Podcast Power: Bridging Thought Leadership and Business

Brittany Abdool, Founder & CEO

Brittany Abdool has a long-history of setting a vision and accomplishing it. As a first-generation college graduate, she leads with passion and perseveres with grit – showing up every single day with the resolve to make it better than the last for herself, her team, her clients, and her communities.

In her experience spanning both international WPP agencies to small boutique agencies, Brittany has counseled some of the most recognizable household names to win impressive industry accolades and she has built talented and effective creative and media teams. She continues to be fiercely focused on people, products, and processes which have proven to be key contributors to successes over the years.

Brittany has worked with brands including, but not limited to: AARP, Accenture, Bank of America, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Ford Motor Company, PepsiCo, and Target. In 2018, she led the digital influencer strategy and management for Bank of America’s Friends Again campaign which won a Gold SABRE.

Brittany served on the Board of Directors for Washington Women in Public Relations for three years before relocating from Washington, DC to Chicago.

Orion Kinkaid, Chief Creative Officer

Orion brings over 16 years of experience in the digital customer experience, user experience, and creative design strategy. He is an advocate for digital planning from the consumers’ perspective leading planning on journey mapping, digital touchpoints, and helping the entire ecosystem work together in a cross-disciplinary approach.

Before joining Ona Media Company, Orion held senior creative positions at Garmin and VMLY&R, where he worked with QuikTrip and Phillips 66.

He led the largest digital transformation initiative in North America for Sprint, designing a simple yet detailed end-to-end website experiences that reduced the friction that ultimately helped digital sales grow by 200% and reduced over 50% of call drivers. He also helped design the first iPhone app for Southwest Airlines.

Orion believes in supporting the communities around him currently serving as a design mentor for ADPList, a global community of Mentors and Learners and previously helped launch TEDxKC.

Neveah Bradshaw, MarTech Advisor

Neveah Bradshaw is an impassioned and accomplished leader with a 12+ year career in digital marketing and storytelling. Her expertise is in driving results for e-commerce and direct-to-consumer organizations through crafting marketing strategies and managing mar-tech integrations to support complex retail ecosystems. She’s entrusted by executive leadership to responsibly manage multi-million dollar budgets, provide strategic counsel to numerous agencies and internal partners, identify opportunities for process improvement; which included an extended assignment within the APAC region.

Recently, she successfully completed McKinsey & Company’s Black Leadership Academy’s Management Accelerator program. Neveah believes in the power of community and is a powerful ally for the next generation. Her leadership extends beyond the workplace and included serving on the Board of Directors for the Washington Women In PR for 3 years, and to a longtime affiliation with her beloved Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.

Neveah holds a Masters in Strategic Communications from American University and a BA in Communications and Marketing from Virginia State University.

Sophia Corripio, Senior Social Media Specialist

Sofia is an experienced social media specialist supporting transnational corporations such as Mercedes Benz, Nissan, Bose, Voxtell and more. With a background in design, having lived in over 14 cities worldwide, and working with an array of clients she brings an incredibly valuable perspective to every project.

Since she was a kid, she has always wanted to create something to help others while doing something she is passionate about and found that in the world of social and digital media. With her deep knowledge of social media channels, content, and best practices she has helped over 100 entrepreneurs and businesses brands achieve their most challenging goals.

Taylor Weiss, Content Specialist

Taylor is a passionate content specialist with a flair for creativity and a knack for creating engaging social and digital experiences. She has a proven track record for creating viral-worthy content tailored to each platform from TikTok to YouTube to Instagram and more. She thrives on translating the latest trends into engaging and shareable content.

When she isn’t creating content for social and digital media you might catch her behind the camera producing videos for local Chicago music artists.

Catherine Buckler, Copywriter

Passionate about the power of words, she has applied her storytelling skills to write for web, radio, and print media. With a background in journalism spanning over five years, she weaves compelling stories that captivate and engage audiences. Catherine’s work has earned her accolades, including an award from the Society of Professional Journalists for her investigative journalism. Her work was also recognized with the Best News Writing Series on an International Event honor from the Catholic Press Awards.

Her penchant for writing has led her to perform stand-up comedy in Miami, Los Angeles, Boston, and Washington, DC. Equipped with an MA in Journalism from Emerson College and a BA in Editing, Writing, and Media from Florida State University, Catherine combines her expertise with a genuine passion for crafting compelling narratives.

April Kennedy, VP of Project Management

With an extensive background in strategy and operations, April values how education, technology and communications work together. April supports Ona’s internal team and clients by analyzing the execution of the work and identifying ways through systems and processes to create efficiency and ensure clear communication and collaboration. In addition to supporting Ona, April works with enablement and go-to-market teams at Panorama Education, an education technology company serving schools and districts across the country.

April holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Communications from Northwestern University.

Lauren Kastner, VP of Paid Media

Lauren is a seasoned communications and marketing professional that has deep expertise in paid social and digital media. With over seven years of diverse industry experience she’s found paid media creates consistent results and thoughtful personal user experiences. She is passionate about research and leveraging data-driven audience insights to inform her strategic approach.

Lauren has extensive background working on digital teams that support impressive Fortune 500 companies, fast-paced agencies, and low-resources non-profit organizations adapting her approach to meet their goals and create real business impact.

She lives in Denver with her fiance and two pets, Coconut and Elliot. What gets her up in the morning? Helping clients succeed, growing her vegetable garden and copious amounts of iced-coffee.

SHAWN ABDOOL, CFO & CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER

As CFO and Chief Strategist, Shawn manages Ona’s financial operations and guides the strategic leadership. Previously, Shawn served as Managing Director at Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) for almost 15 years. There he advised some of the world’s most admired executives and companies including Wendy’s, Cintas, Reynolds Consumer Products, Potbelly and Ulta Beauty on how to position the company for the present and future landscape of a private or public company, including market/customer perception, ESG, investor targeting, corporate communication and brand awareness. He was also responsible for leading the sales and marketing teams to grow their SAAS and advisory business. During that time, Shawn was the recipient of multiple CEO Awards, Nasdaq’s highest honor, recognizing innovation, initiative and exemplary performance.

In addition to Nasdaq, Shawn served as a Director at CoStar Group (Nasdaq: CSGP), the world leader in commercial real estate data, analytics and marketing, leading the sales and marketing team throughout the Midwest; Financial Analyst at Equifax (NYSE: EFX); and Client Service Associate at Legg Mason (now Franklin Templeton).

Shawn currently serves on the Advisory Panel for Harvard Business Review, and formerly served on the Advisory Panels for The National Geographic Society and Potbelly Corporation.

He is an avid volunteer for social and economic causes including Books For Africa, Ronald McDonald House, Make-A-Wish, A-SPAN, SMYAL, and various local organizations. In 2019, he was named Nasdaq’s Volunteer of the Year, out of 4,800 employees.

Shawn holds an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business; and a BBA in Finance from Radford University.