LOS ANGELES, CA – January 30, 2014 [Updated] – On Wednesday, February 26, 2014, the SoCal Digital Symposium (SDS) will launch its new quarterly technology series with an event at California State University Channel Islands (CSU Channel Islands) in Camarillo, CA. The symposium will be an exciting hub for Southern California’s diverse group of tech entrepreneurs, scholars, visionaries, business leaders, developers, and power brokers. Every quarter, engaged professionals will be invited to take part in stimulating discussions on emerging trends, share innovative ideas in solutions-oriented cross-disciplinary conversations, and learn about new and relevant strategies, technologies, and techniques at different locations in the Southern California region. The event will feature a keynote session with Mike Panesis, Chairman of the Board of Governors of Tech Coast Angels and Entrepreneurial Programs Manager, University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) College of Engineering. The CSU Channel Islands Business Advisory Council and CSU Channel Islands Business & Technology Partnership are the event hosts. For more information and registration, please see www.socaldigitalsymposium.com.

The five breakout session tracks for the February 26th SDS event in Camarillo are 1) Socially Conscious Business, 2) Media Tech, 3) 3D Printing & Advanced Manufacturing, 4) Wearable Electronics/Active Lifestyle Tech, and 5) Technology in Education. Scheduled speakers include Brent Bushnell (Two Bit Circus), Steven Gill (Gills Onions), Joseph M. Klocko (Center for Applied Competitive Technologies), Rao Machiraju (reQall), and Merrill Whatley (MW Multimedia Design and Development). The event will also include a kickoff session with SDS Founder Lisa deSouza. Ticket prices run from $20 for students with ID to $150 for premier admission. Association discounts will also be available (ticket details are below). Event runs from 4:00pm to 9:30pm at CSU Channel Islands (Grand Salon, North Quad, 1 University Drive, Camarillo, CA 93012).
 To contact an SDS representative please call 917-548-9959 or email info@socaldigitalsymposium.com.

“In the digital world, tech events fall into two categories: 1) networking events with lots of beer, wine and pizza, or 2) conferences where people speak at you for hours,” says Lisa deSouza, RPM Demand CEO and SDS Founder, “That’s not us – we are reaching for an experiential, thought-provoking event that brings together the region’s tech innovators for interactive sessions that lead to the next big thing.”

CSU Channel Islands SDS Event Details –
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 SDS event schedule:

• 4:00-4:30pm – Registration

• 4:30-5:00pm – Event Kickoff:
– Introduction by SDS Founder Lisa deSouza

• 5:00-5:45pm – Keynote Speaker:
– Mike Panesis, Tech Coast Angels & UCSB College of Engineering

• 6:00-7:45pm – Breakout Sessions/Panels and the Grand Salon Showcase

• 7:45-9:30pm – Networking Session with Food & Beverages

Breakout track session topics:

Socially Conscious Business: Technologies that enable sustainable, environmental, community integrated, and financially viable solutions for existing and emerging business. Speaker: Steve Gill, Gills Onions LLC, Owner & Partner

Media Tech: The impact of tech on buyer behavior and advertising, user segmentation, and linking brands to customer lifestyles; and technology as a link between online space and physical reality. Speaker: Merrill Whatley, MW Multimedia Design and Development, Owner

3D Printing & Advanced Manufacturing: Technology as a medium to create unique, high quality specialized hardware. The rebirth of the craftsman with technology as the conduit to personalized in-home manufacturing and connectivity with intelligent devices. Speaker: Joseph M. Klocko, Director, Center for Applied Competitive Technologies

Wearable Electronics/Active Lifestyle Tech: Technology as a transformer of everyday items into connected products that predict and anticipate uses and needs. The impact of these emerging devices on behavior, particularly in the areas of fitness, lifestyle, and environment. Speaker: Rao Machiraju, reQall Inc., Co-Founder/CEO

Technology in Education: The impact of virtual learning on children, global education, and gamification of information as a teaching strategy. The importance of engagement with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics as an essential pathway to student success. Speaker: Brent Bushnell, engineer and entrepreneur, Two Bit Circus Co-Founder

For additional information on SDS speakers, please see socaldigitalsymposium.com/speakers.

Entrance Fees:
Ticket prices run from $20 for students with ID to $150 for premier admission.

• Premier Admission – $150 (includes admission to 2 interactive, high-level Breakout Tracks of choice, Grand Salon Conference, Networking Session, and After-Party)

• General Admission – $100 (includes Grand Salon Conference, Networking Session, and After-Party)

• Students – $20 with valid ID for General Admission

• Association & Early Registration Discounts – 30%

Scholarship Fund:
10% of event proceeds will be donated to the CSU Channel Islands Business & Technology Partnership Scholarship Fund. This scholarship is awarded annually to qualifying full-time, upper division students who have shown outstanding promise, both inside and outside of the classroom, and who are pursuing degrees in business, science, or technology. For registration and scholarship details, please see socaldigitalsymposium.com/register.

CSU Channel Islands
(photo courtesy of CSU Channel Islands)

Mike Panesis, Keynote Speaker –
Chairman of the Board of Governors of Tech Coast Angels
Entrepreneurial Programs Manager, UC Santa Barbara College of Engineering
Mike Panesis is an entrepreneur, angel investor, and business executive with roots in information technology. He is Chairman of the Board of Governors of Tech Coast Angels (TCA), which is the largest accredited angel investor group in the country and one of the leading sources of funding to early-stage companies in Southern California. TCA has helped portfolio companies attract more than $1.4 billion in additional capital. TCA also provide counsel, mentoring and access to an extensive network of potential investors, customers, strategic partners and management talent. TCA has more than 250 members, including its venture capital affiliates, in five networks in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, the Central Coast and the Inland Empire.

Panesis’ has had an impressive career in a diverse range of industries and roles, including executive management, tech start-ups, IT management, and management consulting. His experience includes software engineering, operations, product management, and corporate and business development in industries ranging from software, automotive, financial services, information services, semiconductors, consumer goods, and manufacturing. He has worked with companies such as Semtech, Whitestone Research, DealerTrack, Church & Dwight, Deloitte & Touche, and AT&T. Panesis also leads the UCSB New Venture Competition (NVC) where he develops mentor networks to advise students and find ways to create and encourage innovation that reflects best practices in the start-up community. He has an MBA in Marketing from Rutgers University and a BS in Computer Science for Business from the DeVry Institute of Technology. He is also on the Board of the MIT Enterprise Forum Central Coast Chapter and Steering Committee of the Ventura County Greek Festival. He lives in Camarillo with his wife and two children.

SoCal Digital Symposium –
In addition to offering influential and thought provoking speakers, robust panel discussions, interactive showcases, and relevant networking opportunities, SoCal Digital Symposium (SDS) goes further than other conferences by offering unparalleled access to inspiring speakers via intimate, limited seating breakout track sessions where guests will be personally briefed on the latest tech issues and trends. This format allows for plenty of questions, meaningful dialogue, active brainstorming, and direct access to thought leaders and their peers. These interactive sessions facilitate and promote progress, forge creative alliances, and encourage potential collaborative ventures. The symposium convenes each quarter in Southern California’s new digital frontier, rotating between Ventura, Los Angeles, and Orange counties. SDS is the catalyst for the next wave of innovation in the region. socaldigitalsymposium.com/about

CSU Channel Islands Business & Technology Partnership, Event Host –
The CSU Channel Islands Business & Technology Partnership (B&TP) is housed in the Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics. Its membership is comprised largely of community leaders, business executives and professionals. The B&TP’s core values: foster the collaboration of technology and related service based companies with CSU Channel Islands and promote technological excellence among its students, faculty, and staff for the benefit of the region’s economy. The B&TP partnership benefits community members, University faculty and staff, and in particular, students through an exchange of information and resources, networking, and relationship investments. www.csuci.edu/btp

CSU Channel Islands Business Advisory Council, Event Host –
CSU Channel Islands Business Advisory Council is a voluntary resource group of the Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics. It is comprised of both private and public sector leaders from the region as well as undergraduate and graduate students of the MVS School. The Business Advisory Council’s Speaker Series has included a variety of prominent local and national speakers who have made presentations or have been interviewed on stage. The primary purpose of the Speaker Series is to provide information and insights to the University’s students and to the community. www.csuci.edu/bac

RPM Demand, SDS Founder & Event Producer –
RPM Demand is a strategic consulting firm that advises organizations on new ways of doing business in the information era. RPM Demand’s ultimate goal is to help clients develop strategies and technology-based infrastructures to make better decisions for improved performance. By transforming data into insights and actionable tools, RPM Demand helps companies across a range of industries create, nurture and manage buyers’ interest in products and services. A particular strength is guiding process development and restructuring – retrofitting organizational foundations with software solutions – for revitalized companies that thrive in the new digital ecosystem. The firm targets small and medium-sized enterprises with a strong focus on the Southern California region. rpmdemand.com

Links –
• SDS Official Site – www.socaldigitalsymposium.com
• SDS Facebook – www.facebook.com/Socaldigitalsymposium
• SDS Facebook Event Page – www.facebook.com/events/615664451832605
• SDS Twitter – twitter.com/sdslaevent

For additional press information, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.  For non-press SDS participation queries, please contact RPM Demand’s Ada Matasovski at 917-548-9959 or ada@rpmdemand.com.