NAMIC Previews Speaker Line-Up For 28th Annual Conference Held As Part Of The Cable Industry's Diversity Week

NEW YORK, Sept. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association for Multi-ethnicity In Communications (NAMIC) today announced a preview of the speakers confirmed to date for the 28th Annual NAMIC Conference.  Scheduled for September 16-17, 2014, the Annual NAMIC Conference will be held at the New York Marriott Marquis as part of the cable industry's Diversity Week.

Experts and thought leaders representing various aspects of the media and entertainment industry will join NAMIC to take part in a rich agenda focused on three learning tracks: Business Solutions, Content & Imagery and Leading & Learning.  Highlighting this year's conference are exciting sessions and panel discussions moderated by Dr. John Fitzgerald Gates, principal and chief strategist, Criticality Management Consulting; Lisa Davis, entertainment attorney and partner at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, PC; Betty Lo, vice president, Community Alliances and Consumer Engagement, Nielsen; Keith Michael Brown, senior vice president, Programming, HLN; Shalini Ramachandran, staff reporter, The Wall Street Journal and more of the industry's notable business leaders.

The 28^th Annual NAMIC Conference will kick-off with the Breakfast Recognizing the Cablefax 2014 Most Influential Minorities in Cable, featuring special guest, Debra L. Lee, chairman and CEO, BET Networks. Other special events scheduled as part of the conference include the L. Patrick Mellon Mentorship Program Luncheon, a special luncheon honoring winners of the Excellence in Multicultural Marketing Awards (EMMAs), evening receptions and other networking opportunities.

Guy Garcia, president and CEO of Mentametrix, Inc. and president of new mainstream initiatives at Ethnifacts will deliver an exciting keynote address.  A multimedia entrepreneur and social trend tracker, Garcia is the award-winning author of The New Mainstream: How the Multicultural Consumer is Transforming American Business. Renowned industry analyst, Laura Martin, CFA, Entertainment & Internet and managing director at Needham & Company, LLC returns this year with a Business Solutions master class. In 2013, Martin facilitated one of the most heralded sessions resulting in extraordinary reception among conference attendees. With the dynamic speaker line-up for the 28^th Annual NAMIC Conference expanding daily, those confirmed to date include:

• Andrea Agnew, executive director, Workforce Diversity & Inclusion, Comcast Cable
• Michael Armstrong, senior vice president and general manager of BET International and Paramount Channel, Viacom International Media Networks
• Franklyn Athias, senior vice president, IP Communications and Services, Comcast Cable
• Daisy Auger-Dominguez, vice president, Talent Acquisition and Organization & Workforce Diversity, Disney | ABC Television Group
• Matthew Barnhill, executive vice president, Corporate Market Research, BET Networks
• David Chitel, chairman & founder, New Generation Latino Consortium and CEO & founder, NGL Media
• David Cohen, executive vice president, Comcast Corporation
• Craig Cuttner, senior vice president, Technology Development and Standards, HBO
• Robert DeFrank, vice president, Human Resources, A+E Networks
• Mark DePietro, vice president, Strategy & Business Development, ARRIS
• Brian Edge, senior director, Legal Affairs, Discovery Communications
• Monica Gil, senior vice president & general manager, Multicultural Growth and Strategy, Nielsen
• Joan Gillman, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Media Services, Time Warner Cable
• Marsha Haygood, author, talent development expert, empowerment coach - president, Stepwise Associates
• Karen Horne, vice president, programming talent development & inclusion, NBC Entertainment & Universal Television
• Dr. Robin Johnson, Dance of Leadership; Career by Design; Multicultural Team Building
• Bridget Kimball, president, CCAD LLC, Comcast
• Janet Manzullo, group vice president, Talent Acquisition & Movement, Time Warner Cable
• Lucinda Martinez, senior vice president, Multicultural Marketing, HBO
• Marisol Martinez, senior director, GROW Marketing, Time Warner Cable
• Salvador Mendoza, vice president, Diversity & Inclusion, NBCUniversal
• Alicia Menendez, host, "Alicia Menendez Tonight," Fusion
• Antoinette Miller, recruiter, HBO
• Carla Moore, vice president, Talent Acquisition, HBO
• Jerrell Moore, vice president, Diversity and Inclusion, Time Warner Cable
• Geraldine Moriba, executive producer of Program Development and vice president, Diversity & Inclusion, CNN
• Joy Pena, manager, Organization & Workforce Diversity, Disney | ABC Television Group
• Maria Perez-Brown, president, Perez-Brown Media Group
• Michael K. Powell, president and CEO, National Cable & Telecommunications Association
• Lynette Ramirez, senior vice president, Programming, NUVOtv and Fuse
• Craig Robinson, executive vice president, Chief Diversity Officer, NBCUniversal
• Lucia Rodriguez, senior director, Multicultural Marketing, Comcast Cable
• Jared Segal, recruiter, HBO
• Eglon Simons, president and CEO, National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications
• Emory Walton, vice president, Distribution, A+E Networks
• Adriana Waterston, senior vice president, Marketing & Business Development, Horowitz Associates, Inc.

NAMIC's president and CEO, Eglon Simons noted: "NAMIC is pleased to have the partnership and support of our sponsors, planning committee and the industry's diversity champions at-large, as we actively expand the list of distinguished speakers and session facilitators poised to partner with us in producing a highly educational and insightful conference program."    

Sponsors of the 28^th Annual NAMIC Conference include Al Jazeera America, AMC Networks, ARRIS, Aspire, BET Networks, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, ESPN, Fuse, Ion Media Networks, NCTA, NUVOtv, PM Publicidad, REVOLT, Scripps Networks Interactive, Time Warner Cable and Up TV.   

For more information on the 28th Annual NAMIC Conference or for inquiries pertaining to sponsorship, contact Sandra Girado, NAMIC's senior director of Meetings and Events at 212-594-5985.  Online registration can be accessed by visiting www.namic.com.

ABOUT NAMIC
NAMIC (National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications) is the premier organization focusing on multi-ethnic diversity in the communications industry. Founded in 1980 as a non-profit trade association, today NAMIC comprises 2,200 professionals belonging to a network of 16 chapters nationwide. Through initiatives that focus on education, advocacy and empowerment, NAMIC champions equity and inclusion in the workforce, with special attention given to ensuring that the leadership cadres of our nation's communications industry giants reflect the multi-ethnic richness of the populations they serve. For more information, please visit www.namic.com and stay connected to NAMIC on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

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