Meet Your Speakers

Gabriela Acosta

Gabriela (“Gaby”) Acosta is an Executive Podcast Producer, Communications Consultant, and Thought Leadership Coach who believes leadership and storytelling are deeply intertwined. She teaches the Amplify Your V.O.I.C.E. Method to help inclusive leaders establish a digital presence using multimedia content strategies.

Mónika Aldarondo

Mónika Aldarondo Lugo specializes in supporting people through the use of various media to tell stories, including photography, podcasting, community building and consulting on creative endeavors. She began podcasting in 2017 when she produced PSC Mami a podcast about parenting the rare disease, PSC. She has produced and hosted Our Latina Lens podcast, won podcasting grants and supported other Women of Color in the development of their podcasts.

Angela Briones

I am the creator and host of The Gay Podcast for Everyone, a podcast that invites our parents, families, and allies into the conversation.

Outside of my 8 to 5, I am a podcaster and writer, who is obsessed with Law and Order SVU and all things Bravo. I am also a proud lesbian latina.

Yesenia Bocanegra

Yesenia Bocanegra, founder of Focus & Bloom Studios, is a video podcast strategist with 15+ years of experience in film, photography, and design. Originally from Puerto Rico, she helps entrepreneurs and organizations create brand-aligned content through video and podcasting.

Abigail Cerquitella

I am a devoted shaper and consumer of stories, both written and audio. When not reading or editing, I’m probably eating pizza, planning my next trip or writing my book recommendation newsletter.

Cynthia Flores

Meet Cynthia Flores, a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Speaker and host of the Heal & Manifest Podcast, dedicated to guiding First Generation Cycle Breakers on their journey to healing and self-discovery. Through her dynamic approach, Cynthia empowers the Latine community to overcome trauma, break generational cycles, and build a life of authenticity and fulfilling relationships.

Azucena Garcia

Digital Content Creator and Host of the Parálisis Cerebral Respuestas Podcast – A podcast meant to answer all your questions about Cerebral Palsy.

Heidy De La Cruz

Heidy De La Cruz is a podcaster, certified podcast coach, and writer. Heidy is the host of the award-nominated podcast The American Dream in The Eyes of Immigrants. Where immigrants share their journey of coming to the United States. She also coaches business owners who wish to launch their podcast with her six-week coaching program. In her free time, Heidy enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, and making memories with her family.

Lanie Hobbs

Podcaster, Voice Actor, Co-Founder of True Crime Podcast Festival, Founder of the Beyond The Veil Festival, UGC creator, mom & wife!

Michelle Jackson

Michelle Jackson is an award winning podcaster creating content focused on bettering the world around her. When she’s not doing that she’s helping podcasters strategize, find and grow at least on recurring income stream for their brand via her resource “Creators Getting Paid.” She loves podcasting because no one can interrupt her while she’s speaking.

Dr. Asia Lyons

Dr. Asia Lyons is a former educator turned education consultant on a mission to support and amplify the voices of Black educators through podcasting, innovative programming, impactful workshops, and speaking engagements, fostering community healing and wellness.

Amanda B. Nazareno

Amanda B. Nazareno is a musician, educator, and the wraparound producer for the world’s #1 (and only) cat-themed culture, history and science podcast, 6 Degrees of Cats, named a Lifehacker Top 10 pet people podcast and a 2024 Ear Worthy indie podcast award for pet podcasts. She has consulted for clients in academia, media, social impact and tech on community engagement strategy and events production, and is “a lot of fun to work with” – if you’d like to collaborate, visit linktr.ee/Ask4Amanda.

Arielle Nissenblatt

Arielle Nissenblatt is the founder of EarBuds Podcast Collective, a podcast recommendation newsletter. She’s all about helping you find your next favorite thing to listen to.

Ydaiber Orozco

In this exciting session, Ydaiber will share how Latinas in podcasting can use their unique skills to create authentic and impactful content.

Ydaiber, with her background in coaching, production, acting, and voice acting, will show how these skills can seamlessly transition into the podcasting world. She’ll talk about how you can take the skills you already have and use them to make your podcast stand out.

The session will also dive into the importance of knowing your core values and making sure they shine through in everything you do, especially in your podcast. Ydaiber will share practical tips on how to blend your skills and values to create content that’s not just professional and polished but also true to who you are.

Join Ydaiber for some fun, inspiration, and practical advice on how to bring your authentic self into your podcasting journey. She can’t wait to see you there!

Veronica Ramirez

Veronica Ramirez is the lead attorney and founder of Curator Counsel—a law firm dedicated to providing effective legal representation for content creators. When she’s not lawyering, you will probably find her at the gym or binging a competition reality tv series. You can follow her @curator_counsel on IG and TikTok.

Mafe Salazar

Mafe Salazar (she/her) is a Podcast Manager, Producer, and the mastermind behind From Tourist to Local. She believes that when you focus on what truly matters – your story, your perspective, your experience – you can amplify your reach and forge incredible connections.

On a mission to elevate your podcasting game, she handles the behind-the-scenes magic, ensuring you sound brilliant and your message is loud and clear. Because, let’s be honest… It’s all about the edit, right?

Kat Lopez Shelby

I’m Kat Lopez Shelby, an entrepreneur dedicated to helping businesses stay cyber-safe and thrive through tech automation. I’m passionate about making a positive impact in my community and empowering others to succeed, whether they’re in the office or on the move.

Steph Wharton

Steph is a Speaker, Coach, and Creator of the Speaker Movement—on a mission to help underrepresented folks amplify their impact beyond social media by confidently embracing their speaker identity.

You get to step into a reality where you get to go deeper into your core identity, your innate strengths, your values, your mission, and leverage speaking and community to create more reach and revenue without sacrificing rest.

Beyond the business, you can find her embracing her own version of a whole damn vibe lifestyle with a big glass of vino, watching Spanish Netflix shows, and dancing bachata.

Sasha Willis

Sasha Willis is the co-owner of Atabey & Co., a podcast network and production company dedicated to amplifying the voices of women of color. With a passion for community building and storytelling, Sasha leads efforts to support and empower marginalized podcasters through innovative workshops and network initiatives.