Don't miss an afternoon of storytelling and connection with creators from the Bay Area. Enjoy an in-person panel with established creators, get inspired by the local art scene, and enjoy a live viewing of Patreon Assembly, a digital summit where some of the biggest names in film, podcasting, art, activism, music, and media will lead a purposeful conversation about the state of creative work.
Hannah Hart is an entertainer, food enthusiast, and a two-time New York Times Bestselling author (Buffering: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded, My Drunk Kitchen: A Guide to Eating, Drinking, and Going with Your Gut). Since creating the YouTube series “My Drunk Kitchen”, Hart has co-produced and starred in multiple films as well as hosted her own show on the Food Network, (I Hart Food). In 2018, Hart launched Hannahlyze This, the self help podcast that just can’t help itself. Hannah currently produces and hosts Tasty’s Edible History on Facebook. Hart’s consistent authenticity in her content has established her as one of the most influential voices in the LGBTQ community, as well as gained her recognition as one of Hollywood Reporters New Digital Disruptors, and one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30. Born and raised in Northern California, Hannah currently resides in Los Angeles with her fiancee and two cats.
With her own unique flare and infectious sense of humor, Rae first garnered attention for her award-winning web series and the accompanying New York Times best-seller, "The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl." She created and stars in the hit HBO show, Insecure, for which she received an Emmy® nomination and two Golden Globe® nominations. Rae made her film debut in the acclaimed drama, “The Hate U Give,” and stars in the upcoming romantic drama, "The Photograph."
Jack Conte is a musician, filmmaker, half of Pomplamoose, and a co-founder at Patreon, a membership platform that makes it easy for creators to earn salaries directly from their biggest fans. Patreon was founded in 2013, and is on track to pay out more than $500 million to creators in 2019 alone.
As a musician and filmmaker, Jack spent his days in a converted dog kennel-turned-recording studio in Sonoma County, making YouTube videos that have amassed over 120 million views. Now, he’s in full-time CEO mode at Patreon HQ in San Francisco where the company is paying millions of dollars to creators every month around the world. Jack also loves working with robots.
Michael Render, publicly known as Killer Mike, is a husband, father, activist, businessman and GRAMMY Award-winning artist. He is as synonymous with Atlanta as the iconic brands, Coca-Cola and The Varsity. Raised in the Adamsville/Collier Heights neighborhood on the Northwest side of the city, Render made a name for himself as an activist well before he ever recorded a single song. He was raised by his grandfather, a union member, and grandmother, a civil rights activist, meaning being socially and politically active came naturally.
Render’s principled positions have gained him fans—or “supporters” as he likes to refer to them—from all around the world. After releasing several solo albums, Render found his artistic kindred spirit in an unlikely source, producer and New York City native Jamie “El-P” Meline. The pair began working together in 2012 on Render’s last solo album R.A.P. Music in 2012. The musical chemistry was undeniable and the two went on to form the chart-smashing group, Run the Jewels. The duo continues to experience exponential growth and popularity.
If you distilled California into soundwaves and vibrations, it might resemble the sonic and spiritual interplay of the Los Angeles quintet—Taylor Rice [vocals, guitar], Kelcey Ayer [vocals, keys, percussion, guitar], Ryan Hahn [guitar, keys, mandolin, vocals], Matt Frazier [drums], and Nik Ewing [bass, keys, vocals].
Hills and valleys of six-string bliss, a coastal spray of neon keyboards, and sundrenched melodies comprise a growing catalog of entrancing and engaging anthems by the band. Based in Los Angeles, the group progressed their sound over the course of three full-length albums, Gorilla Manor [2009], Hummingbird [2013], and, most recently, Sunlit Youth [2016]. The latter received praise from Pitchfork, Consequence of Sound, The Guardian and many more. In between countless sold out shows and festival appearances - including a standout Coachella 2017 set - they’ve graced the stages of Austin City Limits, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Late Show With James Corden, and more.
Paul Scheer is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, podcaster, and producer. Scheer was born in Huntington, New York and graduated from New York University. He starred on the FXX series The League, The HBO comedy Veep, The Netflix series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, the ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat, and Hulu comedy series The Hotwives of Orlando, which he also executive produces. Scheer co-created and starred in the cult MTV sketch series Human Giant as well as the Adult Swim series NTSF:SD:SUV. His films include supporting roles in The Disaster Artist, Army of One, Opening Night, Daddy's Home, Hell Baby, Ass Backwards, Clear History, and Hell and Back. He starred in a web series for JASH called The ArScheerio Paul Show, which recreates classic moments from the The Arsenio Hall Show and was dubbed 2013's best viral video of the year by USA Today. Scheer also has made appearances on programs such as Burning Love, 30 Rock, Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins, Childrens Hospital, Funny or Die Presents..., Happy Endings and Yo Gabba Gabba!. He is also featured in the A24 film SLICE alongside Chance the Rapper, and earned stellar reviews for his work.
Paul Scheer can most recently be seen in BLACK MONDAY for Showtime, alongside Don Cheadle and Regina King, depicting the worst stock market crash in the history of Wall Street. He will next be seen in BenDavid Grabinski’s feature HAPPILY, opposite Natalie Morales and Joel McHale.
Getting fired changed her life.
Almost a year after being fired, Los Angeles–based comedian, actor, writer, producer, and director, Whitney Cummings had three shows on the television which she created and owned. While she is wildly successful, she is equally humbled by the road she took to get there. That road is more crooked than straight, filled with Cummings’ unfiltered stories of about failure carving the path to success, #metoo, mental health, self-esteem challenges, struggling with an eating disorder and ongoing maintenance of codependency. These moments provided her with a deeper sense of self, the tools she needed to succeed, and a commitment to helping others find clarity, and of course, lots of hilarious material.
Sensing that many subjects had become off-limits because of the current sensitive climate, Cummings wrote her current Netflix Stand Up Special Can I Touch It?, which premiered July 2019. She believes that no topic is too controversial to talk about, no area too taboo to address. In her journey to push the limits of creativity, Cummings spent months researching robotics and artificial intelligence resulting in an experimental novelty - her very own life-sized, life-like android which she named Bearclaw.
Fashioned in Cummings' likeness, Bearclaw takes the stage during the Netflix special and in some instances steals the show. Bearclaw’s programming allows her to hold a conversation, pick up behavior patterns, and literally answer any question. Cummings has plans for her android to be one of the most intuitive machines accessible to the masses. Robots in the home and workplace are on the way, whether we like it or not; they are already being used in hospitals and nursing homes. Cummings hopes that meeting Bearclaw will give everyone a taste of the inevitable future and to show people what is worth fearing about robots and what is not.
If Cummings is right, Bearclaw might be the star of her own Netflix Special and Cummings could be watching from home.
Gabbie Hanna is redefining the meaning of multi-hyphenate. She has cultivated 6.6+ million YouTube subscribers through her acerbic, comic, + infectious personality. Her hilarious comedy videos about the struggles of being cat-fished + running into rude celebrities have garnered over one billion views. She also formerly co-hosted TRL + served as an MTV personality. In September 2017, she released her first book of poems titled Adultolescence by Atria/Keywords, which quickly became a NYT Best-Seller. With her the devoted following backing her latest EP, 2WAYMIRROR (hit #3 on the iTunes chart, #4 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart, + she has reached #5 on the Billboard Emerging Artists chart), Gabbie is a crossover star to watch.
Creator of the #100DaysofUkuleleSongs project, Cynthia Lin is a YouTube sensation and a modern-day jazz ukulele diva. Through her popular YouTube channel (32+ million views) and approachable teaching style, Cynthia has helped hundreds of thousands of people across the world to discover the joy of ukulele. Her online Patreon community has over 3000 members, and she leads the vibrant San Francisco Uke Jam community with her uke partner Ukulenny. Together they founded the San Francisco Uke Fest, which was officially recognized by the State Assembly of California.
As a singer-songwriter, Cynthia has released 7 album recordings independently, with her recent albums Ukulele Days and Cozy Christmas hitting the Billboard charts in their first week of release. Cynthia performs regularly solo, with a jazz and uke combo, and with her acclaimed Bay Area band, Cynthia Lin and the Blue Moon All Stars. She encourages you to follow your passion.
Jessica McCabe is the creator and host of the YouTube channel How to ADHD, an online toolbox designed to help ADHD “brains” and the “hearts” who love them learn to understand, cope with, and thrive with ADHD using evidence-based research, self-disclosure, and a good bit of humor.
As well as creating videos for YouTube, she speaks about ADHD advocacy and support at organizations and conferences around the world. Her TEDx talk “Failing at Normal: an ADHD Success Story” has been seen over 10 million times. An avid advocate for acceptance, especially of ADHD and other mental health conditions, she works to promote the understanding and embracing of neurodiversity across all areas of society.
Henry Gilbert cohosts and co-created the podcasts Talking Simpsons and What A Cartoon! with Bob Mackey. Together the two produce two weekly podcasts in addition to exclusive bonus content such as interviewing many of the talented people who create some of the most popular animation ever made. Not to mention that Henry and Bob have done major live podcasts at such events as San Francisco Sketchefest and PAX West. Henry Gilbert's work also has been published on websites as diverse as Paste, IGN, and GamesRadar.
Kat Robichaud is the co-creator and host of San Francisco's (and now Seattle and LA's) Misfit Cabaret– a musical variety show which Kat also writes original music for. She has been described as "a powerhouse that channels theatrical rock along with echoes of past glam greats– Bowie, Roxy Music, T.Rex, etc." Kat writes songs about real and fictitious heroes, serial killers, and childhood nostalgia. She lives in Oakland with her mad scientist husband and her temperamental cat.
Ursula Sage works with the design, research, data and engineering teams to understand what moves your fans, and how to improve the product so that fans become patrons. She has been working on delightful product experiences for ten years, and believes that the most important part of her work is empathizing with creators, patrons, and fans. In her spare time you can find her dancing tango, salsa, or moving to pretty much any beat.
Erica Campbell is a music journalist, editor, producer, and host, based in New York City. Her stories on entertainment, lifestyle, and culture have been featured in Playboy, Nylon, and The Huffington Post. Erica is Managing Editor for Patreon where she shares creator stories and the Music Editor for entertainment site, Consequence of Sound.