Northwestern Explores in Los Angeles (2010): Session Descriptions and Facilitator Bios

KEYNOTE PANEL SESSION:

LA CAREERS: PERSONAL STORIES
A panel discussion about life/work paths unique to LA. Candy Deemer (J76, GJ77) moderates a panel discussion of Northwestern alumni in the Los Angeles Area. All featured alumni have career paths that required job-juggling and self-marketing and branding. Hear their personal journeys to success, and gather wisdom that applies to your circumstances.

This session is for you, if you’re:

• already an entrepreneur or becoming an entrepreneur
• reevaluating your work / life portfolio
• interested in developing a network of contacts in LA

Building and growing a career in arts and entertainment, entrepreneurship, and consulting requires following many of the same career development rules as other industries — with a twist: continual self-promotion, project-oriented work, resourcefulness, and flexibility. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from fellow Southern California alumni.

Moderator
Candy Deemer (J76, GJ77) Writer, Executive Coach at Interven Partners 
Deemer is co-author of Dancing on the Glass Ceiling: Tap into Your True Strengths, Activate Your Vision, and Get What You Really Want Out of Your Career. She spent 22 years in the advertising industry in Chicago, San Francisco, and LA. The last 18 of those spent with DDB Worldwide Communications in Los Angeles, where she rose to co-managing director and chief operating officer—the office’s highest-ranking woman. She is on the Board of Advisors of the Medill School of Journalism.

Panelists
Janae Bakken (C96) Television Producer, Screenwriter
Bakken is a TV comedy writer whose first staff writing job was on the first season of NBC/ABC's Emmy-nominated Scrubs. She spent eight years as a writer on the show, finishing as a co-executive producer. Bakken also wrote as a co-executive producer on CBS’ Gary Unmarried, and recently sold a pilot to MRC Studios. Previous to becoming a writer, Bakken was a writer’s assistant on various television shows (including Caroline in the City, Mad About You, and Malcolm in the Middle).

Anne Louise Bannon (GJ95) Author, Blog Columnist
Bannon began her career writing for web sites, and, just recently, started her own site, YourFamilyViewer.com, based on her extensive experience writing about parenting and media. Since then, she has added the fiction blog WhiteHouseRhapsody.com to her resume and launched OddBallGrape.com, based on her and her husband's passion for wine. As a freelance writer, her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, PC Magazine, Pasadena Magazine, CommonSenseMedia.org, Ladies Home Journal, and newspapers across the country. Although her specialty is parenting and media, she's covered the gamut from wireless HDMI, to homeland security, to celebrity profiles, to the making of wine and how to market it.

Paul Glen (KSM91) Principal with C2 Consulting, Columnist for Computerworld
Glen is a management consultant, award-winning author, columnist, and keynote speaker who helps organizations manage and lead technical people. He is the author of Leading Geeks: How to Lead and Manage People Who Deliver Technology and Healing Client Relationships: A Professional's Guide to Managing Client Conflict. Leading Geeks has won several book awards including the Financial Times Germany International Book Prize. He also writes a monthly column for Computerworld which is frequently translated and syndicated around the globe. In 2007, his column was awarded a National Silver Medal for Editorial Excellence by the American Society of Business Publication Editors. He has taught as a part-time faculty member in the MBA programs at the University of Southern California and Loyola Marymount University. He is a past president of the Southern California chapter of the Institute of Management Consultants and is also a professional member of the National Speakers Association.

Mary Anne McGarry (GC77) Educator, Actress, Director, Writer, Producer
McGarry's parallel careers include six years as head of the MFA Acting Program at UC Irvine, seven seasons as a company member at South Coast Repertory, and 18 years in TV and film. She has worked with NYC’s Public Theater, DC’s Folger Theater, the Sacramento Theater Company, and STEPPENWOLF, where she directed Joan Allen, Gary Sinise, and Glenn Headley. She was the founding director of the innovative MAKING SCENES, whose award-winning productions were staged in galleries and elegant alternative spaces across Southern California, to critical acclaim. She is currently producing her first film, Honeymoon in Galway.

David Rone (L87) Managing Director, CAA Sports
Rone is the co-head of CAA Sports.  Based in the Los Angeles office, Rone oversees the agency’s sports business and its expansion into other areas of representation such as broadcast/media rights representation, corporate marketing initiatives, and sports properties for sales/sponsorships opportunities. Prior to joining CAA in 2007, Rone served as the Executive Vice President for Fox Sports Networks. While at Fox Sports, Rone was responsible for the negotiation of television rights from NBA, MLB and NHL teams. Rone also served as General Manager of Fox College Sports, where he was responsible for the day-to-day management and operations of all three collegiate networks and oversaw FSN’s relationships with major collegiate conferences such as the ACC, Big XII, SEC, and Pac-10. Before joining Fox in 1999, Rone spent nine years in roles of increasing responsibility at the Walt Disney Company.  Most recently, Rone served as Vice President, Business Development for Corporate Alliances, where he was responsible for structuring the Walt Disney Company’s multi-divisional, national and international marketing, sponsorship and promotional partnerships. Prior to his appointment as a Disney corporate officer, Rone served as Vice President, Business Affairs for the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Rone was previously a corporate attorney at the Chicago law firm of Rudnick & Wolfe.  In 2006, Rone was recognized as one of Cableworld magazine’s “50 Most Influential Minorities in Cable.” He was also honored in 2005 as one of the “50 Most Powerful African-Americans in Sports” by Black Enterprise magazine. And in 2004, Rone was ranked #40 on Sports Illustrated magazine’s list of the “101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports”. Rone is a member of the Board of Directors of the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission and the Northwestern Law Board.  

 

BREAKOUT SESSIONS (Choose One):

CAREER REINVENTION
If you have been recently laid off or are contemplating a career change, Matthew Temple will help you learn how to create an action plan for career transition/reinvention. He will provide expert advice on identifying a process for making career changes, maintaining energy and confidence, and tapping into new networks. He will also share stories of alumni who have successfully reinvented careers or made career transitions.

Matthew Temple (KSM93) is the director of Alumni Career Services at the Kellogg School of Management and has been a career counselor with both the Harvard Business School and UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. He possesses 15 years of industry experience — from his position as director of international business development at Ask.com to working in banking. He has counseled a wide range of alumni and high- level executives.

 

NETWORKING IN THE 21ST CENTURY
How does one stand out from the crowd in a crowded world? Or connect authentically when everyone has hundreds of “friends?” Lindsey Pollak will provide a tour of the digital networking landscape and share strategies, tips, and tactics to help you become an expert networker — both online and offline. She will also discuss becoming an industry expert, turning events into networking successes, and building an authentic online presence.

Lindsey Pollak is a speaker, author, and career and workplace consultant who has a decade of experience teaching young professionals how to build successful careers. She has been advising organizations on the shifting state of the work world, and is the author of Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World (HarperCollins). She is the “Global Campus” spokesperson for LinkedIn and has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, CNN.com, and National Public Radio, among others.

 

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NETWORKING RECEPTION:

Whether you are just starting out in your career, building a career, or looking for a career change, growing a network of Northwestern alums can help. And with 6,000+ alumni in the Los Angeles area, you already have access to a powerful network that can help you navigate your professional journey.

Meet alumni from the following industries, including:

  • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
    Facilitator:  David Lena (C87), David Lena Photography
    Lena pulls from his experience in design, theater, sculpture and as a motion picture cameraman for 15 years.  He has toured the globe working on several studio feature films, 4 seasons of episodic television and over 200 commercials and music videos.  Now dedicated to the field of architecture and interiors, he applies the same drama and artistry in lighting and composition for print and video as he did for the screen.  He has been commissioned by a growing number of the world’s leading design firms and is committed to servicing his clients nationwide.  ICONIC VISION is the new video complement to his company DAVID LENA PHOTOGRAPHY.

    Facilitator: Andrew Frances (C71), Speaker and Executive Consultant; co-founder of iFanz.com
    Frances' previous executive management experience includes successful work with numerous major entertainment companies including RCA, The Robert Stigwood Company, MTM (Mary Tyler Moore Co.), EMI/Capitol, Uni/MCA and Warner Brothers. Later his Management Consultancy Company, Adwater & Stir represented such disparate superstars as Garth Brooks and David Bowie; Wang Chung and The Oak Ridge Boys. His recent work has been developing internet entertainment solutions and overseeing new media opportunities, data-mining demographies, viral marketing, web programming, etc., all geared toward adapting the client and/or organization to meet the ever-changing needs of a 21st century world wide digital audience. Frances co-founded (with McCartney Multimedia Inc., Paul's family) iFanz.com a cloud-based toolbox for artists and entrepreneurs including partners and clients: Etix.com, iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, MSN Music, MGM Grand, Yahoo, YouTube, CafePress; Clint Black, Fleetwood Mac, John Cleese, Val Kilmer, Paula Abdul, America, Richie Sambura, LeAnn Rimes, REO Speedwagon, Jessica Biel, David Cassidy, the Tupak Shakur Estate, the Bellagio Hotel, etc. Mr. Frances eventually successfully sold his interest in the entity.  Mr. Frances remains a sought after speaker and expert executive consultant in the entertainment field re both digital and analog platforms. While at Northwestern he co-founded Amazingrace which produced numerous concert, theater and speakers on campus, including The Greatful Dead, Jane Fonda, John Hartford, Steve Goodman, Ike & Tina turner, Pentagon Papers' Tony Russo, Randy Newman, Steve Martin and David Mamet's worldwide theatrical debut "Duck Variations". Frances likes to say he lives outside of the box, and holds a black belt in telephone.

 

  • FINANCIAL SERVICES/BUSINESS/CONSULTING
    Facilitator:      Craig ''Chip'' Odell Bailey, Jr. (KSM87), Managing Director - Portfolio Manager, NWQ Investment Management Company, LLC.
    Prior to joining NWQ in 2007, Mr. Bailey served 10 years as Managing Principal of Westbourne Capital Management, LLC, a registered investment adviser he founded in 1997. At Westbourne, he managed separate investment portfolios for individuals, families, corporate pension funds and eleemosynary accounts. Prior to that, Mr. Bailey spent 14 years with Trust Company of the West. During this time, he was an Equity Analyst following the Food, Beverage, Tobacco, Auto and Auto Parts Industries. He served as Assistant Director of Equity Research. He concluded his tenure at TCW as Managing Director, U.S. Equities, where he managed a concentrated large capitalization equity portfolio strategy. Mr. Bailey graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A. in History. He earned his M.B.A. in Finance and Environmental Policy from J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

    Facilitator:  Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough, Ph.D. (C70), President, KH Consulting Group
    Kraetsch Hartsough has been the President of KH Consulting Group (KH) since 1986.  KH offers management consultant services in strategic planning, organizational structures, business process reengineering, human resources, management audits (including ethics and social responsibility), and accountability and performance measurements.  KH has served more than 200 clients in 25 states and 7 foreign countries. Kraetsch Hartsough has personally worked on more than 300 projects during her consulting career in Australia, Europe, Asia, Canada, and Southeast Asia.  Among her clients are governments (City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, County of Orange, and City and County of Denver); 80 colleges and universities; nonprofit organizations (Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, California Special Olympics, and Tierra del Sol); transportation networks (QANTAS, Los Angeles World Airports, Port of Los Angeles, South Australia Department of Marines & Harbours, and Port Authority of New York-New Jersey); and private sector entities (insurance companies, financial institutions, hospital providers, etc.). Prior to KH, she was a Managing Consultant at Towers Perrin (now Towers Watson) and a Senior Program Officer at the Academy for Educational Development (AED) in Washington, D.C.  She holds a B.S. degree from Northwestern University in communications studies; an Ed.M. degree from Tufts University; Ph.D. and M.Ed. degrees from the University of Virginia; and a post-doctorate fellowship with the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship.  She serves in various organizations and boards, including National Association of Women Business Owners Los Angeles (NAWBO-LA) (Board Member); Organization of Women Executives (Member and former President/Board Member); BTW (former Board Member); Northwestern University’s Council of One Hundred; Earth Protect (Advisory Council Member); Women’s Leadership Exchange (LEXCI III Circle); and Northwestern University Entertainment Alliance (NUEA-West) (former Board Member).

    Facilitator: Ted McNulty (KSM00), Senior Vice President, UnionBanCal Equities, Inc.
    McNulty joined UnionBanCal Equities, Inc. (“UBE”) in March 2008 and is the head of Merchant Banking, directing equity and mezzanine investing activities.  Prior to UBE he worked at Haland, a start-up investment management firm, where he focused on mezzanine investing and assisted in fundraising efforts.  Previously, McNulty was a Vice President in JPMorgan’s Syndicated and Leveraged Finance department covering mid-corporate energy clients. He has closed over 80 transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $20 billion. McNulty has also worked in the e-commerce sector, as the Business Development Manager for OneLevelUp.com, where he helped design the business plan to introduce e-commerce to Bank One’s middle market clients. He began his career at First Chicago NBD in the First Scholar Management Training Program. McNulty has an MBA with double majors in Finance and Marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a BA in Government from Harvard University.


  • GOVERNMENT/PUBLIC SERVICE/NON-PROFIT
    Facilitator:  Bernadine Bednarz (KSM84),     Former Director of Ready, Set, Gold
    Bernadine Eve Bednarz, former Director of Ready, Set, Gold, (RSG!) a program of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG), created the first program of its kind in the country which matched Olympians/Paralympians with LAUSD elementary, middle and high school students.  The program’s goal was to inspire and motivate students to stay healthier and help to reduce diabetes and obesity.  Prior to SCCOG, she was Director, Business Development, Kroll Western region, where she served as a catalyst for identifying and cultivating business leads among attorneys, the AmLaw 200 law firms, corporate legal departments and Fortune 1000 corporations within the Western United States. Before joining Kroll, Ms. Bednarz served as a marketing and sales director and consultant to court reporting firms, a manufacturer of health care identification cards, and local, statewide and national political campaigns. She chairs the City Club Not-For-Profit/Social Enterprise Committee and has served on the Board of the Donor’s Circle, the Lexington Group, and WYSE (Women and Youth Serving Each Other).  She was recently named to the Southern California Community Advisory Board of the Millennium Momentum Foundation. Ms. Bednarz earned an M.B.A from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management, a Masters in Social Work from the University of Michigan and a B.S. from Loyola University-Chicago.

  • LAW & LEGAL SERVICES
    Facilitator:  Mark Labaton (GJ81), Partner, Kreindler & Kreindler, LLP
    A former federal prosecutor, Labaton is a partner at Kreindler & Kreindler, LLP.  He manages the firm's whistle-blower, securities and corporate governance practices and also handles a variety of other cases. In addition, Labaton has forced companies – including the media company that owned MySpace – to make important corporate reforms. Cases he litigated have also resulted in reported court decisions of significant precedential value in securities law, corporate law and False Claims Act/whistle-blower law. Recently, for example, Labaton won a significant victory when the First Circuit held in U.S. ex rel. Rost v. Pfizer that the False Claims Act's public disclosure bar did not apply to statements made privately to government officials. Labaton is an elected member of The American Law Institute, an influential organization of judges, law professors and lawyers who prepare the restatements of law, model codes and other proposals that clarify and help shape the law. He also serves on the Board of Governors of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers and is an active member of the Los Angeles Bar Association, Taxpayers Against Fraud and the National Association of Securities and Consumer Attorneys. He has been recognized repeatedly in Los Angeles and Law & Politics magazines as a "Southern California Super Lawyer." He is quoted regularly and has been a featured speaker and panelist at many law conferences. Recently, he appeared on the cover of Los Angeles Lawyer magazine. Labaton earned a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College, a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism, and a law degree from Duke Law School where he wrote on Law Review.  Labaton says that his journalism training has applied a great deal in his law work due to the “digging” and researching for information that is required to build a case.

    Facilitator:  Borchien Lai (L06)  Associate at Manatt
    Mr. Lai has general litigation experience in a wide range of areas, including construction defect litigation, eminent domain, life insurance, collections, environmental litigation and intellectual property.  Mr. Lai recently served as lead trial counsel for a four-day bench trial in a shareholder dispute.  Before attending law school, Mr. Lai served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Santa Rosa, Ecuador.  Previous to joining Manatt, he was a student intern at the Inter-American Foundation, where he worked on international development matters with the Office of Corporate Programs and the Office of General Counsel.  Mr. Lai received his B.A. in Biology from Johns Hopkins University in 2000 and his J.D. from Northwestern School of Law in 2006.  He is a member of the California State Bar Association. He has published “The Alien Tort Claims Act: Temporary Stopgap Measure or Permanent Remedy?,” in the Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business, Fall 2005 and “A U.S. Window on the Tomato Garden,” China IP Magazine, September 2008.  Mr. Lai is fluent in Spanish and conversational in Taiwanese.

  • MARKETING/PUBLIC RELATIONS/ADVERTISING
    Facilitator:     Aldore Collier (WCAS77, GJ78), Public Relations and Content Coordinator for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center of New Mexico
    Collier is the founder of CollComm, a public relations, outreach and marketing firm based in Los Angeles. CollComm is the prime consultant for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Center of New Mexico, working with engineers, architects, politicians, activists and exhibit designers. CollComm also consults with other marketing and public relations companies in California. Prior to opening CollComm in 2007, Collier spent 25 years as the west coast editor for Ebony and Jet magazines. During that time, he also taught journalism to students at California State University, Northridge and the University of Southern California. Collier, a Memphis, TN. native received a bachelor's degree in political science and graduate degree in journalism, both at Northwestern University. He worked at newspapers in Florida and Tennessee before joining Ebony and Jet.

    Facilitator: Toni Perling (C87), Perling PR
    After a fifteen-year career as a television writer (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman; I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant), Perling successfully segued into public relations as a Communications Specialist for United Healthcare-Workers West. As Public Relations Director of Saving the Lives of Our Own, she created the influential campaign to reverse the closure of the Motion Picture Television Fund Nursing Home.  Now through Perling PR, she provides marketing and media communications and copywriting services to a variety of clients, including BabyNames.com, the Clean Car Wash Campaign, and Goldstar.com.  Perling currently serves as the Vice President of the NU Club of LA.
     
    Facilitator: Nancy Tanaka (KSM03),     Customer Development Manager, Nestlé USA
    Tanaka is a Customer Development Manager in the Confections division of Nestlé USA.  Her marketing experience includes managing the Valentine's candy portfolio including new item development and leading various marketing initiatives for the Good Start infant formula brand.  She has also worked in marketing for Johnson & Johnson (consumer pharmaceuticals division) and in sales for The Clorox Company and Grimmway Farms, a leading produce company.  Her current role at Nestlé involves working with field sales and marketing to drive confections sales at key retailers.


  • MEDIA/PUBLISHING
    Facilitator:  Victor Chi (J91),     Senior Editor, SportsFanLive.com   
    Chi is Senior Editor of SportsFanLive.com, a site that launched in the summer of 2008 and was voted Top Newcomer in BusinessWeek’s “Best of the Web” awards. He oversees all of the site’s content and manages editorial partnerships with NFL.com, AOL FanHouse and a network of independent bloggers. He helped build features such as AthleteTweets, a real-time compilation of Twitter feeds from players and coaches, and FanFinder Mobile, an iPhone App for locating sports bars. He also handles marketing and public relations for the company. Chi was a sports reporter for nearly 15 years at the San Jose Mercury News, where he covered everything from high schools to the Super Bowl and spent nine seasons on the Sharks/NHL beat. He also worked as an editor at the Chicago Tribune and a correspondent for The Sporting News. During the summers of 2003-2007, he was an instructor at Northwestern's National High School Institute journalism program.

    Facilitator: Mary “Tina” Christina Curran (McC84)
    Three weeks after graduating from Northwestern in 1984, Curran began her advertising career in Chicago with an entry level position in the media department of Leo Burnett.  She worked at Burnett for nearly 13 years, rising though the media ranks to VP, Assistant Media Director, At Burnett, she worked primarily on the McDonald’s business, but also spent time on United Airlines, Dean Witter and Kellogg Curran moved to Los Angeles to become the VP, Media & Research for E! Entertainment Television and to market the shows of this growing cable network.  After three years at E!, Curran had the opportunity to become VP, Media at NBC.  She spent four years at NBC, helping to plan & execute the marketing and media behind the primetime shows as well as the Olympics, CNBC and MSNBC.  As the 20th anniversary of her career approached, Curran decided to take some time off from the corporate world to reassess her goals.  She spent 2004 pursuing artistic interests and then in January of 2005 began consulting on marketing & media issues for her old friends in the business.  Curran did some projects for NBC first, worked with her E! friends who had moved on to the G4 cable channel, and helped out at Starcom’s Los Angeles office (formerly Leo Burnett Media).    She then spent 18 months back at NBC working on the Beijing Olympics.  Since February 2009, Curran has been consulting on marketing & media issues at the Game Show Network, again reuniting her with many former E!-ers.

    Facilitator: Miho Nagano (MSJ04), Reporter at Investor's Business Daily
    Check back regularly for updates.

    Facilitator:  Robert J. Peterson (J99), freelance writer & co-founder of the website CC2K.us
    Peterson is the co-founder of the website CC2K.us, a pop-culture emporium that attracts millions of hits every year, all while competing for scoops with the biggest sites on the web. He's also a producer for the popular online talk show ComicsOnComics.com, which has featured such guests as Damon Lindelof, Jeff Katz, Don Murphy and other Hollywood luminaries. In 2009, Peterson’s web and graphic design career took off, allowing him to go fully freelance. He has more than a dozen clients in several U.S. states, as well as in Canada and Australia. In addition, Peterson is a voice-over talent who can be heard on the Travel Channel, the National Geographic Channel and the website Sportskool.com. Finally, Peterson is an aspiring novelist with two finished books and a third nearing completion. He’s actively seeking literary representation.

    Facilitator:  Cynthia Wang (J93), Assistant Editor at People Magazine
    In her current job, Wang helps manage reporting teams, covers television and sports personalities, and edits and writes for People.com. Before arriving in LA in 2001, Wang was a staff correspondent for People's New York bureau and also worked briefly at the magazine’s Miami office. She has been with People since she graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in 1993, having started at People as an intern in 1992. Among Wang's favorite assignments: covering the Olympics in Sydney, Salt Lake City, Athens, Beijing and Vancouver; going to 6 Survivor locations; and reporting covers on celebrities ranging from Michael J. Fox to the Bachelorette's Trista and Ryan. Wang is an LA chapter board member for the Asian American Journalists Association, an organization for which she served two terms as national treasurer. Wang is also a member of the Television Critics Association and the Women's Journalism Symposium.

    Facilitator:  Nicholas White (GJ02), Freelance Online Content Creator and Entertainment Journalist
    White started his career as an Entertainment Weekly intern after he received his graduate degree from the Medill School of Journalism in 2002. Since then, he has written and reported for many of the biggest entertainment media outlets in the country, including People magazine, Us Weekly, EW, E! Online, Hollywood.com, Los Angeles Times, iVillage, AOL, and Fancast.com. His interviews include Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Jennifer Lopez, Al Gore, and Beyonce. He credits Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism for being instrumental in his career development. White also has a Bachelor's in Journalism degree from the University of Missouri - Columbia. His favorite writers are Mike Davis, Neil Strauss, and Christopher Hitchens.

 

  • TECHNOLOGY/INFORMATION SYSTEMS
    Facilitator: Jennifer Moss (M85)     Founder and CEO of Babynames.com
    Moss is the founder and CEO of BabyNames.com, the top-rated Baby Names site on the web, featuring over 1.5 million unique visitors per month.  She’s also the author of the "One-In-A-Million Baby Name Book" (Perigee Press, 2008) which outlines her exclusive process for choosing the perfect baby name. As the media's leading expert on naming, Moss has appeared on CNN Headline News, Fox News Channel and CBS News-Los Angeles, and her advice and expertise has been featured on NPR, KFI, and in Los Angeles Magazine, Time Magazine and InTouch, among other national and local outlets.  As a cutting-edge computer programmer in the Nineties, Moss turned her fascination and love of etymology and naming into a database of baby names and meanings.  As the Internet began to take off, Moss registered the BabyNames.com address in 1996, and migrated her database to the web, thus creating the first baby naming site in cyberspace. As the site grew, attracting national advertisers and a dedicated audience of new parents, writers and others who are fascinated by names and their meanings, Moss began to offer private consultation, by email or in person, with parents unable to decide on a name.  She’s consulted with over 5,000 families on naming choices, and is currently in development on a non-fiction television series based on her unique service. Moss also created and maintains an internet startup consulting business, Moss Gathering Partners, advising startups on application architecture, development and building their technical teams, and shares her entrepreneurial expertise with over 200 local members of the Los Angeles Female Business Owners, a networking group she originated in 2007. Moss is a graduate of Northwestern University and a past President of the Northwestern University Alumni Club of Los Angeles.  She and her daughter, Miranda, currently reside in Los Angeles, California.
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