Webinar: DIRO Speaker Series- AAPI Dry Run by Pandora

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About This Webinar

DIRO will host a discussion that explores the impact of popular cultural perceptions by speaking to a panel of dynamic and diverse members of the AAPI community. This conversation will evaluate the toll unconscious bias has on diverse communities and clear away myths and assumptions that mute the influence and activism of this community. We will simultaneously explore how music clears space for cultural identity and the celebration of culture.

Presenters

Sonja Ji Young Kim

Associate General Counsel, Pandora + SiriusXM

Sonja has over a decade of experience as an attorney in legal departments at major entertainment and media companies, and is currently an Associate General Counsel based in Pandora’s Oakland, California office. She leads deals and advises on matters for various teams at Pandora, including Sales and Sales Operations, Advertising Creative Services, Brand Marketing, and Podcasts and Entertainment Content Partnerships. She is currently Co-Chair of Women in Music’s SF Bay Area chapter, and she has also served on the steering committee for Pandora’s employee resource group for underrepresented communities, advises Pandora’s multicultural brand marketing team, and is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the legal profession and media and entertainment industries. Prior to Pandora, she previously held in-house counsel positions in music merchandising at Live Nation Merchandise and in television production at Fox Television Studios. Sonja is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, and she received her B.A. in Mass Communications from UC Berkeley and her J.D. from UCLA School of Law, where she specialized in Entertainment Media Law and Policy.

Jason Ve

Vice President, 88rising

Jason Ve is Vice President at 88rising, where he leads business development and partnerships at the leading record label and media company of Asian artists. Jason is a leader in the music and tech industry and was previously Head of Business Development at Deezer, a global music streaming unicorn. Jason has also held prior leadership roles at Google, Viacom and Disney. A graduate of NYU Stern, Jason is passionate about diversity in venture capital and is a venture partner at Gaingels, the largest investment syndicate and network of LGBTQ+ investors.

Sangeetha Ragavan

Marketing Director Fritos/Funyuns at PepsiCo

Nikki Buchanan

Danny Huynh

EVP Global Managing Partner, UM Worldwide

Danny's expertise in CRM, adtech, programmatic, personalization, content, media, and culture has helped clients achieve their business goals. His unique approach to adtech and data strategy has enabled him to enhance creative activations to be more effective and impactful to increase ROI overnight; while helping brands adapt and maintain their relevance in the age of disruption at the speed of culture.

His work in digital marketing has industry recognition. Danny was named Chicago Interactive Marketing Association's (CIMA) Digital Person of the Year in 2014. In total, from 2017 - 2019, his team has won first or gold 14 times. This includes 4 Cannes Lions (including the Cannes Lions Titanium Award), and 5 OMMA Awards. Additional accolades includes silver or finalist rankings for 16 other awards.

Prior to joining UM, Danny held senior leadership roles across client leadership, disciplinary & functional leadership roles across different industries such as retail, CPG, tech/teleco, travel, pharma, and auto. Further, his diverse background in web development, UX design and experience (online and offline), SEO, search, programmatic, and social; has enabled him to gain a better perspective on holistic marketing.

Danny is currently the EVP, Global Managing Partner on BMW Group and Estee at UM. He earned his MBA from the University of Notre Dame, and Bachelor’s of Science in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin.

Cassy D. Hough, Co-Moderator

Director, Tech Head of Industry, SXM Media

With 19 years of media, sales, and digital advertising experience, Cassy D. Hough serves as a marketing megaphone for the tech sales vertical and elevates SXM Media to tech marketing partners. Cassy enables tech sellers with the tools they need to be trusted partners at the intersection of entertainment, technology, and diversity. She challenges tech marketers to break the status quo in audio, voice, and advertising. Team members describe her as “fierce, fastidious, and unstoppable.” Prior to the Tech Vertical, Cassy ran the West Coast sales efforts for the political vertical at Pandora and was awarded The National Association of Asian Pacifics in Politics and Public Affairs (NAAPPPA) top 40 Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) professionals under 40 who are “breaking barriers” in politics and public affairs. She resides over the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County with her husband and two elementary school mix-raced daughters.

Evelyn Sum, Co-Moderator

Events, Industry & Experiential Marketing, SXM Media

Curious, creative, and compassionate, Evelyn pursues experiential marketing and strategic partnerships with heart and hustle. Since she joined the SXM Media family in 2020, Evelyn has been activating SoundCheck and Pass the Mic AMA sessions with Pandora’s Sales Marketing team and B2B Content team. Together, they elevate the brand experiences and events strategically. As a first-generation Asian American Immigrant, Evelyn has empathy towards different minority groups and puts a lot of effort towards bridging gaps amongst different cultural subsets through her involvement in DIRO. Through collaborative efforts, she works towards fostering a collaborative, diverse, and inclusive workplace.