V3con features an array of distinguished and exciting speakers! Check our Schedule for detailed program and panel information!
 | Tanzila “Taz” Ahmed is a writer, poet, artist and activist based in Southern California. As the Voter Engagement Manager for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles, she coordinates the largest Asian American & Pacific Islander specific non-partisan voter engagement effort. A South Asian/Muslim identity political activist, Taz helps to organize the Desi youth camp "Bay Area Solidarity Summer" and puts out zines with "Totally Radical Muslims." In 2004, she founded South Asian American Voting Youth (SAAVY), a national organization that got out the youth vote. She’s been most recently published in "Love, Inshallah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women." Twitter: @TazzyStar |
 | Ashley Alvarado is the Public Engagement Editor for Southern California Public Radio. Alvarado is focused on helping to reach and engage communities across Southern California in KPCC stories through the Public Insight Network as well as offline outreach. Alvarado currently serves as managing editor of Los Cabos Magazine and previously worked at the Center for Investigative Reporting as well as Los Angeles and Tu Ciudad Los Angeles magazines. Twitter: @AshleyAlvarado |
 | Gil Asakawa is an Asian American writer, blogger, journalist, educator, online content veteran, social media and SEO expert, movies & music fan, guitar player, cat owner, retired artist and King of the Grill. Twitter: @GilAsakawa |
 | Twenty-three year old Mallika is a little box of big ideas. When she's not managing the helm of affairs at Little Yellow Beetle, she is also Chief Marketing Officer, Mixilion, Middle-east's first creative crowd-sourcing platform for all design and marketing solutions, based in Doha, Qatar. She takes immense pride in being the youngest at every job she's marched into (BBC, ABC Australia, Hindustan Times MINT, NewsX, etc). Twitter: @mbajaj20 |
 | Joyce Chen is a second-generation Taiwanese American journalist and current web editor at Us Weekly, where she pores over celebrity court cases, recaps "The Bachelorette" and wades her way through all things entertainment and gossip — with tongue firmly in cheek, of course. She is also currently a blogger and book reviewer for Hyphen magazine, as well the public relations director for Kollaboration New York, a nonprofit emphasizing Asian American empowerment through entertainment. Previously, Joyce was a multimedia editor at the New York Daily News, and her writings have appeared in People magazine, Los Angeles magazine, the Los Angeles Daily News, and Citysearch Los Angeles. Twitter: @joycechenchen |
 | Lynn Chen is an actress, blogger and body image activist living in Los Angeles. Twitter: @mslynnchen |
 | Marilyn Chung is the Multimedia Editor at The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, Calif. She has produced award-winning videos and photographs for the newspaper and website MyDesert.com. Twitter: @mchungphoto |
 | Patrick Epino is a filmmaker and co-founder of the National Film Society on PBS Digital Studios. He's also co-creator of the upcoming action-comedy web series Awesome Asian Bad Guys, starring Tamlyn Tomita, Randall Park, Aaron Takahashi and Dante Basco. Twitter: @PatrickEpino |
 | Gena S. Hamamoto is an independent film producer and media arts educator. From incarcerated youth to Bangladeshi high school students living in Koreatown to senior filmmakers, Gena has had the pleasure and privilege of working for media programs with diverse communities of all ages and skill levels throughout Los Angeles. She discovered filmmaking as a graduate student in the UCLA Center for EthnoCommunications, where she currently works as Assistant Director. She produced her first feature narrative film, THE CRUMBLES, which is currently being released at selected theaters nationally. Twitter: @TheCrumbles |
 | Robert Hernandez, aka WebJournalist, has made a name for himself as a journalist of the Web, not just on the Web. His primary focus is exploring and developing the intersection of technology and journalism – to empower people, inform reporting and storytelling, engage community, improve distribution and, whenever possible, enhance revenue. He is an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, but he’s not an academic… he's more of a "hackademic" and specializes in "MacGyvering" Web journalism solutions. Twitter: @webjournalist |
 | Eileen Hsu is a junior in high school who has been using social media networks since she was in middle school. She writes a personal blog and co-writes a blog with her younger sister. Twitter: @koolasiankid |
 | Kevin Iwashina is a Managing Partner of Preferred Content, a film production, sales and finance advisory company. Iwashina is also the Managing Partner of Preferred Ventures, a digital media venture fund, and of City Room Creative, an entertainment marketing and creative editorial agency. Lastly, he is partnered with Christine Vachon in Killer Digital, a production company focused in creating original content for digital platforms. Twitter: @kiwashina |
 | Pradeepa Jeevamanoharan oversees all production for the YOMYOMF network, which is one the fastest growing original content channels on YouTube. Previously, Pradeepa was the Co-Founder/Director Diaspora Flow, the first Sri Lankan-American non-profit arts organization dedicated to providing a forum for artists of color and facilitating connections between artists and youth. Pradeepa is also a senior consultant at Legacy for Health on their truth© brand, which helps youths understand the dangers of tobacco. Twitter: @DeepaJeeva |
 | Geoffrey Kutnick is a partner of FOODBEAST.com and leads all efforts related to advertising, branded content and special projects. He currently manages all communications between 10-12 active advertising networks and direct advertising inquiries that come from food and beverage brands including Groupon, Quiznos, Taco Bell, Dannon, Red Robin, Sargento, 7UP and more. Kutnick has led and project-managed all types of interactive projects including CPM-based advertising campaigns, branded photo/video/infographic campaigns and branded content syndication with Huffington Post, Gawker Network, Digg and other partner publications. Twitter: @GeoffreyKutnick |
 | Thien-Kim Lam is a mother, social media enthusiast and general crafty gal. As a first generation Vietnamese-American born and raised in Louisiana, she's fielded more than her share of racial questions, especially now that she's the mother of two half-Vietnamese, half-African-American children. She created her blog, I'm Not the Nanny as a platform to connect with those who are raising multicultural families. Twitter: @thienkim |
 | Toan Lam is the Chief Inspirator of Go Inspire Go (GIG), a multimedia platform that tells authentic stories of everyday heroes and leverages social media to spark change. Twitter: @goinspirego |
Violet Mae Lim is a data-driven interactive marketer with extensive experience in driving audience acquisition, branding, developing online strategy, digital storytelling and working across multiple verticals to create scalable solutions. Twitter: @violetmae | |
 | Harry Lin is an advisor to several technology startups. Previously, he has been EIR at tech incubator, Idealab, GM of Evite, VP of ABC.com and CEO of two VC-backed Internet startups. He began his career as a news reporter at KQED-FM in San Francisco. Twitter: @SuluPrime |
 | Richard Lui is an American journalist and news anchor for MSNBC and NBC News. He anchors the Western edition of Early Today on NBC News. His reporting focus is on politics. Previous to that, Lui spent five years at CNN Worldwide, anchoring the 10am edition of HLN's Morning Express. Twitter: @RichardLui |
 | As a journalist and blogger, Grace Hwang Lynch explores the evolving relationship between Asian America and mainstream America. A former television news reporter, she founded HapaMama.com, focusing on Asian mixed-race families. She also serves as News & Politics editor for BlogHer. Her work has also been published by Salon, PBS and Mom.me. Twitter: @HapaMamaGrace |
 | Noreen Morioka, with partner Sean Adams, founded AdamsMorioka in Los Angeles in 1993. AdamsMorioka has been recognized globally for their work in print, environments, new media and communications strategies. Morioka has been credited as one of the forces behind a renewed movement in the design world towards a simpler, more direct approach. Some of their clients include Gap, Sundance Institute, Natural History Museum, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Metropolitan Opera. Twitter: @noreenmorioka |
 | Elisa Camahort Page co-founded BlogHer, Inc. in 2005 with Jory Des Jardins and Lisa Stone, and serves as the company’s COO. BlogHer is the premier cross-platform media network created by, for and with women social media leaders. Elisa is a founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research and serves on the Board of Directors of the 42nd Street Moon Theatre in San Francisco, the programming advisory committee for SXSW Interactive and SXSW V2V, the Advisory Board for Food on the Table, the Board of Advisors of the Anita Borg Institute, and is a Member of the Digital Hollywood Women's Entertainment and Technology Board. Twitter: @ElisaC |
 | Born in the Bay Area and raised in California’s Central Valley, Jennifer Pae was the first Asian American woman to serve as the student body president at UC San Diego, followed by stints as president of the United States Student Twitter: @jennpae |
 | Born out of a belief in "art for your everyday," Poketo is an online destination and brick and mortar shop for design-driven wares that take art off the gallery walls and into people's lives. Twitter: @poketo |
 | Denise L. Poon understands the power and influence of the media. As an accomplished Multimedia Consultant, Broadcast Producer, Online Content Provider & Writer, her career spans over 15 years of broad-based multimedia production. Active in the community and the Asian American Journalists Association, she was selected as AAJA Chapter President of the Year in 2001. She is best known for many years of event leadership, sponsorship and fundraising development for Trivia Bowl, the chapter's signature "fun-raising" event and the innovative, V3 Digital Media Conference (V3con). Twitter: @Cr8tiveStream |
 | Called the “the voice of our Azn generation” by the editor of Ricepaper magazine, Tetsuro Shigematsu was the 1st person-of-color to host a daily national radio program in Canada. He writes about race for The Huffington Post, and can be seen Spike TV’s The Deadliest Warrior, where he talks smack and kills Vikings. Twitter: @tweetsuro |
 | Alice Shin has been in charge of the brand development and online culture for Kogi BBQ since its inception and has gone on to assist in developing and curating brand culture for Chego! and a handful of fresh, L.A.-based restaurants. After almost half a decade of experience, she's learned that a devotion to branding with a unique perspective and an authentic connection to fans can be more powerful than an arsenal of the latest social media tools. Twitter: @kogibbq |
 | Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is a second-generation Chinese American writer, editor, speaker, educator and activist who writes and speaks about Asian Pacific American, race, culture and social justice issues primarily for ethnic new Twitter: @fkwang |
 | Joz Wang is an avid writer who embraced blogging at its onset. Known online – and offline – for her personal blog jozjozjoz.com, she is Editor-in-chief & CEO of the popular Asian American collaborative blog 8Asians.com. She is also a long-time contributor blogging.la, flagship site of the Metblogs network, a massive local journalism and media project that began in 2003. In late 2011, she acquired the entire Metroblogging.com network from its founders and now runs the entire international network—consisting of over 50 sites worldwide — as its Publisher & CEO. Twitter: @jozjozjoz |
 | Kalika Yap is CEO of Citrus Studios, Luxe Link and The Waxing Co. Board member of Entrepreneurs Organization LA, Visual Communications and 5 Gyres. She is married to Rodney Yap and they have two children: Malia & Kailani. Twitter: @Kalika |
 | Phil Yu is the founder and editor of Angry Asian Man, a popular Asian American news/culture blog. Established in 2001, the Washington Post calls Angry Asian Man "a daily must-read for the media-savvy, socially conscious, pop-cultured Asian American." Twitter: @angryasianman |
 | Lawrence Yee is an award-winning journalist who has worked at the top two entertainment websites: omg! on Yahoo and TMZ. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles. Twitter: @lawryee |