When Your Plan Fails: What To Do That Actually Works
Speakers
Linda Aybar
Host, Hot 97
Founder,
Everything AYBAR
Linda reached a point when her career no longer felt satisfying — so she changed her setting in order to change her direction. She stepped away from New York, spent time in California to reset, and returned ready to build something of her own. That reinvention led to Ask Aybar, a media platform that helped open the door to hosting opportunities with Hot 97, including her own show What’s the Word? Today, Linda leads Everything Aybar, a multi-service business spanning media, events, and business services. Her story is a reminder that sometimes progress begins when you step back, reset, and build from a new place.
Esmeralda Baez
Founder,
Elite Vision Media
Esmeralda has built an innovative platform at the intersection of wellness, media, and entrepreneurship. Her pivot was driven by a deep personal challenge: how to turn lived experience and resilience into something that could create both a positive impact on others and income for her family. Rather than separating personal transformation from her professional success, she built a platform that integrates both. Esmeralda has created a unique business that connects storytelling, self-development, and well-being — showing how personal insight can become the foundation for a powerful and purpose-driven brand.
Her message: “You are not broken — you are becoming.”
Maria Garcia
President, Garcia Leasing
and Business Development Manager, Diageo
An immigrant from the Dominican Republic, Maria Garcia left a hostile workplace here during the Great Recession and found herself facing a bleak job market. Instead of waiting for an opportunity, she created one — teaching herself real estate investing and building financial independence through her own business. That experience changed how she approached every opportunity that followed. Today, she steers her leasing business and works in business development at Diageo, a global leader in premium drinks. To both roles, Maria brings a perspective rooted in resilience, self-worth, and the determination to build success on her own terms.
Nadiia Medvedchuk
Founder & CEO,
Nadin Media LLC
A New York–based entrepreneur, content strategist, and digital marketing expert with over 1 million followers.
Nadiia specializes in building high-performing personal brands on social media and turning them into profitable businesses. Her expertise includes Instagram growth strategy, affiliate marketing, influencer marketing, and promoting products and services through strategic content. She has collaborated with global brands such as Hermès, Prada, Alice&Olivia, Dr. Barbara Sturm, Babor, Skechers, Nike, Alo and many more Through her work, Nadiia helps entrepreneurs and creators grow their visibility, monetize their audience, and scale their income through social media.
Her message: “Your personal brand is your most powerful asset — when you know how to monetize it.”
Nancy Preston
Founder,
Milk Money Kitchens
Nancy, a former U.S. Army engineer did not come from the hospitality world — but she saw an opportunity to rethink it. During COVID, she developed a shared-use kitchen model, enabling food businesses to launch without carrying the full overhead of a traditional restaurant. To make it work, she had to persuade restaurant owners to take a chance on an unproven idea in the middle of a global shutdown. As her business grew, Nancy discovered that many of her clients needed guidance on operations, growth strategies, and sustainability. By evolving her model to include mentorship, Nancy is now focused on scaling a concept that creates a new pathway for food entrepreneurs.
Moderator
M
aria Otero
Founder,
Women’s Venture Fund
A leader in entrepreneurship education, Maria has built companies designed for long-term value and successful exit.
Through Women’s Venture Fund, she has helped thousands of women gain the tools, training, and access to capital needed to launch and scale successful businesses.