Day two: June 23, 2026

Creators & the Content Ecosystem

The Creator Didn't Just Make Content. They Built a World.

Day two follows the creator's evolution from content-maker to world-builder. The panels trace the full arc: becoming the brand, renegotiating the creator-brand relationship, turning an audience into a true community, and diversifying revenue well beyond the brand deal. It's a working session on power, ownership, and what comes next in the attention economy.

11AM - 12PM

The Creator Is the Brand

Identity, ownership, and audience in the attention economy. When does a creator become a brand, and what does audience ownership mean in a platform-dependent world?

  • Jill Smith, CEO of Iris America (Moderator)

  • Edward East, Founder and Global CEO, Billion Dollar Boy

  • Brittany Hennessy, VP, Social Intelligence Evangelism, Sprout Social

  • Kate Kennedy, Creator, Podcast Host, and NYTimes Bestselling Author of One in a Millennia

  • Jarell Perry, Sr. Director Brand Partnerships & Creators, Tumblr

12PM - 1pM

So You Want to Be a Creator

The creator economy matured from side hustle to industry, but the path from posting to profit stays undefined: what it takes to turn an audience into a livelihood, and what separates lasting businesses from burnout.

  • Tiffany Wade, Media Director, HunterBlu (Moderator)

  • Colin Owensby

  • Bashel Lewis, Content Creator and Host

  • Jesse Rubenstein, Founder and CEO of Hello There Collective

  • Laura Winson, CEO of ZBD Talent

1PM - 2pM

No One Left Behind

AI is reshaping the workforce fast, pushing HR from the sidelines to the center as architects of change. The human side of the equation: what companies owe their workers, and what workers can claim for themselves.

  • Barbara Phillips, Founder, Brownstone Communications (Moderator)

  • Ronnie Dickerson Stewart, Founder and CEO, OH Hey Coach, and Author of Career Life Remix

  • Carlee A. Wolfe, Associate Vice President, Integrated Talent and Organizational Effectiveness, Hyatt Hotels

2PM - 3pM

Show Me the Money: Diversifying Revenue

Monetization beyond the brand deal: the revenue stream that changed everything, how to price yourself when you are one of a kind, and the creator economy's version of a 401(k).

  • Brendan Hufford, Head of Marketing, Growth Sprints (Moderator)

  • Tiffany Hardin, CEO of Gild Creative Group & Represent

  • Maria Teresa Hernandez, Founder, Yellow House Collective

  • Tyler Denk, Co-founder and CEO of beehiiv

  • Matthew Prince, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cloudflare

3PM - 4pM

Community Is the Content

How creators build ecosystems, not just audiences: the difference between an audience and a community, keeping intimacy as it grows, and the moment a community becomes a media network.

  • Neda Whitney, President, MATTE Projects (Moderator)

  • Mercedes Arielle, Content Creator, Calculated Opulence

  • Pauline Malcolm Thornton, Chief Executive Officer at BrandStory Architech

  • Tony Triump, Founder & CEO, The Triumphant Group

  • Fahim Mannan, Content Creator and Educator, Fahim Explains

4PM - 5pM

Platform or Partner?

Renegotiating the creator-brand deal: the clause every creator needs in their contract, briefs that don't kill the creator's voice, and whether the mega-influencer deal is dead.

  • Randa Quraan, Founder and CEO, Socially Loud (Moderator)

  • Jacqueline Onalo, Executive Coach, Human Rights Attorney, and Lecturer

  • Natasha Vaquer, Brand Partnerships, UTA Creators

  • Additional panelists to be announced