WORK 2023

MEET OUR SPEAKERS.

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MEET OUR SPEAKERS. ⭑

 

✹ SARAH LIM, FOUNDER OF OMG SQUEE & PHOTOGRAPHER ✹

Sarah Lim (she/her)—burnt out by the freelance photographer lifestyle—and Michael (he/him)—burnt out by a constant cycle of corporate layoffs—started OMG Squee out of their tiny home kitchen in 2016.

Blending her love of food, kawaii culture and her Asian American heritage, Sarah sought out to make really delicious, gluten-free, Asian inspired treats that would delight the eyes, heart, AND taste buds.

Sarah's kawaii cute character macarons gained in popularity after two years of pop ups and farmer’s markets. The couple then expanded OMG Squee into its first brick and mortar in East Austin in Nov 2019. The pair still bake and make everything together each and every morning.

Now, so much more than just macarons, OMG Squee serves the best gluten-free and Asian inspired desserts and pastries in the area, made in-house, from scratch. And everything's 100% gluten-free.

✹ ALIE JACKSON, CREATIVE DIRECTOR AND MULTIMEDIA ARTIST ✹

In her 13 years of experience, Alie Jackson has developed a unique creative point of view to help brands tell bespoke strategic stories in multiple mediums. She has been fortunate to work in a wide variety of industries and with notable clients like Nike, Marvel, Disney, FX and Snapchat.

She is currently the Creative Director at Austin FC, leading the club’s internal group of social, video, design, and photography teams. In her first year with Austin FC, they broke all major social records from their inaugural season, alongside record-breaking merch and ticket sales. (They also took home 2022 MLS Marketing Team of the Year!)

✹ FERNANDA SAMPSON-GÓMEZ, CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR, FOUNDER OF CELZO ✹

Fernanda Sampson-Gómez is the co-founder and CEO of Celzo, the first hemp-infused beverage inspired by Latin American flavors. A native of Mexico City, Fernanda spent over nine years of her career focused on product commercialization including TV spots and product placement,  while working at TV Azteca, the top TV broadcast station in Latin America. This experience motivated Fernanda to start her first company, Clarocrte, in 2014, a boutique video content agency with globally-recognized clients such as Walmart and Volkswagen.

In 2017 Fernanda met her future wife and Celzo co-founder, Cat Sampson, a California native who was working on Uber’s team in Mexico City. The two married, then moved to Austin, TX in 2019. In order to formally lay her business foundation, Fernanda attended McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas, where she obtained a Masters in Technology Commercialization. 

It was in Austin that Fernanda began to miss the agua frescas she grew up drinking in Mexico. While searching for a beverage that was an upgrade from water, but healthier than soda, she tried everything on the market, and eventually started mixing ingredients in her kitchen to create the exact beverage she was craving. 

Along with Cat (now Cat Sampson-Gómez), Fernanda experimented until she landed on the right flavor combinations which hit the marks in terms of taste, nostalgia, and functionality. Fernanda hustled to get the beverage in a ready-to-drink can and into people’s hands and Celzo officially launched in 2022 with three flavors – Lemon Basil Ginger, Hibiscus Strawberry Mint, and Spicy Tamarind. Celzo also contains beneficial ingredients for recovery, relaxation, and energy, such as L-Theanine, B-12, Vitamin C, green tea, and 10 mg of broad spectrum hemp (0% THC, non-psychoactive).

Celzo is currently available on Celzo’s website for nationwide shipping and at select grocers throughout the Austin area. In her free time Fernanda enjoys cooking, traveling and spending time with Cat, and exploring Austin with their two dogs, Zelda & Akira.

✹ JAMIKA ROSE, WELLNESS FOUNDER ✹

After years of dealing with severe acne and scarring, Jamika Rose (she/her) set out to solve her skincare issues by launching ROSEN. Tired of repetitive, synthetic formulas from brands she didn’t trust, Jamika began formulating in her dorm room and went on to launch ROSEN after she graduated college.

After launching, Jamika scaled ROSEN to 7 figures in revenue on a bootstrapped budget and landed herself on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for E-commerce. In 2021, Jamika raised her first investment round of $2M to support ROSEN’s expansion into over 1,000 doors including retailers like Target and ULTA.

 

✹ MARISSA RIVERA, PSYCHOTHERAPIST, DEI CONSULTANT AND CURATOR ✹

Marissa Rivera (she/her) is a Psychotherapist, DEI Consultant, Educator, and Curator in Austin, Texas. She is the owner of Ola Wellness, a private psychotherapy practice where she provides mentorship to early career therapists and proudly serves Austin's LGBTQ+ communities of Color.  As a Queer Native Tejana and South Austinite of 20+ years, Marissa is especially passionate about weaving intergenerational healing and liberation into all her work. Through her roles as a Director for SIMS Foundation (a non-profit that provides mental health and recovery services to music industry professionals) and as Director of Partnerships for _OFCOLOR (a non-profit dedicated to amplifying creatives of Color), she uses her expertise and resources to create opportunities and thoughtful collaborations across higher education, business, tech, music, and art to empower underrepresented communities. When not supporting the Austin community and guest lecturing at The University of Texas at Austin, you can usually find Marissa enjoying nature or modeling for local brands and creative projects.

✹ DANTE CLEMONS, FOUNDER, CREATIVE ARCHITECT AND STRATEGIST ✹

Dante Clemons (she/her) is a founder, architect and strategist at the intersection of design, commerce, culture and community. She is a strategist focused on the management of innovation in organizations and digital production across platforms. Her experience includes work in advertising, e-commerce, architectural planning and the arts. Her clients have spanned Nike, Twitter, Michael Kors, Pfizer, The Coca-Cola Company and New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. As digital product manager at The Met Museum, Dante was responsible for digital product innovation and the production of the museum’s audio guide, the Met’s unique, personal, self-guided experience.

Dante is the Co-Founder of Origin Studio House, an arts focused coffee house and cultural space located in Austin, Texas. She is also the Founder of KICKINTHADOOR, a consultancy for job seekers in pursuit of a rewarding career. She served as a Visiting Associate Professor in the graduate program of Design Management at Pratt Institute where she taught Innovation and Change Management and has lectured on Data Storytelling in the undergraduate Data Science Program at Rutgers University.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Dante graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a Bachelor of Architecture, where she was initiated into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She later graduated summa cum laude from Pratt Institute’s graduate Design Management Program and now serves on the Board of The Contemporary Austin. She joyfully resides in Austin, Texas.

✹ NICOLE CARDOZA, SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR, AUTHOR AND MAGICIAN ✹

Nicole Cardoza (she/her) is a Black, queer social entrepreneur, philanthropist, author, speaker and magician. She believes in creating solutions that transform today and reimagines tomorrow. Through her work, she helps individuals and organizations create more equitable and inclusive spaces to live, work and dream.

✹ OPEN HOUSE AUSTIN, CREATIVE HOME-BUYING EDUCATORS ✹

Founded by Steph Douglass and Kristina Modares, Open House is the education hub they wish they had when they bought their first homes. From recording for the Open House Podcast to building and teaching Open House Homeschool, these ladies are creating the go-to place for first-time buyers and investors nationwide. At WORK, Open House will be represented by agents Jenn Carey, Sydney Schuster and Mandy Mendoza.

✹ SARA LORETTA, CREATIVE STRATEGIST & CERTIFIED NOTION CONSULTANT ✹

Sara Loretta (she/her) is the 10th Certified Notion Consultant in the US. Through her agency SYSTMS™, Sara is focused on helping small teams & freelancers work better online. When not building for others, Sara can be found sharing uncanny business advice with her community and on Twitter/Youtube. 

✹ JESSICA JOSEPH, PHOTOGRAPHER ✹

Jessica Joseph (she/her) is a portrait and lifestyle photographer based out of Austin, Texas. Her work focuses on capturing authentic narratives and celebrating the unique, inner joy of each individual.

✹ CHRISTINE GARVEY, ARTIST AND COACH ✹

Christine Garvey (she/her) is an artist and coach based in Austin, Texas. Her paintings and installations have been exhibited internationally, including exhibitions with Galerie Circulaire (Montreal), International Print Center (New York), and The Contemporary Austin. Garvey’s work has been recognized with a Fulbright Research Grant (2016), a Fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center (2020), and an Artist Relief Grant from The Foundation for Contemporary Arts, United States Artists, and Creative Capital (2021). Over the last 10 years she’s coached hundreds of creatives through the ups and downs of their practices, working with institutions like the University of Texas at Austin, School of The Art Institute of Chicago, and Pioneer Works Center for Art and Innovation. She’s the founder of A Mighty Practice, an online school for creatives trying to recover their creativity and build the creative lives they want. You can learn more about her work at www.christine-garvey.com.

✹ JANE HERVEY, FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR ✹

Jane Claire Hervey (she/her) is a creative director, recording artist and accidental nonprofit founder, living and working in Austin, Texas. Originally from the border in South Texas, she currently spends her time running Future Front, a showcase series and community space she started in 2015, as well as own design house, group work. Over the last decade, she has collaborated with a range of people & places on curated experiences, thoughtful design strategies and community projects — whether she’s working with independent creatives and orgs or clients like The Line Hotel, Bumble & Red Bull. Outside her professional world, Jane is an electronic producer and vocalist, pulling sonic and visual influences from the likes of Björk and Frank Ocean, her former life as a rodeo queen, the shores of her Gulf Coast hometown and slow coffee in the morning. Since putting out her first four-track EP “Sour Grapefruit” in 2019, she has played South by Southwest (SXSW) and opened for the likes of OSHUN, Nomi Ruiz, Bunny Michael and more.

Her work has been profiled in Texas Monthly and ADWEEK, as well as recognized in the City of Austin’s Women’s Hall of Fame.

✹ STEPHANIE FELIX, LEADER IN ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING ✹

Stephanie Felix (she/her) honors her Afro-Taíno heritage with every step she takes. She spent her childhood on the shores of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands before moving to Miami for college. She moved New York City in 2010 to attend Columbia University graduate school studying Organizational Psychology and she spent 10 magical years in New York City dream chasing. She recently pursued her cowgirl aspirations by moving to Austin, Texas. She’s spent the last 14 years working in organizational development, learning, leadership and diversity, equity and inclusion in finance and tech organizations. But the love of her life is STORIED, an intersectional space to share the stories of women. She is a storyteller, strategist, creative and expert in cultural intelligence and community building.

✹ SHANA REHWALD, CREATOR & FOUNDER ✹

Shana Rehwald (she/her) knows what it’s like to appear to have it all and feel lonely at the same time. At 30 years old, the dream life she built, while coveted by others, had started to burn her out. Pouring herself into a journey of self-discovery and purpose led to her leaving her marriage and an established career path in the same year and shortly after becoming an accidental entrepreneur. Her seminal product, the Me-est Me journal launched in 2021 with high acclaim and has helped thousands build self-awareness, quiet the noise of the world, and embrace short-term discomfort to move towards their truest desires. A native Los Angeleno, Shana recently relocated to Austin, Texas where she resides with her partner. In addition to being an entrepreneur, she is also the FoundHER Program Coordinator at the Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute where she helps cultivate current and future entrepreneurs out of UT Austin.

✹ DIANA MELENDEZ, LAWYER AND COMMUNITY LEADER ✹

Diana Melendez (she/her/ella) is a passionate business and trademarks attorney dedicated to helping communities of color create and claim their space in industries and fields not traditionally built for them. Driven by her experiences as an advocate for immigrant and low-income communities and her own personal journey as a Latina and first-generation college and law school graduate, Diana aims to make a difference through law and community building. As the founder of Diana Melendez Law, PLLC, Diana focuses her law practice on helping immigrant and BIPOC entrepreneurs establish a strong legal foundation to protect their businesses and wealth. Her background working with immigrant communities uniquely qualifies Diana to understand the challenges undocumented business owners may face.

Diana is also the co-founder of the Womxn of Color Collective ATX, an organization dedicated to empowering and uplifting women of color by creating safe and brave spaces for them to show up as their authentic selves. Through this work, Diana is helping women of color in Austin feel included, supported, and celebrated in their journey. Additionally, Diana serves on the board of Latinitas, a nonprofit that empowers girls to innovate with media and technology, and is a Commissioner on the City of Austin’s Commission for Women.

✹ REZA CRISTIAN, BRAND MARKETING MANAGER AND FOUNDER ✹

Reza Cristián (she/her) is founder and editor-in-chief of SUSTAIN THE MAG, which is an independent online sustainable media publication looking to create space for thought-provoking, storytelling and journalistic stories to the public. Their main mission is all about slow media, and shifting the narrative of sustainability in media. She also works full-time as a brand marketing manager at PLANOLY, which is a social content planner based in Austin. When she isn't working, you can find Reza enjoying her hobbies like sewing, baking, reading and enjoying as many outdoor activities as possible.