NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 02/19/13 -- Five disruptive thinkers will take center stage during Social Media Week for an evening of one-on-one conversations with Deep Focus CEO Ian Schafer.

The remarkable lineup of speakers includes:

Andrew McLaughlin, betaworks' entrepreneur-in-residence and the former Deputy Chief Technology Officer of the U.S. and senior White House staff member where from 2009 to 2011 he was responsible for advising President Obama on Internet, technology and innovation policy. A former executive at Google and Tumblr, McLaughlin also was a non-resident fellow from 2011-2012 at Stanford Law's Center for Internet & Society and at Princeton's Center for Information Technology Policy.

Chantel Waterbury, founder and CEO of Chloe + Isabel, a unique fashion jewelry lifestyle brand that uses technology to empower and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs through its innovative social-selling platform. A jewelry expert with over 14 years of experience in corporate buying and product development spanning multiple brands and geographies, she has developed jewelry and merchandising strategies for most of the major retailers in the United States. Her corporate buying career began at Target Corporation followed by Macy's Merchandising Group where she received the CEO's buyer of the year award.

Adam Klaff, who runs business development for VHX, a digital distribution platform that enables filmmakers to sell their work directly from their own websites. Klaff, was previously Vice President for Scott Rudin Productions.

Brian Bedol, the founder and CEO of Bedrocket Media Ventures, a next generation media company that creates pioneering content distributed through cross-platform networks. Bedrocket creates and produces four YouTube channels: action sports channel Network A; soccer channel Kick in partnership with Major League Soccer; Official Comedy; and Look TV, a fashion and beauty network. An active early-stage investor and advisor, Bedol was a founding member and board member of social TV analytics firm Bluefin Labs, recently acquired by Twitter, and a founding investor in Buddy Media, recently sold to Salesforce.com. An investor in the New Jersey Nets, he also oversaw the strategy that led to the launch of the YES Network. He is best known for founding Classic Sports Network and College Sports Television, which respectively sold to ESPN and CBS.

Rachael Chong, founder & CEO of Catchafire.org where talent meets purpose. Rachael founded Catchafire in 2009 with a vision to create a more efficient and effective social good sector and a world where it is commonplace to serve for the greater good. Under Rachael's leadership, Catchafire is building a rapidly growing network of over 10,000 professionals and 2,500 social good organizations all across the United States, and has become the world's largest online pro bono talent provider. In 2012, Rachael received the prestigious NYC Venture Fellowship, the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award, and was named one of Fast Company's most 100 creative people in Business 2012.

Ian Schafer, a pioneer in digital media for the social age and the creator of the popular meme @invisibleobama, said, "We are looking forward to bringing this amazing group of diverse talent together on behalf of Social Media Week and the industries it represents. All of us benefit from exposure to people and ideas beyond our respective wheelhouses. And we benefit all the more so when these people and ideas are changing the way we go about our business in everything from purpose to fashion."

The event, which is part of Social Media Week in New York, will take place on February 21 from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm at 466 Lexington Avenue and 46th Street in the atrium of JWT, a hub for Social Media Week. For more information please visit http://dfoc.us/smw13df.

About Deep Focus

Deep Focus (www.deepfocus.net) is the full-service digital agency for the social age, and is a trusted partner of brands such as Pernod Ricard, Pepsi, Purina, and WellPoint. Founded in 2002, the award-winning agency has nearly 70 employees and is headquartered in New York City. Deep Focus is a part of Engine USA and was Digiday's Agency of the Year in 2010 and 2012. For more information on Deep Focus, please follow us on Twitter and Facebook.