Meet one of our conference panelists!

Dr. Andreas Görgen has served as director general for culture and communication with the Federal Foreign Office, Germany in Berlin since April 1, 2014. From 2009, he held senior positions with Siemens Energy Sector in Paris, including regional head for southwest Europe, country sector head for France, and division head for fossil power.

Prior to this, Dr. Görgen fulfilled a number of government positions, including assistant to Frank-Walter Steinmeier in his role as federal foreign minister between 2005 and 2009, and desk officer in the directorate general for European affairs at the Federal Chancellery from 2002 to 2005. He was also commissioner for culture and the media and desk officer for the minister of state between 2001 and 2002.

Prior to embarking on his career in the public sector, Dr. Görgen worked as a freelance mediation trainer and film financing specialist at Essec Business School in Paris, as well as at European law firm Beiten Burkhard in Berlin. Previously, he received a scholarship to attend the École nationale d’administration in Paris and Strasbourg, and worked at the renowned Berliner Ensemble theater. While preparing for state law examinations, he also worked at the Higher Regional Court in Berlin as an assistant to the administrative director.

Dr. Görgen received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Bonn, and was awarded his Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Tübingen. He also speaks fluent English and French.

Meet Detroit’s Night Economy Ambassador and one of our panelists!
Adrian Tonon, a dynamic entrepreneur and humanitarian, has developed exceptional skills in the key areas of leadership, management, organization, finances, public policy, social service and detailed customer service.
Adrian has trained and mentored numerous individuals and corporations in the art of customer relations and attaining company and/or personal goals.
After serving on the then Detroit Mayoral Candidate, Michael E. Duggan’s Executive Campaign Team to help promote world-class customer service in the public sector and raise awareness of Mike’s ability to lead the City of Detroit, Adrian is now the City of Detroit’s first Director of Customer Service and an appointee of Mayor Michael E. Duggan’s Administration.

Meet one of our conference panelists!

Ingrid LaFleur is a curator, pleasure activist and Afrofuturist. Her mission is to ensure equal distribution of the future, exploring the frontiers of social justice through new technologies, economies and modes of government.

As a recent Detroit Mayoral candidate and founder and director of AFROTOPIA, LaFleur implements Afrofuturist strategies to empower Black bodies and oppressed communities through frameworks such as blockchain and universal basic income. Ingrid LaFleur is currently the co-founder and Chief Community Officer of EOS Detroit, Director of Detroit Bank Job, and Curator of the upcoming Afrofuturist exhibition, Manifest Destiny at the Library Street Collective.

As a thought leader, social justice technologist, public speaker, teacher and cultural advisor she has led conversations and workshops at Centre Pompidou (Paris), TEDxBrooklyn, TEDxDetroit, Ideas City, New Museum (New York), AfroTech Conference, Harvard University and Oxford University, among others. LaFleur serves on the board of JustSpace Alliance, Powerhouse Productions, and the Cooley ReUse Project.

LaFleur is based in Detroit, Michigan.

Tuesday – May 21st, 2019 – 1pm – 7pm – Tangent Gallery – Detroit

Meet one of our conference speakers!

Melissa Perales moved from Chicago to Berlin in the 90’s where she studied film at Columbia College Chicago. Since then she has organized an international film festival, owned her own restaurant, began booking and promoting live shows and film screenings under the moniker M:Soundtrack, and for the last 7 years she has co-curated music festivals in Berlin. As a concert promoter she presents international acts monthly. M:Soundtrack is a platform and meeting point within the Berlin independent music scene since it’s 2004 inception. She has been co-organizing the Torstrassen festival in Berlin-Mitte since 2011 and since 2017 the co-founder and curator of the We Make Waves Festival for women, trans and non-binary people in music. Melissa’s passion is soundtracks, therefore starting Supertape-Berlin was the likely result: a music supervision and consulting company which she runs together with the documentary filmmaker, Sabine Steyer. Melissa is also a board member with all2gethernow e.V., an organization who looks for new strategies within the music business and it’s cultural landscape. Through a2n, Melissa & Colleagues founded the Music Pool Berlin, the central place to go for musicians and people working in the music business for consultations, workshops, coaching and community networking.