Say Hello to our Marketing and Social Media Panel Speakers!

Meet our panel speakers for our upcoming Marketing and Social Media Panel discussion event. Don't miss this opportunity to hear and learn from experienced professionals and get some tips for using marketing and social media for your business.

Jolean Olson: Vice President, Scenic Road 

Jolean Olson is Vice President at Scenic Road with 20 years of experience helping businesses expand with video and content marketing. Jolean is an Emmy-award winning content producer. She lives to create, write, and produce any kind
​of content for the web, broadcast, and cable television. Specializing in authentic storytelling and emotional, visual content, Jolean uses that experience to elevate her partner businesses and drive engagement, connection and sales. 

By focusing on the storytelling side of communications, Jolean has been able to put the degrees she earned at U of I Urbana-Champaign and UIS to good use. Over the years, Jolean’s strengths at producing memorable content have garnered national recognition, including multiple Emmys and Addy Awards. Jolean may spend her days at Scenic Road, but it’s helping people succeed that gets her up in the morning.

When she’s not at Scenic Road, Jolean is an avid real estate investor and house flipper and loves spending time traveling, being outdoors, reading, or doing nothing with her family.
With origins in Emiglia Romagna, Jolean joined Chicagoland Italian American Professionals (CIAP) to connect with her roots, help to further the Italian-American community, and hopefully make her nonna proud… which, let’s face it, is a tall order.

---

Loredana Sciortino: President & CEO, Connex Consulting

Loredana Sciortino, a highly experienced professional with over 15 years of expertise in business administration, financial services, human resources, marketing, social media, and design will be our panel guest speaker. She will share her insights on staying innovative in today's business environment using simple yet effective analysis.

Attendees can expect to gain valuable knowledge on how to stay ahead of the competition and drive innovation in their own businesses. With Loredana's extensive background, her presentation promises to be informative and engaging.

---

Mike Santoro: Chief Executive Officer, Walker Sands

Mike started with the agency in 2007 as the agency’s seventh employee. Two years later, he was named President and got to work refining the firm’s target market and service offerings to help it become the award-winning B2B tech firm that it is today.

During Mike’s tenure, Walker Sands has grown from a seven-person PR boutique into a boundary-pushing, integrated marketing agency with offices in Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and Boston that partners with some of the best B2B brands in the world. A 10-time Inc. 5000 honoree as one of America’s fastest-growing companies, the agency has been a finalist for both Holmes Report and PRNEWS small agency of the year.

As CEO, Mike leads a talented, results-driven team known for its reputation for providing comprehensive, integrated marketing and strategic communications counsel that drives real business results. Along with his underlying mission to make Walker Sands the best B2B marketing agency in the world, Mike is driven by a desire to cultivate a work environment that allows his employees to do the best work of their lives, and strives to empower them to succeed both personally and professionally. His approach has paid off, as the agency’s thriving culture has been recognized by Inc., Crain’s Chicago Business and Entrepreneur in their “Best Places to Work” rankings.

Mike has played a pivotal part in the North American marketing community and is the recipient of a number of awards, including recognition as PRSA Chicago’s PR Professional of the Year and an EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in the Midwest. He also serves on the PR Council board and as the Global Summit Chair for PROI Worldwide, the world’s largest network of independent agencies.
​
Outside of the marketing landscape, Mike co-founded the Little Giraffe Foundation in 2011, a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting neonatal research and preemie families in the NICU.

---

Paula Peterson: Senior Media Strategist,
​Salem Media Group & Salem Surround Digital

Shortly after receiving her degree in Theatre and Broadcast Communications from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Paula launched her career in advertising sales. Starting as a national sales assistant at Christal Radio / Katz Radio Group on Michigan Avenue. Her passion for all things radio soon led to an Account Executive position selling over 400 radio stations. However, it was her devotion to the News Talk format that led her to WGN Radio as a National Sales Manager working at the legendary, heritage station.

After 15 years with Christal Radio/WGN Radio, Paula was brought on by CBS National Radio Sales and went on to bill over $10 Million Dollars in both agency and new business developed dollars for the group. The opportunity to be under the Interep Radio Group umbrella opened the door to extensive media training which included digital marketing in it’s infancy.

In 2008, Paula got a call to join AM 560 WIND Radio/Salem Media Chicago as a senior sales account executive. She jumped at the opportunity to dive into local direct sales and has now built rapport and professional relationships with many business owners in the Chicago area.

Today, Paula manages a full book of business that integrates audio with digital media. With the digital marketing of Salem Surround and the Salem Media lineup of radio stations, she can offer a full compliment of strategic media solutions bringing proven results to her clients. Paula lives in the Western Suburbs of Chicago
with her husband Mike and older kids Abby and Joe.

You can follow Paula on:
Facebook as Paula Julian Peterson
Instagram as pjpeterson425
Twitter as @50shadesofmom

---

Jessica Alessi Kim: Digital & Print Design, Alessi Kim Creative, LLC

Originally a Florida native, Jessica studied digital media and communications at DePaul University, and started her career working in print production studios in Chicago.

What began as an entry into design and print became an opportunity to manage large-scale design and install projects. As project manager, Jessica was involved in each step of the process from design concept, production, and installation of signs and brand graphics for companies like Moen, CBRE, and many small and large local Chicago companies.

After moving back to Florida, Jessica spent time at other various small print studios, but ultimately opted to freelance from home full time. This eventually lead her to start her own design business, where she helps small businesses and start-ups with everything they need to market their business. From business cards and logos, to email templates and website images Jessica provides attainable design solutions for digital and print marketing.

Coming from a half-Italian household, Jessica is proud to embrace her Sicilian culture and participate with the Chicagoland Italian American Professional community.

---

Alecia Dantico: Strategist, Digital Marketing & Communication

Alecia Dantico is an award-winning marketing leader who builds high-performing programs and campaigns grounded in integrated communications strategy and storytelling. With a focus on delivering quantifiable business value, she rolls up her sleeves to help execute the programs she leads. She offers extensive communications strategy experience, earned across global, national, and start-up clients, and she specializes in connecting experiences across channels to launch brands, build reputation, and drive awareness and engagement. An integrated marketer at heart, Alecia is equally comfortable in the earned, paid, social, and owned media channels and her activation plans link online and offline experiences in ecosystems to bring target audiences from awareness through to engagement, conversion, and loyalty.

Ms. Dantico has designed and implemented campaigns for multi-national corporations, advertising agencies, brand clients, and start-ups for industries including pharmaceuticals (HCP, patient, advocacy), biotech, health/wellness, travel, financial services (banking, brokerage, insurance), technology, and consumer packaged goods (CPG food, beauty, tobacco, alcohol, and spirits). She is well-versed in the legal-compliance requirements of regulated industries, and she specializes in growing peer-driven social communities and experiences.

Ms. Dantico earned a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in French literature from Carleton College, a Master of Arts degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a second Master’s of Arts degree in English and Gender and Women’s Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
​

---