Laura Brett is the Vice President of National Advertising for Better Business Bureau National Programs (BBBNP), part of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation founded in 1971 to boost consumer trust in advertising. Laura began leading the National Advertising Division (NAD) in August of 2017, after serving NAD as a staff attorney and Assistant Director. Laura has helped develop NAD’s body of guidance in the evolving area of truthfulness and transparency for advertising in digital media, including the review of the adequacy of disclosures in influencer marketing as well as other digital formats. In addition to speaking regularly on the issues surrounding digital advertising in the U.S. and internationally, Laura has published articles on the ethical standards of advertisers in social media and participated on a panel at the FTC’s Native Advertising Workshop in December 2013. Prior to joining NAD, Laura was a litigator with her own private practice after having worked in commercial litigation at Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Laura also was elected to her local City Council and served as Deputy Mayor.

SERENA VISWANATHAN is Acting Associate Director in the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices. She started her FTC career as a staff attorney in the Division of Advertising Practices in 2000, litigating deceptive advertising cases on a broad range of practices, including health claims and endorsements. Serena held positions at all levels of the agency, including as an Attorney Advisor and Acting Deputy Director in the Bureau of Consumer Protection, where she advised senior agency leaders on pending enforcement matters, as well as legal and policy issues affecting the agency’s consumer protection mission. Serena received a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Marie-Laure Bonnaffous joined the Italian luxury fashion house FENDI in 2015. Based in Rome, Italy, Marie-Laure handles IP matters at 360° for the Maison and on the worldwide basis; coping with both IPRs and domain names portfolio managements, protection strategy, contract negotiations, support to licensing and cobranding as well as brand protections and litigation. Before this, she acquired an extensive experience in the field by working successively with Procter & Gamble in Geneva and L’Oréal in Paris.

Margarita Serrano is the founder and director of contemporary fashion brand
SERRANO www.serranostore.com. She transitioned from Law to Fashion
Entrepreneurship and has become a renown name in the field of high quality
fashion and e-commerce. She graduated Law School with honors from
Universidad de Los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia) and holds a Master’s degree in
Fashion Management from Bocconi University (Milan, Italy). She founded
SERRANO in 2014, which was recognized by Forbes as the “New York based
fashion label that should be on your radar”. She is the sole owner and director of
her business which creates and manufactures collections with the finest of fabrics
and delivers worldwide.

Whether vetting product claims or ensuring regulatory compliance, Nancy
Felsten is guided by both practicalities and the law, which often in this space
comes in the form of guidance and not regulation. She leads the firm’s
advertising, marketing, and promotions practice and this attitude is how DWT
approaches the complicated problems of our day. Whether working with
advertising agencies, our media and telecommunications clients, or with
consumer electronics, FDA-regulated OTC, banking and consumer product
companies, we provide a 360-degree practice for any and all kinds of
advertising, marketing, and promotions programs. Nancy helps clients create
compliant marketing campaigns pursuant to FTC and FDA regulation and
guidance, state consumer protection law, rights of privacy and publicity, and
other advertising and intellectual property issues. And when clients are
embroiled in competitive challenges or a government investigation, Nancy is
there for them. Nancy feels that her public accolades from Chambers Band 1 to
New York Super Lawyers year after year are nice, but what matters to her the
most are her deep and long-lasting relationships with clients. She believes that’s
what makes her practice so exciting and personal.

Chris Gelinas is a New York based womenswear designer.  Gelinas challenges conventional approaches to design through a commitment to rigorous technical development and innovation, working to bridge the gap between pioneering techniques and the classic convention of luxury and femininity. Gelinas has been quickly recognized for his innovative approach and attention to detail, becoming a finalist in the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund (2015),  elected as a U.S. finalist for the International Woolmark Prize (2015), shortlisted as a finalist in the first LVMH Young Fashion Designers prize (2014) and his debut CG collection won the MADE for Peroni Young Designer Award (2013).

Gelinas graduated with a design degree from Parsons School of Design. He refined his technical skills at some of the industry’s most acclaimed fashion houses including Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler, Balenciaga, and as first assistant to Olivier Theyskens at Theyskens’ Theory.

Born in Canada, Gelinas spent much of his childhood abroad where he learned to appreciate the aesthetic richness of diverse cultures and environments. This eye for detail fueled a fascination for clothing and construction, an affinity that matured by studying his grandmother, a seamstress, and his grandfather, a woodworker and upholsterer.
Gelinas is dedicated to a movement that supports local industry, creating and producing  much of his collection in New York with the highest level of skill and craftsmanship

Nikki Gershbain is Chief Inclusion Officer at McCarthy Tétrault. An advocate for social change for 25 years, and a recognized leader in diversity and inclusion initiatives and pro bono programming, Nikki’s role, combining equity and social responsibility into one portfolio, is a first of its kind for the Canadian legal industry. A sought-after expert on topics related to social justice and diversity, she regularly speaks at professional conferences and has delivered dozens of presentations, workshops and keynote speeches nationally and internationally. Her reputation for excellence includes 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 nominations as a top legal “Changemaker” by Canadian Lawyer.

Anthony Thomas Galante is a luxury custom and made-to-measure label, established
and directed by Anthony Galante in New York.
Galante’s history of success in the fashion industry is directly related to his desire to
create innovative and inclusive designs and his dedication to sourcing high quality
materials. He strongly believes in cultivating lasting relationships with key creative
players including design, development and production teams, fabric agents and mills,
domestic and international factories, patternmakers, cutting rooms and sample makers.
Galante graduated from Parsons School of Design and established his label after
receiving the Norman Norell Couture Design Award. The label has since designed
custom looks for celebrities including Catherine OʼHara, Tituss Burgess, Lizzo, Rosie
OʼDonnell, Nicole Byer, Chrissy Metz, and Kim Petras.
In response to the ongoing pandemic, Galante founded Operation COVID-19 Garment
Revival, a PPE relief effort that raised over $30,000 to fund displaced sewers to
produce and donate 15,000 face masks, isolation gowns and scrub caps to essential
workers and vulnerable communities.

Business expert with a 20-year track record of professional experience. As Founder and CEO of Adira Consulting, she advises clients on their strategies. She leads a personalized Executive
Coaching Program designed to help companies and executives achieve their next level of
development. Eva serves on the Advisory Board of Istituto Marangoni Miami, where she CoFounded the first Executive Program in Spanish for entrepreneurs in the fashion industry across Latin America. Previously, was CEO for Condé Nast Mexico and Latin America and Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Mexico and Latin America. As the host of the Eva Talks Podcast she interviews influential voices in Art, Education, Fashion, Leadership, and Philanthropy and is an international public speaker on empowerment, career objectives, and leadership skills. She is also the Co-Founder of the first Executive Program in Spanish for entrepreneurs in the fashion industry across Latin America with an accreditation by Istituto Marangoni Miami, where she serves as Advisory Board Member.