Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Shabnam Mogharabi

Media and Entertainment Exec

Shabnam Mogharabi is an entertainment entrepreneur and producer with 20 years of experience leading mission- driven media companies.

Shabnam co-founded the uplifting content studio SoulPancake with actor Rainn Wilson, which she ran as CEO for nearly a decade, amassing 1B+ online video views and dozens of Emmy and Webby Awards on their content slate, before a successful exit to Participant Media. During her tenure, she was named The Hustle's Entrepreneur of the Year, and SoulPancake was named to Inc5000's Fastest Growing Businesses and Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in Media.

Currently, Shabnam is the founder and CEO of The Joy Brigade, a consulting and advisory firm that helps early- and mid-stage media, entertainment, and tech companies with strategy, business planning, culture, content creation, and storytelling. Her clients have ranged from an independent children's media start-up to a Series B documentary studio to large national news platforms.

Shabnam sits on the advisory boards of for-profit startups Seed & Spark and Sunset Vibes Swimwear, as well as on the board of directors of the Wayfarer Foundation and national non-profits Tahirih Justice Center and Girl Rising. She is a lifelong student of positive psychology and a highly sought-after public speaker on the subjects of joy and purpose.

Shabnam is a Henry Crown Fellow and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She began her career in journalism, where she ran large editorial newsrooms. She has always been drawn to companies whose mission and culture align with her personal values and desire to tell stories that create hope in a depleted world. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two littles, and a nutty mutt named Ziggy.

Thursday, February 20, 2025

Michael Coleman

Principal Fiscal Policy Advisor

Michael Coleman is a leading expert on California local government revenues, spending, and financing. He is the creator of CaliforniaCityFinance.com, and the California Local Government Finance Almanac, an online resource of data, analyses and articles on California municipal finance and budgeting. He is the principal fiscal policy advisor both to the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO) and, for over twenty years, to the League of California Cities. Michael is a popular presenter at graduate schools and conferences and is the author of numerous articles and references, including the California Municipal Revenue Sources Handbook , and – as co-author with Mike Multari, Ken Hampian and Bill Statler – the Guide to Local Government Finance in California , published by Solano Press. An experienced city fiscal officer, Michael previously worked for the cities of San Mateo, Milpitas, Daly City, and Sacramento. He received his BA in Policy Analysis from UC Davis and his MPA from the University of Southern California, and is a graduate of the Coro Fellows Program. In February 2013, the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers honored Michael with its Distinguished Service Award for dedicated service and outstanding contribution to the municipal finance profession.

Friday, February 21, 2025

Dr. Chris Thornberg

Founder of Beacon Economics

Dr. Christopher Thornberg has been called many things throughout his career, but his favorite thing to be called is correct. He founded Beacon Economics in 2006 and the firm quickly made a name for itself as the only major forecast on the West Coast to correctly predict the collapse of the sub-prime real estate bubble and the global recession that followed.

More correct calls followed, including predicting the rapid V shaped recovery from the pandemic and the subsequent surge in inflation. Under Dr. Thornberg’s leadership, Beacon Economics has become one of the most respected research organizations in California producing economic forecasts, impact analyses, policy studies, and regional economic analysis for private industry, public agencies, and nonprofits.

With a career rooted in academia, Dr. Thornberg holds a Ph.D. in Business Economics from the Anderson School at UCLA, where he later taught in the MBA program and served as a senior economist with the Anderson Forecast.

As a thought-leader and dynamic public speaker, Dr. Thornberg speaks in front of tens of thousands of people every year, urging audiences to ask the right economic questions before accepting pervasive social and political narratives.