campus, he has driven impactful audience growth, hosted engaging events and sharpened his expertise in digital media strategy. Beyond his professional work on campus, he channels his passion for pop culture, music, and media into creative digital projects while staying dialed into the latest trends across platforms.

Erin McCarthy

Erin is the strategy director at flytedesk, managing client relationships and strategizing how major brands can effectively connect with students on campus. Previously, Erin has worked with brands including Planned Parenthood, Calm, Chipotle, New Balance, Pinterest and Patrón. Her background spans marketing and consumer insights, with a focus purpose-driven brand behavior. Erin lives in Boston.

Kieran McClean

Kieran McClean is a senior at North Carolina State University studying business administration and marketing. As general manager of the Student Media Business Office (SMBO), she brings two years of hands-on leadership. In her prior role as digital media and communications lead, she led SMBO’s first marketing program, hosted community events, and even spoke at the 2025 CMBAM conference in California. Beyond SMBO, she hosts the podcast That’s What They Said on NC State’s WKNC 88.1 FM, tackling college stigmas and student stereotypes for a global audience.

Bob Mackay

Bob Mackay is a results-driven media executive with 20+ years of success driving revenue growth, market share gains, digital transformation and operational excellence.  He is a proven leader in building high-performance sales organizations creating a working environment that is fun and fair, with firm accountability resulting in inspired self-motivated employees exceeding their potential.  He has worked in the Austin, Dallas and Houston markets in Texas as well as Chicago and Los Angeles.  He has worked for Audacy, CBS, iHeart, Radio One and Cox Media Group.

Chantell Preston

With her Texas-sized vision and no-nonsense approach, Chantell Preston has spent more than 30 years building, scaling and transforming businesses in healthcare while challenging the myth that women must be perfect to be powerful. She is the author of “The Success Lie: Reframing Your Reality to Thrive Personally and Professionally,” which has appeared on the USA TODAY and Los Angeles Times bestseller lists and both the woman and business lists on Amazon.

Chantell is a serial entrepreneur, investor, executive strategist, keynote speaker and host of the Get Real. Get Results podcast. As founder and CEO of Preston Partners, she advises organizations on growth, strategy and leadership, drawing on decades of experience leading multimillion-dollar healthcare operations across the U.S. through complex industry change.

Chantell’s expertise spans founding, scaling and successfully exiting multiple companies, including Mentis Neuro Health, which was acquired by private equity. Her work extends well beyond healthcare. She is co-founder and owner of Signal San Francisco, a League One Volleyball professional women’s team; owner of The Dance Barre HTX, the largest privately owned dance studio in Houston; and managing partner of The Collectiv, a community-powered venture fund focused on expanding access and opportunity in sports and health technology investing.

A devoted mother of three daughters, Chantell lives in Houston, Texas, where she continues to build, invest, and empower others to lead — and live — on their own terms.

You can find Chantell at:

chantellpreston.com
instagram.com/chantell_preston
linkedin.com/in/chantellpreston
youtube.com/@ChantellPreston

Leila Samhat

Leila Samhat is the director of marketing at Moody Center, overseeing event and venue marketing, digital strategy, creative and PR efforts for the award-winning arena. Prior to joining Moody Center, Leila served as director of marketing at the Peace Center in Greenville, South Carolina, leading marketing strategy for concerts, comedy and cultural programming, along with subscription and single ticket campaigns for its touring Broadway series.  Her expertise spans audience analytics, media buying, digital marketing, and promotional campaigns across a wide range of live events. With a background in marketing leadership and event operations, Leila brings a well-rounded perspective on building audiences, promoting live entertainment, and turning effective marketing strategies into measurable results.

Amanda Shaftel & Aaron Weiss

Texas natives Aaron Weiss and Amanda Shaftel are the co-founders and operators of Cowboy Pools®. Aaron spent the first 12 years of his career as a documentary filmmaker, telling the stories of nonprofits and NGOs alongside several feature-length passion projects. Amanda built her career in marketing, partnerships and event production across the music, social impact and nonprofit worlds.

The idea for Cowboy Pools was born in the pursuit of an attainable backyard oasis. Aaron and Amanda had a vision to offer an easy, affordable way to cool off in the six plus months of Texas heat, that would also add to the aesthetic of an outdoor space. They launched in 2020 as a passion project for the good people of Austin. Six years later, Cowboy Pools is a nationally recognized brand shipping temperature-controlled soaking pools to backyards across the country.

Cowboy Pools has been featured in: Dwell, Wall Street Journal, Texas Monthly, Modern Luxury, Architectural Digest and Austin Business Journal.

Jake Sorensen

Jake likes to smoke meat. And to eat it. He is a supporter of Arsenal (reigning champions of England), Dortmund, Atletico Madrid and AC Milan. Just like Toby Keith, he often thinks that he should’ve beeen a cowboy. His wife and kids are an endless source of happiness and fun, and the best times are regular family game nights. Especially if one ends with the game board being thrown across the room, either in anger or in triumph. He reads sci-fi, fantasy (lots of Brandon Sanderson), historical fiction, historical non-fiction, well … lots of kinds of books. And did he mention that he likes to cook barbecue? A lot?

In his spare time, Jake is the vice president of campus sponsorships at flytedesk. Prior to flytedesk, he built a 22-year career at the University of Utah where he led student media and ran advertising, sponsorship and partnership development for the university. He is now excited to utilize that experience to help brands and universities navigate commercialization and corporate engagement on college campuses. And maybe, someday, he’ll get a chance to be a cowboy.

Markesha Wattree

Markesha is a Canva learning consultant and long-time educator with nearly 20 years of experience in education and educational technology. With degrees in marketing and curriculum and instruction, her work has focused on professional learning, technology implementation and helping educators and organizations use digital tools to communicate ideas and create engaging content.

Anna Wong

Anna Wong is an experienced marketing and communications professional with a career spanning live entertainment, media and event marketing. As director of regional marketing at Live Nation Entertainment, she brings expertise in marketing strategy, audience engagement, and driving ticket revenue.  Previously, Anna spent nearly 18 years with the Frank Erwin Center at The University of Texas at Austin, advancing through several marketing and sales leadership roles. A proud UT Austin graduate with a degree in communications, Anna combines deep knowledge of the Austin entertainment market with extensive experience connecting audiences to live events.