2021 Speakers

Angelica Balderas (Angie) is the senior vice president of integrated marketing solutions for Entravision Communications. She currently oversees all operations and sales for the Sacramento market, including top-rated KXSE Jose 104.3FM and Tricolor 99.9FM, as well as 101.9FM Wolf and Hot 103.5FM. Previously she was director of sales for Adelante Media Group, overseeing all local, national, network, and digital sales; before that she was national sales manager and worked with national advertisers (clients) and their agencies to execute advertising and promotional programs over Adelante’s nine markets. She has also served as president/principal of Aztec Media and launched KTTA FM Kebuena 97.9FM, KLNA Power 105.5FM, and KBBU Ke Buena 93.9FM until the stations were sold in 2004 to Bustos Media. Her experience includes over 20 years of local direct and agency transactional business, retail activation, and event marketing.

Michael J. Bergner of Bergner & Co Media Brokerage has been providing his deal-making expertise to media since 1987. Formerly a practicing corporate tax attorney, he has now been involved in over $100 million in transactions over 30 years. These transactions have included radio, television, Internet, and print with most every major broadcasting company in the country. Bergner also works with clients in developing capital structure and partnerships in addition to performing valuations and appraisals of media assets for owners, lenders, and private equity. Bergner is a qualified appraiser pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code.

Glenda Bos has been working in media research for over 30 years. For the past 25 years she has been the managing partner of harker | bos group, a research and consulting firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina. She specializes in music, radio, and political research. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and three dogs, cheering on the North Carolina Hurricanes, and traveling.

Adam Cassady serves as media advisor to FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington and also handles matters before the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, the Office of Economic Analysis, and media relations. He most recently cofounded a small technology firm focused on delivering enterprise machine learning solutions. Cassady graduated from the University of Chicago Law School and received his bachelor’s from the Ohio State University.

Stacie M. de Armas is senior vice president/inclusive insights & initiatives and a leader within Nielsen’s DEI practice. She is an inclusion and identity researcher, consumer behaviorist, and subject matter expert on diverse communities. De Armas likes to say she specializes in data at the intersection of community, advocacy, and entertainment. At Nielsen, she leads the development of inclusive thought leadership and new research initiatives on diverse consumers and audiences. De Armas joined Nielsen in 1998 and has served in many roles related to multicultural marketing. She sits on the boards of the Hispanic Marketing Council Board, RespectAbility, and Google’s 21stCentury Multicultural Marketing Council. She has been the recipient of industry honors for her work in diversity marketing.

Karina Dobarro is head of Multicultural at Horizon Media. With 20+ years of experience, Dobarro joined Horizon in 2014 to launch the Multicultural practice. She leverages her extensive knowledge of the U.S. multicultural market to develop comprehensive marketing strategies for clients. She is a member of Horizon’s DEI Council where she facilitates agency events and partnerships to support the advancement of diversity and equity efforts within the agency. She has been honored by Adweek as a Media All-Star, by Cynopsis as a Top Woman in Media, and last fall she received the Executive Leadership Award at the Annual Hispanic Television Summit.

Nio Encendio serves as director of Latin Formats for Beasley Media Group. He began his radio career in Tampa in 1996 with WRMD and WMGG, where he gained experience in numerous facets of the industry and was the Spanish play-by-play commentator for the Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1999-2002. He has worked in markets from Tampa to Miami and Los Angeles and alongside radio icon and Bill Tanner prodigy Pio Ferro over the years. Encendio has been recognized for his excellence in broadcasting by the City of Tampa, and the National Latin-American Institute of Journalism, and was awarded the Medallas de Cortez Award for Program Director of the Year in 2020.

Emilio Estefan is a world-renowned music, television, and film producer who has been instrumental in shaping, developing, and directing the careers of his superstar wife, Gloria, as well as Shakira, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, and Jon Secada, among many others. Estefan has achieved incredible success throughout his career, boasting more than 40 years of industry-leading achievements, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and induction into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame. With a resume that includes 19 Grammy Awards, he has experimented and pushed the envelope of blending Latin, pop, and world rhythms, creating a unique style and personality that has created chart-topping worldwide hits. It is this vision that transcends the music field and spills over into film, television, hotels, and restaurants, among other business endeavors, including serving as the executive -roducer of the Tony-Award nominated smash Broadway musical On Your Feet! Most recently, the Library of Congress honored Emilio and Gloria with the distinguished Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

Matt Feinberg is chief strategy officer at HRN (Gen Media). He started his career at All American TV in New York City, working on Casey Kasem’s Top 10 TV show and eventually producing the first syndicated radio show for the college market for All American. He spent the next 11 years with pharmaceutical giant Wyeth Healthcare as director of special projects, overseeing planning and buying of radio, out-of-home, and emerging media. Later, at media giant Zenith Media, his group broke ground in the areas of digital media integration, podcasting, mobile marketing, and digital out-of-home for clients such as Lexus, Scion, Olive Garden, and General Mills. Feinberg has also worked at Silicon valley startup Jelli, later bought by iHeartMedia; CRN promotional marketing; and was media director at public relations giant Burson-Marsteller. In all of his positions, he dealt with both the general and multi-cultural marketplace. In his current post as chief strategy officer/sales and Marketing at HRN (Gen Media), he has grown HRN’s presence and market share.

Tucker Flood is president of Eastman Radio. He has an expansive industry background spanning both local and national radio. His career began at Katz more than two decades ago. Since then he has served in various roles of increasing responsibility including regional vice president, general sales manager, and then president.

Juan Galdamez is senior director/broadcast strategy & business development for Xperi. As a strong supporter of radio’s future in the connected vehicle, Galdamez has spent the last decade working with broadcasters and the automotive industry on the adoption of HD Radio, computer vision, connected devices, metadata, and audio processing technologies. Galdamez’s passion for radio began at WXTU-FM and continues to this day, with stops along the way at WIHT-FM, WMZQ-FM, and WASH-FM in Washington, D.C.  Throughout his tenure at Xperi, he has advocated for broadcasters to use technology that enhances the listener experience.  His work has helped stations around the world improve their in-vehicle, mobile, connected device, and metadata delivery, ensuring a competitive listening experience in challenging ecosystems.

As VP/Audio Sales for Univision, Eric Garcia oversees sales for Univision’s traditional and digital properties in New York, including La X 96.3, Que Buena 92.7, and WADO1280 (home of Yankee baseball) along with their supportive creative extensions. This includes developing revenue strategy for the New York market across all linear and non-linear verticals, including an extensive live event and sports distribution platform. Prior to Univision, he spent 13 years at Spanish Broadcasting System in various leadership roles, most recently as VP/GM for SBS New York and audio revenue chief for SBS. He was responsible for the overall operation at MEGA 97.9 and 93.1 AMOR, in addition to leading local audio and digital revenue teams at national scale across key SBS markets.

Jimmy (JD) Gonzalez currently serves as the Spanish format captain for Audacy and brand manager for regional Mexican KMVK in Dallas-Fort Worth. Forty years of programming experience has led to his being named on numerous occasions to Radio Ink’s Best Program Directors in America, including the most recent 2021 edition. Gonzalez’s career focus has been programming a variety of Hispanic formats in both English and Spanish. Before joining Audacy, he served as Univision Radio’s senior vice president of programming, overseeing 70 station in 17 markets across the United States. He has also programmed San Antonio’s KXTN and launched rhythmic CHR 98.5 — The Beat in San Antonio, which catapulted to number one in months. In addition to his  current duties at Audacy, Gonzalez hosts a morning show on Fierro HD that simulcasts in both Houston (KLOL HD2) and Dallas (KMVK HD2).

Jason Hall is executive vice president, advertising sales for Estrella Media, responsible for leading the company’s television, radio, and digital sales executives in advertising sales strategies. He is also responsible for creating brand awareness of the company’s multichannel platform, including TV, radio, and digital assets. He oversees the national sales representatives in each of the company’s sales offices including Los Angeles/Burbank, Dallas, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, and Miami. Hall is also responsible for communicating with company’s O&Os and affiliated local TV and radio station management, as well as legal, corporate marketing, and client direct/agency contacts. Hall arrived at LBI Media with 19 years of senior sales experience at Univision Communications; his last position there was VP of advertising sales.

Adam R Jacobson, editor-in-chief of Radio + Television Business Report, is a veteran journalist and advertising industry analyst whose experience includes editorial positions at former industry trade paper Radio & Records, as well as helping launch Latina Style Magazine. His other experience includes serving as principal analyst for Arbitron’s Hispanic Radio Today and as corporate multicultural strategist and marketing consultant for several radio companies. He was previously senior editor at Hispanic Market Weekly and a multicultural analyst for Mintel, a global market research firm based in Chicago. He has been a frequent conference speaker and panel moderator and his work as a journalist has appeared in the Miami Herald and other publications.

Jason Kanefsky is executive vice president and managing partner of Havas’ Market and Business Intelligence unit. This role is specifically built to call the “market,” define trends, and advise clients of what is next and now. Previously Kanefsky was head of national broadcast and chief investment officer Havas Media. He was responsible for the purchase of annual national cable and broadcast television advertising, as well as the strategic investment of radio and local TV. As part of the CIO role, the implementation of digital activity reported to him as well. He directly oversaw $2BB million worth of advertising and managed approximately $3.1 billion worth of advertising on an annual basis. Kanefsky has worked in the advertising industry for over 30 years. His career began at Lintas, where he worked in national broadcast. He then worked at Foote Cone, Belding and later moved on to MPG. In October 2002, he began working in the Integrated Advertising division of MPG and continued his role as Senior Vice President of National Broadcast.

Leo Kivijarv is vice president, research for PQ Media. He joined PQ Media in 2003 with three decades of experience in media management, research, consulting, and academia. He has been the co-author and editor of more than 100 reports on the media ecosystem, covering advertising and marketing, consumer and business usage, consumer spending on media and technology, and business, government, and educational spending on media and technology. Since 2004 Kivijarv has led the PQ Media team in the first ever analysis of total political media buying across all media platforms. Kivijarv is often quoted on political media spending trends and has written analysis of the political environment during federal elections and its impact on the radio industry for the RAB, most recently on the RAB blog.

Sherman K. Kizart is founder and managing director of Kizart Media Partners, Inc., a national media sales and marketing consulting firm that partners with clients to generate greater sales that focus on revenue opportunities for Urban-targeted media platforms. Kizart has over 20 years of experience as a marketing specialist and a leading advocate on Urban radio and multicultural media strategies and tactics. Before founding KMP, Kizart worked for Interep as senior vice president and director of urban radio. He is recognized for his experience in the media and telecom industry. He serves on the FCC’s re-chartered Federal Advisory Committee on Diversity in the Digital Age. Kizart serves as an Urban sales and marketing expert to the industry’s leading advocacy organizations including the RAB, the NAB, and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters.

Juleyka Lantigua is the founder and CEO of LWC Studios, an award-winning digital media studio whose work erases the margins and reaches rising audiences with programming that is rooted in life in the U.S. Among their most successful shows are Latina to Latina, a weekly interview show hosted by MSNBC anchor Alicia Menendez, and How to Talk to [Mami & Papi] about Anything, a weekly show Juleyka created and hosts that offers testimonials and advice from professional to adult first-generation children of immigrants on tackling the toughest of intergenerational conversations. Lantigua-Williams’ network is among the partners that sponsored the first-ever U.S. Latino Podcast Listener Study from Edison Research, the leader in podcast research. She created and executive produces 70 Million, the first open-source solutions journalism podcast chronicling how locals are tackling jail reform around the country.

Jesus Lara is president of radio at Univision Communications Inc., the leading Spanish-language media and content company in the U.S. He is responsible for the Uforia Audio Network, which includes 58 O&O radio stations and 205 affiliates that reach 20.7 million listeners per week; the Uforia app, a music and podcasting streaming app that reaches 13.6 million monthly listeners; and the Uforia Music Series concerts. Lara joined Univision with more than 20 years of experience leading digital, programming, content, and marketing teams in the radio, music and entertainment industries He has worked with top media and content companies, including Viacom, EMI, and other radio groups. He is known as a trailblazer in the execution of digital, programming, content, talent, and technology product strategies to reach Hispanic and international audiences.

Anthony T. Lepore is the principal of Radiotvlaw Associates, LLC, a Washington, D.C.- based communications law firm, handling regulatory, transactional, and engineering modification matters for broadcasters with the FCC. He began his career in Miami at Liebowitz & Spencer in 1988, later forming his own firm based in Fort Lauderdale in 1995 before opening his D.C. office in 2014. He has facilitated hundreds of transactions and thousands of regulatory filings in the media industry over his career, and contributed to unique engineering achievements such as the three-station AM channel swap as a minor modification accomplished here in Miami, enabling the Miami station to upgrade to 50 kilowatts. Lepore divides his time between D.C. Florida, and Massachusetts.

Deon Levingston is the regional vice president for Urban One overseeing the Indianapolis, Detroit, and St. Louis markets, including “LaGrande” in Indianapolis.  Levingston’s career spans more than two decades as a broadcast radio and television executive, managing some of the most successful Urban radio stations in America, including New York’s WQHT-FM, WBLS-FM, and WLIB-AM. He serves on the board of the NAB and several state and market broadcast associations and civic organizations. Over the years he has been recognized as one of the Best Major Market General Managers and Most Influential African Americans in Radio by Radio Ink Magazine, and a 40 Under Forty High Achiever by Network Journal Magazine.

Alicia Menendez anchors MSNBC’s American Voices with Alicia Menendez Saturday and Sunday nights from 6 to 8 p.m. ET. She is also the author of The Likeability Trap and host of the Latina to Latina podcast. Menendez joined MSNBC in October 2019. Before joining the network, she served as a  correspondent on Amanpour & Company on PBS and formerly hosted a nightly news and pop culture show on Fusion called

Alicia Menendez Tonight. Her reporting and interviews have appeared on ABC News, Bustle, FusionTV, PBS, and

Vice News. Born and raised in New Jersey, Menendez has been called “Ms. Millennial” by the Washington Post, “journalism’s new gladiator” by Elle, and a “content queen” by Marie Claire.

Haz Montana is VP of audio brand for Meruelo Media, where he leads the company’s cluster of Hip Hop KPWR (Power 106), Classic Rocker KLOS 95.5, Throwback Hip Hop KDAY/KDEY 93.5, and Latin Rhythmic Breakout CALI 93.9 in Los Angeles. Montana worked in programming and management roles at Univision Radio for over 16 years. He was most recently VP of content, leading the company’s Los Angeles radio station cluster from 2012 to 2021. He was previously operations manager from 2005 to 2012. His experience includes roles as VP of programming for Entravision and program director for SBS’s WRMA (Romance 106.7)/Miami. Montana started his broadcast career as on-air talent and programmer at CHR and Rock stations in English.

Frank Montero is a co-managing partner with the law firm of Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth. He focuses on telecommunications, broadcasting, media and technology. Montero’s practice includes FCC regulatory counseling, corporate finance, asset and securities acquisitions, intellectual property, and real estate and commercial transactions. Montero was an appointed member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age, and he has served as the Director of the FCC’s Office of Communications Business Opportunities. While at the FCC, Montero worked extensively with industry, trade associations, financing institutions, and governmental agencies to create business opportunities for entrepreneurs, start-ups, and other small businesses in the telecommunications and technology sectors. Before his appointment, Montero was a partner with the Washington communications law firm of Fisher Wayland Cooper Leader & Zaragoza.

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell made history as the first South American-born Member of Congress as she flipped a diverse, majority-minority South Florida district in 2018. With over 20 years of experience providing strategic, policy, fiscal, fundraising, and operational leadership in both the public and nonprofit sectors, Mucarsel-Powell is a national leader with a track record of success in nonprofits, higher education, and Congress. As the first and only Latina Democrat to represent a Congressional district in Florida, she led the charge to pass legislation that secured Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans, introduced and passed a bill that sent $400 million in aid to the Venezuelan people and neighboring countries, brought $200 million for Everglades restoration to Florida, and authored legislation to provide the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with essential funding to partner with local organizations to conduct mobile COVID-19 testing and to extend Medicare coverage for COVID treatment. Known as a prolific fundraiser with more than two decades of fundraising experience, Mucarsel-Powell broke records during a tough re-election in 2020, having the best fundraising quarter for any Florida congressional candidate in history.

Otto Padron is the president and CEO of Meruelo Media. His mass media experience, leadership skills, and vision have been key in the transformative expansion of Meruelo. Before leading the Meruelo team, Padron was senior vice president of programming for Univision Television Network, the leading Spanish-language network in the U.S. Padron is the only executive to have successfully headed programming for both major U.S. Spanish-language networks, Univision and Telemundo. As a shaping member of these powerhouse brands, he blended solution-based ideas with a
value-oriented management style driven by bottom-line results. During his 20-plus-year tenure programming these competitive networks, Padron developed a keen understanding of relevant entertainment formats and established a reputation for delivering winning results through production excellence and flawless execution.

Stephen Paez is EVP/Managing Director/Cultural Quotient Lead at Spark Foundry. With close to two decades of experience, Paez leads multicultural framework, development and execution across all Spark brands. Since joining Spark, he has been able to propel clients’ growth in the multicultural space, which can be directly attributed to his passion for proving results through data. He is closely connected with Publicis Media Multicultural, accessing the best tools and technology in the multicultural space. Paez has helped drive significant organic growth on several existing Spark accounts, ultimately increasing multicultural revenue threefold. His expertise and ability to deliver results have and continue to benefit Spark clients including Audible, Brown Forman, Mondelez, and Telemundo. Before joining Spark, Paez led multicultural on multiple accounts across various industries including McDonald’s, HP, Florida Lottery, and Toyota.

Carolina Patino is general sales manager of SBS Miami’s WXDJ-FM (El Nuevo Zol 106.7FM), WRMA-FM (Ritmo 95.7FM), WCMQ-FM (Zeta 92.3FM), and the LaMusica app. She started her radio career in 1997 at Spanish Broadcasting in New York as an AE for WSKQ-FM and WPAT-FM. She transferred to SBS Miami in 2000, moving to iHeartRadio Miami in 2009. In 2015, Patino was offered the opportunity to become the national sales manager for SBS Puerto Rico. From there she moved on to the role of NSM for SBS Miami Radio before assuming her current role as GSM, where today she oversees both the Local and National divisions.

Bob Perry is an international radio programming consultant specializes in increasing the ratings for stations that target the Hispanic audience, in both Spanish and English formats. He has programmed and consulted 60+ top-rated radio stations in 20+ different markets throughout the United States and Mexico. In addition to clients throughout the United States, Perry is the programming consultant for Mexico’s largest broadcasting company, Grupo Acir based in Mexico City which consistently has the top-rated stations in markets throughout Mexico. Perry has an extensive background in market research including market perceptual studies, online music testing, weekly callout research, and audience focus groups. His biggest enjoyment is finding and teaching the future programming and air talent superstars of the radio industry.

Patrick Quinn founded PQ Media LLC in 2002 following a distinguished career as an award-winning journalist, editor, market research analyst, and management consultant. Since then, PQ Media has developed into a highly respected market research, business intelligence, and strategic advisory firm, providing actionable market intelligence and strategic guidance to executive management teams of the world’s leading media and technology organizations. The firm is considered a pioneer in developing the first-ever econometric data for projecting growth across a wide range of previously unmeasured digital and alternative media, including digital out-of-home advertising, branded entertainment and product placement, content marketing, social media advertising, online and mobile marketing, brand activation, and word-of-mouth marketing. Quinn’s unique holistic perspective, keen market

insights, and deep knowledge of major industry trends and key performance indicators are frequently quoted by major press outlets and other agencies.

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strong>Frank Ray is a former police officer, Texas chart-topper, and bilingual recording artist opening doors for a modern Latino Country movement. He grew up both enriched in his Mexican culture, three miles from the border in New Mexico, and surrounded by country music in Texas,. Described as “easygoing contemporary country with pop-soul hooks and a dash of Southwestern spice” (Rolling Stone), Frank’s music draws influences from ’90s Texas Country, Latin, R&B, and pop. It’s with this cross-cultural appeal and his panorama of influences that the Los Angeles Times proclaims Ray “is looking to stretch Country music’s cultural boundaries.” Since embarking on his musical journey full-time, he has racked up two number one singles and three Top 10 singles on Texas Country Radio, become a staff songwriter, landed Frank Rogers as his producer, signed a record deal with BBR Music Group/Stoney Creek Records, and much more. Frank has toured the nation and shared stages in support of artists like Kane Brown, Brett Eldredge, Luke Bryan, Kip Moore, LANCO, Old Dominion, Hunter Hayes, and more. His label debut, “Streetlights” (released June 11), was inspired by his Mexican heritage.

Rick Ramos, a 25-year multicultural media sales specialist, currently serves as the senior VP of multicultural partnerships at Katz’s Eastman Radio unit. His extensive career includes New York sales manager of Katz Hispanic Media; VP/regional sales manager of HBC National Sales; vice president of Univision National Sales; and SVP/director of sales for business development at Eastman Radio. In his current role Ramos is tasked with driving strategy to maximize the multicultural offerings of the rep firm’s audio partners. He oversees the creation of dynamic multicultural audio marketing campaigns with national scale and local execution across all its audio partners. Ramos continues to lead advocacy efforts for multicultural advertising while developing relationships with marketers and agencies. He also manages the development of a multicultural marketing mentoring program, with a goal of showcasing the radio industry and motivating young multicultural professionals to consider careers in marketing and advertising. Outside the office, Ramos is an active member of the Hispanic Audio Coalition and RAB Multicultural Committee.

Albert Rodriguez was named president of Spanish Broadcasting System in June of this year. He joined the company in 1999 and has been  chief operating officer since 2012. In this expanded role, he is responsible for managing operations and overseeing the future growth and financial performance of the company’s radio, TV, digital, and experiential businesses and market-leading brands. Over the years, Rodriguez has been chief revenue officer of the television segment and general manager of the Miami television market. He also served as general manager of the Miami television market from and general sales manager for the Miami radio market.

Ed Ryan has been the editor-in-chief of Radio Ink Magazine for 17 years and The Podcast Business Journal since it launched two years ago. He also ran radio stations for Sabre Communications in upstate New York. Ryan started out as a part-time news editor in Oneonta, New York, after running the college radio station at the State University of New York at Brockport while studying Communications. After seven years on the air, he moved over to sales, sales management, and station management.

Jesus Salas is the executive vice president of programming and multi-platform coordinator for Spanish Broadcasting System. He oversees the radio programming of the hugely successful Latin station WSKQ-FM Mega 97.9 in New York, and was behind the launch of the first “Cubaton” music-formatted station in the world, WRMA-FM Ritmo 95.7. Salas is also responsible for all SBS stations in major Hispanic markets throughout the United States, including Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Puerto Rico. In addition to his considerable success in the radio

community, Salas also makes a consistent effort to strengthen the local community. He is an active member of the Educational Excellence School Advisory Committee.

Norberto Sanchez serves as CEO and chairman of his Norsan, which currently operates several businesses including radio and television.Sanchez broke into the media industry in 2004. Norsan Media currently owns and operates 31 local radio stations with La Raza, Latina, La Zeta, Flow, Romance      concepts, and four TV stations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Florida. The company also publishes print and digital versions of the HOLA News regional and local publications in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Jacksonville, Florida, covering local issues that impact Hispanics in those areas.

Nathan Simington is a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, confirmed in January 2020. He brings both private and public-sector experience to the commission. Previously, he served as senior advisor at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. In this role he worked on many aspects of telecommunications policy, including spectrum allocation and planning, broadband access, and the U.S. government’s role in the Internet. Before joining the FCC, he was senior counsel to Brightstar Corp., an international mobile device services company. In this capacity, he led and negotiated telecommunications equipment and services transactions with leading providers in over 20 countries. Prior to joining Brightstar, he worked as an attorney in private practice.

Edgar “Shoboy” Sotelo is an engaging, funny, positive, and bicultural-bilingual Marconi Award-winning radio host, content creator, and motivational speaker. He began his career in 2007 in the Latin Urban/Top 40 format on La Kalle in San Francisco and later moved to Dallas’ Latin Urban Top 40 Mega 107.5. He also hosted mornings in the Regional Mexican format on La Grande 107.5 in Dallas before crossing over to English Top 40 in 2015 on New York’s 92.3 Amp Radio. Over the years, he has enjoyed unique success in hosting morning shows in English, Spanish, and Spanglish. Currently, The Shoboy Show is in syndication across the country. In recognition of his community outreach, Sotelo was honored at the White House by former President Barack Obama, and he has also received the U.S. Senate’s Most Influential Leader Award. He is also a recipient of the NAB Marconi Radio Award for Spanish Format Personality of the Year.

Gabriel Soto, director of research at Edison Research, is committed to supporting better marketing resources for the Latino demographic in the U.S. through strategic investigation in media, such as radio and podcasts. Soto is the primary architect and co-presenter of the first comprehensive report on the U.S. Latino podcast audience, the Latino Podcast Listener Report. He manages other national audio studies from Edison Research including, Share of Ear and the Podcast Consumer Tracking Report, working closely with clients such as NPR, Audacy, ESPN, Univision, and other key players in the media and audio space. He has shared research findings on Latino radio listeners as a featured presenter at the annual St. Jude Promesa y Esperanza seminar. Before Edison Research, Soto managed political research studies at The Rutgers Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling.

Manuel Fernandez Tellez has been the head of programming for Grupo ACIR Mexico for the last 13 years. He is in charge of programming across a dozen different radio brands that lead their markets in 23 cities throughout Mexico — from CHR to Mexican Regional to Oldies to News/Talk, to English-language formats. Over the last several years, he has led Grupo Acir’s production of massive-scale concerts, all profitable and many with audiences that exceed 25,000 people. More recently, he created a digital program that in a very short time has become the number one digital platform for radio in Mexico, as part of an exclusive partnership with iHeartRadio for the Grupo ACIR brands. He started in radio at 1993 as a CHR DJ and has worked first in Mexico City, and then nationally for virtually all of his career.

Elsten Torres, a.k.a. “Fulano,” is a 2-times GRAMMY-Nominated and BMI Award-winning singer-songwriter/musician/producer. Born in Havana, Cuba, raised in New York City, and living in Miami, Elsten has a vast domestic and international fan base. He is an accomplished artist, having reached Billboard’s top 10 charts over six times including a number one hit for five weeks.  Elsten has performed on stages all over the country as well as all over the world. He is currently promoting his album Exitos Acusticos, a collection of his biggest hits recorded by other internationally known Latin artists. He also donates his time to charity organizations such as a Musicians On Call and H.O.P.E.

Adriana Waterston is senior vice president of insights and strategy at Horowitz Research. She is a research junkie with a flair for finding the story behind the statistics. Waterston has moderated hundreds of groups and conducted in-home ethnographic research on topics including advertising and marketing effectiveness, media and entertainment consumption, unmet needs in technology and media, pricing and packaging, travel, customer service satisfaction, lifestyles and family dynamics, and brand/corporate image. Waterston is frequently quoted in the trade press and has presented at industry events including the Streaming TV Summit, the Hispanic TV Summit, and the NAB Show. A Puerto Rico native, Waterston has been named one of the media industry’s “Most Influential Minorities in Cable” by Cablefax Magazine, has received a CTAM TAMI award for her work in multicultural marketing, and received the Agency Executive Award for Research & Measurement at the Diversity Leadership Awards. She co-authored The Practical Guide to Multicultural Marketing and is the lead organizer and co-host of the annual Cultural Insights Forum.