Speaker Bios
Eugene Carr, Founder and President of Patron Technology, has been an innovator in area of e-marketing for arts & cultural organizations for the past decade. In 1996, he founded CultureFinder.com, which became an award-winning nationwide arts calendar and online ticketing service.
Gene founded Patron Technology in 2001 with Ross Kudwitt. The company’s main product, PatronMail, is a web-based e-mail marketing system used by over 1,700 institutions in all 50 states and eight foreign countries.
Gene earned a BA in History from Oberlin College, and a music degree from Oberlin Conservatory, earning Phi Kappa Lambda honors, and then earned an MBA from Columbia Business School. After receiving his MBA, he worked in Gold and Platinum Card marketing at American Express. Gene returned to arts management serving as the executive director of the American Symphony Orchestra from 1991-1996, while serving in the same role for the Concordia Orchestra.
Gene is the author of three books on e-marketing: Wired for Culture: How E-mail is Revolutionizing Arts Marketing (Third Edition) (2007), Sign-Up for Culture: The Arts Marketer's Guide to Building an Effective E-mail List (Second Edition) (2007), and Web Sites for Culture: Essential Principles for Great Arts Web Sites (2005).
Chelsea Jones has been working for Patron Technology since July of 2006, first as a Client Services Representative and now as the Client Services Manager. In her four years with the company, she has assisted a growing client base with their use of PatronMail and helped them to learn about effective e-marketing. She has participated in and led webinars for Patron Technology such as PatronMail Basic Training and Getting Started with PatronMail: Tips for Creating Your First Newsletter. Chelsea graduated from SUNY Purchase in 2006 with a BFA in dramatic writing.
Greg O'Neill holds an MA in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University. He has been involved in theatre since childhood, as an actor, a writer, and a producer — having produced and starred in three one-man shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles. He also has an extensive background in sales and marketing, including two years in the Advertising & Marketing Dept. of Better Homes & Gardens and one year in the Sales & Marketing Dept. of Veranda magazine. This combination of artistic and business achievements gives Greg a unique perspective on arts and non-profit marketing.
Michelle Paul,Product Manager for Patron Technology, oversees the technology development of Patron Technology's new products and services, and is currently managing PatronManager CRM, the company's new web-based ticketing, fundraising, e-mail, and day-to-day management system, developed in partnership with Salesforce.com.
Michelle has also been closely observing and tracking social media trends, and she has given several seminars on the topic, including sessions at Patron Technology's annual E-marketing E-mersion E-vent, the Arts Reach National Arts Marketing Conference, the Arts & Business Council of New York, and the St. Louis Regional Arts Council, as well as Patron Technology's webinar series, "Facebook for Arts Organizations."
Michelle has a BA in Classics from Wesleyan University, where she was a stage manager for many productions and served on the board of Second Stage, the school’s student theater organization.
Eric Saber is an Account Executive at Patron Technology, and regularly
guides arts and non-profit organizations about the benefits of marketing on
the Internet. In 2009, Eric participated in the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Fundraising Day in New York and hosted webinars on
e-marketing. In addition to his work at Patron Technology, Eric is also
a songwriter and a guitarist. Eric holds a BA in Communication from
the University of Delaware.
Lily Traub is a Business Development Manager at Patron Technology. She has given seminars at national conferences around the U.S. including the ArtsReach National Arts Marketing Conference, Next Audiences Summit, and the Theatre Communications Group (TCG) National Conference. Prior to her time at Patron Technology, Lily served as the Assistant Box Office Manager of the Center for the Arts at her alma mater, Wesleyan University, and she also worked as a Subscription Manager at the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York City.
Damien Bazadona founded Situation Interactive (formerly, Situation Marketing) in 2001 and oversees the strategic direction for the company that maintains offices in New York, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. Situation has managed the online marketing strategy for over 200 live event productions and currently represents many theatrical brands across the country including Disney, Wicked, Mamma Mia!, Billy Elliot, Blue Man Group, and Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular, along with many others. Prior to forming Situation Interactive, Damian was partner and chief marketing officer of Cyber-NY Interactive where he was responsible for new business development and strategic initiatives for the firm. His work was instrumental in leading the firm to a 600 percent increase in sales, acquisition of Fortune 1000 clients, and inclusion to Ernst & Young and MIT's Internet 500. He is an active contributor and source for leading Internet and business publications including The New York Times, Variety, Associated Press, Fortune Small Business and many more. In addition, he has served as a speaker and source for University research studies relating to online marketing for Yale University, New York University, Brooklyn College and Fordham University's graduate level programs. Damian holds a B.S. in Business Administration from University at Albany.
Ken Davenport - On Broadway, Ken Davenport recently produced Oleanna, starring Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles, Speed-the-Plow, starring Raul Esparza, Will Ferrell's You're Welcome America (Tony nomination), Blithe Spirit, starring Angela Lansbury, and 13. Ken is the only independent producer to have had three shows running simultaneously Off-Broadway - Altar Boyz (co-conceiver), The Awesome 80s Prom (author/director), and My First Time (author/director). Ken was featured on a national commercial for Apple's iPhone, named one of Crain's "Forty Under 40" in 2008, and dubbed the "P.T. Barnum of Off-Broadway" by The New York Times. He also recently accepted the 2010 Award of Distinction from the Musical Theatre Society. Current projects include producing the Broadway revivals of Godspell and Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men, penning the musical adaptation of Somewhere In Time, launching his latest creative collaboration Miss Abigail's Guide to Dating, Mating & Marriage, and shooting a documentary on one of the top unsigned rock bands in the country - Red Wanting Blue. Ken also runs a number of theatrical websites including Broadway's #1 social networking site - BroadwaySpace.com. His blog, TheProducersPerspective.com, has been featured in Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, The Gothamist, and many others. He has written articles for Forbes, Mashable, Imedia, and others. For more, visit DavenportTheatrical.com
Carol Fitzgerald is Co-Founder and President of The Book Report Network—a group of eight Internet sites about books and authors that have become gathering places for a large and devoted community of booklovers since 1996.
With programming for adults at Bookreporter.com, reading groups at ReadingGroupGuides.com, graphic novels at GraphicNovelReporter.com, Christian readers at FaithfulReader.com, teens at Teenreads.com and children at Kidsreads.com, TBRN is recognized as an online leader of informed, contemporary book news, reviews, and author interviews. Website visitors can subscribe to newsletters, join book clubs, and participate in interactive polls and contests. Monthly more than 1,600,000 unique visitors come to the Network.
The company's Authors on the Web division provides web development and Internet marketing for authors and publishers. To date, the Company has built websites for more than 200 authors and publishers and implemented Internet marketing programs for more than 250 titles. Research@TBRN provides opportunities for reader feedback on upcoming titles and covers; this division also conducts reader trend surveys on topics of interest to the industry.
Prior to founding TBRN, Fitzgerald spent 17 years at Conde Nast Publications, where she developed broad-based marketing, promotion, and publicity programs.
Chris Hunt was a producer at BBC and then ITV before founding the independent arts producer Iambic Productions in 1988. Since then he has won over 50 awards as a producer and director of arts and music films.
In 1999 he founded onlineclassics.com, a pioneer in the world of Internet broadcasting of the performing arts. This closed for lack of funds in 2001, though not before it had achieved an audience of 705,000 for one of its featured productions. Hunt turned this company into the listed public media corporation DCD Media plc and grew it to a turnover approaching $75 million. Then in 2008 he decided it was time to try again with the Internet. He co-founded Classical TV Ltd (classicaltv.com), which is now by far the largest site of its kind, with about 2,500 hours of the highest quality video under its control, including current season works from many opera houses and ballet companies such as the Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, and the Bolshoi.
Widely regarded as the world's leading figure in this area, Hunt is also a Member of the Board of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and President of the IMZ, the global trade association for organizations involved in the performing arts and the media.
Rick Lester built TRG Arts on a 30-year career in entertainment marketing. Since founding the firm in 1995 as Lester & Associates, Rick and his partners have developed TRG into America’s largest consulting company dedicated to the arts and culture, as well as the largest provider of community database programs. Rick leads TRG’s counsel on patron behavior trends and their impact on patronage and revenue generation for organizations and communities. His pioneering work in demand management, pricing, and cost-of-sale focus in marketing have become industry best practices. Hundreds of organizations in North America have generated successful revenue and audience results by following the data-driven strategies and counsel that Rick and his TRG colleagues recommend. He is a frequent guest lecturer and panelist nationwide and lead contributor to Analysis by TRG Arts, the firm’s blog on arts and cultural consumer behavior.
Stephanie Miller is a passionate customer advocate, helping digital marketers improve performance and inbox deliverability by creating amazing subscriber experiences. She is the Vice President of Market Development for Return Path, the e-mail performance company where she educates marketers on response, integrated marketing and deliverability best practices. She is a frequent speaker and writer on digital marketing.
Stephanie has nearly 20 years of marketing, publishing and consulting experience building and managing integrated direct marketing programs. An online marketing pioneer, she was the first publisher of The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition. She held executive-level marketing positions with Hotmail and RealNetworks before working for six years as a marketing consultant in Silicon Valley.
She is also the co-author of Sign Me Up! A Marketer's Guide to Creating Email Newsletters that Build Relationships and Boost Sales. Please e-mail her at stephanie.miller@returnpath.net or follow @stephanieSAM
Steven Roth is an independent marketing consultant with more than 25 years of experience in creating, executing, and measuring results-generating marketing programs for not-for-profit and commercial organizations. Over the years he has worked with, among others: The American Repertory Theatre, Astra Zeneca, Avon, Fidelity, Saks Fifth Avenue, The Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and TV Guide.
Roth is an adjunct lecturer in Marketing at the Boston University Graduate School of Management, where he teaches a class on Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and has co-authored three studies on CRM published by the Direct Marketing Association. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and has been a guest lecturer at the Oberlin College Creativity and Leadership Program, The Yale School of Drama, Southern Utah University, and Bentley University
Roth is President of The Pricing Institute, an international consultancy servicing the cultural sector. The Pricing Institute uses data-driven analysis to help clients maximize income and optimize occupancy.
Roth is Board Chair of ArtsBoston, a 170-member audience development organization. He began his career as the Marketing Director of The Shubert Organization.
Roth earned a B.A. in English and Theater from Oberlin College and an M.B.A. with high honors from Boston University. You may contact Steven at sroth27@comcast.net