Andrew Lih is an associate professor of journalism at American University in Washington, DC, and author of The Wikipedia Revolution: How a bunch of nobodies created the world’s greatest encyclopedia. He is a noted expert in online collaboration and digital news innovation and founded the web-based city guide NY.com in 1994. He has degrees in computer science from Columbia University, where he helped start the School of Journalism’s new media program. He is a contributor to the weekly PBS MediaShift podcast and has been a speaker at South by Southwest (SXSW), the Online News Association, Wikimania, Wikisym and TEDxShanghai. His work on Wikipedia has been covered by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, CNN and other media outlets, and he is a frequent commentator on the role of Wikipedia and the future of public knowledge.

Sam Ford is Director of Audience Engagement at Peppercomm. He is also a research affiliate with the MIT Program in Comparative Media Studies/Writing, an adjunct faculty member for Western Kentucky University’s Popular Culture Studies Program, and co-chair of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association’s Ethics Committee.

In addition, he is a contributor to Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Inc. And, over the past two years, Sam has written pieces for The Wall Street Journal, Advertising Age, PRWeek, CMO.com, and other business and academic publications.

He was named a 2014 Social Media MVP by PR News and 2011 Social Media Innovator of the Year by Bulldog Reporter. And, as a former professional journalist, Sam won a 2006 Best Feature award from the Kentucky Press Association.

Sam and/or his work have appeared in the past two years on Marketplace and PRI, in New York Times and LA Times articles, and even on Jeopardy! and in the Tribeca award-winning film Lil Bub and Friendz.