Forrest serves as the Director of the South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) Festival, where he guides the overall vision for the event as well as directs panel programming. He also spends much of his time with the all-consuming task of community management. Forrest graduated from Austin High School in 1980, and then majored in English at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Before joining the SXSW team, he founded a small alternative publication called The Austin Challenger.

Michele Skelding serves as the Senior Vice President of Global Technology and Innovation for the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce where she leads the development and execution of the organization’s vision for Central Texas as a top global region for innovation, company formation and expansion, in addition to increasing top access to private equity and venture capital.

In this role, Michele is to cultivate emerging and strategic growth by identifying next generation innovation trends and facilitating the vital creation and interconnection of Austin's burgeoning entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Skelding is an integral member of Austin’s entrepreneurial community, bringing deep industry knowledge from her diverse experience working with Fortune 100 companies to early stage private and venture backed start-ups.