Don't miss an afternoon of storytelling and connection with creators from New York. 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.
Just months after graduating film school, Jacob Shao has self-produced a nationwide tour for his comedy duo Pretty Much It, bringing his and Eric Striffler’s laugh-out-loud movie commentaries to thousands of fans around the United States. His work producing Pretty Much It has garnered over 600,000 subscribers and 2,700 Patreon members.
Jacob creates his own opportunities as an actor and writer, co-founding the sketch comedy group More Than Enough with Gabriel Alvarez and Eli Krauss, and starring in the upcoming feature film Wings, alongside fellow Jacob, Jake Krantz.
He’s also learning Chinese. 你好 - see?
In 2017, Patrick Hinds and his co-host Gillian Pensavalle launched True Crime Obsessed, a true crime/comedy podcast that recaps true crime documentaries with humor, sass, and a well-timed garbage bell. One of the most popular true crime podcasts on the internet, TCO has recently been featured in the New York Times and Vulture, and has sold out live shows in cities across the United States. Prior to TCO, Patrick created and hosted the Broadway-themed podcasts Theater People and Broadway Backstory, and he has also created podcasts for BroadwayCon and Disney Theatrical.
Hayley Rosenblum is a champion of creativity who specializes in fan engagement, helping artists build lasting relationships and community with their fans online. As a longtime, integral member of musician/artist Amanda Palmer’s management and digital marketing team, for over a decade Hayley has conceived and executed boundary - redefining digital engagement initiatives that have helped Palmer shape the way independent artists use the internet to connect with fans.
In the last three years, Hayley has had an essential role in managing the daily operations of Palmer’s Patreon community, helping to grow membership to over 15,000 patrons that fuel Palmer’s independent art each month (which include webcasts, music videos, songs, performance art, animations, podcasts, and documentaries).
Previously as Kickstarter’s first music community hire, from 2013 - 2016 Hayley developed best practices and strategies to teach thousands of musicians how to use crowdfunding campaigns to build their audience and achieve their creative goals. Hayley has authored, presented, and moderated panels on digital media and marketing at some of the music industry’s biggest conferences, including SXSW, CMJ Marathon, Canadian Music Week, BIGSOUND, Latin Alternative Music Conference, DIY Musician, and A2IM IndieWeek.
Austin Walker is the host and co-creator of the podcasts Friends at the Table, an actual play podcast focused on critical worldbuilding, smart characterization, and fun interaction between good friends.
He's also an award-winning games journalist and critic whose words and voice have appeared at Paste Magazine, the New Statesman, Giant Bomb, and VICE, where he launched Waypoint in 2016. In another life, he was an academic. In this one, he lives in (and loves) Queens, NY.
Linda Lopes is a 200+ hour certified yoga teacher and a Reiki Level II practitioner. Her sadhana and classes consists of yoga, meditation, pranayama, and chakra healing – with additional knowledge and certifications in Bhakti Yoga and Teen Yoga. She continues to advance her practice through regular yoga teacher trainings.
She is part of Setu, a yoga community building positive relationships across different identities through the practice of yoga.
Alexandra first discovered the powerful beauty of rare, tropical hardwoods while exploring the jungles of Central and South America in 2009. Since then, she has led many expeditions to gather naturally felled lumber from the depths of various jungles which have yielded many rarely seen, rarely worked specimens. Her craft was born out of her desire to showcase these unknown breathtaking species. Each of her species is a representation of the stunning beauty that belongs naturally to this planet - always sourced and delivered sustainably, and always selected, designed, worked, and finished by Alexandra at her workspace in Queens, NY.
Her work in Panamá over the past five years has culminated in aiding local reforestation. She is currently spearheaded efforts to gather seeds of endangered native tress to be planted on a protected organic farm in Panamá. This was made possible through the connections she has forged with like-minded individuals who are seeking positive change.
Just months after graduating film school, Jacob Shao has self-produced a nationwide tour for his comedy duo Pretty Much It, bringing his and Eric Striffler’s laugh-out-loud movie commentaries to thousands of fans around the United States. His work producing Pretty Much It has garnered over 600,000 subscribers and 2,700 Patreon members.
Jacob creates his own opportunities as an actor and writer, co-founding the sketch comedy group More Than Enough with Gabriel Alvarez and Eli Krauss, and starring in the upcoming feature film Wings, alongside fellow Jacob, Jake Krantz.
He’s also learning Chinese. 你好 - see?
Laura is a member of Patreon’s Creator Success team, and has been consulting with creators for close to 3 years, helping them grow their businesses strategically and sustainably. She brings over a decade of diverse experience in media & entertainment to the table, having worked with non-profit arts organizations as well as film and music production companies in San Francisco, Austin, LA and Madrid. She is a creator herself, and performs regularly with her band in the Bay Area, hosts a podcast about mental health, and co-founded Every Folk, a music & skills camp.
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.