Featured Speakers (Last updated July 7, 2010)
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Thursday, October 14, 1:30-4:30 p.m.
All You Need to Know about Shooting Video on DSLR Cameras
Presenter: Paul B. Kim, senior producer, Adventist Media Productions

Description: The Video DSLR (HDSLR) revolution has taken both the film and photography industry by storm.  From corporate communications to primetime network TV to freelance photography, professionals are utilizing these inexpensive cameras.  This seminar will be an introduction to creating high quality video on the Canon DSLR cameras: exploring the mechanics of the camera body, the equipment necessary for proper operation, problem-solving limitations of the camera, and post-production workflow for delivery.

Paul Kim's passion is using the visual arts to tell stories and communicate ideas that foster understanding between people across the globe. Having previously served as a documentary and new media producer with the North American Division Church Resource Center for five years, he recently joined the Adventist Media Productions team in Simi Valley as senior producer. A former SONscreen Film Festival Best in Fest winner with his documentary, "Unto the Ends", he has remained actively involved in mentoring young filmmakers via SONscreen and as an adjunct professor teaching documentary film at Washington Adventist University. In 2009, Paul completed his MFA from the School of Communication of American University in Washington, DC, where he received a prestigious fellowship from the Center for Social Media funded by the Ford Foundation. He recently finished producing the unprecedented “Stained Glass” documentary series, a project sponsored by the Adventist church that took over 2 years to complete.



Thursday, October 14, 1:30-4:30 p.m.
A New Way to Manage Content for Print and Web Publications
Presenter: Gerry Chudleigh, communication director, Pacific Union Conference

Description: TBD

Gerry Chudleigh, communication director for the Pacific Union Conference, in Westlake Village, Calif., started taking photos for youth camp multi-media shows in the 1970s. But with his current communication job and the advent of digital cameras, he found it necessary to learn a lot more about photography for church meetings — which are mostly indoor and mostly in low light. In recent years Gerry has served on the photography team at GC session and at such national meetings as the Oshkosh Camporee, ASI, the “Just Claim It” Youth Prayer Conference, Adventist Ministries Convention, West Coast Youth Congress, Generation of Youth for Christ, and SONscreen, plus dozens of union, conference, local church and community events. His photos have appeared in all union papers in the NAD, several church papers in other divisions, the Adventist Review, Adventist Today and Spectrum. Gerry lives in Newbury Park, Calif., with his wife Mary.
  Amy Dolinsky Prindle, associate communication director for the Mid-America Union, has served as managing editor of Mid-America Outlook magazine for several years. Her editing responsibilities also include design and layout of the periodical. She has helped pioneer the use of a new web-based content management system that seamlessly integrates new blurbs and stories, photos and captions, along with other content into a design software.



Thursday, October 14, 1:30-4:30 p.m.
Adobe Creative Suite Tips & Tricks
Presenter: Haziel Olivera, consultant/trainer/graphic designer, Olivera Design & Consulting

Description: Come and discover tips & tricks to help you design your publications and web sites more efficiently using the Adobe Creative Suite. Learn to use Adobe powerful tools to simplify all of your design projects from conception to final delivery.

Haziel Olivera, a freelance instructor, consultant, and graphic designer, is an experienced and skilled production professional who quickly becomes a valuable contributor to any project on which he works. Haziel teaches classes in InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Acrobat, Flash, InCopy, QuarkXpress, HTML/XHTML, Expression Web, Expression Design, and Expression Blend.

He has served as a consultant/trainer for several companies including Adobe, Microsoft, American Graphics Institute, Managing Editor Inc. (MEI), Advanstar Publications, Capitol One, FL House of Representatives, PGA Tour, Kennedy Space Center, CareerBuilder.com, and University of Phoenix.

As a graphic designer Haziel has done design work for such companies/organizations as Staples Inc., Maptech, Valencia Community College, and Universal American. He has also completed work for Atlantic Union College, the Southern New England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, and he designs the Gleaner, the official magazine for the Atlantic Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Haziel has been a featured speaker at the Graphics of America Convention, CRE8 Conference, InDesign user group meetings, CareerBuilder.com Career Fair, Advanstar Marketing & Design Conference, and the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) Conference.

He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Lowell with a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance with an emphasis on sound recording technology. He holds professional certifications from Adobe.

Haziel and his wife, Lichelle, reside in Deltona, Florida, with their two young children.


Friday, October 15, 9:00-10:15 a.m.
Keynote Address
Branding Faith: Impacting the Culture Through the Power of a Compelling Brand (Part 1)
Presenter: Phil Cooke, founder and creative director, Cooke Pictures

Description: As a pastor, leader, media producer, or filmmaker, in today’s media-driven culture, your greatest challenge is getting your voice heard. No matter how important your message, if no one’s listening, then you’ve failed. But what is your brand story? What makes your message stand out? How can you connect with an audience? Television producer and media consultant Phil Cooke will explore the concept of branding for individuals, programming, or organizations. Cut through the media clutter and connect with the culture. The world is changing at the speed of light, and Phil's new book, "Jolt!: The Power of Intentional Change in a World that's Constantly Changing" was released by Thomas Nelson Publishers in February 2010. Christianity Today magazine called Phil a “media guru,” so don’t miss this opportunity to transform your thinking from an expert on the power of change.
Phil Cooke

Phil Cooke is a writer, speaker, filmmaker, & media consultant who's work focuses on creating personal and organizational cultures where real change happens and creative ideas become reality. Christianity Today magazine calls him a "media guru," and his media company, Cooke Pictures, advises many of the largest and most effective churches & media ministries in the world. As a founding partner in the commercial production company TWC Films, he also produces national advertising for some of the largest companies in the country, including two TV commercials for Super Bowl 2008. His books and online blog at philcooke.com are changing the way religious organizations use the media to tell their story. He's lectured at universities like Yale, University of California at Berkeley, UCLA, and is an adjunct professor at the King's College & Seminary, and Biola University in Los Angeles.



Friday, October 14, 7:30-9:00 p.m.
Branding Faith: Impacting the Culture Through the Power of a Compelling Brand (Part 2)
Phil Cooke, founder and creative director, Cooke Pictures
Description: As a pastor, leader, media producer, or filmmaker, in today’s media-driven culture, your greatest challenge is getting your voice heard. No matter how important your message, if no one’s listening, then you’ve failed. But what is your brand story? What makes your message stand out? How can you connect with an audience? Television producer and media consultant Phil Cooke will explore the concept of branding for individuals, programming, or organizations. Cut through the media clutter and connect with the culture. The world is changing at the speed of light, and Phil's new book, "Jolt!: The Power of Intentional Change in a World that's Constantly Changing" was released by Thomas Nelson Publishers in February 2010. Christianity Today magazine called Phil a “media guru,” so don’t miss this opportunity to transform your thinking from an expert on the power of change.
Phil Cooke Phil Cooke is a writer, speaker, filmmaker, & media consultant who's work focuses on creating personal and organizational cultures where real change happens and creative ideas become reality. Christianity Today magazine calls him a "media guru," and his media company, Cooke Pictures, advises many of the largest and most effective churches & media ministries in the world. As a founding partner in the commercial production company TWC Films, he also produces national advertising for some of the largest companies in the country, including two TV commercials for Super Bowl 2008. His books and online blog at philcooke.com are changing the way religious organizations use the media to tell their story. He's lectured at universities like Yale, University of California at Berkeley, UCLA, and is an adjunct professor at the King's College & Seminary, and Biola University in Los Angeles.



Saturday October 16, 8:00-9:30 a.m.
Worship Service
Charlotte L. V. Thoms, director of disabilities and women's ministries, Atlantic Union Conference; coordinator for Commission for People with Disabilities, North American Division
Description: TBA
Phil Cooke Charlotte L. V. Thoms is the director for the Atlantic Union Conference Disabilities and Women’s Ministries, as well as the coordinator for the North American Division Commission for People with Disabilities.

She comes from the “wild and wonderful” State of West Virginia. Charlotte received her Bachelor of Science degree from Youngstown State University and her Master of Science degree from the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). She is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Rochester.

Charlotte is an associate professor at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at RIT and has the distinction of being the first African American to receive tenure and the rank of associate professor in the Business Studies department. She served as president of the Monroe County Business Teachers Association, received the Provost Productivity Grant for her prototype of computer-generated vocabulary as a tutorial resource for deaf students, and was honored with a citation from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for her work with women and the disabled.

She edited the Disabilities Ministries Handbook and the Quick Start Guide for Disabilities Ministries Director; and authored Come Let Us Celebrate Together, 7-Step Quick Start Guide for Women’s Ministries Director. She published Molasses and Gingerbread by Cornice Williams; Sylvia Writes by Sylvia Porter-Hall; and edited Surrender: The Secret to Perfect Peace and Happiness authored by Gregory Jackson published by the Review & Herald Publishing Association. She has written for Ministry and Lead magazine and the Adventist Review.

Her speaking engagements are many and varied and she has also been featured on television and radio. Charlotte interprets at Oakwood University’s Alumni Weekend annually. She is in great demand, and young people appreciate her down-to-earth approach to spiritual topics.
She and her husband, retired pastor Edwin L. Thoms, have three adult children and two grandchildren.

Charlotte states, “I think of all God has allowed me to do. I still get the greatest joy snuggling up with my hubby watching the children entertain us. This joy is but a raindrop during a summer downpour when compared to the inexpressible joy I will experience when I sit at the feet of Jesus surrounded by my family and the saints of all ages.”



Saturday October 16, 7:00
Awards Banquet
Jonathan Slocumb, comedian
Phil Cooke In the world of standup comedy, there has only been a select few funny men who could captivate an audience with limitless laughter yet still remain within the boundaries of decency, tastefulness and tact. It almost seems to be a by-gone era for comics like Bill Cosby, Flip Wilson and Sinbad who kept crowds engaged in their dialogue and free of any foul language. Butthe ferociously funny, multi-talented nonconformist Jonathan Slocumb has been bringing fun back to the family for more than a decade now.

In just a few short years, he went from tearing up clubs across the map to hosting award shows for prestigious organizations like NAACP, UNCF, and Urban League and writing for BET. For the past five years in a row, he has been the main stage host for the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans.

“I’m very balanced and very diverse. For years, I was placed in a box and everything was related to gospel and religion,” says Slocumb. “But I’m able to perform for the mainstream audience AND the religious. But the main thing is that I’m always clean.”

A devout Christian, Slocumb adopted this strict moral code as early as he could remember as a young child growing up in Atlanta’s Eagan Homes projects. Raised in a stable, two-parent household, he was always taught right from wrong. And by age 10, his father purchased a brand new home in the upwardly mobile, working class Bankhead section. Unbeknownst to the family, though, their community was steadily deteriorating.

After graduating from Atlanta’s Frederick Douglass High School, he miraculously enrolled in Oakwood College in Huntsville, Ala, majored in broadcasting and worked part time as a radio personality on the campus radio station WOCG.

“At every level of education- elementary, high school and college- I excelled academically. I was always top ten percent with honors, student government president and most humorous,” he says. “I was never a class clown. I was just a leader and funny. People used to say ‘he’s either going to be in politics or entertainment.’”

Those people were right! After college, he returned home to Atlanta and with his radio experience, he landed a gig as a radio personality at country western country station WBIE. And from there, he worked on-air for almost every format on the radio dial you can think of- big band, nostalgia, jazz and rock station. You name it and Slocumb did it.

When he decided to leave radio behind and pursue other avenues, he dabbled into sales as an AT&T representative. But because of his popularity as a choir director, he would be called to host gospel concerts on the weekends. He kept the shows clean and always had audiences bouncing in the pews with laughter. As one promoter told another who told another about Slocumb’s performances, his name grew amongst the gospel circuit in no time at all.

“I had become known as this guy who would emcee gospel concerts and who was funny,” says Slocumb.

While his one-time side job on stage was quickly gaining steam, it wasn’t until one faithful night after a show in Chicago with gospel/ jazz group Take 6 that Jonathan realized his true calling.

A fan commented on Slocumb’s impeccable style of dress and penned him The Couture Comic. The title stuck and now a new campaign is in the works to rebrand this in-demand comedian- “where fashion meets funny.” Not only is he smart, handsome, well dressed and clever but also Jonathan Slocumb brings a level of class like no one else. And he does it all through his faith in God. “I just want to bring good quality entertainment to people,” he says, “because they need it now more than ever before.”