8:00 AM: Check in opens at Theatre at Ace Hotel

+ 9:00 AM: Welcome + Opening Remarks

Welcome from Depelsha McGruder (Chief Operating Officer, New York Public Radio) + Kathy Merritt (Senior Vice President, Journalism and Radio, Corporation for Public Broadcasting)

+ 9:30 AM: Future/now summit

We are kicking off Werk It 2019 with a summit featuring some of the most accomplished and innovative leaders in podcasting share what they see as the biggest challenges, opportunities, and trends happening right now.

Moderator: Depelsha McGruder (Chief Operating Officer, New York Public Radio) Participants: Liz Gateley (Head of Creative Development, Spotify Studios) + Julia Turner (Deputy Managing Editor, The LA Times) + Kristen Muller (Chief Content Officer, Southern California Public Radio) + Jennifer Ferro (President, KCRW) + Jenna Weiss-Berman (Co-Founder, Pineapple Street Media) + Kerri Hoffman (CEO, PRI/PRX) + Christa Scharfenberg (CEO of The Center for Investigative Reporting) + Amanda Lund (Co-Founder, Earios) + Paula Szuchman (VP of New Show Development, WNYC Studios) + Tanya Somanader (Chief Content Officer, Crooked Media)

+ 10:30 AM: The Price of Money

Your podcast’s content is strong, your download numbers look good, but as a business you're not yet sustainable. Or maybe you have a growing podcast studio, but you have much bigger plans -- you want to build a media empire. With a little more funding, maybe your business would take off, letting you quit your part-time job, build out your team, add another show, or test out new marketing strategies. Hear our panelists talk candidly about when they decided it was time to raise money to build their businesses, how they did it, and the cost of that capital. We'll cover important topics like take rates, revenue-based financing, and venture capital in an approachable way, so you know which questions to ask yourself and prospective investors.

Moderator: Nicola Korzenko (General Manager, Podfund) Panelists: Doree Shafrir (Co-Host, Forever 35) + Paola Mardo (Host, Creator, Producer, Long Distance) + Stacey Book (CEO, Fugitive Media)

+ 11:30 AM: This Is Uncomfortable - Live!

Join Reema Khrais for a special Werk It live taping of Marketplace's This Is Uncomfortable, a show about life and how money messes with it. The live show will tackle the topic of salary negotiation - how to ask your employer for more money and knowing your worth. Reema will ask her very own boss, Sitara Nieves, about how to approach negotiations. And special guests TK Dutes and Julia Furlan will dish out advice on your tricky money and work questions.

12:30 PM: Lunch Break

+ 2:00 PM: Jobs. Jobs? Jobs!

This lightning session invites any Werker who is currently hiring for roles with their company to join us on stage and share their job posting with our audience. Share your 30-second job description and find a fellow Werker to fill your gig!

+ 2:15 PM: The Internet Is for Pods! Web Strategy for Audience Growth

Connecting your podcast to all the digital spaces where audiences already are is key to audience growth. As the world’s first Podcast Librarian and Content Strategist, Ma’ayan has a front row seat as podcasters market their shows on the web to curators like her, editors, and journalists and most importantly, to potential new audiences. Her talk will cut through the glut of guidance out there to help podcasters reach new listeners to highlight proven web-first strategies that all shows can use. Presenter: Ma’ayan Plaut (Content Strategist & Podcast Librarian, RadioPublic)

+ 2:45 PM: Mentorship and Me

This is for everyone looking to grow their own careers or to share their knowledge to help others grow. The co-founders of NPR’s Women of Color mentorship program break down what makes a good mentor, how to be a good mentee, and how to build and maintain these career-changing relationships. You’ll get the tools to become or to find a mentor (or board of mentors), outline the difference between a mentor and a sponsor, and set agendas for mentor meetings.

Presenter: Anjuli Sastry (Associate Producer, NPR's It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders and Co-Founder, NPR Women of Color Mentorship Program.)

+ 3:30 PM: The Top Ten Mistakes Freelancers Make (and How to Avoid Them)

When you’re in the freelance game, taking yourself seriously when it comes to managing your business is crucial. In this session, Juleyka Lantigua-Williams, CEO of Lantigua Williams & Co., gives you no-bullshit, hard won guidance on how to be truly professional about your money and avoid common yet disadvantaging errors, from incorporating as an LLC, to digital invoicing and negotiating rates. You’ll walk away able to identify these mistakes, recognize how we’re set up as women and non-binary folks in the (patriarchal) system to make them, and fix it when a mistake happens. You’ll also receive a nifty pocket guide with common scripts and phrasing to rely on for when you enter nerve-wracking negotiations. Get paid what you’re worth!

Presenter: Juleyka Lantigua Williams (CEO, Lantigua Williams & Co.)

+ 4:00 PM: What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Be Famous

You want those well-dressed development execs to take you out to lunch, but you don’t want to get taken. Come in to hear a lawyer, an agent, and a manager working with podcasters explain what each of them can do for your career, when it’s time to engage their services, and how to avoid signing a bad deal while you’re still out there on your own. They can’t tell you whether your podcast is primed to become an Amazon Original Series, but they will provide a peek at how deals get made, what it takes to protect your IP, and a primer on key questions you should be asking whenever you take a meeting.

Moderator: Priyanka Mattoo (Co-Founder, Earios Podcast Network) Panelists: Vanessa Silverton-Peel (Talent Agent, Creative Artists Agency) + Sam Saifer (Manager, Avalon Entertainment) + Lisa Davis (Lawyer, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz)

+ 5:00 PM: Abandon Your Plans

Join Avery Trufelman (99% Invisible + Articles of Interest) as she endeavors to answer the age old question: Where do you get your ideas from? What comes next after you have an idea and feel that buzzy spark? Avery breaks down how one of her favorite episodes of 99% Invisible, “The Pool and the Stream”, came to be plus all the twists and turns along the way.

Presenter: Avery Trufelman (Producer, 99% Invisible + Host of Articles of Interest (Radiotopia) & Nice Try! (Curbed/Vox Media)

Werk It Presents: Womxnifestos*

*We have never met a pun we didn't like.

Womxnifestos* are the hot takes you didn’t know you needed. They’re distilled wisdom of experience spiced with the power of conviction. These lightning talks are a MOOD. All sessions will be held in the Walker Eisen and Segovia rooms, located on the second floor of the Ace Hotel.

+ 10:00 AM: Constrain Yo’self!

Because thinking inside the box can sharpen your focus and lead you to unexpected places.

Presenters: Bethel Habte + Rachael Cusick (Producers, Radiolab)

+ 10:30 AM: This Is How We Mobilize: Building a Coalition of Womxn and Non-Binary Podcasters

This strategy session is for those looking to use their podcasts to do greater good. As individual podcasters, we all have unique audiences who tune in each episode because they relate to us and our content. Often our shows and audiences get stuck in a vacuum, which can be great for building and engaging small communities, but how do we then create a framework that networks our individual efforts on a larger scale? Come with issues you’re working on that need a signal boost.

Presenter: Lynn Casper (Producer and Host of Homoground Podcast)

+ 11:00 AM: You Can Grow Your Audience Without Going Batshit Crazy

Should you care about the Apple charts or not? How important is social media to growing your listenership, really? Does SEO even matter for podcasts? NPR One what? Trying to grow your audience can be overwhelming if you try to do it all - and we're here to tell you that you shouldn't.

Presenter: Mathilde Piard (Senior Project Manager, NPR)

+ 11:30 AM: Podcasting for Disability Justice: How to Make Your Podcast More Accessible

Disabled people make up almost 25% of the population, yet we are underserved and underrepresented by the podcasting industry due to structural and cultural barriers. During this session, Bri M. will cover what disability justice and culture is and how it relates to podcasting and other media; things to consider when telling a story about disability; and how to make your podcasts more accessible to a wider diverse audience.

Presenter: Bri M. (Host, Power Not Pity)

+ 12:00 PM: This feels obvious in hindsight

Working on a team can teach you a lot of things that you might feel like you should already know. The Nod co-host Brittany Luse and senior producer Sarah Abdurrahman learned this the hard way. In this session, they share what they’ve learned in the last 3.5 years of working together (which is 2 decades in podcast years).

Presenters: Brittany Luse (Co Host + Producer, The Nod) + Sarah Abdurrahman (Senior Producer, The Nod)

12:30 PM: BReak

+ 2:00 PM: Failure Is The Pits: An Anti-TED Talk

Failing is super hot these days (just look at the inventory of TED Talks for proof). Everyone is trying to glean meaning from their flops and fails and foibles. But what if there is no upside to failure? What if crashing and burning is just an unavoidable part of the creative process? Rather than glorify failure or run screaming from it, Spectacular Failures host Lauren Ober will help you just accept it.

Presenter: Lauren Ober (Host, Spectacular Failures)

+ 3:00 PM: There’s No “I” in “Team” But All I Have Is “M-E”

If rolling solo has the gilded appeal of legend, in practice, it can leave a producer feeling like a horse in unicorn's clothing. We are producers who have been our own teams, working independently without extensive resources or infrastructure. We have found success building podcasts and audiences. We've also experienced the challenges that come with outsized expectations, insufficient budgets, and lack of support. We'll get into the bare essentials of podcasting, the many roles to fill, and the questions you didn't think to ask in this real talk session with producers who have been there and made it work. We may even dish about the projects that fell apart along the way.

Presenters: Gina Delvac (Producer and Co-Founder of Call Your Girlfriend) + Cher Vincent (Producer, Thirst Aid Kit, Slate)

+ 3:30 PM: Podcast Parties & Pop-Ups: Podcasting as a Tool for Community Building

In this session, attendees will learn about the power of podcasting and the ways that Locatora Radio has successfully cultivated community and an engaged listenership through survivor centered podcast parties and pop-ups, interactive installations, workshops, and film. This 20 minute lightning talk will walk attendees through our journey to create a multimedia brand, online & in real life communities, and imagine the possibilities for content creation in a new and evolving media landscape.

Presenters: Diosa Femme + Mala Muñoz (Co-Hosts, Locatora Radio)

+ 4:00 PM: "Let Me Get Back To You On That": Leading For People-Pleasers

How do you lead when you're natural inclination to make sure everyone is happy?

Presenter: Meghan Keane (Managing Producer, NPR's Life Kit)

+ 4:30 PM Be Your Own Hype Woman: Talk Up Your Own Work Because Nobody Else Will

Reporter/host/producer Julia Furlan will share how things shifted for her once she started talking up her work instead of shrugging off her accomplishments and listening to the evil troll known as imposter syndrome. You can do it, too!

Presenter: Julia Furlan (Host and Reporter, NPR)

8:00 AM: Check in opens at Theatre at Ace Hotel

9:00 AM: Opening Remarks

+ 9:30 AM: Keynote Conversation with Lisa Hanawalt

Kick off the day’s program with this keynote conversation with Paula Szuchman (Vice President of New Show Development, WNYC Studios) and Lisa Hanawalt, the creator of Tuca & Bertie, the production designer + producer of BoJack Horseman, and the author of Coyote Doggirl and Hot Dog Taste Test.

+ 10:30 AM: Found in Translation

Many of us became storytellers because we didn’t see ourselves in media, in television, or in podcasts. But how do you tell your story to an audience that doesn’t share your experience or understanding? Join Native journalist and host of This Land podcast Rebecca Nagle for a talk on how to translate across the divide.

Presenter: Rebecca Nagle (Writer and Host, This Land)

+ 11:00 AM: A Transparent Look at the Glow-Up

This duo understands firsthand how this recently informal industry often excludes underrepresented folks from fully participating in the expanding ecosystem of podcasting. This trickle-up conversation explores what it looks like to “pass the baton” within a supportive community, present new blueprints for leveling up, and bare it all about

Presenters: Gabrielle Horton (Producer, Hear To Slay and Founder/Chief Storyteller, The Woodshaw) + Keisha "TK" Dutes (Producer, Glitch and EP Consultant, Hear to Slay)

+ 11:45 AM: Quit Playing Small

As host of the Switch, Pivot or Quit podcast, Ahyiana Angel equips her listeners with practical advice and mindset shifts to help them take control of their days. She’s here to address your career quandaries and quell your self-doubt, one audience-submitted question at a time.

Presenter: Ahyiana Angel (Author + Founder, Mayzie Media + Host, Switch, Pivot or Quit)

12:30 PM: Lunch Break

+ 2:00 PM: WNYC Studios’ Podcast Accelerator Winners Announced!

You pitched our panel your best podcast ideas, and now one Werker will win the chance to develop a pilot with WNYC Studios. Made possible with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

+ 2:15 PM: Beyond Underwear & Mattresses: Scaling A Multimillion Dollar Podcasting Business

As the podcasting industry grows into a billion dollar ad business the field is open for women and non-binary professionals to lead innovation on the revenue side. This presentation will tackle the challenges ahead for producers of all kinds as podcast advertising continues to evolve in the context of the broader digital advertising landscape.

Presenters: Katie Sprenger (Lead Branded Audio Producer, Vox Media Podcast Network)+ Caila Litman (Senior Manager, Audio Revenue, Vox Media Podcast Network)

+ 3:00 PM: Taking Up Your Space: Real Talk About Hosting

There’s great responsibility in taking the mic: To respect your guests and sources, to serve your listeners, and to present yourself well (as well as the hard work of the team behind you)—and that’s just for starters. Learn how to navigate all the challenges, from balancing air time with male co-hosts, to creating an accessible and welcoming experience for guests, and handling expectations specific to being a woman and/or a POC.

Moderator: Shereen Marisol Meraji (Co-Host, Code Switch) / Panelists: Misha Euceph (Host and Producer, KPCC), Rund Abdelfatah (Co-Host and Co-Producer, Throughline) + Alice Wong (Host and Co-Producer, Disability Visibility Podcast)

+ 4:00 PM: Who Are You Making This For?

If we can agree that it’s imperative to identify a target audience before making a new podcast, why do things still get so fuzzy when we talk about reaching “diverse” audiences? Enter our panel with experiences that span decades, coasts, cultures and mediums, here to spill tea, share lessons learned from the audio trenches, and offer strategies to intentionally make podcasts for and by people of color.

Moderator: Cristina Kim (Podcast Producer, Truth Be Told) / Panelists: Tonya Mosley (Host, Truth Be Told & Co-Host of Here & Now), Kameel Stanley (Senior Producer, The City), + Berry Syk (Creator, Podcasts in Color)

5:00 PM: Closing session and thank yous

6:00 PM: Closing Reception

Werk It Presents: How I Make It

How I Make It gets hosts and producers of your favorite podcasts in an intimate setting to reveal how they get their shows out the door. Expect candor and lots and lots of tape. All sessions will be held in the Walker Eisen and Segovia rooms, located on the second floor of the Ace Hotel.

+ 10:00 AM: Death, Sex, and Money

This team knows how to get their listeners to open up about things that are rarely said out loud. Hear how they've built a community around candor, and how their listener-based episodes are created, start to finish.

Presenters: Anabel Bacon (Producer) + Katie Bishop (Executive Producer) + Anna Sale (Host and Managing Editor)

+ 11:00 AM: Man in the Window

Man in the Window was an unwieldy investigation by a print reporter with no audio experience, encompassing more than 100 crimes over a decade. The central character was not only unreachable, but convicted of no crime. In theory, it shouldn’t have worked... here’s how it did, topping the charts within days of release.

Presenters: Karen Lowe (Senior Producer and Editor, Man in the Window) + Paige St. John (Investigative Reporter, Los Angeles Times)

12:30 PM: LUNCH BREAK

2:00 PM: 70 Million

Meet one of the independent reporters who created 70 Million, a sound-rich investigative trek into jails and other institutions interwoven into our criminal justice system.

Presenter: Maria Murriel (Freelance reporter, 70 Million + Co-founder, Pizza Shark Productions)