Meet our 2019 BOOST East Conference Speakers
It’s our privilege to present content to you from some of the most experienced and knowledgeable experts
in their specific professions and in the children’s activity industry sector.
Amber Smith
Amber lives in Huntersville, NC and is a new member of the Education team. With her prior experience as a dancer, dance teacher, office administrator at a dance studio, and a Jackrabbit Support representative, she is able to relate to customers and efficiently find the solution they need. Amber enjoys traveling, especially to destinations with warm weather!
Where to find Amber?
- Online Web Registration & Parent Portal
- Recitals
- Costumes/Apparel Management
Bethany Mahn
Bethany lives in Waxhaw, just south of Charlotte, NC and is a Jackrabbit Support Representative. With prior experience running a swim school as well as in corporate training and customer service, she is able to help organizations find easier solutions to their daily/monthly tasks. Bethany enjoys scuba diving, beaches, and attending activities of her three kids who are in high school and college. She also enjoys playing with her newest member of the family, her puppy, Milo!
Where to find Bethany?
- Time Clock
- Staff Portal
- Financial Reporting
Brandi Vickers
Brandi is the Sales Director for the Midwest region for TutuTix. With almost three decades in the dance industry, she knows what truly happens in the dance studio and how hectic recital season can be. Her goal is to take away stress and anxiety and make sure every client has a great experience with TutuTix service. She is a group fitness instructor and dance teacher, and has three children, including two daughters who dance competitively at a dance studio in Birmingham, AL.
Where to find Brandi?
- General Session – TutuTix Demonstration
- Vendor Panel Q&A
Darin Soll
Darin helps SaaS companies grow. He has two passions, coaching people to sustained success, and helping bridge the gap between customers and technology. Drawing on his 20 years of experience, Darin asks the right questions to remove roadblocks and optimize execution. He is a semi-professional drummer and authors a popular blog to help drummers get the most out of their gear.
Where to find Darin?
- Expert Panel Q&A
Emily Smith
Emily has been passionate about children and families for most of her life and has been uniquely involved in the education and business side of the child care and activities industries for over 10 years. She is currently leading Jackrabbit’s Marketing team. Emily has served as an Executive Director for three national child care organizations, been an active consultant and national speaker on child care sales and marketing, and was actively involved with the marketing and enrollment of her centers for most of her career.
Where to find Emily?
- Expert Panel Q&A
Jan Nielsen
Jan leads the Jackrabbit ePayments team and truly enjoys helping clients realize how beneficial ePayments can be to their organization. Jan currently lives in Maryland, but is looking forward to her move back to Washington state next year. She enjoys spending time with her family, Great Danes, and knitting.
Where to find Jan?
- General Session – Understanding ePayments: How They Can Help You Grow
- Expert Panel Q&A
Jorine Jones
Jorine lives in Charlotte, NC, and manages Jackrabbit’s customer-focused staff, as well as initiatives to improve customer experiences. Believe it or not, at 6’ 3”, Jorine is the shortest person in her family. Her teenaged son is the tallest at 6’ 9”!
Where to find Jorine?
- General Session – Topic TBA
- Expert Panel Q&A
Mark Mahoney
Mark loves running his software business, but also loves coin collecting and traveling the world to have once-in-a-lifetime experiences. The next item on his bucket list is sailing an America’s cup yacht at Auckland Bay, New Zealand.
Mark’s topics include:
- General Session – The Jackrabbit Story
- Vendor Panel Q&A Moderator
- Expert Panel Q&A Moderator
Melissa Keller
Melissa is from South Carolina but has lived in Charlotte, North Carolina since 2011 and is part of the Support Team.
The only children she can claim are two lovely nieces and her 3 fur babies: Winnie, Bitty and Moo.
Melissa loves to travel and is a crafty lady!
Where to find Melissa?
- Website Class Listings Tables
- Events
- Enrollment Reporting
Michelle Soutier
Michelle is the owner of Miller Street Dance Academy in Charlotte, NC. Founded in 1994, MSDA serves more than 2,500 students combined over 2 locations. Equally important to teaching dance technique, Michelle strives to instill life skills such as how to be part of a team and the importance of community service. In addition to being active in the studio week to week, Michelle was part of the 2018 I.D.E.A. conference faculty and serves as an active National Ambassador for Dancers Against Cancer.
Where to find Michelle?
- General Session – Creating a Better Community
Mike Carper
Mike’s passion is designing and developing software applications. In 2004, Mike met Mark for lunch and the rest is, as they say, history. Mike enjoys developing software (no, really!), running, golf, sailing on the lake, and spending time with his wife, Christy, and their two children.
Where to find Mike?
- Expert Panel Q&A
Sean Dever
Sean used his experience as a CPA and knowledge as a former gym owner to develop unique payroll processing software called Express Payroll. A Boston, MA-based CPA and financial planner, Sean serves clients in the dance, gymnastics, cheerleading and child sport sectors across the U.S.
Where to find Sean?
- Pre-Conference Seminar – Financial Wellness for Your Business
- Guest Speaker – Maximizing Profits
- Vendor Panel Q&A
Talina Bath
Talina has created over 125 tutorial videos for our customers on how to use or set up various features in Jackrabbit. Talina is a big football and hockey fan, is very involved with her children’s school PTA, and organizes a neighborhood book club.
Where to find Talina?
- Marketing & Communications
- Store
- Skills
Tami Colvin
Tami designs, develops, and delivers classroom, online, and onsite training and materials for Jackrabbit’s customers from her Winston-Salem, NC, office. Tami is an avid fan of theatre and music and loves spending time with family, being outdoors, and meeting new people.
Tami’s topics include:
- BOOST East Conference Host
- General Session – Pro Tips & Best Practices
- Round Tables Facilitator
Tracy Egan
Tracy is a product management leader who is passionate about driving value for organizations through technology innovation. She enjoys traveling to exotic beach locations with her family, with St. John USVI as their favorite.
Where to find Tracy?
- General Session – Product Review (Recent & Upcoming Enhancements)
- Expert Panel Q&A
Ty McDowell
In addition to being CEO, Ty is also a founding partner of Houston, Texas-based Mobile Inventor. Over his 20 years in the software industry, Ty has proved that creating software that is useful and engaging, can also help them increase revenue and enhance the level of service they provide.
Where to find Ty?
- General Session – Mobile Inventor Demonstration
- Vendor Panel Q&A