AI Summits 2026

Mark Avnet

Mark Avnet has spent more than three decades at the intersection of advertising, technology, creativity, and learning. He's built digital and innovation groups at several advertising agencies, and most recently led professional development and AI integration initiatives at the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

Along the way, Mark has taught at Marist College, NYU, Syracuse University, and VCU’s Brandcenter graduate program. Locally, he served as a senior business advisor at the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center, working with entrepreneurs to turn ideas into viable businesses.

Today, his work focuses on helping organizations and their people use AI effectively, thoughtfully, and responsibly. He is a member of the Institute for Advertising Ethics/IEEE working group on AI for Human-Powered Advertising, where he is helping develop standards for the industry.

Closer to home, Mark recently joined the Berkshire Innovation Center’s AI Leadership Group and serves on the boards of the Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative and Berkshires Jazz, which makes sense for someone who has spent much of his life playing bass and working in music and media.

He's also a certified clinical hypnotherapist and once raised giant sea slugs for a living, but that’s probably better saved for the Q&A.

Samuel Pascual: NotebookLM for personal RAG

Digital Navigator and Digital Equity Advocate, Pittsfield Community Television

Samuel Pascual is a Digital Navigator and Digital Equity Advocate at Pittsfield Community Television, where he works to bridge the digital divide through education and strategic infrastructure. Backed by funding from the Massachusetts Broadband Institute and the AI Hub, Samuel has become a leading voice for AI literacy in Western Massachusetts, delivering specialized training to both the next generation youth entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders.

Samuel’s approach to technology is rooted in ethics, safety and respect for human experience. He champions the use of locally hosted, specialized AI models to ensure community solutions remain secure and contextually relevant. His unique perspective is shaped by his tenure on the Dalton Redevelopment Authority, where he navigated the intricacies of municipal growth and business recruitment. An experienced community organizer, Samuel also co-founded the Berkshire Waterfront Festival, coordinating with regional athletic organizations to transform Pittsfield's Lake Onota into a New England-wide tourism draw.

Today, he joins us to explore how AI can be harnessed as a catalyst for creative tourism, powered by human-centric innovation.

Stacey Schultze

Stacey leverages her strategic drive, creative processes, and intuitive leadership skills to promote collaboration across sectors. As a strategy, education, and research consultant, she supports nonprofits through data gathering, analysis, synthesis, and application of findings that connect proficient project management with goal realization. Always a lifelong learner, Stacey is currently developing a platform using Claude Code to help nonprofit organizations live their missions and achieve their goals with ease and efficiency.

As an experienced educator, she seeks to highlight others’ talents and promote their personal and professional growth. In her roles in higher education, Stacey has applied andragogical best practices to her collegiate course instruction, design, writing, and delivery. Her research centers on leadership and professional practices concerning collective efficacy, perceived insider status, job satisfaction, partnership trust, adult education, and lifelong learning. Her artistic practice as a non-objective abstract painter centers on creating shared meaning through memory recall mediated through the art object. She has curated several exhibitions along nature trails and in gallery settings.

BFAIR

UCP of Western Massachusetts