Cassie Petrey is the woman behind some of the most iconic artists’ social media marketing including Backstreet Boys, Camila Cabello and Britney Spears. She is the co-founder of Crowd Surf, a leading marketing and music management firm. She’s a fan girl whose admiration for the Backstreet Boys led her at age 12 to create a newsletter that reached fans worldwide — then years later she helped seal the band’s decades-long superstardom by re-introducing them to next-generation fans.
Cassie is a social media and artist management Hollywood powerhouse. She and her co-founder of Crowd Surf, Jade Driver, have been named to power lists in Variety, Billboard, and Forbes’ annual “30 Under 30” feature.
In 2022, the company launched its non-profit Career Development Program — a first-of-its-kind, no-cost educational series for people aspiring to work in the music business.
“I worked fulltime the whole time I was at Middle Tennessee State University studying Music Business. I had been fortunate enough to get a job as a college rep at Warner Music Group my freshman year. I was doing that when, a couple months into college, I discovered a website called MySpace. I went to my boss and said, ‘Hey, why don't big bands use MySpace? You only see small, local and college bands using it. I think major label artists should use it, too.’ And she said, ‘I don't really know what that means, but pick an artist. I'll connect you with their manager, and we'll figure out how you can manage their MySpace page.’
“I was scared to ask her if I could do that or not, but I'm really glad I did because if I didn't, I wouldn't have been one of the first to market in this lane that has become so huge. I thought social media was going to be big, but I didn't think it was going to get to where it is now!
“Looking back on it, it didn't seem such a big deal to me at the time, but a record label vice president, letting an 18-year-old come in and do all this work for their clients on MySpace and more? That's taking a certain level of risk, and I appreciate her taking that risk on me.”
Dr. Sonia Palleck: “I love dentistry. I love working with my hands. It's quite artistic and very challenging. It also requires you to have a lot of compassion and good communication skills. I felt it tapped into a lot of things that I was gifted with.
“The reason I went into dentistry was to become an orthodontist. My siblings and I all had braces. We had terrible crooked teeth. What the orthodontist did for me was really life changing. It gave me a lot of confidence. It gave me the ability to smile, to show up, and to speak my mind without fear or self-consciousness. I thought this was an amazing thing to do for people, and that's what I chose.
“Orthodontics is an amazing profession. It is possibly the best of the 10 areas of dentistry. I'm biased, but I absolutely adore what I do. I feel like I change people's lives on a daily basis. I get to interact with people of all ages, but especially young people, which is invigorating and rejuvenating. And I get to problem solve and use my mind. That is just a beautiful way to spend each day.”
Sonia Palleck was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She went to school at Western in London, Ontario and graduated from Dentistry in '93 and Orthodontics in '99. She pioneered the use of digital orthodontics in practice and has lectured all over the world to share her knowledge with others.
Sonia has written the “Leave the Little Light On” book series, designing and painting all the book covers, and editing and self-publishing her contribution to the world. Through these books she is a special advocate for love.
Paval Stuchlik, also known as Noa Aon, also known as Pavel Aeon, is a professional cyclist turned serial seven-figure entrepreneur and investor. Pavel made his first million before the age of 21 and has successfully launched, scaled, franchised and exited many brands, including significantly growing Orangetheory Fitness in seven areas of the U.S.
Through all of this, his mission always has been to bring people back to their center, in union with others. He has been able to do this most recently through his NOA AON movement. His methods blend ancient wisdom, modern science, and quantum principles to achieve deep personal transformation.
In March 2025 Pavel expanded this with the founding of “Upper AEON.” Pavel is now an internationally conscious DJ and EDM producer who is healing people worldwide by delivering transformational experiences at immersive workshops and retreats, providing digital learning and community, and using science-backed transformation tools.
He has been featured in The New York Times, TIME, ELLE & TATLER.
“At 14 I had a bet with my friend to both make it into the top ten in a local cycling race that was on TV once a year. I ended up coming in fourth and I think he was 11th. I love that freedom of cycling, the freedom of your mind. And I love the connection to nature. I knew I wanted to become a professional cyclist.
“When I was 17 my dad gave me a choice: ‘You either go to school and your life is paid for, or you don't go to school and you are going to do your little cycling thing which you are going to have to figure out yourself.’
“I did make it to pro cycling. I was racing around the world and stationed anywhere from Holland to Asia to South America. It was amazing. I loved it. But at the same time, I knew I needed to support myself. I had started my first company to supply a product cyclists needed. So whenever we would go into different countries to race, I would walk into local bike stores and I’d say, ‘Hey, you guys should have your own custom bike frames.’ And I did well with that business.
“But when I was 20, I completely broke down in a Czech national race. And when I say ‘broke down,’ I mean my body completely shut off and I woke up in the hospital. I literally developed chronic fatigue. I did still race for a time, but instead of me resting and recovering, I was on calls with the factories and with customers.
“This is how I found health. I literally had to quit cycling unfortunately, and lose my identity of what I thought was important at that time. I wanted to do the Tour de France and I wanted do all of the biggest races, but my health did not allow me to. Before I quit, I fell into a deep depression. It was really a tough life because I wasn’t able to deliver on what I was hoping to do. I had to shave off my identity because I was not going to be a pro cyclist anymore.
“I was, however, always self-driven. I knew I was really not inspired by the traditional societal norm. I wasn't inspired by being in a box and being told what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. So through education and through all of these courses and books and workshops I started attending, and trying various jobs, I ended up molding what my life should be about.”
Major General (ret) Dustin "Dusty" Shultz is a highly accomplished senior military leader, renowned for her expertise in Army Cyber, Intelligence, and Space operations both in the U.S. and Latin America. Throughout her distinguished career, she has often been hand-picked for key leadership roles supporting the Department of Defense. In these roles, Dusty has developed strategic solutions to complex challenges, drawing on her extensive experience in international collaboration to achieve equitable outcomes. After years of dedicated government service, Dusty retired (2025) from her final role as Director of Intelligence at U.S. Southern Command. Now in her own busines, she is using She holds multiple degrees in strategy and is committed to lifelong learning. Outside of her professional endeavors, she enjoys spending time with her husband, David, their two children, and five grandchildren. Her hobbies include cooking and equestrian activities.
“On one assignment an Admiral said to me, ‘You've got the skills. You are going to do this. I'm going to advocate for you, and I'm going to also hold you accountable for doing it.’ Having leaders like him has been fundamental. I do not want to receive anything because I'm entitled or special. I want to receive it because I have worked hard to get where I am and because my skills are better than my peers’.
“I laugh when I think of my first day with my first unit. It was a field artillery drill sergeant unit, and when I walked in, they literally looked at me and, although they were polite, they directly said something like, ‘Where's Dustin?’
“I am Dustin.’
“ ‘No. Where's the male, Dustin?’
‘Oh my gosh. I am the female Dustin. Here are the orders.’ And, they didn't even have female restrooms.
Later in my career, my XO’s name was Hollis. My name was Dustin. So people always deferred to the fact that we were men. And then they would be shocked when we'd show up. We responded that we're fit, we're prepared, we're capable. We're going to do our job and we're going to do it well. And then we’d do just that.
“So I went all the way from these experiences to taking a battalion to Iraq, where over one-third of the organization was females including almost all of my seniors, minus my command Sergeant Major."