Dan Pelson is an American media executive and a co-founder of several companies. He is the Chief Operating Consultant of Outside The Box Amusements, a theatrical production company specializing in creating, managing and producing unique experiences by combining world-class entertainment, bespoke hospitality and innovative design.

Previously, Dan was the Chief Operating Officer of Area15, an immersive entertainment and events complex in Las Vegas. In 2006, Dan was named the Senior Vice President, Global Consumer Marketing of Warner Music Group, and also served as the chief architect and executor of Warner’s strategic consumer initiatives. At Sony Music, he oversaw the Direct to Consumer global operations and was the CEO of MyPlay, Sony’s music video platform from 2008-2013.

Josh Reynolds is the Director of Modern Workplace for Microsoft Education with nearly 20 years of experience within education, business development, & leadership. He spent the last 7 years with Microsoft—the first 5-years leading the relationship with major K12/higher education customers in New York State and the last 2 years leading the software business for East US Education, where his team empowers customers to achieve more with custom solutions. During his tenure at Microsoft, he has led growth across solution areas with a deep focus on compliance and data privacy. Additionally, he has led some of the largest game-based learning activations worldwide with Minecraft, led creation of emerging content for education, and helped deliver Excel Esports to the masses. Josh also regularly works on cross vertical projects aligning priorities and driving meaningful progress with partners across education, government, healthcare & industry. Before his time at Microsoft, Josh led the NYS & NYC business for McGraw-Hill Education (delivering custom NYS curricula for K12 Math, Science, & Social Studies) & spent time as a high school science teacher and varsity cross country/track coach. Josh lives outside Rochester with his wife Marissa and daughters Ella (currently at SUNY Oneonta), Faye & Ruby.

Taneka Stevenson is a Senior Events Manager at Apple and creative consultant who uses her global network to connect brands with innovators. For the past 5 years, she has led diverse teams for the New York membership team at Soho House, as well as cities such as San Francisco, Washington D.C., Atlanta and Boston. Taneka’s experience includes curating and building creative communities for prospective members. She has since transitioned to Apple as a Senior Event Manager. It is her constant mission to highlight Black voices within traditional spaces using contemporary culture as the catalyst. Outside of consulting, Taneka is an advocate for public education in New York City’s underserved neighborhoods.

Justin Sunshine is a Managing Director at General Atlantic and focuses on the firm’s Healthcare sector. Before joining General Atlantic in 2019, Justin was a Managing Director at The Blackstone Group where he focused on investments across the healthcare industry and worked in both the New York and London offices. He began his career at Accenture as a Consultant in the firm’s Strategy Practice. Justin is currently a board member of several healthcare companies, and outside of his work with Urban Arts, also works with the Partnership Fund for New York (Healthcare Advisory Board) and the Alzheimer’s Drug Development Foundation (Business Review Board).

Bianca Tennyson has been at the forefront of the digital marketing industry with a proven track record of generating and accelerating strategic business activities, processes, and relationships to successfully deliver positive impact to clients and partners since 2011. Serving as an Account Executive focused on large customer sales based in New York, her ability to foster strong relationships and effectively engage with stakeholders at all levels is instrumental in driving successful and sustainable revenue streams. Previously, Bianca was responsible for helping top brands and advertisers streamline operations and improve efficiency through software, data, and insights as Senior Account Director. Her experience spans across startups and large corporations. Bianca is dedicated to helping others and the community she represents in the ever-evolving digital landscape. She received her degree from Florida State University and a native of Atlanta, Georgia currently residing in Brooklyn, NY.

Arienne Thompson Plourde has helped shape some of the most iconic and innovative brands in the world as a career strategist and storyteller with 20 years of tech, diversity leadership, media, public relations and higher education experience. She is the Sr. Program Manager for Google Data Centers’ Community Development & Impact program, leading the team’s strategic planning and operations.

Previously, Arienne was Director of PR at a boutique public relations firm, and before that, was a nationally recognized entertainment journalist at USA Today for a decade. Arienne spent her newsroom career covering Hollywood, fashion and the intersection of race & pop culture, reporting from the Oscars, Golden Globes, Emmys, People’s Choice Awards, New York Fashion Week and dozens more premier red carpet events where she interviewed A-list stars like Prince, Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga, Jay Z, Reese Witherspoon and Venus Williams, to name a few. She was also a regular on-air contributor for NBC’s Today show for two years and appeared as a pop culture expert on CBS, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, TV One, Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood and more.

Arienne is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where she studied history and Japanese, and holds a master’s degree in journalism from American University. She is an active volunteer leader in the Notre Dame alumni network, serving on the Undergraduate Experience Advisory Council since 2012 and having served on both the ND Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Black Alumni of ND Board of Directors. Other board and council appointments include Urban Arts, The Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, homeless youth nonprofit Mobile Hope and The College of Charleston School of Communications. Arienne is also an adjunct lecturer at Georgetown University, where she has taught journalism since 2018.

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Arienne has lived in the Washington, D.C. metro area since 2004 and currently resides in northern Virginia with her husband and son.