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About the Presenters

Ilise Benun

Ilise Benun is an author, national speaker and co-founder of Marketing Mentor.

She is the author of "Stop Pushing Me Around: A Workplace Guide for the Timid, Shy and Less Assertive" (Career Press 2006), "Self-Promotion Online" and "Designing Web Sites for Every Audience" (HOW Design Books), and "The Art of Self Promotion" (Marketing Mentor Press). She is also co-author of "Public Relations for Dummies, 2nd Edition" (Wiley, 2006).

Her work has been featured in national publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Globe and Mail, The Journal News, The Denver Post, Inc. Magazine, Nation's Business, Self, Essence, Crains New York Business, IQ (a Cisco Systems magazine) and Working Woman, plus all the major design publications, including HOW, Dynamic Graphics and more.

Benun has conducted workshops and given presentations for national and international trade organizations, including American Marketing Association (several local chapters), International Association of Business Leaders, American Consultants League, Business Marketing Association, the National Association of Women Business Owners (several local chapters), the Family Business Council, American Writers and Artists Institute, AIGA (several local chapters), Graphic Artists Guild (several local chapters), NJ Creatives, Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario, NY Designs - a program of LaGuardia Community College/CUNY, the NYU Entrepreneurship Summit, Editorial Freelancers Association, WorldWIT (Women in Technology), the Usability Professionals Association (several local chapters), the HOW Design Conference, NY Public Library, the 92nd St. Y and many ad clubs around the country.

Peleg Top

Peleg Top is the founder of Top Design, the Los Angeles-based design and branding firm now specializing in design for special events. Peleg started his firm in 1991 from his apartment and, with a strong dedication to marketing and a passion for business, he has grown Top Design into one of Los Angeles' most sought-after firms.

Initially specializing in design for the music industry, Peleg and the Top Design team art-directed over 300 CD packages and created the Grammy Awards Logo. Top also chaired the Grammy Album packaging committee for five years. In the Non Profit sector, Top Design helped Toyota Motors USA brand their corporate contributions division and helped raise over $200 million dollars for many other respected organizations like City of Hope, AIDS Healthcare Foundation and Tiger Woods Foundation.

Over the years, Peleg has become a leader in the design industry as both a public speaker and mentor to his peers. In 1999, he formed the Los Angeles Chapter of the Graphic Artists Guild and served two terms as chapter President. He served as a judge of the HOW International Design competition in 2005 and his design work has appeared in numerous publications.

About Marketing Mentor

The mission of Marketing Mentor is to teach the "creatively self-employed" how to run the business side of their business. Through both one-on-one coaching and group mentoring programs, Marketing Mentor provides accountability, feedback and hand-holding (when necessary). Marketing Mentor was founded in 2004 by Ilise Benun and Peleg Top and since then has helped hundreds of designers build and grow their businesses.