Friday, May 15
11:30am - 12:50pm
Opening Lunch Keynote
David Griner
Embracing Uncertainty: How to Pivot Your Career Without Spiraling
What do you do when you're facing a job loss or a significant career shift? Or when you wake up each morning wishing you were doing something (anything ) else? Both situations share the same terrifying core: you have to figure out who you are professionally, and fast. Marketer/journalist/baker/entrepreneur David Griner has lived both realities, and in this candid talk, he shares the hard-won lessons from multiple career pivots: what actually helped, what he wishes he'd known sooner, and how each leap ultimately expanded rather than narrowed his sense of what was possible. Whether you're facing a job change or a slow-burning restlessness you can't quite name, you'll leave with a clearer framework for moving forward.
1:00pm - 1:50pm
Event Planning Panel
Taylor Hodo | Sheriah Lang Gibson | Nicole Moreno-Lacalle | Jasmine Baylor
Moderator: Jimmy Hart
Beyond the RSVP: Designing Events That Hit Different
The best events don’t just happen: they’re built through a series of intentional decisions, creative problem-solving, and a deep understanding of the audience experience. This panel brings together a diverse group of Tuscaloosa event leaders — from large-scale city festivals and concerts to weddings, fundraisers, major venues, and digital promotion — to explore how events come to life from every angle. Panelists will share how they collaborate across roles, adapt to challenges in real time, and design moments that resonate long after the event ends. From behind-the-scenes logistics to front-facing storytelling, attendees will gain a clearer picture of how every step in the process shapes the final experience and how even the smallest details can leave the biggest impression.
2:00pm - 2:50pm
Professional Development Session
Hattie O’Hara
Building A Brand That Feels Like You (And Not Like Everyone Else)
You can do it the way everyone else is doing it, but you're not everyone else — and that's your selling point. This session explores building a brand that you see yourself in: one that reflects your values, your unique perspective, and ultimately what makes you valuable to your audience. Using the growth of 'One Week In Birmingham' as a case study, Hattie will walk through how she approached brand building not as a formula to follow, but as a series of decisions rooted in authenticity and community. She'll share the forks in the road, pivots, and instincts that have shaped the brand, and how choosing alignment over imitation leads to work that people actually connect with — and a brand that you actually want to keep building.
3:00pm - 3:50pm
Public Service Session
Julie Mann | Michele Massey
Give Back, Get Back: Service that Helps Your Club and Community
What if your club's greatest impact could happen outside the boardroom? AAF Tuscaloosa has built a legacy of meaningful public service, with multiple members earning a Governor's Award for Public Service for District 7 and taking first place regionally and nationally in the club achievement competition. In this session, AAF Tuscaloosa members will walk you through standout projects, offer practical ideas for deepening your own club's commitment to service, and show how giving back can energize and benefit your members in return. You'll also hear directly from a community beneficiary about how a local event drives real impact — and the many ways volunteers make it all happen.
Saturday, May 16
8:30am - 9:30am
Breakfast Hype Session
Whitni Molden
You’re Not Behind. You’re Just Not Here...Yet.
We’ve been sold a half-truth. That success lives somewhere “out there,” and if we just keep going, we’ll finally arrive. But what if the constant need to “get somewhere” is the very thing keeping us disconnected, unfulfilled, and stuck? In this talk, Whitni Molden challenges the obsession with the next milestone and confronts the quiet tension so many high-achievers carry—the feeling that no matter how much they accomplish, it’s still not enough. Through raw storytelling, honest reflection, and powerful mindset shifts, she reframes the journey as the destination and exposes the patterns that keep us chasing instead of living. This isn’t about slowing down, it’s about waking up. Attendees will leave with a new lens on success, a deeper awareness of how they’re showing up in their own lives, and the clarity to stop waiting for “someday” and start owning where they are right now. Because when you understand that all roads lead here, you stop searching… and start becoming.
10:00am - 10:50am
Personal Development Session
Jordan Hefler
"You Seem Happier": Rebuilding Creativity After Burnout
In an industry driven by deadlines, deliverables, and constant output, creativity is often treated like a luxury instead of a necessity. In this session, photographer Jordan Hefler reframes creativity as an essential operating system; one that shapes not only the work itself, but the opportunities that follow. Attendees will explore how burnout, overcommitment, and people pleasing can dilute creative impact, and how refinement, boundaries, and intentional play can sharpen their voice and elevate their work!
11:00am - 11:50am
Professional Development Session
Jennifer Humber
Roadblocks & Rest Stops: Managing Conflict, Perception Gaps, and Burnout
Professionals who serve in volunteer-driven organizations often navigate complex interpersonal dynamics, emotional labor, and ambiguous expectations—all of which can create “roadblocks” that hinder both individual well-being and organizational effectiveness. This session explores how conflict, perception gaps, and burnout emerge on the professional journey and offers practical, research‑informed strategies to strengthen emotional resilience and navigate challenging interactions with clarity and confidence. Attendees will leave with a renewed sense of direction and a set of actionable techniques to support their own well-being and enhance the collaborative culture within their organizations.
12:00pm - 1:45pm
Lunch Keynote Panel
Madeline Burkhardt | Chris Mihal | Phil Woodall | Roberto Gomez | James Whitaker
Moving Beyond Mosaic Panel: Shaping the Future of Inclusive Representation in Advertising
As the advertising industry navigates a shifting cultural and political landscape, the conversation around inclusion is evolving. Moving Beyond MOSAIC: Shaping the Future of Inclusive Representation in Advertising explores how agencies and AAF clubs can move past performative efforts to create and encourage work that is authentic, impactful, and enduring. This panel will examine the current state of inclusive advertising, the realities of growing resistance to DEI, and the opportunities that remain for meaningful progress. Through candid discussion and real-world insight, industry leaders will share how to balance business objectives with cultural responsibility—and what it will take to define the next chapter of inclusive storytelling.
2:00pm - 2:50pm
Creative Workshop
Jonathan Palmisano
The Art of Letting Go: Discovery Through Process
Drawn to collage for its accessibility and tendency to reveal unexpected outcomes, mixed media artist Jonathan Palmisano invites participants to let go of their expectations of perfection in favor of intuition and experimentation. During this hands-on collage workshop, attendees will explore how purposeful play can quiet the mind, spark ideas, and reconnect them with the joy of making. This session emphasizes process over product in a playful environment where curiosity leads, and the creative act itself is the goal. No prior art experience is required.