About Anne McColl

www.annemccoll.com

As the Best D@mn Copywriter, Anne McColl helps brands find the right words + pictures to tell their stories. She’s on a mission to banish corporate B.S. (That’s Business Speak and it doesn’t mean a thing.) She loves pairing up with design studios, ad agencies and interactive firms. When not surfing the Internet, you can find Anne surfing the juicy waves in San Diego.

About Marc Aguilera

@colorcritical

An award winning photographer and print technology educator for the creative industry, Marc has presented lectures and demos for Epson, HP, Canon and X-Rite. Focusing on color management, Marc is also an instructor in the photography department at UCSD Extension. Certified as an Apple Pro and Trainer, his approach to digital imaging and printing is rooted in the understanding of ICC color managed workflows, from capture to press.

About Jeffrey Brown

Jeffrey is a Kansas farm boy who graduated from college with degrees in civil engineering and geology with the intention of returning to the family business. On a mountaineering trip to South America, he discovered the unique social aspects of photography and with it, his talent for storytelling. Turns out, he was more interested in capturing the lives of the villagers making cheese at the bottom of the mountain than climbing the mountain itself.

In 1997, he was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his documentary photo essay Journey to the North. The series explored the lives and trials of Mexican migrants, as documented during a three-week journey from Central Mexico to Chicago. The same year, he migrated to California and with his partner Jennifer de Poyen founded Tallgrass Pictures as an homage to the tallgrass prairies of his Kansas home and her native Alberta. For several years, he remained a “lone wolf” photographer, with visions of creating a larger company and eventually self-funding a film career. Today, Tallgrass Pictures is an award-winning production company, ready to tackle its first feature-film project. Under his direction, Tallgrass has won numerous ADDY awards for its broadcast and branded-content work. He has been named one of the 200 Best Photographers Worldwide by Luerzer’s Archive. Other honors include a PX3 Prix de la Photographie in Paris; an IPA-Lucie “Best of Show” prize; and a Communication Arts Photo Annual Award.

As a director, he works in a unique “beautiful realism” style, which evolved naturally from time spent behind the lens. He insists that every shot be grounded in human truths, executed superbly. And he’s fully engaged in every detail of a project, from concept and script to art direction and performance to final cut.

He’s passionate about stories of people rising up and overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Lush visuals, sustained action, and mind-opening adventure: These are the hallmarks of the films he fell in love with growing up in small-town Kansas — films that make us care about the characters and take us far away, to a previously unimagined, fully realized world.

About Skye Walker

www.skyewalkerart.com

Skye Walker was born in Big Bear, California in 1978. His parents, Morris and Lynn Walker were musicians, entertainers and artists. The Walker family, including Skye’s younger sister Amoris moved all over the country from California to Nevada to Hawaii to Colorado to Oregon. His parents enjoyed travel and adventure and experiencing new places with the kids.

When Skye and Amoris were old enough, Morris took the family on the road as the EarthWalkers, a family band with a message for preserving the environment using bluegrass music and comedy to bring home the message. They traveled all over the United States performing for schools, colleges entertaining thousands of kids and adults alike. Morris played guitar, Skye played banjo while Lynn and Amoris sang all the while mixing humor into the show to keep the audience laughing and having fun while talking about pollution and keeping America beautiful.

They logged over 2,000 shows in three years nationwide. Skye and Amoris were home schooled during that time and their parents encouraged their creativity with art, writing and music.

Once the EarthWalkers finished touring, they moved to Oregon. Throughout all their travels Skye remained focused on art. This led him to a pre-college visual arts program called JumpstART at Oregon State University which he attended for two summers and earned a four year art scholarship to Oregon State University. Through college Skye did a lot of various commercial art projects including lots of murals on campus. Skye’s father, Morris, taught him about lettering and how to do murals when he was in high school. Morris had been a sign painter in the 70’s and early 80’s and had done a fair amount of murals as well. He wanted to pass this knowledge down to Skye so he could use it to his benefit.

While he loved murals, he focused on fine art and then transitioned to Graphic Design at OSU. Skye received a BFA in Graphic Design in 2001, packed his bags and surfboards and moved back to Southern California and headed straight to Encinitas. He’s been in and out of Encinitas his whole life and he knew he wanted to live there so he could surf as much as possible.

Throughout Skye’s professional career, he’s worked in-house and on a contract basis for companies such as: Rip Curl, Redsand, prAna, Dragon, Nike, Liquid Force, UCLA Athletics and more. In 2011, Whole Foods contacted Skye about doing murals for their new Encinitas store and, needless to say, he was elated as it kickstarted his passion for murals and large format art again.

Having a strong graphic design and fine art background helps Skye to work with clients to create original murals that meld with the themes of the company or project. Skye loves to paint murals that are just of his own vision, but he equally loves the challenge of creating permanent large scale murals and installations for clients who usually have a lot they want to convey.

Travel is a big part of being a commercial muralist and Skye has created murals in California, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado and Texas, with his sights set on doing murals anywhere and everywhere he can.

Going forward Skye’s goal is to do as many mural projects as possible within California and beyond. He believes it’s a great way to bring something special to any community or business and also raise awareness about the importance of art in our daily lives.

About Lindsay LaShell

lindsaydayton.com

Lindsay Dayton LaShell began her career in technology way back in the Bay Area in the late nineties. Since then, she’s worked for funded startups, bootstrapped projects and marketing agencies, with a brief detour into the wilds of public education. In 2015 she established Diamond + Branch Marketing Group, a digital marketing agency with a keen focus on strategy, content and analysis. Lindsay is a frequent participant and planner in community events, and she is currently exploring ways to promote practical workplace feminism in the marketing industry. When she’s not writing a strategy document or analyzing web data, Lindsay will probably be in North Park, eating, drinking and knitting with her unassuming husband Paul and her adorable dog, Waffles.

About Daniel Heffernan

Daniel Heffernan does cool things with letterpress.

About André Couturier Maitret

www.andrecm.com

André Couturier Maitret is as eccentric as they come. A visual artist in every sense of the word, he rocks an inimitable personal style inspired by his native French-Mexican heritage and impassioned creative vision. André was born in San Diego but spent most of his youth in Veracruz, Mexico. His talents range from digital illustration and 3D animation, to video game development and web design, to photography and videography. His eye for aesthetics has served him well for more than a decade in digital marketing and fine arts. André brings his distinct creative flair to every project, ensuring that your brand’s personality is authentically represented in its visual expression.

About Katie Rast

www.fablabsd.org

Katie Rast is the Director of Fab Lab San Diego, and has worked with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop the San Diego instantiation of the Global Network of MIT Fab Labs. Since 2007, Katie has managed this local invention space, and has developed and deployed programs focused on innovation, ideation, hardware development, and rapid prototyping. Katie has been an evangelist for the Maker Movement for the past eight years, and remains dedicated to the belief that communities benefit when tools, teams and training are made accessible. As a part of her ongoing efforts to grow the local maker community, Katie co-produces the Maker Faire in San Diego, a showcase of local innovation and creativity. This year, the San Diego Maker Faire collaborated with Balboa Park and the City of San Diego to produce a park-wide event that brought over 25,000 attendees to Balboa Park during its centennial anniversary year.

The San Diego Fab Lab is currently working with inventors and entrepreneurs to assist in the development of hardware and physical products that include the design and development of projects that include household items, custom prosthetics, 3D printed fashion, drones and wearable electronics.

About Andrew Bergeron

Andrew Bergeron is a designer with a tool-belt of front-end development skills. Currently, he is based in San Diego, CA where he is a lead User Experience Designer for Everyone Counts, a rapidly growing start-up focused on transforming modern election systems. Previously he was at the helm of his own business, Visual Rhythm, which provides website and branding solutions for a variety of clients, ranging from startups and nonprofits to corporations and small businesses.

Recent speaking engagements include "The Value of Logos" at WordCamp Orange County, and "The Art of the Portfolio" at WordCamp Los Angeles. Andrew has also been interviewed on the WP Tavern podcast as a logo and branding expert.

Andrew spends his free time surfing, creating FontAnimals, and scouring YouTube for rare James Brown videos. You can see his latest-and-greatest work on his website Visual Rhythm and his Dribbble profile.

About RaShelle Roberts

RaShelle Roberts is the founder of rashelleroberts.com, (previously known as inVision), which specializes in coaching and consulting for creative professionals. In 1998, RaShelle saw the need to develop customized programs and strategies to meet the specific challenges creative business owners face.

Prior to forming her coaching practice, RaShelle operated as a business partner, directing the marketing and business development of a thriving design firm in Southern California. She has studied under the industry’s top leaders – attending and leading sessions that discuss leadership skills, innovative business-development techniques, and marketing strategies.

RaShelle has been recognized by thought leaders around the globe for her unique ability to develop flexible, innovative programs that fit the needs of each client. Programs include one-on-one coaching, group workshops and various multimedia courses. RaShelle developed The Creative Business Manifesto™, a course for ‘creatives’ to design a personalized plan that lays a solid foundation to run a small business with longevity, sustainability and strength.

RaShelle’s workshops have been featured at the HOW Design Conference, AIGA San Diego Y Conference and numerous in-house creative teams. Programs and workshops have been developed including BREW Las Vegas, San Diego, Orange County and various chapters of the AIGA, the Graphic Artists Guild, PRSA and others. In addition, RaShelle has contributed to both the Self-Promo Issue and the Business Annual for HOW Magazine.

She is an active member of the creative community, has served on several chapter boards of the AIGA, a mixed media artist, an unschooling mother of two and works closely with organizations that support creative expression as a way of healing for at risk youth.