CREATIVES WHO RIDE THE ALGORITHM WIN
Tuesday, May 5, 2026, 5:30 PM PDT – 7:30 PM PDT
Brain Corp HQ · 10182 Telesis Ct, San Diego, CA 92121, USA
Hosted by The One Club For Creativity San Diego
CREATIVES WHO RIDE THE ALGORITHM WIN. Creative AI Panel Event in San Diego. On one side, there are Creatives who treat AI like a threat to their craft, their taste, their job. And on the other, we find Creatives who figured out how to ride it, and are doing the best work of their careers. The difference is not talent. It is knowing how. This is a panel for San Diego creatives ready to cross that line. Agency leaders, brand directors, designers, and AI practitioners. One room. One honest conversation about how to stop watching AI happen to you and start making it work for you. What you will leave with: How real creative teams are using AI without losing their voice. What skills actually matter now, and what you can stop stressing about. How to stay the creative lead in a room full of AI tools. Where the unfair advantage is for humans who know their craft. On the panel: a Chief Creative Officer, a Brand Marketing Director, a Head of Design, and an AI strategist. People who are not theorizing about this, but living it every day. Shira Kates Shira Kates is a Staff UX Lead for Cloud AI at Google, where she leads design, research, and content strategy for enterprise AI products, including Google’s AppSheet platform. With a background spanning leadership roles at Yahoo, Accenture, and Autodesk, she has built and scaled multidisciplinary teams while shaping complex, data-driven products. Shira brings a rare blend of design strategy, product thinking, and AI expertise—focused on making advanced technologies intuitive, useful, and human-centered. Gavin Donley Gavin Donley is Head of Marketing at Brain Corp, where he leads brand and marketing strategy for a global leader in AI-powered robotics. He has spent over a decade at the intersection of technology and storytelling, including key roles at Qualcomm, where he developed marketing strategy for emerging technologies like 5G, AI, and IoT. Gavin is known for translating complex innovations into clear, compelling narratives that drive both awareness and adoption. Jon Merlin Jon Merlin is a Creative Director at CONAM and founder of Jon Merlin Designs, with over 20 years of experience building brands and leading high-performing creative teams. His work spans full-scale rebrands, performance-driven campaigns, and omni-channel marketing systems, with a strong focus on conversion and results. Jon combines creative direction with hands-on execution, leveraging emerging tools—including AI—to streamline workflows and elevate creative output. Thomas O’Hara Thomas O’Hara is Chief Content Officer at Raindrop, where he leads content strategy and production for brands across industries. With a background in video production, filmmaking, and visual storytelling, he has built a career creating content that blends craft with impact. Prior to Raindrop, Thomas founded and led multiple production ventures, bringing an entrepreneurial approach to creative work. His perspective centers on the enduring power of storytelling as content creation scales in the age of AI. Alexia Bregman (Event MC) Alexia Bregman is Chief Creative and Growth Officer at Pacific Nexus, where she leads an integrated approach to branding, marketing, and content creation. With roots in agency leadership and a track record of building brands and businesses from the ground up, she brings a unique blend of strategic rigor and creative instinct. Her experience spans launching consumer brands, leading creative teams, and developing growth systems that drive real business results. Alexia is also a key force in San Diego’s creative community through her work with The One Club for Creativity. Tickets: Members: $25 Non-Members: $35 At-the-Door: +$5 P.S. This description was written by a real copywriter, polished and sharpened with AI. Turns out that is exactly what the event is about.