StartOutLA & Out Web Fest this Saturday
USE PROMO CODE startout1 FOR A DISCOUNTED RATE!
StartOut and OUT Web Fest are teaming up to bring you a panel on how media influencers are using new platforms to grow their business and brand!
Now more than ever, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender voices are leading the way for LGBT-owned businesses. Whether they are specifically catering to an LGBT audience or a broader one, this panel shares knowledge about how media pioneers and business owners are monetizing their "pink" point of view. Ranging from sports, fashion, film, PR/marketing and small business, our diverse panel will share insights and practical tools to optimize your brand on-line and in the real world.
LOCATION:
American Film Institute (AFI) Louis Mayer Library
2021 N Western Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
TIME: 6:00-7:30pm
MODERATOR:
Brian Rodda , Founder, Brian Rodda Consulting
Brian Rodda has vast experience in viral marketing and has worked passionately in YouTube Strategy and Social Media strategy since 2007. He is a founding member of an aggregator for WGA written web series, and took that experience to found Brian Rodda Consulting in 2011. Brian has worked on promoting numerous notable digital series, including: Husbands (31,143 Subscribers, 2,145,151 views on Youtube) the web’s first marriage-equality comedy, Squaresville (31,401 Subscribers, 1,772,230 views on Youtube) and Whole Day Down ( Starring Willie Garson, Successful 40K+ Kickstarter campaign). Additionally, Brian has consulted with over 60 content creators to promote and create thriving communities for their properties, including Tello Films and Croissant Man (Vimeo Staff Pick). For the past two years, Brian has been the digital strategist for the 34th and 35th Annual Razzie Awards! Brian Rodda produced and hosted two shows on YouTube in 2014: Tailor Made with Brian Rodda and Digital Natives: Content Creation’s Front Line with over 80,000 views combined on YouTube. When not working with clients, hosting or producing, Brian can be found hiking Runyon Canyon, and exploring new cooking recipes with the exotic south American grain, Quinoa.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
PANELISTS:
Cyd Zeigler, Co-Founder, OutSports.com
Cyd Zeigler is co-founder of Outsports.com. He is a former sports editor for Genre Magazine, former associate editor for the New York Blade, and has written for Playboy, MSNBC, CNN, New York Press and Out Magazine. He has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports Radio, CNN, and MSNBC as well as contributing to Sports Illustrated, Logo and the New York Times. His latest book, Fair Play: How LGBT Athletes Are Claiming Their Rightful Place in Sports, tells the story of how sports has been radically transformed for LGBT athletes in the past four years.
In 1999, Zeigler and Jim Buzinski founded Outsports.com
Zeigler is credited with breaking the story of John Amaechi coming out of the closet in February 2007. Amaechi had contacted Zeigler months before, and Zeigler connected Amaechi with the publicist Howard Bragman, who had assisted other gay athletes in coming out. Zeigler has also broken national stories including the coming out of then-NFL prospect Michael Sam, the late gay brother of NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, transgender Div. 1 NCAA athlete Kye Allums, openly gay football players Wade Davis and Alan Gendreau, and a racial headline by ESPN in reference to Jeremy Lin.
Zeigler presently lives in Los Angeles with his husband, Dan Pinar, a dentist.
Leon Wu, Founder, Sharpe Suiting
Leon Wu is the Founder and CEO of luxury clothing label Sharpe, which creates custom and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories and lifestyle products. Three years ago, inspired by queer style from the LGBT community, Wu created the trademarked formula AndropometicsTM, which revolutionizes custom fit based on an individual’s personal identity and style.
Sharpe has become a rising name in Hollywood providing custom clothing for celebrity and entertainment industry clients. Sharpe suits have been photographed on the red carpet at Cannes, Oscars, and Emmy’s, worn in Top 40 music videos, and featured in numerous publications including The Huffington Post, Fashionista, The Advocate, Frontiers Media, Curve, Dapper Q, Qwear, and Buzzfeed.
Sharpe is dedicated in supporting entertainment ventures that bring positive social impact to the LGBT community. Wu serves as a Producer and Advisor of various Hollywood film projects, most recently the Asian-American LGBTQ short film Run for the Truth featuring Kiralee Hayashi and Highdee Kuan, directed by Damien Steck. We serves as a Board Advisor for Out Web Fest, the first Web Series Festival dedicated to celebrating short-form content by and for the LGBTQ community. Sharpe will also be a corporate sponsor this year for the OUTFEST Film Festival.
Wu holds a B.A. in Economics at UCLA and an M.B.A. at New York University Stern School of Business with an emphasis on Marketing, Change Leadership and Luxury & Retail focus.
Marquita Thomas, Executive Director, Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
Marquita Thomas is the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, an award-winning community activist and a branding and marketing consultant with over 12 years of experience.
Bridget McManus, Vice-President of Development, Tello Films
Bridget McManus is a television host, screenwriter and award-winning comedian. She hosted two television shows for the Logo Network; Bridget McManus Presents: That Time of The Month and the award-winning comedy talk show, Brunch with Bridget. She has also hosted the self-help series The Jam, The Stonewall Inn's 40th Anniversary Benefit in New York City, and was a correspondent for the 8th International Gay Games in Cologne, Germany.
McManus is one of the few female warm-up comedians working in television. She was the warm-up comedian and the host's on-camera sidekick on CBS’s The Queen Latifah Show. McManus has also been the warm-up comic for NBC’s Last Comic Standing, CBS’s The Jeff Probst Show, Fox’s The Boris & Nicole Show, ABC's The FABLife, FOX's The Real and NBC's The Wall.
Bridget McManus is an alumnus of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She graduated from The Second City’s conservatory program in Los Angeles and has trained at The Groundlings. On tello she created, starred and executive produced the two seasons of McManusLand and the romantic drama Maybelle.
Date and Time
Saturday May 7, 2016
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM PDT
