Agenda: Social Media Week 2026

8:30 AM - 9:25 AM

Breakfast

Breakfast presented by Lifeway Kefir

2nd Floor - Food Hall

9:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Creator-Brand Storytelling Reimagined with Dhar Mann and Gap, Inc.

Featuring the chance to win a $1000 Old Navy shopping experience!

1st Floor - Main Stage

Sean Atkins

Chief Executive Officer

Damon Berger

Senior Vice President, Marketing Shared Services

Dhar Mann

Founder

Ryan Joe

Editor-in-Chief

10:05 AM - 10:30 AM

Leading the New Rules of Discovery: Inside Free People’s Triple-Digit Social Growth

1st Floor - Main Stage

Addie Hearn

Senior Social Media Manager

Coleen O'Hara

Senior Social Media Marketing Manager

Ryan Sasaki

Chief Product Officer

Zoë Ruderman

Chief Content Officer

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

The Hidden Drivers of Social Commerce

1st Floor - Main Stage

Sidharth Malhotra

Sidharth Malhotra

Global Vice President, SMB and Mid-Market

10:55 AM - 11:20 AM

3 Ways AI Is Already Rewriting Social Media Marketing

1st Floor - Main Stage

Joe Gagliese

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

11:25 AM - 11:55 AM

Wellness Is Out. Coping Is In. How Brita Became a Gen Z Survival Tool

1st Floor - Main Stage

Rita Gorenberg

Integrated Marketing and Communications Lead

Rob Lenois

Global Chief Creative Officer

Lia Haberman

Founder

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Lunch

2nd Floor - Food Hall

12:20 PM - 1:00 PM

Lunch and Learn Roundtables

Join your fellow attendees for a content-driven lunch connect at our Lunch and Learn Roundtables lead by industry voices.

2nd Floor - Food Hall

12:45 PM - 1:45 PM

Level Up: TYB Community Live

3rd Floor - The Visionary Vault

1:00 PM - 1:30 PM

What Would Justine Snacks Do?

Go IRL Experience

3rd Floor - The Creative Chamber

Justine Doiron

Owner and Founder

Zach Schiffman

Supervising Social Producer

1:15 PM - 2:00 PM

AI Creative for Everybody: Live Workshop with Higgsfield

Go IRL Experience

3rd Floor - The Idea Lab

Jasmyn Jarnigan

Jasmyn Jarnigan

Vice President, B2B Strategic Partnerships

Wiz

Co-Founder

1:35 PM - 1:55 PM

How AI is Reshaping Social: Lessons from Entertainment and Beauty Leaders

4th Floor

Cameron Curtis

Vice President, Multi-Platform Strategy and Digital Media

Danica Calderhead

Danica Calderhead

Senior Vice President, Revenue

1:45 PM - 2:05 PM

The Question Gap: Pioneering Research Reveals How Social Search Impacts Purchase Decisions

1st Floor - Stage

Eric deLima Rubb

Eric deLima Rubb

Vice President of Customer Success and Insights

2:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Let's Build a Brief!

Go IRL Experience

3rd Floor - The Creative Chamber

Janni Widerholm

Janni Widerholm

Group Creative Director, Head of Social

Meet Cutes NYC

Jeremy Bernstein, Aaron Feinberg and Victor Lee

2:10 PM - 2:30 PM

Don’t Ignore the Knock: Answering Market Signals with Social Intelligence

1st Floor - Stage

Sabrina Barekzai

Sabrina Barekzai

Director, Social Media Strategy

Brittany Hennessy

Brittany Hennessy

Vice President, Social Intelligence Evangelism

2:15 PM - 2:45 PM

Injections, Influence, and Integrity: Who Patients Believe Now

4th Floor

Minou Clark

Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Adam Goodcoff

Dr. Adam Goodcoff

Chief Medical Officer

3:00 PM - 3:15 PM

From Cultural Moments to Cultural Commitment

1st Floor - Main Stage

NeAndre Broussard

NeAndre Broussard

Chief Executive Officer

3:20 PM - 3:40 PM

The Bite-Sized Blueprint for Founder Influence

1st Floor - Main Stage

Melissa Ben-Ishay

Melissa Ben-Ishay

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Chelsea Bakken

Head of Audience Development and Social

3:45 PM - 3:55 PM

Welcome to the Creativity Renaissance. You're All Invited.

1st Floor - Main Stage

Mahi de Silva

Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer

Zoë Ruderman

Chief Content Officer

4:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Crafting Gold Medal Moments at the Milan Olympics

1st Floor - Main Stage

Justin Karp

Vice President, Social Media

4:20 PM - 4:50 PM

The Inbox Effect: Newsletters, Trust, and the New Content Moat

1st Floor - Main Stage

Ashley Murphy

Chief Marketing Officer

Sami Sage

Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer

Shaina Zafar

Executive, UTA Next Gen

Lauren Finney Harden

Lauren Finney Harden

Content Strategist

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Social Media Week Reception

Presented by Sam's Club

8:30 AM - 9:25 AM

Breakfast

Breakfast presented by Lifeway Kefir

2nd Floor - Food Hall

9:30 AM - 9:55 AM

Subway Takes on the Business of Social

1st Floor - Main Stage

Reza Izad

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Kareem Rahma

Creator and Producer

Zoë Ruderman

Chief Content Officer

10:00 AM - 10:25 AM

Featured Conversation with Sam's Club

1st Floor - Main Stage

MacKenzie McCarver

MacKenzie McCarver

Head of Social and Influencers

Catherine Ebs

Creator

10:30 AM - 10:50 AM

Mastering Crisis Communication in the Social Media Era

1st Floor - Main Stage

Molly McPherson

Molly McPherson

Crisis Communications Strategist and Host

Chelsea Bakken

Head of Audience Development and Social

10:55 AM - 11:20 AM

Fastvertising for the Social Age: How AI Is Democratizing Creative Speed

1st Floor - Main Stage

Fraser Woollard

Fraser Woollard

Head of Business Development

11:20 AM - 12:00 PM

The New Power of Late Night Voices in a Short-Form World

1st Floor - Main Stage

Jocelyn Conn

Producer

Ramin Hedayati

Co-Executive Producer and Segment Director

Josh Johnson

Comedy Central's The Daily Show

Jordan Klepper

Comedy Central's The Daily Show

Grace Kuhlenschmidt

Grace Kuhlenschmidt

Comedy Central's The Daily Show

Zoë Ruderman

Chief Content Officer

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Lunch

2nd Floor - Food Hall

12:20 PM - 1:00 PM

Lunch and Learn Roundtables

Join your fellow attendees for a content-driven lunch connect at our Lunch and Learn Roundtables lead by industry voices.

2nd Floor - Food Hall

1:00 PM - 1:45 PM

Mingle to Bingle with ADCOLOR

3rd Floor - The Visionary Vault

1:00 PM - 2:15 PM

Build Your First Agent

Go IRL Experience

3rd Floor - The Idea Lab

Bena Benoit

Junior Strategist

Josh Currie

Head of Operations Strategy and Business Intelligence

Pete Steiner

Head of Creative Labs

1:10 PM - 1:40 PM

My Two Cents: A Social Strategy Lab

Go IRL Experience

3rd Floor - The Creative Chamber

Mina Park

Chief Executive Officer

1:35 PM - 1:55 PM

The Real State of Social Media in 2026

What the Data Says About Platforms, Performance, and the People Behind the Handles

1st Floor - Stage

Anniston Ward

USA PR, Events, and Education Manager

2:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Reading Between the Likes: How Manscaped Used Cultural AI to Sharpen Its Social Strategy

4th Floor

Jori Evans

Director, Social Media

Michael Miller

Founder and Head of Creative

Trishla Ostwal

AI and Tech Reporter

2:10 PM - 2:40 PM

The Power of Fandom: How Dr Pepper Drives Cultural Impact in Social

1st Floor - Stage

Mark Shorey

Director, Integrated Social and Communications

Jared Ohgren

Director, Connections Strategy

2:50 PM - 3:20 PM

Emma Grede on Building Brands—and Becoming One

1st Floor - Main Stage

Emma Grede

Founder, Serial Entrepreneur, Author and Host of Aspire with Emma Grede Podcast

Zoë Ruderman

Chief Content Officer

3:20 PM - 3:50 PM

Content With Conviction: Nonprofits Navigating the Digital Landscape

1st Floor - Main Stage

Michael Olson

Deputy Managing Editor

Allison Rhone

National Director, Social Strategy, Partnerships, and Insights

Matt Schoch

Senior Director, Digital Content Strategy and Social Media

Will Lee

Chief Executive Officer

3:55 PM - 4:20 PM

GAMECHANGERS: Inside ESPN’s Creator-Led Future of Sports Fandom

1st Floor - Main Stage

Trey Phills

Creator

Lily Shimbashi

Creator

Neha Sridhar

Creator

Matt Higgins

Head of Strategy

4:20 PM - 4:35 PM

Make It Whop: Engineering Virality Through Clipping Armies

1st Floor - Main Stage

Steven Schwartz

Steven Schwartz

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

4:35 PM - 5:00 PM

The Modern Newsroom: Built for a World That Never Pauses

1st Floor - Main Stage

Jessica Yellin

Founder

Mark Stenberg

Senior Media Reporter

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Social Media Week Reception

Presented by Viral Nation

8:30 AM - 9:25 AM

Breakfast

Breakfast presented by Lifeway Kefir

2nd Floor - Food Hall

9:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Trending for Office: Social Media’s Role in Shaping Leaders

1st Floor - Main Stage

Anthony DiMieri

Anthony DiMieri

Co-Founder and Executive Producer

Debbie Saslaw

Co-Founder and Executive Producer

Mark Stenberg

Senior Media Reporter

10:05 AM - 10:30 AM

UGC Unleashed: A Live Experiment on What Drives Attention and Trust

1st Floor - Main Stage

Heather Riccobono

Heather Riccobono

Senior Manager, Social Solution Engineer

Hannah Lorsch

Creator and Photographer

10:35 AM - 10:50 AM

Barking Up the Right Feed with The Dogist

1st Floor - Main Stage

Elias Weiss Friedman

Elias Weiss Friedman

Founder

Alison Weissbrot

Alison Weissbrot

Executive Editor

10:55 AM - 11:20 AM

Tefi Talks Live

1st Floor - Main Stage

Estefanía Vanegas Pessoa

Estefanía Vanegas Pessoa

Content Creator and Podcast Host

11:25 AM - 11:55 AM

Around the World in 80 Frames: How Travel Brands Show Up on Social

1st Floor - Main Stage

Greg Lin-Murphy

Greg Lin-Murphy

Senior Manager, Head of Social Strategy

Nicolle Lopez

Head of Brand Social

Emily Snyder

Senior Manager of Advertising and Social Media Strategy

Kendra Barnett

Senior Tech Reporter

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Lunch

12:20 PM - 1:00 PM

Lunch and Learn Roundtables

Join your fellow attendees for a content-driven lunch connect at our Lunch and Learn Roundtables lead by industry voices.

2nd Floor - Food Hall

12:40 PM - 1:15 PM

The Creator Economy Exchange

3rd Floor - The Visionary Vault

Brett Dashevsky

Brett Dashevsky

Founder

12:45 PM - 1:15 PM

Content Creator Mythbusting with Platform Insiders

1st Floor - Stage

Antonia Alakija

Antonia Alakija

Creator Marketing Strategist and Founder

Tabir Akhter

Strategic Creator Partner Manager

Danielle Noriega

Danielle Noriega

Creator Partnerships Manager

Simon Shore

Strategic Partner Manager

Nina Yiamsamatha

Nina Yiamsamatha

Head of Creator Marketing, Podcasts

1:30 PM - 1:45 PM

Did You Reddit It? Community as the Most Powerful Signal in Media

1st Floor - Main Stage

Rob Gaige

Global Head of Insights

1:50 PM - 2:20 PM

Belonging Isn’t a Media Strategy

1st Floor - Main Stage

Jackie G

Creator (@tismejackieg)

Joy Ogunneye

Global Innovation and Brand Comms Lead, Aveeno Face, Sun and Hair

Alejandra Salazar

Alejandra Salazar

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Bianca Brutus

Social Media Editor

2:25 PM - 2:55 PM

Enterprise Brand, Feed Friendly, Seeking Engagement

1st Floor - Main Stage

Ty Heath

Global Director, Thought Leadership GTM Strategy

Suzanne Lindbergh

Suzanne Lindbergh

Global Head of Social Media and Influencers

Jenny Rooney

Chief Brand and Community Officer

3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Lights, Camera, Content: Crafting Social Moments with Talent

1st Floor - Main Stage

Reece Feldman

Creator

Trevor Shannon

Senior Director, Digital Marketing

Alison Weissbrot

Alison Weissbrot

Executive Editor

3:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Social Media Week Reception