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Brian Morel shared thisHere's a fun full-circle moment. Those of us who worked on Amazon's first season streaming NFL Thursday Night Football, back in 2017, will remember the excitement mixed with a fair amount of uncertainty. Amazon was still relatively new to video advertising, new to streaming live sports, and dynamically inserting ads into a live game was an entirely new challenge. So it's pretty remarkable to see how far Prime Video has come. New data from Samba, where I now work, shows that Amazon reached 89% of the NFL audience last season, more than any other streamer and nearly matching the major broadcast networks that have spent decades building relationships with NFL viewers. And now for the admittedly semi-self-serving part: Samba doesn't just independently measure that viewership. We also help marketers turn those insights into action, building a single NFL audience that can be activated across CTV and social, regardless of where those fans watched the games. If you're a marketer looking to engage NFL audiences this season, let's talk. Fun to have been there at the start, and to now be working on it from the perspective of the global leader in media intelligence, Samba. Full post below...Brian Morel shared this🏈The 2026 NFL season kicks off September 9. Here's how fans actually watched the last season. Prime Video has arrived at broadcast scale. It reached as many NFL viewers as NBC and more than ABC from behind a subscription. Regular season games last season were on Prime one night a week, plus a wild card round playoff game, competing against networks that are free in every U.S. home. Netflix got to 44% on two Christmas Day games; Amazon got to 89% throughout the season. Weekly presence compounds in a way that event programming doesn't. The gap has moved, though, not closed. Broadcast delivered roughly three-quarters of all NFL viewing minutes last season, against single digits for Prime Video. Amazon has caught up with broadcast on reaching who's watching. Broadcast still owns how long they watch. Spanish-language NFL is also bigger than most of the streaming conversation. ESPN Deportes and Telemundo/Universo each reached about as many NFL viewers as Netflix, and roughly twice as many as Peacock, entirely off simulcasts, with no exclusive game inventory of their own. #NFL #StreamingTV #MediaMeasurement #SambaInsights
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Brian Morel shared thisSamba is hiring! If you’re exploring your next move and want to be at the center of where AI is shaping media, look no further. We sit at the intersection of AI and digital media, delivering media intelligence that helps companies understand what’s happening across TV and digital and improve how they reach and measure audiences. We’re hiring globally across Sales, Marketing, Product, Engineering, and more. Explore open roles below, and feel free to reach out if I can help or provide context. https://lnkd.in/gdRquCuG
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Brian Morel posted thisLife update: After leaving Amazon in 2023 following an 11-year run, I took a much-needed break. During that time, alongside some consulting work, I pursued a passion project, volunteered, took classes, learned a lot, ran my first marathon post-open-heart surgery, joined a band, traveled, and more. Most importantly, I’ve been very present with my 8-year-old daughter and involved at her school as Treasurer and “Garden Fairy.” Over the past several months, I’ve also had the chance to work with the team at Samba (formerly SambaTV), and I’m excited to now be joining full-time as Director of Product Marketing. It’s been fun working at a smaller company that I remember from its early days as a TV × Digital measurement solution. Today, it has evolved into a cross-platform, AI-driven media intelligence platform helping brands, agencies, publishers, and platforms plan, target, and measure across TV and digital. During my years at Amazon, I saw firsthand the power of unique first-party data at scale to drive advertising outcomes. That’s exactly what Samba brings to the market, combining TV (linear and streaming) and web data to help the media ecosystem better understand and act on consumer behavior. We’re in the midst of an exciting rebrand, and it’s been rewarding helping bring that story to life. I’m grateful for the journey so far and excited for what’s ahead. You’ll likely hear more from me about what we’re building at Samba, but in the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out and say hello. I always enjoy connecting with my network.
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Brian Morel shared thisAllow me to interrupt your scrolling to, once again, remind you to take care of your heart health. A recent close-to-home tragedy inspires this post, as you will see below. As shared previously, I launched my passion project - www.WellTree.health - to raise awareness of heart disease risk factors and educate and inspire people to proactively engage in their heart health. Unsure how to start? I created “Ten Heart Health Questions for Your Doctor” to provide insight into things you can discuss with your doctor and why. Access here: https://bit.ly/4edcXjG . Recently, a friend - Lukas - died suddenly while on a mountain bike ride with another friend. Lukas was an incredible athlete, a devoted husband, a father, and a cherished friend. His sudden passing while mountain bike has left us all heartbroken and reminds us of the perils of heart disease and the silent threat of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). You can read the full story on my website here: http://bit.ly/4dQw17v . SCA can occur due to various underlying heart-related causes, making awareness and prevention crucial for everyone. In his memory, let’s commit to protecting our hearts and the hearts of those we love by taking these proactive steps: 💓 Know Your Family Health History: Understanding your family's heart health can provide crucial insights into your own risks. 📅 Don’t Forget Your Annual Physical: Regular check-ups are essential, especially if you have a family history of heart disease. 🩺 Have Proactive Heart-Health Conversations with Your Doctor: It’s never too early to start discussing your heart health with your healthcare provider. 🥗 Live a Healthy Lifestyle: A balanced diet, regular exercise, and avoiding tobacco are key to maintaining a strong heart. 🛡️ Learn CPR: Knowing how to perform CPR can save lives. Get trained and be ready to act in an emergency. 🤝 Cherish Your Connections: In the end, it’s our relationships that matter most. Spend time with loved ones and strengthen those bonds. It’s also good for your heart. Lukas sadly joins other friends and colleagues who suddenly died from heart disease. In memory of Lukas and all those impacted by sudden cardiac arrest or heart disease in general, let’s spread awareness, take action, and honor their lives by living with intention and heart. 💔❤️ Read the full article at www.WellTree.health, which explores SCA - what it is, its underlying causes, its connection to heart attack, prevention, and more. #HeartHealth #SCAAwareness #InMemoryOfLukas #LiveWithHeart
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Brian Morel shared thisSeveral months ago, I shared that I’ve spent some of my post-Amazon time on my passion project—WellTree (WellTree.health), where I curate and author health and wellness content related to heart health. WellTree was born from my own experience in 2022 with heart disease and open-heart surgery to perform a life-saving repair of my aortic aneurysm. It’s a labor of love, and inspiring people to think about their heart health gives me immense gratitude. I strongly believe that to optimize health, we must engage proactively. When it comes to heart health, people often start engaging only after a critical heart event. 𝗠𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁. I know you’re busy, and possibly appear healthy as I did, but heart health should not take a back seat. Many conditions are also passed genetically, so outward appearances of health may not indicate what's happening inside. To help you make the most of the limited time you spend with your doctor in assessing your heart health, I created a guide, “𝗧𝗲𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿.” This guide not only provides questions but also offers key sourced information to help you learn about crucial topics related to your heart health. Download “𝗧𝗲𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿” below. Stay healthy!
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Brian Morel shared thisWho else is excited about this year’s upfronts? Participating in the evolution of video advertising at Amazon was fun, and it’s just as fun to watch from the sidelines. The early efforts and various misfires before we eventually got it right led to today’s offering - ads on Prime Video - which offers advertisers an incomparable premium video solution, providing: 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘂𝗺, 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁: Scripted, unscripted, and live sports (Fallout anyone?!) 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵: 115M users in the US, the majority of which shop on Amazon 𝗨𝗻𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁-𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮: To reach target audiences and measure impact 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: From shoppable ads to premium sponsorships 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀: Managed, self-service, and programmatic The video solution is impressive in its own right, but when combined with the rest of Amazon’s diverse ad portfolio (search, display, audio/podcast, etc.), it forms a comprehensive solution that is truly remarkable. With $19B in upfront spend at stake, Amazon is in a prime position to secure a significant share. To all my former Amazon colleagues, get ‘em! p.s. Shifting gears to another passion, which I’ve mentioned in my most recent posts…take care of your heart health. Know your risk factors and have a proactive conversation with your doctor during your annual physical. Stay heart-healthy! #upfronts #amazonprimevideo #amazonads #amazonadvertisingWhy retailers are the stars of this year's TV upfrontsWhy retailers are the stars of this year's TV upfronts
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Brian Morel shared thisDoes anyone in my network know someone in Orange County, CA, who has 2-4 years of experience in retail brand management growing ecommerce brands on Amazon? If so, my friend Larry Weng is hiring. He's a smart, entrepreneurial guy and his company is one of the Fastest Growing Companies and Best Places to Work in Orange County.Brian Morel shared thisWe're looking to hire a talented brand manager who is an expert at Amazon Seller Central and understands how to work with brands in Amazon to help them succeed and grow their sales and profitability. Here's the job posting: https://lnkd.in/d7U37-fm Please refer them to me or scott.sornbutnark@phelpsunited.com or they can apply directly online via the link below. Thank you!
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Brian Morel posted thisToday, 3/7/24, marks the 2nd anniversary of my open-heart surgery to repair my aneurysm. It’s hard to believe it’s been 2 years. This journey has profoundly changed my understanding and appreciation of health & wellness. With that in mind, I’d like to share a few potentially lifesaving reminders: • 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝘀: Don’t skip them, especially if you are at high risk. That’s how my aneurysm was discovered. • 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀: Family history, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, an unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity, can all elevate your risk. Awareness is the first step to prevention. • 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿: If you are at risk, be proactive in talking to your doctor to discuss prevention and monitoring strategies. • 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵: Don’t underestimate the power of regular exercise (aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise/week) and good sleep (7-9 hours/night) in preventing heart disease. My experience, combined with seeing friends/colleagues suffer or die from heart disease inspired my budding passion project: WellTree.health where I curate and author health & wellness content related to heart health. I invite you to visit WellTree.health to learn about heart health and sign up to receive the occasional email with this valuable information. My latest post explores sleep and its connection to heart health. I've been moved and inspired by the stories shared with me following my previous posts. Whether it’s heart health, go-to-market strategy, CTV, or retail media, I'm here to connect, learn, and share. Thanks and stay healthy! Brian
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Brian Morel posted thisHi friends and colleagues, It’s been a while since I poked my head up on LinkedIn, so I thought I would come up for air. I left Amazon last year after close to 11 years; I’m grateful for the experience, but I’m also excited for growth and new challenges. I loved the people I worked with at Amazon and the opportunity to work on so many groundbreaking initiatives while helping to define the market for Retail Media. I will always look at that as one of the “prime” experiences of my career and I am thankful for all that I learned along the way. Since leaving Amazon, I’ve taken the opportunity to recharge, take care of myself, and feed my soul. I’ve spent time volunteering with organizations that matter to me, taken courses purely for the sake of curiosity (Python or JavaScript anyone?!), developed a passion project (more on that below), traveled, and connected with family and friends. These things are hard to make time for when moving 100 miles per hour juggling family and a busy career, but it has been very fulfilling. I’ve been working on a passion project that was on my mind, but for which I didn’t have time. This has come to life as WellTree (https://welltree.health/), which aims to raise awareness of heart disease risks and prompt individuals - particularly those who feel they are not at risk - to be more proactive in understanding and managing their heart health. My hope is that people become more engaged in their health. WellTree was inspired by my own experience which led me to have open heart surgery in March 2022 to repair an aneurysm which, had it not been found, could have been deadly as is the case all too often. I’ve lived a healthy lifestyle - a good diet and lots of exercise - so my diagnosis and surgery were powerful reminders that many of us know but one that is easily overlooked as we go about our busy lives: unlucky genetics can bring about unexpected outcomes, but awareness and early detection can save your life. WellTree is in the early stages and I have a grander vision, but I’m already curating and authoring content related to heart health; I’d love for you to visit WellTree.Health and sign up to receive the occasional email with this valuable information. WellTree aside, I am also passionate about and bring deep experience in leading go-to-market efforts for new emerging technology, expertise in Retail Media, team leadership, and a comprehensive understanding of a range of ad formats/solutions: display, CTV/video, audio, OOH, and search and continue to hone those skills working with others. Should you want to talk about GTM strategies, Retail Media, CTV, heart health, or any of the above, please DM me, I’d love to connect! Many thanks to all of you who have been a part of my journey. Stay healthy! Brian
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Brian Morel liked thisBrian Morel liked thisKicking off the #NFL season with a record-setting 18.6M viewers and the most-watched #TNFonPrime season opener. Big thanks to our ad partners for riding the momentum with us! 🏈🚀 Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios
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Brian Morel liked thisBrian Morel liked thisAmazon retired "Amazon DSP" at unBoxed on Sept. 29. The platform is now Amazon Ads Agent, and Amazon opened Full-Funnel Campaigns in beta, running sponsored ads, display, video and Prime Video streaming TV from "one budget and one optimization engine." Advertisers "cannot select individual channels or specific audiences," Digiday reported. I think most brands aren't organized to buy full funnel well, despite trying for many years, because they are organized by channel or tactic, each with separate budgets. In eMarketer's Ad Buyer Insights Survey, nearly half of advertisers fund commerce media from two or three separate budgets. Only 12% of the US consumer-goods brands and agencies in Skai's 2026 survey have fully integrated media and commerce operations. Picture a hypothetical snack brand. Its brand team judges streaming TV on reach and on-brand measures that take months to move. Its commerce team, often funded with trade and shopper money, is judged on this quarter's sales. A performance team wants proof that each dollar drove a sale the brand wouldn't have made anyway. All three can read the same impressions and reach different verdicts, and Full-Funnel asks them not only to collaborate but also to fund one unified campaign and let Amazon do the rest. None of this slows Amazon down much, since eMarketer puts it at 79.7% of US retail media spending in 2025. I don't think brands will hold money back until Amazon explains its agent, because most of them can't. Brands control what goes in. For agencies with existing access, the old DSP controls stay one setting away, in what Amazon calls advanced settings. With DVA+ doing the targeting, bidding, and creative, the open decisions sit between a client's teams: which budget funds a Full-Funnel campaign, what it has to prove before it gets more budget, and whether Amazon's numbers hold up against the brand's own. I think agencies that already work across brand and commerce teams are best placed to evaluate full-funnel performance. I wrote about Amazon's ChatGPT ads pilot here: https://lnkd.in/p/gvANgNRc. In my last article, I argued OpenAI wants ChatGPT to be where people research and decide what to buy: https://lnkd.in/p/gsWkY5Uy. At unBoxed, Amazon did the same on the other side of the sale. Its agent now decides where an advertiser's money goes, so the shopper's choice and the brand's spend are both moving into AI-run platforms. Most brands already view Amazon as a must-buy for retail media. Amazon's push into full funnel extends that position from the shelf into streaming TV and other companies' inventory. I think brands will keep buying either way, and the ones that put brand, commerce, and performance money under one decision, with their own measurement next to Amazon's, will be best equipped to analyze and evaluate this change. Is this the catalyst to connect full-funnel marketing?Amazon built one campaign for the whole funnel. Most brands aren't organized to buy it.Amazon built one campaign for the whole funnel. Most brands aren't organized to buy it.
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Brian Morel liked thisThe NFL is *the* tentpole for American media and culture. And it couldnt be more fragmented than it is right now -- our data reveals the "audience and platform sprawl" that exists across the football schedule today. cc'ing my friend Michael Beach for some pointed commentary!Brian Morel liked thisThe linear networks still dominate NFL broadcasts in terms of household reach, while streaming services afford marketers a younger, more diverse audience. Samba analyzed every 2025 NFL regular season broadcast to see how NFL audiences vary by network and streaming platform, and the analysis delivered insights into how marketers can buy NFL ad space to both achieve their reach goals and target niche audience segments.
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Brian Morel reacted on thisBrian Morel reacted on thisNetflix and Amazon have won the broadcast rights to some of the NFL's premier matchups, but the linear TV networks still dominate the streamers in total household reach. The streamers, however, afford marketers a unique opportunity to reach younger, more diverse, digitally native audiences. Samba analyzed every 2025 NFL regular season broadcast to see how NFL audiences differ by linear network and streaming platform, and you can read the full report here:For NFL Games, Streamers Skew Young and Linear Still Gets Bigger AudiencesFor NFL Games, Streamers Skew Young and Linear Still Gets Bigger Audiences
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Brian Morel liked thisBrian Morel liked this“They are always there when we need them” is how I would describe our relationship with Citizens Private Bank. We are very proud to work with Citizens Private Bank as our bank and lender on several projects, including #TheBeehive. Their understanding of their clients' needs, flexibility, and genuine appreciation for the work we do and the communities we invest in stood out. I’m also pleased to have Model/Z highlighted as part of the expansion in Southern California as profiled in the Orange County Business Journal. Special thanks to our longtime banker, Victor Mena. #affordablehousing #cra #workforcehousing #modular
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Brian Morel liked thisBrian Morel liked thisMeasurement that lands after the fact is just paperwork. Samba plays a different game. Media intelligence means live, in-flight signals. You see whether a decision is working while there's still time to do something about it. That's the window where good calls turn into growth. Ashwin Navin, CEO and Co-Founder of Samba, breaks it down from Cannes, the room where the people transforming the future of media come to do business. Watch the full clip and tell us: what's the last decision you wish you could've read in real time? https://hubs.ly/Q04xvLPh0
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Brian Morel liked thisBrian Morel liked thisIt looks like Amazon is trying to become the default operating system for eCommerce. Hold onto your seats ChannelEngine, Linnworks and others. Here's the latest news: 💡 Amazon on the 24th September opened a new set of multi-channel selling tools inside seller central, that allows you to connect eBay, Shopify, TikTok, Walmart accounts and run it from the same dashboard. This will roll out gradually to sellers in the US store over the coming months at no additional costs to sellers. External aggregator tools are expensive and Amazon is positioning MCF as the default logistics engine 💡 Reports surfaced this past week that Amazon is facing fresh scrutiny in Europe. This deals with third party sellers. The issue at the core of this is if Amazon suppresses third party sellers that offer lower prices on their own websites or competing marketplaces. Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), designated gatekeepers like Amazon cannot punish merchants for doing so. If this is escalated by the EU then Amazon will need to do more to a) explain how Buy Box algorithms are calculated and b) perhaps change it 💡 Amazon is expanding its "Buy with Prime" Delivery Options to merchant websites. Its enabling US merchants using MCG to offer free Prime delivery on their DTC sites at no extra cost. The aim here is more logistics volume while improving conversion rates on DTC sites 💡 On September 25th Amazon launched a global expansion suite to lower friction for international cross-border selling. The features include safety compliance testing, automatic localisation for unified product listing and an expansion of Global Warehousing and Distribution (GWD) across eight countries with lower fees. Why? Well only 30% of sellers list across multiple regions
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Brian Morel liked thisBrian Morel liked thisThere’s a long tail of advertising channels and platforms offering interesting, underexploited opportunities, but a big part of the US advertising landscape is very simple. About 80% of US digital advertising spend goes to search, retail media, and social media, and these channels are neatly divided between Google, Amazon, and Meta. Google captures most of search, Amazon captures most of retail media, and Meta captures most of social media. If you’re buying advertising, much of your budget allocation comes down to how much you want to spend on search (i.e., Google) vs. retail media (i.e., Amazon) vs. social (i.e., Meta).
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Heal the Bay
Environment
I am passionate about the environment and doing what I can to preserve for future generations. Heal the Bay is an environmental nonprofit established in 1985 that is dedicated to making the coastal waters and watersheds in Greater Los Angeles safe, healthy, and clean. We use science, education, community action, and advocacy to fulfill our mission.
I am certified to speak as a Heal the Bay representative at schools and businesses to talk about the HTB mission and to educate attendees on…I am passionate about the environment and doing what I can to preserve for future generations. Heal the Bay is an environmental nonprofit established in 1985 that is dedicated to making the coastal waters and watersheds in Greater Los Angeles safe, healthy, and clean. We use science, education, community action, and advocacy to fulfill our mission.
I am certified to speak as a Heal the Bay representative at schools and businesses to talk about the HTB mission and to educate attendees on the environment and how they can make an impact. I help at Beach Clean-ups and "Suits on Sand" corporate beach clean-ups giving the introductory / safety presentation and helping to ensure that attendees have fun while learning and making an impact.
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