“Changemakers” is designed to connect innovators in technology, media, the creative arts, and business to students, faculty, and alumni, and establish the campus as a hub for founders and young entrepreneurs to connect with early-to-mid-career executives.
Charleston, SC, [Wednesday, October 11, 2023] – College of Charleston announced today a partnership with Gray Matters Consulting to launch “Changemakers,” a series designed to connect innovators in technology, media, the creative arts, and business to students, faculty, and alumni, and to establish the campus as a hub for founders and entrepreneurs to connect with early-to-mid-career executives.
The first “Changemakers” event will be held Wednesday, October 18, 3:00-4:00 p.m. in the Rita Liddy Hollings Center, 58 Coming Street, on the College of Charleston campus. Featured guests include QCode Media Chief Strategy Officer and former Head of Marketing for Apple Podcasts, Steve Wilson, and Partisan Records and Talkhouse media studios founder, Ian Wheeler. Titled, “A Candid Conversation About the Entertainment Industry,” Wilson and Wheeler will delve into the current state of the industry through the lens of podcasting, streaming film and television, the music industry, business strategy and development, talent management and more. Dig South founder and CEO Stanfield Gray will moderate the fireside chat.
“The College of Charleston is proud to partner with Gray Matters to launch ‘Changemakers’ featuring innovative, media content leader, and College of Charleston alumnus, Ian Wheeler, and the former head of marketing at Apple Podcasts and now QCODE Chief Strategy Officer Steve Wilson,” said Andrew Hsu, president of the College of Charleston. “The campus is the perfect place to welcome these innovative leaders and host a forum to discuss the intersection of leading technology and creative content strategy.”
About Ian Wheeler
Based in Brooklyn, NY and Charleston, SC, Ian Wheeler is a College of Charleston graduate, co-founder of Partisan Records, co-founder and publisher of Talkhouse, and founder of Talkhouse Creative Studio. Some of his first experience in the entertainment industry was writing about music for alt-weeklies Charleston City Paper and Athens, GA’s The Flagpole. Wheeler soon thereafter began managing bands and eventually co-founded Partisan Records, which led to a desire to improve the art media ecosystem and became the impetus for Wheeler to start Talkhouse, which has grown into an award-winning podcast studio and network as well as a TV and film production house.
“I’m so grateful to Stan and the CofC community for the opportunity to spend some time with my fellow Cougars talking about careers in the entertainment industry,” said Ian Wheeler, co-founder of Partisan Records, co-founder and publisher of Talkhouse. “I spent countless hours in the CofC Sailing Center drawing up ideas and plans, so it feels both fitting and surreal to come back to campus to talk about everything that has happened in the 20 years since then.”
About Steve Wilson
Steve Wilson is the Chief Strategy Officer for QCODE Media, a podcast media startup, and former head of Apple Podcasts. At QCode, Wilson oversees partnerships, marketing, and distribution and collaborates on content strategy. He joins the company after nearly 15 years at Apple, where he worked on Apple Podcasts and partnered with podcasters and networks.
Current QCODE Media productions include Ad Lucem, a socio-political thriller series set in New York City a few years in the future featuring film stars Chris Pine and Olivia Wilde. They also made Blackout with Rami Malek, Dirty Diana with Demi Moore, and Hank the Cowdog with Matthew McConaughey among others.
“I’m thrilled to visit the college and talk about podcasting – a medium that is exploding – beloved by millions and an area of opportunity for students,” said Steve Wilson, Chief Strategy Officer for QCODE Media. “From fiction to chat shows there area great careers to be had across business development, production, marketing, sales, and more.”
About “Changemakers”
“Changemakers” is a series designed to connect innovative, early-to-mid-career executives with students, faculty, alumni, and the community by inviting them to speak on campus, meet with student groups, establish internships and remote mentoring sessions, and more. The series is a launchpad for initiatives that position the College of Charleston campus as a hotbed of entrepreneurship and industry collaboration to help students become the next generation of successful founders and innovators.
About Gray Matters Consulting
Gray Matters is a Charleston, SC-based consulting firm led by Dig South founder and CEO Stanfield Gray. Gray Matters advises and collaborates with universities, businesses, and organizations to develop curated speaker series, grow purpose-driven communities, and establish thriving innovation and startup ecosystems.
About the College of Charleston
Founded in 1770, the College of Charleston, the oldest college in South Carolina and the 13th oldest in the nation, is a public university grounded in the principles of the liberal arts and committed to developing ethically centered, intellectually versatile and globally fluent citizens who create innovative solutions to social, economic and environmental challenges. Located in historic downtown Charleston, the College educates more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students in a variety of traditional liberal arts and sciences disciplines as well as award-winning programs in the languages, education, technology, and business.
