Michelle Perkins, Founder & CEO of Positive Youth & Family Development Services (PYFDS)

Michelle Perkins is founder & CEO of Positive Youth & Family Development Services (PYFDS). She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Justice Studies from GSU in 1997; Masters of Education in Adult Community Leadership from AASU in 2005; Masters degree in Middle Grades Education from AASU in 2006; Completed Administration Leadership in the doctoral program from GSU. She served as a District Administrator Regional Program Specialist and Director of Special Education. Her work in special education earned her a 2019 Black Youth Leadership Project (BYLP) community recognition award. She has over 32 years of experience in general education, special education and work with the Department of Juvenile Justice. She is a member of the National Business Women’s Association; founder and CEO of a 501c3 nonprofit organization, Positive Youth & Family Development Services, Inc., serving at-risk youth and their families. Recent projects included Mother-Daughter Conference and G.I.R.L.S. (Giving, Intelligent, Respectful, Leaders of Success) and workshop facilitator at the National At-Risk Youth Conference in Savannah, GA. Her sincere love for youth and families earned her an esteemed position as Housing Mayor

for the US Army in Ft. Stewart, GA, where she served a four-year term as liaison for military families and youth. 

Nelson B. Amaral, Consumer Psychologist

Nelson B. Amaral is a consumer psychologist whose research focuses on how consumers process information and the factors that influence judgments and decisions. His research has been published in a number of marketing and psychology journals such as Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology and Journal of Business Ethics. Dr. Amaral obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Prior to entering academia, Dr. Amaral worked as a Marketing Manager, Director of Marketing, and Marketing Analyst in several industries. Dr. Amaral recently developed a new social media management course that has been delivered both in-class and online.

Shalini Bahl, Ph.D., Award-winning Researcher and Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Consultant and Teacher

Shalini Bahl, Ph.D., is an award-winning researcher and Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction consultant and teacher. Based on 15 years of research and professional training in mindfulness, Dr. Bahl offers evidence-based solutions to business, education, and political clients to disrupt harmful habits, become more resilient to life’s obstacles, and live with empowered choices for personal and collective fulfillment. She received her PhD in marketing from the Isenberg School of Management, UMass and has published in premier journals including the Journal of Consumer Research, JPP&M, and Journal of Advertising. Dr. Bahl is a keynote speaker, has three TEDx talks, and her guided meditations and programs have had over 250,000 plays on the Insight Timer and Simple Habit app.  

Tessa Garcia-Collart, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Missouri-St. Louis

Tessa Garcia-Collart is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at the University of Missouri-St Louis. Dr. Garcia-Collart holds a PhD in Marketing from Florida International University, an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and a BA in Marketing and International Business from Universidad Tecnologica Centroamericana in Honduras. Her research areas include transformative consumer research and brand communications in digital media, which have resulted in publications at the Journal of Advertising, Marketing Letters and Journal of Consumer Affairs. She has presented her work in premier marketing academic conferences, as well as in multiple universities around the globe and corporations. Dr. Garcia-Collart's research has been recognized with multiple awards and fellowships, including the Ilana Shanks Emerging Scholar Award (2022). She is an AMA-Sheth Doctoral Fellow (2018) and is the recipient of a Marketing Science Institute grant to fund one of her research initiatives. 

George R. Milne, Carney Family Endowed Professor of Marketing, Associate Dean of Research, University of Massachusetts

George R. Milne is Carney Family Endowed Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean of Research at the Isenberg School at University of Massachusetts Amherst.  Professor Milne has authored more than 160 journal articles, books, chapters, and conference papers on topics that include consumer privacy protection, interactive marketing, mindfulness, consumer behavior, and public policy.  Outlets for this research include:  Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Journal of Advertising, Marketing Letters, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Business Research and others. In 2012, he was awarded the Robert B. Clarke Outstanding Educator Award.  His co-authored paper on mindfulness won the Thomas C Kinnear Award in 2019. He has received the Isenberg outstanding researcher award for the years 2016-17 and 2008-9.  He was awarded with the outstanding college teaching award in 1993-4. Professor Milne has over 30 years of teaching experience in marketing research, internet marketing, and marketing management in both live and online formats and with graduate and undergraduate students.

Kelly Moore, Ph.D

Kelly Moore received her Ph.D. in Marketing from Iowa State University, MBA from Drake University, and BBA in Finance and BA in Mass Communications from the University of Iowa. Dr. Moore’s research focuses on the area of consumer decision making, with an emphasis on individual differences, such as personality traits. She has explored these issues in the food and social networking domains. Her research has been published in many scholarly journals, including Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, Computers in Human Behavior, and Food Quality & Preference, amongst others. Prior to academia, Dr. Moore worked in the fields of sports marketing, financial services, and management consulting. Dr. Moore recently designed an Emotional Intelligence course she piloted at Duquesne University in spring 2022.

Matthew Philip, Consumer Psychologist

Matthew Philp is a consumer psychologist whose research examines how consumers process information and the factors that influence their behavior and subsequent well-being. His research primarily focuses on how consumers engage and respond to social media and word-of-mouth. His research has been published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Business Research, Psychology & Marketing, Marketing Letters, European Journal of Marketing, and Journal of Consumer Affairs. He obtained his PhD from Queen’s University and is currently an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Ted Rogers School of Management at the Toronto Metropolitan University.

Ellen Campos Sousa, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Gardner-Webb University

Ellen Campos Sousa is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Godbold College of Business at Gardner-Webb University. She is a transformative consumer researcher, developing solutions for consumers and marketing problems, using a holistic approach. She combines her expertise as a mindfulness facilitator and marketing researcher to study the impact of mindfulness on consumer wellbeing across different countries and contexts. Her research has been recognized with multiple awards and grants and has been presented in several leading international conferences. Her first empirical mindfulness research is published in the Journal of Consumer Affairs. Ellen holds a PhD in Marketing from Florida International University, and a MS in Business Administration and a BA in Business Administration from Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Brazil.