Featured Speakers:

Emily White is the Founder and CEO of #iVoted Concerts and a Founding Partner at Collective Entertainment in New York City. #iVoted produces data-driven concerts on election nights and during early voting periods that the public enters with a selfie from outside their polling place. White is a Visiting Fellow at Johns Hopkins University’s SNF Agora Institute with the mission of strengthening global democracy. Through this work White and SNF Agora Institute have analyzed the data on the top trending artists in key locations, whose electoral margins are often decided by the size of a concert venue, to determine which artists increase civic impact the most by comparing fan

demographic data with local voter files. #iVoted and SNF Agora are currently developing a tool that shows where any artist increases civic impact the most. White is also an Amazon #1 best-selling author of How to Build a Sustainable Music Career & Collect All Revenue Streams and hosts the #1 Music Business podcast globally of the same name. She’s a 2020 Billboard Woman of the Year, has been on the covers of both Pollstar Magazine and Billboard, and has proudly served on the boards of Well-Dunn, Future of Music, CASH Music, SXSW, The David Lynch Foundation Live while additionally serving on The Recording Academy’s Education Committee and Pandora’s Artist Advisory Council.

Andy Bernstein helped found HeadCount in 2004, and became its executive director in the Spring of 2008. During that span, the organization has registered over one million voters, forged alliances with hundreds of musicians and entertainers, and produced dozens of highly successful events and initiatives.

Under his leadership, HeadCount has won multiple CLIO and SHORTY awards for excellence in social impact. He has overseen the production of public service announcements starring Jay-Z, Dave Matthews, members of the Grateful Dead, and the boy band Brockhampton, the most recent of which was distributed by the Ad Council.

He was chosen as an honoree in the 2021 Billboard ‘Change Agents’ list and has been a featured speaker at the South by Southwest music conference, and appeared as an expert commentator on ABC, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and several other television networks.

Prior to creating HeadCount, Andy was best known in the music community as an author of "The Pharmer's Almanac", a guide to the band Phish that sold over 70,000 copies. He also worked in sports for over a decade, serving as media editor of Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal, and later as Vice President of U.S. Corporate Development at the technology company Kangaroo TV.

A 1994 graduate of Brown University, Bernstein resides in a slopeside condominium at the Mountain Creek ski resort, not far from New York City. His pastime is posting GoPro videos of his "off-piste" ski adventures on social media.

From 2013 to 2017, JaRel created and implemented the online engagement strategy for a defense and national security think tank. As the think tank’s digital content manager, JaRel tripled the organization’s digital footprint in his first year. He also supported the think tank’s media relations efforts, securing more than 200 media placements in outlets including CNN, MSNBC, and NPR. For nearly two years, he also served as an associate at Edelman, a public relations agency.

As a business owner, JaRel defines his success by working and advancing economic prosperity for Black and Brown communities. For 15 years, JaRel has worked as a freelance web designer at Clay and Group (C+G), a brand strategy firm representing small businesses and progressive nonprofits. Alongside his four part-time business partners, JaRel has partnered with more than 60 entrepreneurs and organizations working to transform the lives of Black and Indigenous people of color.

JaRel holds a master’s degree from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree from Kent State University. He also serves on the boards of two local nonprofits in the D.C. area: BasKIDS and Speak Out.

Jon van Gelder has been at the forefront of transforming Grounded.org into a unifying force in the fight against climate change. As the Executive Director, he leads the organization's strategy to merge philanthropy with cultural strategies to accelerate climate solutions among bipartisan audiences. Under his leadership as the organization's first Global Head of Impact, Grounded.org led the Clean Energy Freedom campaign in 2022, earning support from major artists like Mark Ruffalo and Chris Evans. The campaign played a key role in persuading President Biden to ramp

up U.S. clean energy production in defense of national security following Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine. Since taking the helm in 2024, Jon’s mandate has evolved to include helping other nonprofits and philanthropic organizations use cultural influence to spark major change. Together, Grounded's partners and grantees have united to save 185 endangered fin whales in Iceland with Jason Momoa, help Amazonian youth thwart anti-Indigenous legislation with Billie Eilish, Jaden Smith, and Leonardo DiCaprio, and win stronger global biodiversity targets with support from Meryl Streep and Hilary Swank. With 14 years of experience in social impact and communications for major brands, artists, and nonprofits including MTV, Universal Music, Bruce Springsteen, and New York Public Radio, Jon's knack for blending cultural engagement with advocacy has made him an emerging force of nature in next-gen climate philanthropy.

For nearly 30 years, Kurt has been leveraging the unifying power of music to create a more equitable, just and sustainable world. He got his start in the music industry with the Beastie Boys’ Milarepa Fund, producing the Tibetan Freedom Concerts and has been helping artists achieve their social impact goals ever since.  Kurt is the founder of The Impact Department which advises artists, brands and NGOs on audience engagement and culture shifting, the most recent example of which is Billie Eilish’s OVERHEATED events. Kurt currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Music Sustainability Alliance and is also the US Board Chair of EARTH/PERCENT, the music industry climate foundation launched by Brian Eno.