Meet the Speakers & Presenters
Listed in alphabetical order by last name.
Jasmine Beard
Chief Strategy Consultant of AJOY Consulting
Jasmine Beard, owner and chief strategy consultant of AJOY Consulting, LLC, partners with brands to optimize their business while also developing and exceeding attainable results. A multilingual enthusiast and published author, Jasmine believes that “an individual’s growth means nothing if planted seeds are not sown for others along the way.”
Dynamic, proactive, optimistic and enthusiastic. Well-connected and well-respected by peers. Strong communicator and active listener. Adaptive, resourceful problem solver and goal-getter. Focused on getting the job done accurately, with measurable results, a positive attitude and always with the bigger picture in mind. Afterall, the best way to eat an elephant is one piece at a time!
Excelling in business development and process implementation, she increased Mexico & Southwest U.S. regional sales for Fortune 500 Volvo Group North America over 33%, and decreased processing and implementation time for quotation management by 49%. Measurable results are deeply rooted in Jasmine’s core principles, and she works to sprinkle that philosophy into her professional and personal involvement with her clients and in her Greensboro, N.C. community where she is actively involved and always seeking to lift someone else along the way. Current involvement includes Professional Development VP for Greensboro Jaycees, TedX Greensboro Co-Organizer, ReStore Committee Chair for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Greensboro, Executive Committee Member for Weatherspoon Art Museum, and Triad Adult & Pediatric Medicine Board Vice Chair, and Campaign Manager for Hugh Holston’s successful bid for Greensboro City Councilman at-large.
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Mack Coyle
CEO of Coyle Solar
Growing up in Berkeley California in the 1970’s, Mack was raised as an iconoclast. His parents instilled in him the belief that we must each take ownership of this world, and fight for it. He has been a lifelong political and social activist advancing human rights through organizing in the environmental and labor political movements, as well as advocating and advancing ecology with legal and regulatory protections. A lifelong student, he continues to explore the intersection of ecology and corporate economy. Mack’s passion and vision for a better future continue to drive our company values and innovation.
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Misha Eli
Founder/Creative Director of Spiral Enterprises
Misha has been a leader in the fields of Arts, Education, and Social Action for decades. In 2009, Misha graduated from East-West College of Natural Medicine, and as a Physician and Minister, formed Spiral Enterprises in an effort to further build bridges across age and cultural gaps. His portfolio includes projects such as Harvey Milk Festival, EARTHDANCE, Lovelight Yoga and Arts Festival, Volunteer Community Connections, TED, Florida Creativity Conference, Association of Florida Teaching Artists, FloydFest, LEAF Global Arts, Burning Man, and the Southern Atlantic Hemp & Arts Expo. Misha now dedicates most of his time traveling with his partner, Ashley, as they design and steward joyful experiences through Play.
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Jon Fillman
City of Asheville
Jon serves as the City of Asheville's community event manager with the Office of Special Events. This office is now a division of the city's (new) Department of Community & Regional Entertainment Facilities. Other divisions in DCREF include the Western North Carolina Nature Center, Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, Aston Park Tennis Center, JB Lewis Soccer Complex, Asheville Municipal Golf Course, and McCormick Field - Home to the Asheville Tourists. Prior to discovering Asheville in 2006, I served as director of quality assurance for National Cinema Network in Philadelphia, program manager for SPI Marketing in New York, fulfillment manager for LPI Media in New York, and advertising & conference coordinator for Kelby Media, Tampa.
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Will Heegaard
Operations Director, Footprint Project
Will Heegaard sees every disaster as an opportunity to build back greener. A registered paramedic, Will previously worked with International Medical Corps to deploy solar refrigeration in West Africa during the Ebola outbreak, then deployed with Team Rubicon after disasters in Louisiana, Minnesota, and Puerto Rico. Will currently serves on the Board of the Minnesota Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (MNVOAD). He received his B.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies from University of California, Berkeley.
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Sean O'Connell
VP of Programming AEG Presents / Founder Music Allies
Asheville resident Sean O’Connell is the founder of Music Allies, where as a marketer, consultant and entrepreneur, Sean worked closely with superstars like Justin Timberlake, Kevin Bacon, Jack Johnson, Ani DiFranco, Sia and Aimee Mann. Sean and his company played a vital role in the early days of many US festivals including Bonnaroo and Outside Lands. From 2013 to 2019, Sean was the Managing Partner of the Hangout Music Festival where he increased annual ticket sales from 28,000 to 45,000. Sean is currently a live events & entertainment consultant and VP of Programming at AEG Presents where he has brought some of music’s biggest stars to the stage at the Firefly Music Festival including Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Dua Lipa, Green Day, Tame Impala, My Chemical Romance, The Killers, Megan Thee Stallion, Halsey and hundreds of others.
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Micah Pulleyn
Founder & Chief Catalyst, Catalyst Collaborations
Micah Pulleyn is a relationship-driven event specialist with a passion for the outdoor industry, adventure sports community, and creative sector. Micah has spent the past 12 years focused on building new and engaging experiences which intentionally break the rules and cultivate new ways of being in community with one another. Experienced in logistics, programming, marketing, partner relations, community outreach, and large scale operations, Micah is a seasoned event professional who loves seeing others shine their light and share their passion while cultivating authentic and lasting personal relationships.
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Priya Ray
Founder of DIYabled
Priya is the founder of the nonprofit DIYabled. Our mission is to educate people about disability and accessibility through the experience of disabled people. We believe in Cripping Community so disabled people can have the same human experiences because at DIYabled we believe Disabled People are People.
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Erin Trieb
Erin Trieb Photography
Erin Grace Trieb is an award-winning photojournalist focusing on geopolitical conflict, humanitarian issues and culture. Trieb has spent over a decade as a photojournalist and documentary photographer covering conflicts and world events in Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine. Her photography spans a diversity of subject matter from international news to social issue-driven topics like trauma and women’s rights. She photographs regularly for National Geographic, The New York Times, TIME Magazine, Rolling Stone, ESPN Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine and many others.
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Chris van Brenk
Chris is a full time, nationally registered, practicing paramedic in both the hospital and prehospital environment. He started his paramedic career working in a 911 system on an ambulance serving the population of Orange County, NC. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the systemic nursing shortage, Chris began working within the Duke University Health system as an ER paramedic to help offset the widespread staffing issues in emergency rooms across the state.
Aside from his paramedic practice, Chris is also a paramedic instructor at Durham Technical Community college as a part of their Emergency Medical Services division, as well as an EMT-Basic Instructor at the National Center for Outdoor and Adventure education. As a prehospital/hospital paramedic in a metropolitan area, he has treated countless opiate overdoses utilizing Narcan, and as a paramedic instructor, he provides training an education on opioid treatment to paramedic and EMT students as well as to patients and their families.
From 2008 – 2018 Chris served in the United States Army as an Officer in the Special Forces, deployed all over the world as a part of the global war on terrorism as a Green Beret.
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The Majestic Collaborations team
Steph Coolbaugh
NC Coordinator, Art of Mass Gatherings
Steph Coolbaugh is a musician, arts administrator, and event producer based in Greensboro, NC. New to the field, they are dedicated to learning from experts on intentional and inclusive event production practices. Through their work with AoMG, they have quickly become a strong advocate for safe, accessible, sustainable, and community engaged events. They believe that when arts and culture workers make an investment of care to the real needs and wants of artists and community members, they will invest back into you.
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Jenny Filipetti
A working artist based in Milan, Italy, Jenny began collaborating with Majestic Collaborations in 2020. She previously served on the faculty of Inworks at the University of Colorado Denver and on the Anschutz Medical Campus, an interdisciplinary initiative dedicated to developing student and community capacities in design thinking, computational thinking, and rapid prototyping towards addressing hard human challenges. Prior to Inworks, she designed and stewarded a suite of creative technology learning spaces, programs, and services for the Auraria Library, serving students and faculty at the University of Colorado Denver, Metro State University, and the Community College of Denver.
Jenny's research and creative interests center around sensory perception and ecologies, the atmospheric arts, and non-traditional forms of learning. She recently opened a creative lab in Milan, CHROMAKAIROS, dedicated to these and other investigations. She currently also serves as Digital Experience Director for Afro Fashion Week Milano.
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Matthew Kowal
Co-founder, Majestic Collaborations
Matthew, co-founder of Majestic Collaborations, Majestic Amplifications, and Majestic Water is a festival coordinator, artistic director, spokesperson, musician, and community leader. His consulting work with Performing Arts Readiness spans agencies, festivals and venues in emergency and disaster preparedness. Working with organizations including Denver Arts & Venues, the Canadian Government, brands like New Belgium, and festivals like Tour de Fat, and Five Points Jazz Festival, he has organized hundreds of gatherings since 2005, collectively raising over $5 million to raise awareness and resources to capitalize locally-directed initiatives and inspire advocacy. A passionate skill-sharer, Matthew has used collective leadership to arrive at state-of-the-art festivals that are sustainable, safe, and equitable. A recovering marketer with a knack for initiating and identifying trends, he envisioned the experiential learning platform Art of Mass Gatherings Symposium as a way to catalyze emergency preparedness training across multiple stakeholders... and is looking forward to meeting and learning from you here at LEAF Festival!
Jessica Wallach
Director of Connectivity for Open Circle Theatre and Accessibility Coordinator for the Art of Mass Gatherings
Jessica's goal is to reimagine space as a love letter to the body through her art and as an accessibility coordinator. As a photographer and photo educator with a disability, her work is deeply rooted in the body, accessibility, and disability. I have been a professional photographer since 1998 and have run a mobile studio since 2006. I have deep roots in the disability community and in accessibility. Jessica recently organized a festival at the Kennedy Center for and by artists with disabilities.
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Our Hosts
Catherine Swain
Catherine Swain is the Director of Marketing for the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state's natural and cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina.
NCDNCR's mission is to improve the quality of life in our state by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history, libraries and nature in North Carolina by stimulating learning, inspiring creativity, preserving the state's history, conserving the state's natural heritage, encouraging recreation and cultural tourism, and promoting economic development.
NCDNCR includes 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, three science museums, three aquariums and Jennette's Pier, 41 state parks and recreation areas, the N.C. Zoo, the N.C. Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, State Preservation Office and the Office of State Archaeology, and the Division of Land and Water Stewardship.
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Leigh Maher
CFO & Event Director of LEAF Global Arts
Leigh has been hosting festivals and private events of all sizes with the non-profit LEAF and the private family business Lake Eden Events for the last 18 years. Prior to that he was the CFO of Global Rhythm Magazine for 10 years. Leigh is a Filemaker Pro solution developer & consultant, has worked in the radio and culinary fields and has a degree from Emerson College in Mass Communications.
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Jennifer Pickering
Founder and Executive Director of LEAF Global Arts
Jennifer Pickering is the founder and Executive Director of LEAF Global Arts, which is a non-profit organization, building community, connecting cultures and enriching lives through the arts – locally and globally – with festivals, community events, and arts education programs.
A devoted traveler, Jennifer always intended to use LEAF as a platform to introduce people to other cultures through the music and arts. At the time she really didn’t realize that music and the arts were the most powerful tool for preserving cultures and for passing them on. Besides two festivals each year, Pickering also oversees LEAF In Schools and Streets and LEAF International, programs that take the artists from the stage into the community.
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Made possible thanks to our presenters and the support of these organizations
