Meet the people presenting at the soundwave summit

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ORGANIZER - Amanda is an award-winning podcast producer, TEDx speaker, author, and entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of Lead Podcasting and the author of the #1 Amazon best-seller, Let’s Talk Podcasting: The Essential Guide to Doing it Right. As an adjunct professor, she helped redefine the radio courses at Seneca Polytechnic and Toronto Metropolitan University. Previously, she worked as a radio reporter, news anchor and producer. Most notably, she was the first woman to be a program director at a talk radio station in Toronto.

ORGANIZER  - Sherley is a Montreal-born podcaster since 2008, now works in Toronto as a podcast producer, speaker, and digital strategist. She co-founded The Chonilla Network, hosting podcasts like Black Canadian Creators and Uncolonized Podcast. She also leads the BCANC Instagram and Facebook groups, supporting over 450+ vetted content creators. Their motto: "We create community and welcome new media content by keeping it funny, thought-provoking, and educational.

ORGANIZER - Michael is a podcaster and co-founder of The Sonar Network, a Toronto-based indie podcast network. He has been involved in podcasting for over a decade and hosted the Toronto-based improv comedy podcast, That's How I Remember It. That’s How I Remember It has won 7 Canadian Podcast Awards and has been voted one of the top Toronto Podcasts by blogTO, NOW magazine, Streetcar.ca, Indie88, and The Comedy Network Online. Michael himself has also won a Canadian Podcast Award for Best Male Host. 

Alex is a writer, audio and casting director, illustrator, and occasional bassist based in Toronto. She is the co-creator/writer and director of the award-winning horror audiodrama Parkdale Haunt. Currently, she is holding the same positions on Woodbine, a noir-inspired audiodrama about vampire detectives. In her day to day, she is a voice casting and audio director at Pirate Sound. As a writer and illustrator, her work has previously appeared in FLARE, The Toast, Slackjaw, TSN’s BarDown, Jezebel, and CANADALAND, among others. In her off time, she can mostly be found obsessively looking for new recipes to try out and fruitlessly trying to convince her friends to get into F1.  

Marianna Miniotis is a seasoned audio executive and producer with a keen ear for comedy and compelling storytelling. As VP at The Sonar Network (a leading comedy and arts podcast platform) and Production Manager at Lead Podcasting, she oversees a diverse slate of audio projects. Her portfolio includes branded podcasts for CIBC Bank, World Vision International, and the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, alongside original series with The Walrus Lab. Marianna excels at blending humor with substance. Known for her sharp creative instincts, she’s become a driving force behind podcasts that resonate with audiences and brands. 

 Briana is the Director of Business Development at Lead Podcasting. She first fell in love with audio storytelling and production when co-hosting the morning show on her high school's radio station. It led her to graduate from a joint program at Western University and Fanshawe College and to secure more than a decade of experience in the radio news industry. Before joining Lead Podcasting, Briana held the position of Managing Editor at a major market media company in Toronto. Now, Briana helps thought leaders and organizations discover how to make their podcast visions come to life.

Ryan is an accomplished audio producer and sound designer with over a decade of experience seamlessly blending compelling narratives with exceptional soundscapes. His passion for music and audio production began early, leading him to master various brass instruments, particularly the trumpet. After graduating from Seneca College's Radio program in 2016, Ryan quickly advanced through roles such as Technical Producer at Sportsnet 590 The Fan, Commercial Producer at 105.9 The Region, Assistant Producer on KiSS 92.5’s Roz and Mocha Show, and Producer/Sound Designer at Frequency Podcast Network, Pacific Content and Lead Podcasting. Ryan has worked on several acclaimed shows, including "The Hopeful," which was honored as Apple Podcast Canada's 2020 Show of the Year. 

Kattie is an award-winning, freelance podcast producer and writer based in Brantford, Ontario. She has a life-long love of public radio, and has been clinging to the podcasting space since 2013. As both a professional and independent podcast creator, Kattie’s insights have her keenly focused on making the Canadian podcasting ecosystem sustainable, equitable and world-renowned. Kattie writes the biweekly newsletter, Pod the North, the Substack for the Canadian podcasting ecosystem. Pod the North’s regular readers include many media executives from the likes of CBC Podcasts and Spotify. 

Hannah is a co-founder of Media Girlfriends. Her previous work includes producing award-winning podcasts for The Globe and Mail and the Globe Content Studio, including Colour Code, a podcast about race in Canada, and Stress Test, a podcast about personal finance in the pandemic. She executive produced award-winning podcasts at TVO and The Walrus Lab on social issues, politics and current affairs. In 2020, she was the Asper Fellow at the University of Western Ontario’s Faculty of Information and Media Studies, where she led a post-graduate journalism class in narrative podcasting. Hannah began her career in music television at MuchMusic, where she was the host of shows including MuchNews and the live red carpet at the MuchMusic Video Awards. 

Michelle is, a Toronto-based writer, blogger, and podcaster from Rexdale, ON, has been writing since her introspective high school days, first honing her craft through poetry. After university, she gained confidence and began self-publishing a zine—rare for a woman of colour at the time—which she produced for four years. She later co-hosted a college radio show, created a webzine with friends, and launched Words with Michelle, a blog celebrating inspiring voices in the BIPOC community. This passion naturally evolved into her latest love: podcasting. 

 Sasha  is President and Founder of Forty First Street Media. Nagy is a veteran journalist who has worked in digital video production and storytelling for the past 15 years. He was responsible for all editorial video at Huffington Post Canada for almost 10 years where he developed digital video formats that ranged from viral social content to long-form documentary series.  Forty First Street Media is dedicated to impact storytelling across all formats, including podcasts.

Nagy has been an early innovator in the live streaming, podcast and video space and will speak about the various ways podcasters can maximize their reach across multiple social media platforms by adding a video strategy.