Featured Speakers

Mariana Atencio

Wednesday, January 31st

Mariana Atencio took the world by storm in 2017 when her TEDx talk on authenticity “What makes YOU special?” went viral. To date, it has over 22 million views and has been translated into 13 languages.

Her book Perfectly You: Embracing the Power of Being Real was an Amazon Best Seller and selected by Audible and AppleBooks.

In the last decade Mariana worked at Univision and NBC News as an anchor and reporter, and has since founded “GoLike,” a media company named among the 100 most powerful Latina businesses in the U.S.

She’s quickly became one of the most sought-after virtual speakers and secured global events, keynotes and partnerships with Microsoft, YouTube, Spotify, Deloitte, Pepsi, Clinique, AT&T, McDonald’s, UBS, Procter & Gamble, Citi Private Bank, Airbnb, LinkedIn, the World Health Organization and the United Nations, among others.

Mariana is featured in the award-winning HBO series “Habla Now” as one of the leaders defining the Latinx Experience in the U.S. Her work has been honored with a Peabody, a Gracie Award, Columbia University’s “First Decade Award” and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Presidential Award.

Michael Coleman & Friends

Thursday, February 1st

Join Michael Coleman and two of the top local government legislative advocates in Sacramento for an update on the latest in California local revenues, legislation, important legal cases, financial conditions, and other issues of critical concern to city, county, and special district finance professionals.  Hear about the rules and trends in taxes, fees, and other city revenues, the relationship with the state budget, problems, and prospects for reform.  Get your questions answered about pressing fiscal issues facing cities, counties, and special districts.

Social Narratives, Economic Realities, and the Direction of the California Economy

Friday, February 2nd

Dr. Christopher Thornberg is a distinguished economist, founder of Beacon Economics, and a former faculty member at UCLA, UCR, and Clemson University.  With a foundation rooted in academia, Dr. Thornberg worked over the past two decades with a wide variety of private and public sector clients in economic forecasting, real estate analysis, labor market trends, and public policy.  His expert commentary, legacy of correct calls on the economy, and irreverent style have made him a regular in major news outlets and a sought-after speaker on convention stages and in boardrooms across the nation.  Dr. Thornberg is a respected authority on the economic trends, but his data-rich outlooks go far beyond the charts and pinpoint the driving — and often incorrect — narratives that shape the daily economic decisions of households, businesses, and policy makers.  It isn’t just what is going to happen, but why.