About TEDxAsburyPark

Our Volunteers

Brian Smiga

Founder

Brian Smiga, a serial entrepreneur and seasoned marketer, is a Partner at Alpha. Brian also advises Pritzker Group Venture Capital on deal origination and relationships.

Prior to Alpha Partners, Brian was the founder and CEO of Preclick, (sold to Smilebox), where he developed photo software licensed worldwide by HP, 3M, Sandisk, Walmart, Costco, CVS, and Walgreens. Prior to Preclick, Mr. Smiga was CEO at 3Path, an early Dropbox, an Intel and Goldman-Sachs backed startup, and the SVP of Marketing at 1ClickCharge, an early Bolt, where his product launch resulted in a sale of the company to CMGi.

Since first working with Mr. Brotman at 1ClickCharge, Mr. Smiga advised Brotman-backed portfolio companies: Altruik, Headliner, Knovel, and Mobile Commons. In the 1990s, Mr. Smiga began his career as a developer at Booz & Co, and in Silicon Valley was the founder of Portfolio Software and Actioneer, where he co-authored six collaboration software patents and licensed top-rated software to Apple, IBM, Lotus, Microsoft, AOL, 3Com, Acco, and others. Brian received a BA in Liberal Arts from Swarthmore College, and a Masters of Philosophy in Literature from Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland. Brian is the founder of TEDxAsburyPark, the top-ranked TEDx conference on the US east coast, and a board member of the Roothbert Fund, a scholarship grant program for graduate students whose daily actions are guided by spirituality.

Dossie McCraw

Executive Producer

Dossie helped produce last year’s TEDxAsburyPark sold-out “Joy” event. He is an independent executive producer of video, audio, and stage projects, including the Webby-Award- and NAACP-Image-Award-nominated podcast Holding Court with Eboni K. Williams, the live storytelling spectacle History That Doesn’t Suck, now touring performing arts centers nationwide, and the brand-new podcast Ye Gods! with Scott Carter which debuted in 2023. Previously, Dossie held leadership roles at Spotify, HBO, and Luminary Media. He was nominated for a 2017 Daytime Emmy Award as Executive Producer of Spotify’s Clarify video series hosted by Baratunde Thurston.

Kim Warner

Marketing Lead

As a Director of Marketing for Audible, proudly headquartered in Newark, NJ, Kim leads media efforts for content marketing, influencers and events. She has a background in strategic communication, with a focus on social media, which she’s cultivated across a career working with brands like HBO, General Mills, State Farm and for the past 9 years, Audible. Storytelling is at the core of everything she does, whether it is through work or in her own writing, and she is a passionate reader and listener who is excited to be supporting the voices of TEDxAsburyPark UNITY.

Anna Bailer

Public Relations

Anna is a senior executive with The Lede Company, a global, full-service strategy, communications, and social impact consulting firm. She has executed successful public-relations campaigns and provided strategic guidance for many entertainment-industry clients. These include Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network, Candle Media, Live Nation, Ticketmaster, Higher Ground Productions, The Gotham Film & Media Institute, The Peabody Awards, and many others. Anna also has championed a range of high-profile nonprofits, including Global Citizen, Planned Parenthood, The Global Fund, the ONE Campaign, Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation, and March for Our Lives.

John Orefice

Production Director

John spent his professional career producing live theatrical events as a High School English and Theatre Arts educator in Pelham, New York. Now retired, John lends his producing and directing talents to TEDxAsburyPark. He produced and stage-managed last year’s triumphant “Joy,” and “Chaos” back in 2019. He also helped produce 2022’s One Act:One Idea, a series of original short plays presented over Zoom during the pandemic and live at the 2022 event. While a student at Colby College, John helped to co-found the MainStage Summer Theatre.

Larry Murphy

Technical Director

Larry joined the TEDxAsburyPark team in 2017. He is our Technical Director, and also serves as Production Manager during live and online events. Having led teams at Bell Labs and later IBM, Larry brings many years of invaluable experience to the table. He has successfully built and led business transformation teams within R&D focused on the architecture, design, and development of new innovative Internet-based and telecommunications services and solutions. He also currently serves as a Mentor for SCORE, a national nonprofit that provides guidance and coaching to small businesses, where his focus is startup planning, digital marketing technology, and business operations.

Kiran Goojha

Marketing Team

Kiran brings her strategic operations and communications expertise to the TEDxAsburyPark marketing team. She acquired this experience working for a range of different organizations, including a Big 4 consulting firm, an NGO, and a mid-sized consumer package goods company. No matter where she focuses her attention, her goal is to utilize her planning and analytical skills to drive growth and inspire action. Outside of work, Kiran loves cooking, baking, feeding her friends and family, and learning about the socio-economic and psychological impact of food on humans.

Robyn Fink

Social Media Manager

Robyn is a social native, voracious reader, internet nerd, enthusiastic dot-connector & ampersand enthusiast. For over a decade, she has created and executed impactful social activity that leads to improved brand awareness and loyalty, integrating social media into overall business strategies and growing organic social from an “afterthought” marketing channel to a key stakeholder across content, customer care, public relations, product, and performance analytics. She is happy to bring her social media expertise and refined project management skills to support the efforts of TEDxAsburyPark.

Kerri Garbis

Speaker Team Lead

Kerri is the CEO & Founder of Ovation, a communications skills training firm. She has trained hundreds of business professionals internationally on presentation skills, storytelling, etiquette, and emotional intelligence. Her enthusiasm, humor, and energy inspire multiple repeat-client engagements. She has been a professional actor since childhood and is currently a member of the Actor’s Equity Association. Kerri’s unique approach blends her business savvy and impressive professional acting background for an immersive training that gets speakers from the page to the stage. She has also graced the TedX stage herself in How to Rehearse Anything, which was selected as a featured TedX Short.

Suzanne Pisano

Marketing Team

Suzanne is a creative writer with a particular expertise in marketing and promotional writing. She currently works for an advertising agency, where she collaborates with integrated creative teams to produce web content, video scripts, and digital media copy. She is passionate about music and the theatrical arts and in her spare time sings with several bands in Central NJ. She also writes and edits personal essays, humor, and poetry on Medium.com. Suzanne was drawn to volunteer with TEDxAsburyPark after experiencing—and loving—the “Joy” event in 2022.

Todd Green

Partnerships Lead

With a track record of steering and guiding diverse teams in sales, marketing, distribution, and licensing, Todd has played pivotal roles in both startup and established media companies, such as Tribeca Enterprises (the host of the Tribeca Film Festival), AMC Networks, and First Look Media. Presently, Todd functions as an independent producer, dedicated to the creation and distribution of original content that seeks to foster learning, inspiration, and personal growth.

Sean McCourt

Director of Video

Sean McCourt is an Executive Producer for the streaming platform, Fox Nation. His current projects include The Infomercials that Sold Us with Dennis Miller, Meet the American with Bill Hemmer, and The Sanctuary Trap with Rosanna Scotto. His Covid documentary, The Healing, was featured at the Garden State Film Festival. Sean is a former Broadway actor.