INPEX® Inventors University™ Speaker Bios

Kevin Harrington, Infomercial Pioneer, Chairman of AsSeenOnTV.com & Investor Shark on ABC's "Shark Tank"

Keynote Speaker. Read Kevin Harrington's biography.

Michael Miller, Director of Product Partnership, Danco
As part of our Danco's efforts to deliver innovative, consumer solutions to its customers, Michael Miller leads a cross-functional team (Product Partnership Program) to identify and work with external partners (e.g. inventors, product-oriented companies, supply chain partners, etc.) to systemically supplement Danco's internal product development efforts. Our focus is to have a robust, consistent pipeline of profitable / productive products making their way to retail.

Before joining Danco, Michael was the head of Research and Development at Andover Healthcare where he led the development of the world's first cohesive elastic bandage with a foam lining and was the Field Service and Training Manager for FEI Company, the leader in Focused Ion beam technology. He also served in the U.S. Submarine Service as a Chief Petty Officer, where he served on 4 different nuclear powered submarines and completed his service as the Research and Development Chief at Submarine Development Squadron 12. Michael holds a BA in Business Administration from Hesser College.

Dr. Dariush Adli, Owner/Attorney at Law, Adli Law Group P.C.
His practice is primarily focused on Intellectual Property and business litigation. Dr. Adli has represented high technology companies in patent litigation in the electrical and mechanical arts, including semiconductor, integrated circuit, computer hardware, architecture, software, digital processing, and communications industries. In addition, Dr. Adli's practice includes patent portfolio counseling and negotiating contractual disputes and settlements.

Prior to founding his own practice, Dr. Adli was the head of the patent practice at an IP boutique firm based in Los Angeles. Before that, he spent many years as Counsel at Hogan & Hartson LLP. He obtained his doctorate and master's degrees in Physics and Electronics from the University of Michigan.

Alyson Dutch, CEO, Brown & Dutch Public Relations, Inc.
From the moment she left high school, Alyson Dutch knew she'd be in the marketing business and it only was due to her family's arm twisting that she landed an education in advertising before setting out into the wild world of public relations. Today, the product launch PR specialist has an uncanny knack for extracting the most newsworthy aspects of any product immediately. And oddly enough, she sees everything from personalities, pet acupuncture, high tech services to eco-luxury hotel properties as "products." Her superhero level x-ray vision for this was developed by a high flying and adventurous career that started in her native Los Angeles at the famed Rogers & Cowan Agency.

Somewhere along the way, she arrived on the Paramount lot where she scandalously absconded with job requisitions that led to providing the publicity for the Miss Universe, USA and Teen USA Pageants for CBS-TV, several trips around the world (and a few to Wichita). Dutch became an international specialist working in cities from Taiwan to Bangkok, a highlight of which was in South Africa representing Sun City during the fall of apartheid. When the internet was still young, she was the first to book talent for online "celebrity chat rooms" for AOL, and Oldsmobile. Since then, she has touted the newsworthy attributes of clients such as Mrs. Fields Cookies, Tokyo Coca Cola's Green Tea Terrace, Perrier Jouet, Taittinger and Mumm Champagnes, Metabolife, Swatch, the legendary Beach Boys, an actress who designed a bra to eliminate back fat and even fingertip toothbrushes.

At the helm of Brown + Dutch Public Relations since 1996, Dutch authored the PR Handbook for Entrepreneurs in 2008 and launched Consumer Product Events the following year. Just for fun, she wrote a book called The Pageant Diaries: Confessions of a Beauty Pageant Publicist, and more seriously is also working on the story of her father's life, "Poopsie," a Hungarian Holocaust survivor.

Dutch is as straightforward, genuine, and savvy as they come. She is just as adept at handling snowboarders as dignitaries, CEO's and stars. She possesses an innate knowledge of how to position companies, people, and products to gain a specific objective, whether it be to attract economic investment, to find distribution, or to handle a public relations crisis. Her passion for her work drives her to apply her knowledge in a creative, yet methodical manner. In addition, she has a keen understanding of the cultural sensitivities that rule the marketplace and knows how to command the media's attention.

Jimmy DiResta, Builder, DiResta Unlimited Inc.
Since he was a young boy in his dad's wood shop, Jimmy Diresta has been developing his skills in creating all things three-dimensional. His strengths lie in building, inventions and problem solving with the use of a wide array of materials including wood, metal, plastic, fabric and glass. Recently, Jimmy starred with his brother John Diresta on the series Dirty Money, produced by Discovery Networks now airing on Planet Green. The show highlights the pair as they scour everything from New York City dumpsters to antique shops looking for junk that the two could reinvent into treasure, for potential profit. Jimmy earned his B.F.A from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where he still teaches a course in 3D design. Jimmy can currently be seen on the DIY Network shows, Hammered and Against the Grain, where he takes woodworking to a whole new level.

Karen Waksman, Founder & CEO, Retail MBA
Karen Waksman, Founder and CEO of Retail MBA, is a Manufacturer's Rep turned Author, Speaker and Consultant. She has sold millions of units to the world's largest retailers, and now dedicates her time to teaching entrepreneurs how to market and sell their products to Major Retailers, Online Retailers, Catalogs and Small Retailers, too!

Karen Waksman has taught thousands of product entrepreneurs and companies across the country on the subject of selling to retailers. Her goal is to empower and inspire companies to transform their businesses by providing them all of the necessary information they need in order to become chain store vendors.

A bit about Karen Waksman:

• About.com (New York Times Company) Expert: Karen Waksman is the Wholesale Product Expert for About.com! About.com reaches nearly 40MM unique visitors a month and is a top 30 site in the US.
• Commissioned by the Consumer Electronics Association to train members on how to get products into retailers. Karen is also a speaker at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). CES is the world's largest consumer technology tradeshow that boosts more than 150,000 attendees at their annual event!
• Was asked by Stanford University to teach the Product For Profit class (How to Sell Products to Major Retailers... No Sales Experience or Existing Buyer Relationships Required) and is also a student mentor for their Product Realization Network group.
• Karen teaches her popular course 'Getting Your Products Sold at Retail' for the National Hardware Show, International Home and Housewares Show, Alibaba.com, Small Business Administration, SBDC, University of Chicago, Inventor Associations throughout the country and much more!
• United Inventors Association Blogger: Proud member of UIA and writes a 'Just Ask Karen' blog monthly for them.
• InventorSpot.com Writer: Blogger for the #1 inventor site on the web (most popular inventor site in the world)!

Jeff Meltzer, President, Meltzer Media Productions
It's been a long time since anyone has been called Mr. Infomercial, but Jeff Meltzer is now the hands down heir apparent to that title. As one of the acknowledged creators of the modern day infomercial, Jeff Meltzer has been synonymous with the highest standard of excellence and professionalism in broadcast and non-broadcast television, especially Direct Response TV (DRTV) for more than 20 years. Jeff has seen the entire evolution of the DRTV genre unfold before him. He recognized as one of the leading DR Producer/Directors and Marketing experts in the nation. His company, Meltzer Media Productions, is one of the most experienced and versatile direct response production companies in the nation. Jeff lends his expertise to many facets beyond the mere production and post-production of a given project. He brings marketing and financial experience along with a winning track record in sales.

Since the mid-eighties, Meltzer Media Productions has produced and consulted on over 2000 DRTV TV and radio campaigns. These campaigns span every product category and all price ranges. MMP is now considered one of the most knowledgeable and cutting edge Company of its kind in the Direct Response industry. Their client list reads like a who's who of the infomercial world. In the past three years (2007- 2010) MMP has had both long and short form campaigns in the top 10 IMS ratings list.

Jeff is a regular on the direct response industry and college lecture circuit. He was featured in the CNBC Special, "As Seen on TV" and is a frequent contributor and quoted expert in the Industry's trade newspaper and magazines. Currently, Jeff is an Executive Board Member and Board Director of the Electronic Retailing Association that oversees over 300 billion dollars in direct response advertising throughout the world.