Break Room for Marketers & Creators: Raleigh

Interested in a change of scenery and an opportunity to expand your network? Welcome to Break Room, a series of pop up gatherings for remote professionals. For a day, we become coworkers and confidantes, sparking genuine connections designed to last long after we close our laptops.

Break Room on December 11th will focus on the topic of navigating transitions within the marketing landscape and defining personal brand along the way. You may spend all day creating content or promoting others, but are you happy with how you are showing up? Whether you're a freelancer that offers a variety of services, balance a full-time job with a side hustle, or you want to better showcase expertise in your field and monetize as a creator, we'll dive into what's working and what's not, swap stories and brainstorm solutions to pain points.

The day will be broken into three sessions, followed by a wine & cheese happy hour. You'll leave with new perspectives to consider and friends who "get it."

1:30pm

Workshop: Overcoming Discomfort During Transitions at Work with Dr. Luana Marques

For marketers & content creators in 2025, the only constant is change. Between integrating AI into workflows, working against changing algorithms, navigating re-orgs, or shifting from freelance to full-time or vice versa, we're all facing anxiety-inducing changes. Dr. Luana, psychologist and author of The Bold Move, known for her science-based approach for helping clients move boldly through change, discomfort, and stress will share tips for navigating attendees' current struggles.

2:15pm

Panel: Tackling Career Pivots

During this discussion, marketers at different stages of their careers will open up about their experiences of navigating the industry’s constantly expanding roles, channels, and skillsets to find the right opportunities. Panelists will break down the decision points that helped them identify their strengths and pursue opportunities aligned with how they work best. They'll share practical stories on experimenting, specializing vs. staying broad, and perspective on pivoting without “starting over," encouraging attendees to chime in with their own struggles and insights.

Speakers include:

Lauren Barnett, Vice President, Social & Influencer Strategy, Weber Shandwick

Christopher Douglas, Founder, Head of Marketing, Big Red Dog Marketing

Morgan Cooper, Strategic Partnerships Manager

3:00pm

Roundtable: Defining Personal Brand with Roger Kornegay of @RaleighFoodTrap

The lines between personal and professional identity used to be clear, but in the world of social media, your values as an individual can fuel professional opportunities and significant financial upside. For those balancing multiple jobs and responsibilities, it can be hard to figure out how much of yourself to show up with online. As a group of multi-passionate professionals, we'll discuss the opportunities and challenges that arise while defining personal brand in 2025. Marketer, Content Creator, Dad and Milkshake Bar Owner Roger Kornegay will lead this roundtable discussion.