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General Session / Wednesday / September 11, 2024 / 12:30 PM

How to Make Your Store Welcoming for All Customers

This panel discussion will focus on how to create a more inclusive customer experience. Panelists will discuss the importance of inclusivity, and how brands can make their stores more welcoming for all customers, regardless of their background.


PANELISTS

Aspen Earley | Events Manager | Rise Brands
Aspen Earley serves as the Events AGM at Pins Mechanical Co. and 16-Bit Bar + Arcade. She holds a business degree with a concentration in marketing from East Carolina University. Since starting her role, Aspen has led an Innovative Events Outreach Initiative aimed at fostering deeper community engagement within our venues. Her efforts are dedicated to enhancing the connection between guests and the venue, ensuring each event creates a memorable and impactful experience.
Andrew Glantz | Founder & CEO | GiftAMeal
Andrew Glantz is the Founder & CEO of GiftAMeal, a cause-marketing platform for restaurants that has provided 2 million meals to those in need through its novel “food for photos” concept. For each photo shared through GiftAMeal, a meal is donated to a local food bank. An outspoken champion of social entrepreneurship, Glantz began his hunger-fighting venture while still a student at Washington University in St. Louis in 2015.
Amy Hom | Chief Operating Officer | Barcelona Restaurant Group
Amy Hom brings over 25 years of impactful leadership in the restaurant industry and technology innovation space, Amy is currently the COO at Barcelona Wine Bar. Previously, Amy served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief People Officer for Bluestone Lane, where she played a pivotal role in shaping operational strategies and fostering a culture of excellence. Before her tenure at Bluestone Lane, she held the position of Executive Vice President of North American Retail and Kitchens at REEF Technology, where she led transformative initiatives to convert static neighborhood spaces into dynamic community hubs, including building a food safety team, training department, and an operational excellence strategy. With a keen eye for operational efficiency and a passion for nurturing talent, Amy has contributed in key leadership positions at prominent restaurant brands. She served as the Vice President of Operations at sweetgreen, providing operational support to over 100 locations.
Felix Nater | Security Management Consultant & CEO | Nater Associates
Felix P. Nater, CSC, an independent security management consultant and CEO of Nater Associates Ltd. is a nationally recognized highly skilled Workplace Violence Prevention Advisor & Consultant with over 30 years of federal law enforcement, and experience as a Workplace Violence Prevention Consultant and United States Postal Inspector. He is a certified security consultant as awarded by the International Association of Professional Security Consultants (IAPSC).
Billy Thompson | President- RSAI | Kate's Skating Rinks, LLC
Graduate of the University of Colorado in Boulder, Billy is now the Third generation Owner of Kate’s Skating Rinks. Since 2000, Billy has run multiple locations in the Gastonia, Charlotte and Indian Trail area for his family, and now has complete ownership of the family business that started in 1961. He has become heavily involved in the Rollerskating Association International since 2003. Since then, he has held local and national board seats in the RSAI. He was the National Marketing Chair for over 10 years for the association, held the roll of Vice President, and is currently the President of the RSAI. Over the last 5 years he has worked with large corporations such as Disney, Jakks Toys, Kidz Bop, and Pepsi to name a few; in efforts to better his industry and his own personal business.
HOST

Cherryh Cansler | Vice President of Events | Networld Media Group
Before joining Networld Media Group as Vice President of Events, Cherryh Cansler spent several years as VP of Editorial managing the Networld’s nine B2B publications. Throughout her 20-year career as a journalist, she’s written about a variety of topics, ranging from the restaurant industry and technology to health and fitness news. Her byline has appeared in a plethora of newspapers, magazines and websites, including Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine. She also serves as the managing editor for FastCasual.com.