2022 DigiFest Temecula Speakers & Performers

FRIDAY NIGHT OPENING SPEAKERS

JENNY BROWN

Jenny Brown is a media enthusiast who has spent the better part of the last decade working in various areas of the television industry in order to bring happiness and entertainment to the masses. After growing up and graduating college in the Midwest, Jenny moved to LA where she interned and worked at the top entertainment news show in the country, Entertainment Tonight. After a couple years there, and a brief stint in Marketing in Denver, she returned to television and worked for four and half wonderful years as a Talent Booker for Hallmark Channel’s, Emmy-nominated, daily talk show, “Home & Family” booking professional athletes, top chefs, A-list celebrities and authors. This experience working directly with Talent and Publicity reps inspired Jenny’s love and desire to help people share their message and stories with the world. She now works as a Media/Publicity coach and Casting Director to do just that!

KARI MICHAELSEN

Kari Michaelsen’s television, film and theater credits account for an impressive list of accomplishments. She starred in the NBC hit series “Gimme A Break” which brought her fame and wrapped after six successful seasons. 

Kari has been Public Speaking and Hosting Educational Seminars for over 25 years. Some of her Broadcasting credits include hosting a Morning Talk Show, a News Magazine Show, and the Weekly Interview Show “In the Spotlight.” Guests on “In the Spotlight” have Included Martin Sheen, John Travolta, Jim Belushi, Kenny Loggins, Mick Fleetwood, Larry Hagman, and Tony Robbins.

Kari spent many years as Emcee of the acclaimed “Get Motivated Business Seminar”, where she shared the stage with Former President George W Bush, General Colin Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Publisher Steve Forbes, Former First Lady Laura Bush, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, the legendary Zig Ziglar, (as well as many other well known athletes, entertainers, politicians, business moguls and leaders.) 

Her in-depth interview with Legendary Entrepreneur Daymond John from ABC’s Hit Show “Shark Tank” has been a fan favorite for entrepreneurs of any age, as he shares many strategies to support business owners on their road to success. 

SATURDAY’S KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

MORNING GUEST SPEAKER

MARIO ORTIZ

Mario Ortiz is a multiple Emmy award winning director of photography with over 20 years of commercial, corporate and motion picture production experience. He has a passion for camera movement that is evident in the body of his work. As a certified Steadicam/Glidecam operator and Jib owner operator, Mario has much to offer his clients.

ANIMATION/COMICS PANEL

Cathy Nolan

Cathy Nolan has been a caricaturist and illustrator for over thirty years. She has helped clients provide amazing illustration gifts and has collaborated with team leaders and presenters to help them facilitate and illustrate their concepts and ideas into memorable visual content for their audiences.

ANDREW FARAGO

Curator of San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum, the only museum of its kind in the western United States, with nearly two decades’ experience in museum operations, including curatorial duties, collections management, gallery preparation and maintenance, administration, public programming, and education. . He has written several books on pop culture, cartoons, and animation, including Batman: The Definitive History of The Dark Knight, The Looney Tunes Treasury, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Visual History. He is recognized as an authority in the subject of comic art, and knowledgeable in a variety of disciplines throughout the field. He lives in Berkeley, California with his wife, cartoonist Shaenon K. Garrity, and his son, Robin.

SHAENON K. GARRITY

A cartoonist and writer best known for the webcomics Narbonic and Skin Horse and the graphic novel The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor. She has over a decade of experience working with comic books that have earned awards and critical acclaim. Shaenon has advised companies on comic publishing, and spearheaded their entry into the field. Her next graphic novel, Steam, will be out from Simon & Schuster in 2023. She lives in Berkeley with a cat, a man and a boy.

James Crowley

A fifteen year television animation veteran. James has worked on productions for Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney, Fox, and Netflix.  He has worked as a designer, animator, and storyboard Artist on various television shows, video games, and teaches painting classes from time to time.  James was born and raised in Southern California, loves tacos, baseball and most of all, his son.  🙂

EVENING GUEST SPEAKER

Renee Pezzotta

As a technology and Learning enthusiast Renee Pezzotta has spent the last 15 years working in technology as an instructional and learning experience designer for Yahoo!, Google, Amazon, and YouTube. As a working actor, Renee has done a ton of work in TV and film including: “How to get away with Murder,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Gilmore Girls,” and most recently in Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos” where she and Nicole Kidman reimagined the iconic grape stomping scene from “I Love Lucy”.  You can also see her in the current season of “Snowfall” on FX and in the upcoming season of “The Orville” on HULU. 

Other hyphens Renee uses are Comedian, Producer, Writer, Editor, and Gamer. She co-owns Panic Attack Films and has produced several award-winning projects including the horror short “Body of Work”, the feature-length documentary “By the Side of the Road: 9/11 in America”, the Web series “Good Job, Thanks!”,  the short film “Ticket to Hell”, and her most current award-winning production: “GEISTING” A paranormal-horror-comedy about Poltergeisting from the Poltergeist’s point of view.

SUNDAY FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

BANQUET GUEST SPEAKER

Gina Tuttle

Gina Tuttle’s credits include theatre, independent film, and guest star roles on television. She is also one of America’s top voice-over artists, and has been the voice of over 400 commercials- she was the ‘voice of the Oscars’ four times, working with Ellen Degeneres, Steve Martin, Don La Fontaine, and Hugh Jackman. Gina won an Emmy for the 2009 telecast. She graduated from Maile image, modeling, and acting school and has studied with Larry Moss and Wynn Handman.

Some of her other works include, The New Leave it to Beaver, Stereotypically Me, Unseen Debate, and voiceover work for companies such as Disney, Marvel, and Forbes.

DIGIFEST PERFORMERS

Friday Night

Torin Floyd

Singer, songwriter, dancer, actor, and model Torin Floyd is a Los Angeles native who blends fashion, art, music, and culture into dynamic and eclectic performance art.

Torin showcases his multiple talents with live performances at LA-based clubs, including The Los Angeles culture festival, BET Teen Experience, and EWomen’s network.

Torin’s entertainment-oriented family nurtured an early interest in performance. He studied music, the recording industry, sound engineering, and art at the San Francisco Art Institute and SF College. Torin returned to LA for additional classes in acting, modeling, and music, studying at The Network Studios, where he developed his breakthrough character, Johnnie B. Bad.

Torin is currently the youngest African American male on the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce. He is on the Chamber’s marketing committee, legislative committee, and the chairman of the young entrepreneurship committee and heritage committee. Torin is committed to using his musical and humanitarian abilities through the supplier diversity program which connects minority-owned businesses with corporations and government municipalities to highlight multicultural communities. 

Friday & Sunday Night

Sean O’Brien

Sean O’Brien is a young artist that has been playing music for 13 years. His musical inspiration began in elementary school when he learned how to play the piano and went on to master the guitar in high school. Sean is currently attending  Palomar College and is a part of a Composer group called the Young Composers Community YCC . You might be able to hear one of his pieces at Digifest on April 24th. “I hope you enjoy my performance.” – Sean O’Brien

Sunday Night

Elizabeth Osi

Elizabeth Osi is an Actress, Singer, and Autism Teacher. She has been singing ever since she was a toddler and recently started taking classes JDS Actors Studio in 2020.  Graduated from UCR with a bachelors in Liberal Studies she is currently pursuing my masters in Special Education. “I aspire to be a prominent actress in the industry and use my platform to encourage others like myself that even through trials and tribulations, your dream is achievable.” – Elizabeth Osi