Laura B. Whitmore is a graduate of Hofstra University with a B.S. in Music Merchandising and an M.B.A. in Marketing. As the marketing manager for Korg USA for 20 years, she was instrumental in marketing, PR and artist relations for the Korg, Marshall, and VOX brands. She was also editor of Korg’s ProView Magazine. Prior to that, she worked in the Direct Marketing department of CBS Records.

In 2008 Whitmore left Korg USA and founded Mad Sun Marketing, a boutique agency that specializes in marketing, PR, artist relations, event production, graphic design, and more for music and audio companies. Past and current clients of Mad Sun include Positive Grid, ArtistWorks, 108 Rock Star Guitars, Academic Superstore, Acoustic Amplification, Agile Partners, Breedlove Guitars, Colby Amplifiers, Dean Markley USA, Korg, KVRaudio, MusicFirst, Muse Research, NewBay Media, Notion Music, Peavey, SIR Entertainment Services, SIR Stage37, SoundTree, Sterling Audio, Take Me To The River, and more. A singer-songwriter herself, Whitmore was the editor of Guitar World’s AcousticNation.com and the creator of the GuitarWorld.com featured blog series, Guitar Girl’d. She writes regularly for industry medi outlets including Parade.com, Guitar World, Acoustic Guitar, MI Professional, In Tune and more. Whitmore has hosted and moderated many workshops and panels at events such as NAMM, Digital Hollywood, and SXSW on the topics of women in music, marketing, PR, apps and music making, songwriting, and more.

As a Benedetto Guitars endorsed artist, Beth Marlis is a member of an elite group of jazz guitar’s finest players.  She is a highly respected music industry leader, veteran performer, champion of music education and trailblazer who has carved out an important path in the guitar world. While deeply rooted in jazz, Beth’s diverse credits include sharing the stage with artists from every style and sound, including Ledisi, Helen Reddy, Brownie McGee, Louis Bellson, Harold Land Jr., Nelson Riddle, Jackie DeShannon, Judith Hill, Barbara Morrison, and countless others in performances at venues and festivals across the US, Japan and France.

As an educator, Ms. Marlis has risen from GIT faculty member to serving as Guitar Department Chair, on to Assistant Dean, and now to Vice President at Musicians Institute. She considers her 36 years as a member of its esteemed guitar faculty (GIT), teaching thousands of students as one of her proudest achievements. Beth is the author of two best-selling guitar instructional method books by Hal Leonard/MI Press, and a freelance music writer for Los Angeles Magazine and Jazz Guitar Today. She received her undergraduate music degrees from The University of California, GIT and a Master of Music degree in Studio/Jazz Guitar from USC. As a constantly evolving guitarist, non-profit leader and educator, Beth Marlis is an integral bridge to new generations of jazz guitarists. bethmarlis.com.

Lindsay Love-Bivens is the Artist and Community Relations Manager at Taylor Guitars. As a guitar-playing artist with over 15 years of experience across various genres, her passion for music and diverse talents led her to join Taylor Guitars in 2018.

Since joining Taylor’s artist relations & marketing team, Lindsay has expanded the company’s community outreach efforts by partnering with music educational non-profits and schools in historically underserved areas. She’s also assisted in revamping the artist relations department’s programs and organizational structure, resulting in incredible growth and diversity in artist outreach, representation, and artist content. In 2021, Lindsay produced and directed a mini-documentary on the National Museum of African American Music titled Deep Roots, highlighting the impact of Black music on America.

Outside Taylor, Lindsay has held senior creative leadership roles at large churches and worked with organizations advising their executives on diversity and culture. She studied music and biblical studies at PLNU before working as an independent artist. Lindsay lives in San Diego with her husband and two beautiful daughters and is an avid sports fan.

Stacey Ryan is the Chief Operating Officer of School of Rock, the most revolutionary music education program in the world. Stacey and her team are responsible for operational excellence, safety and brand compliance for the global franchise system. She leads efforts throughout 15 countries to consistently deliver outstanding technical learning and personal development of 60,000 students in a safe, inclusive, and encouraging environment. The result is enriched and improved with a specific focus on the emotional well-being of students.

Stacey is passionate about leaning into and navigating complexities specific to women in corporate leadership roles. With this passion, she developed and launched a Community Resource Group, FrontWomen, which meets quarterly. Discussions are focused on womens’ empowerment and how to develop strong leadership skills in a predominantly male-driven industry.  Stacey is the winner of the 2023 She Rocks Champion Award. In her personal time, Stacey is an advocate for animal rights and social justice reform often volunteering her time at sanctuaries and with exonerated individuals. You can follow Stacey on LinkedIn HERE