SPEAKER BIOS
Greg McKeown is a speaker, a bestselling author, and the host of the popular podcast What’s Essential. He has been covered by The New York Times, Fast Company, Fortune, Politico, and Inc., has been interviewed on NPR, NBC, Fox, and The Steve Harvey Show, and is among the most popular bloggers for LinkedIn. He is also a Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum. McKeown’s New York Times bestselling book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less has sold more than a million copies worldwide. Originally from London, England, he now lives in California with his wife, Anna, and their four children.
Dan Barry is a longtime reporter and columnist for The New York Times, having written both the “This Land” and “About New York” columns. The author of several books, he writes on myriad topics, including sports, culture, New York City, and the nation, and has worked as a senior story editor on “The Weekly” television program for the Times.
Since joining The Times in September 1995, Mr. Barry has covered many major events, including the World Trade Center disaster, the destructive wake of Hurricane Katrina, and the unrest in Ferguson, Mo., following the police shooting death of a young black man. His many honors include the 2003 American Society of Newspaper Editors Award for deadline reporting, for his coverage of the first anniversary of Sept. 11; the 2005 Mike Berger Award, from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism; the 2015 Best American Newspaper Narrative Award; the 2019 American Society of Newspaper Editors Award for feature writing; and the inaugural Pete Hamill Award for Journalistic Excellence, in 2021. He has also been nominated as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize twice: once in 2006 for his slice-of-life reports from hurricane-battered New Orleans and from New York, and again in 2010 for his coverage of the Great Recession and its effects on the lives and relationships of America.
He previously worked at The Providence Journal, where, as a member of its investigative team, he shared a George Polk Award in 1992, for a series on the causes of a state banking crisis, and a Pulitzer Prize in 1994, for an investigation into Rhode Island’s court system that led to various reforms and the criminal indictment of the chief justice of the state’s Supreme Court.
Mr. Barry has also written “This Land: America, Lost and Found,” a collection of his “This Land” columns that was published in September 2018; “The Boys in the Bunkhouse: Servitude and Salvation in the Heartland,” published in 2016; “Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball’s Longest Game,” published in 2011 and the winner of the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing; “City Lights,” a collection of his “About New York” columns, published in 2007; and “Pull Me Up: A Memoir,” published in 2004.
Jen Croneberger is a widely sought-after 4-time TEDx speaker and thought leader. She is the Founder and Chief Inspiration Officer of Jlynne Consulting Group, LLC. and the Human Leadership Institute. Most of her last 20 years have been spent instilling confidence and building deeper connections and awareness. Her Master’s Degree is in Sports and Human Performance Psychology and is a “dare to lead” Instructor. She holds certifications from the Harvard Business School in Sustainable Business Strategy, Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell University, The Science of Well-Being from Yale University, and is currently a doctoral candidate in the field of Leadership. Jen was selected as an invite-only member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council for 2020/2021.
Jen has a podcast called the Possibility Project, and writes monthly columns for a variety of publications including Forbes. She published her first book in 2012, called “These Five Words Are Mine:”
Listed as one of the best Motivational Speakers in Philadelphia, PA and Washington, DC Regions and “2020 Power Women;” from Main Line Today magazine, Jen is a storyteller who will remind you that being authentic is about the most important thing you can deliver to the world.
Matt Griswold is an Engagement Specialist for People Centric Consulting Group. As an Engagement Specialist, Matt facilitates and provides outside insight to help organizations collaborate to reach actionable results and realize their full potential.
Before coming to People Centric Consulting Group, Matt worked for 15 years as a corporate trainer for JPMorgan Chase – one of the largest banks in the world. In that role, he developed a love for working with people to utilize their strengths and helping them understand the power and influence they had on their goals when working strategically together with others. Matt is a natural leader of people and constantly seeks to engage people at a high level. His best advice and key message for all people is this: “Everyone is a leader, lead them well.”
With 22 years of experience in SEO, growth marketing, branding, and product management, Byron Hardie has spent his career developing end-to-end consumer experiences. Previously working in leadership roles at Gannett, Angie’s List, MotorTrend, and Source Interlink he joined IBJ in December 2018 and brought extensive enterprise knowledge to the Indianapolis Business Journal to help drive their growth initiatives. Byron has also been a speaker at numerous industry conferences, summits, and think tanks including the World CMO Conference, SES, McKinsey & Company Growth Summit at Google, and the Facebook Journalism Project, speaking on topics from Enterprise SEO, Social Media, Growth Marketing, and Conversion Optimization.
Darren Shapiro is the Corporate Director of New Business Development for Sinclair Broadcast Group based out of Maryland. Darren Shapiro brings over 38 years of experience in the Marketing Industry right to your front door. Thirty-Two of those years have been spent working for Sinclair Broadcast Group – one of the largest independent owners of Television stations in the United States. Mr. Shapiro has spent the better part of the last TWENTY years traveling across the country (pre-Covid) holding similar seminars for LOCAL Salespeople and LOCAL business owners alike. In the last year alone, he has trained over 600 Salespeople, led over 200 ZOOM sessions and met with over 1,000 small Business owners to help them navigate through the current viral disruption.
Working together and face- to-face with literally THOUSANDS of Local Business Owners during seminars like this one has afforded Shapiro the opportunity to help small business owners solve nearly ALL their immediate marketing problems facing them today.
A born leader and an inveterate traveler, Gina Stouffer has helped spearhead the growth of Lou Hammond Group since joining the firm in 1998. In her current capacity as President of the Charleston office, Gina oversees a broad portfolio of accounts in hospitality and tourism, real estate, economic development, the arts, consumer products and technology.
A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Gina graduated from Baylor University in Waco, Texas with a degree in history and political science, along with a certificate in teaching. Her innate curiosity and diverse interests laid the groundwork for her successful career in public relations. After college graduation, Gina honed her public affairs skills as an intern in the Clinton White House in Washington, D.C. She went on to work in the cruise and hospitality industries, and later joined Lou Hammond Group as an Account Executive in the New York office.
Always ready for a new challenge, Gina opened the firm’s Miami office in 2002, crisscrossing the region to bring the LHG brand to the Southeast, the Caribbean and Latin America. Ten years later, Gina and her family moved to Charleston to lead Lou Hammond Group’s South Carolina office.
As the Southern region experienced a boom in its economy and the emergence of the ‘New South,’ Gina helped broaden the firm’s capabilities to include economic development and real estate, along with tourism and destination marketing – all interrelated components of the new fueled economy. She laid the groundwork for the opening of the firm’s Houston, Denver and Atlanta offices.
Gina sees building relationships with clients, staff and the media as a key component in her successful career. She loves learning and is adept at teaching as a mentor and champion for the LHG team. Along the way, she has collected numerous honors and awards, including multiple Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International Awards for her clients. Reflecting her leadership in the tourism industry, Gina is Past President of Les Dames d’Escoffier, an international philanthropic organization of women leaders in the food, wine and hospitality industries.
Gina and her husband Blake have put down roots in Charleston, along with their son Sebastian (Baz), adopted from Haiti, and their two rescue dogs, Berty and Earl, where they enjoy all that the city and environs have to offer.