Announcing: November's Lightning Talk Speakers and Topics
Our popular Lightning Talks series is back, with this event's theme featuring practical AI-focused talks offering practical, real-world use cases from our community.
Hey all đ,
Our first lightning talks event was a hit, so weâre back at it with a collection of terrific lightning talks.
Join us for the event on Wednesday, November 12th and begins at 6:30pm. There will be pizza and drinks. All are welcome. Youâll be in great company. Join us!
đď¸ Register: https://luma.com/8boe658x
We are amped to feature a terrific group of community members, discussing an eclectic mix of topics, all focused on real world, practical experiences using AI technologies to help you accomplish your work. Learn more about each speaker and details about each talk further below.
âI Am My Own Use Case: How I Use AI as a Mom, Founder & Community Builderâ
Meg McAleer, Founder â ai.formoms + Coasst
âSEO Superpowers: Leveraging AI for Successâ
Susan Neuhaus, Website Strategist
âHow I Use Appleâs MLX Framework to Create Privacy-First Clinical Toolsâ
Matthew Pazaryna, Independent Software Developer
âTrust, Transparency, and the AI Bargainâ
Dalal Samaan, CEO & Founder â DS&P Consulting Services
âKickstarting PR and Marketing with AIâ
Heidi Thompson, Managing Director â ACE Public Relations
What weâll discuss in the post:
What are Lightning Talks?
Featured Lightning Talks
Featured Speakers
What are Lightning Talks?
âA lightning talk is a brief, fast-paced presentation, typically 5 or 10 minutes, focusing on a specific idea or topic. Itâs designed to be concise and engaging, often used to share new findings, updates, or a quick overview of a concept. We reserve time for a short Q&A following the presentation.
As always, weâre very grateful to Alison Gilbert and The Center for Entrepreneurship at Monmouth University for hosting us. Much appreciated!
Featured Lightning Talks
In alphabetical order (by last name), learn about each of the terrific lightning talks.
đ¤ I Am My Own Use Case: How I Use AI as a Mom, Founder & Community Builder
In this Lightning Talk, Meg shares her journey as a non-technical founder who embraced AI in both her personal life and her business. From drafting teacher emails and planning Disney trips to creating polished investor decks with tools like Lovable and Gamma, Meg will highlight real-world, everyday use cases that free up time and mental energy.
Sheâll also unpack how a simple PTO planning session sparked the idea for ai.formoms, how she spotted a white space in the AI landscape, and why sheâs passionate about making AI accessible for everyday people. Speaker: Meg McAleer, Founder ai.formoms & Coasst
đ SEO Superpowers: Leveraging AI for Success
Why, yes, AI DID write that title. A practical but slightly skeptical guide to using AI to speed up SEO and Technical SEO tasks. Speaker: Susan Neuhaus, Website Strategist
đ How I Use Appleâs MLX Framework to Create Privacy-First Clinical Tools
How I created a privacy-first solution for chiropractic SOAP notes. Speaker: Matthew Pazaryna, Independent Software Developer
đ Trust, Transparency, and the AI Bargain
Every time we use AI, we make a trade â convenience and creativity in exchange for our data and ideas. Trust, Transparency, and the AI Bargain looks at what we might be giving up without realizing it, from privacy to ownership. It will open your eyes to the risks weâre quietly and unknowingly accepting when using AI. Speaker: Dalal Samaan, CEO & Founder â DS&P Consulting Services
đŁ Kickstarting PR and Marketing with AI
This session explores practical ways to leverage AI tools for PR and marketingâstreamlining content creation across press releases, market reports, case studies, testimonials, website content, email campaigns, and more. Whether youâre a seasoned pro or just starting out, discover how AI can help you save time, spark creativity, and amplify your impact. Speaker: Heidi Thompson, Managing Director at ACE Public Relations
Featured Speakers
Weâre super amped to feature this terrific group of Lightning Talk speakers to share their experiences in 10 minutes(ish) or less. Big thank you.
Meg McAleer, Founder ai.formoms & Coasst
Meg is a mom of three, entrepreneur, and community builder who has spent her career helping brands and people thrive. After 20 years working across finance, wellness startups, and brand development, Meg now leads two ventures at the intersection of innovation and connection:
ai.formoms â a digital community and resource hub that helps parents harness AI for everyday wins, from planning family logistics to making creative keepsakes.
Coasst â a consulting and community platform offering marketing advisory services, activation events for small businesses, and curated local meetups in Monmouth County. Coasstâs mission is to create opportunities for small business owners and entrepreneurs to connect, collaborate, and grow through authentic community-building.
An early AI adopter, Meg focuses on making AI accessible and useful for non-technical users. She is passionate about curating practical tools and prompts that free up time for what matters most - building families, businesses, and communities.
Meg is also a member of the Female Founder Collectiveâs 10th House Tech Cohort, where she collaborates with founders building innovative, AI-driven companies. Her perspective combines real-world experience as a busy mom with professional expertise in marketing, operations, and community-building.
Susan Neuhaus, Website Strategist
I help businesses get more leads through smarter websites. My customers are in the B2B space, from solopreneurs to multi-million dollar companies. Each website campaign is backed by research and supported with metrics. I live in Central Jersey (it does exist) with my husband and dog.
Matthew Pazaryna, Independent Software Developer
Full stack developer with over 35 years of industry experience building comprehensive applications and solutions for a wide range of domains. Presently focused on all aspects of enhanced developer productivity with agentic programming.
Dalal Samaan, CEO & Founder â DS&P Consulting Services
Dalal Samaan is currently CEO & Founder of DS&P Consulting Services. She recently served as Executive Director and Compliance Officer for Organon, a pharmaceutical company focused on Womenâs Health where she led the Companyâs Healthcare Compliance Monitoring and Analytics Program. Dalal was formerly the Chief Privacy Officer at Organon where her responsibilities included protecting the personal information of the company employees as well as that of the patients and doctors that worked with or used the companyâs products.
Prior to joining Organon, Dalal had a long career in Information Risk Management at Merck & Co., Inc.
Dalal earned her Bachelor of Science Degree from NYU-Polytechnic School of Engineering in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. She later earned her Master of Science Degree in Telecommunications Management from Stevens Institute of Technology. She currently holds a CISSP, a CIPT, an ISO27001 Certification, & a Six Sigma Green Belt amongst other relevant certifications
Heidi Thompson, Managing Director at ACE Public Relations
Heidi Thompson founded ACE Public Relations in 1999 and serves as its managing director. With over two decades of experience in public relations for the graphic communications industry, she has built long-lasting relationships with clients, many of whom have partnered with the agency for over 15 years and counting. Her focus on delivering exceptional service and results has earned the trust of numerous organizations.
Heidi is an advocate for the arts, sustainability, and education. Through her leadership, ACE has provided pro bono services to several nonprofit organizations supporting these causes. Thompson serves on the Board of Directors for the Printing and Graphics Scholarship Foundation (PGSF), where she champions scholarships and initiatives for students pursuing careers in the printing and graphics industries.
Known for inspiring her team and fostering a culture of creativity and innovation with her clients, Heidi seamlessly integrates her business acumen with a strong commitment to her work. Her collaborative approach ensures that all levels of an organization benefit from her leadership.
Heidi is also active in her local community. She belongs to an art book club, cookbook clubs, a garden club, and a community garden, where she helps raise produce for the local food pantries.
âĄď¸ Thatâs all for now! Hope to see you at the next event. Please share this and all Jersey Shore Tech and Design announcements, events, etc with friends and your network. Thank you!