Hands-On Training to Empower Teams
with Ethical, Efficient and Strategic AI Use

AI is rewriting the playbook for public relations and corporate communications. Clients expect faster turnarounds, sharper insights, and smarter storytelling. But most teams are caught in the messy middle: experimenting without impact, overwhelmed by tools, and unsure how to scale AI ethically and strategically.

Peter Pachal

Founder | The Media Copilot Technology Journalist & Media Strategist

With over two decades in technology journalism, Pete is known for his insights into AI's impact on media. As former Chief of Staff for Content at CoinDesk and with senior roles at Mashable and NBC Universal, Pete brings deep expertise in the intersection of AI and media. Through The Media Copilot newsletter, podcast, and YouTube channel, he explores the transformative role of AI in modern journalism and PR.

Melissa Flynn, APR, MBA

PR Strategist | Educator | AI Integration Consultant

Melissa is a communications veteran with three decades of experience in strategic PR, internal comms, and corporate storytelling. As founder of a boutique consultancy serving nonprofits and enterprise clients, she’s known for bringing clarity, empathy, and operational rigor to complex messaging challenges. An alum of TheUpgrade.AI’s flagship AI course, Melissa now partners with teams to ethically integrate AI into their daily practice—bridging technology and trust in a rapidly evolving media landscape. Her approach combines hands-on experimentation with real-world strategy to make AI accessible, scalable, and human-first.

Kris Krüg

Techartist, quasi-sage, cyberpunk anti-hero from the future.

My name is Kris Krug – a boundary-pushing creative explorer, an intuitive tech whisperer, and a tenacious culture hacker. In the fabric of the digital era, where technology often overshadows humanity, I’ve taken it upon myself to chart a different course.

I’m on a relentless mission to humanize technology, to infuse it with empathy, ethics, and emotion. I’m not just tinkering with gadgets and algorithms; I’m reprogramming the very core of our interactions with the digital world to resonate with the heartbeat of human experience.

But that’s only part of my mission. I’m also in the ring, gloves on, ready to battle the creeping villain of apathy that threatens to numb our society. I challenge indifference with passion, confront disconnection with engagement, and replace the passive consumption of media with active creation.

I stand firm in the belief that art shouldn’t be a rarefied luxury, but a common language for all. By democratizing art, I aim to unlock a universal creative potential. Art is a right, not a privilege, and I strive to make it accessible to everyone, everywhere – breaking down the walls that confine creativity to the few.

In parallel, I’m a champion of communities, believing in the colossal power of collective action. Empowering communities is not just about giving a voice to the voiceless; it’s about amplifying that voice until it echoes across the globe. It’s about lighting a fire in every individual to contribute, connect, and collaborate.

Peter Bittner

New Media Journalist, Lecturer at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

Peter is the founder and CEO of The MindStudio Academy, dedicated to AI upskilling. For the past 8 years, Peter has been a visiting lecturer of new media at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism and an instructor at the Advanced Media Institute, where he has taught emerging media. He was formerly a visiting instructor at CELSA-Paris Sorbonne. Additionally, Peter leads custom media workshops for organizations.

His photography and videography have been published on the front page of The New York Times and in CNN, Bloomberg, NBC, Reuters, Vox, Business Insider, Hearst Digital, Al Jazeera, Popular Mechanics, VICE News, and other major outlets. Peter is a Fulbright Scholar and has covered science, sports, travel, politics, and culture — and has a special knack for projects that get him outdoors and off the grid.