MCEI Seattle holds a dinner meeting each month with a distinguished marketing or communications presenter. Presenters bring a behind the scenes perspective and high-level industry marketing insights. Speakers share provocative stories, ideas, positions, and concepts, including controversial topics.

See below for our current upcoming program.

July 2026

WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2026 - 5:30 P.M. - IVAR’S SALMON HOUSE

What are Marketers and Communicators Thinking in 2026? 

Changes are happening so rapidly these days. It’s tough to keep up and know what is around the corner for your career or organization. Rupert and Hemispheres decided it was time for a Vibe Check. 

We surveyed over 100 marketers and communicators on the client and agency side to learn how people are using AI, how they are approaching home/office/hybrid work, and their feelings about where their career and work is headed.

Noah and David will share the results of the Vibe Check and lead a spirited exploration and discussion of where work might be headed for all of us. All attendees will get access to the full report (priceless).

Below are just a few responses from the survey.

We hope you can join us! 

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I think it's a hard time to be in the creative industry. Company and agency executives feel there is a gold rush around AI and the efficiencies that it can drive IMMEDIATELY. While I believe AI will be transformative in the mid/long term (in good ways and not-so-good), the cuts and reductions are expected before the efficiencies are delivered. That's a bad plan.

I believe as people become more comfortable with the role of AI and its possibilities, they will also realize that human interaction and oversight is where the magic happens.

Very optimistic about the value and relevance of the niche work I do, but also very pessimistic about how marketing is evolving in response to technological advances and short-sighted leadership decisions. 

I've noticed that after Covid and with AI, everyone thinks they are a digital marketing expert, but many of those companies are now struggling because they still don't anticipate the issues that come up. This ends up disappointing clients, and then they come back to experienced, dynamic agencies. 

I'm curious how others are feeling about their roles/responsibilities around fostering new talent. I've observed a turn away from hiring interns or junior creatives. Agencies are working remotely, which makes mentoring a junior quite difficult. It's easier to simply work with mid- to senior-level talent who can be productive with minimal oversight. And AI is currently best at doing menial junior-level tasks. I worry about this collective short-term thinking. We're reaping a harvest without planting any new seeds. Are we setting ourselves up for a talent shortage in 3 to 5 years? 

Remote work makes it much harder to be considered for a role because you're going against everyone in the country instead of just the city you live in.

Noah Tannen
Managing Partner, Rupert
LinkedIn Profile

Noah Tannen is the managing partner at Rupert, a full-service marketing firm he started in 2010. Noah has been a videogame designer, content producer, copywriter, creative director and marketing strategist for clients like Starbucks, Microsoft, and MTV.

Having worked with businesses ranging from green tea to nuclear power to sales tax automation to wood-fired bagels, as well as starting three companies of his own, Noah has unique insight into a wide range of industries, which he enjoys applying to new and novel scenarios. Originally from New York City, Noah lives in Seattle with his wife Shannon and occasionally their son, Jonah.

David Bauer
Partner, Hemispheres
LinkedIn Profile

David has spent over twenty-five years exploring human perceptions and behaviors and their implications for business strategy. He strives to understand how both rational and emotional elements factor into decision making. Based on this approach, he founded the customer insights agency Hemispheres in Seattle in 2003.

David and Hemispheres offer a full range of qualitative and quantitative research methods as well as UX, data science, and business strategy. Their work covers a broad spectrum of categories including technology, retailing, consumer products, food and beverage, health care, beauty, business services, transportation, and durable goods. David has personally conducted qualitative research across North American and Europe as well as in Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, China, and Australia.

He is a board member of Seattle Marketing Communications Executives International, an Advance Member of the Qualitative Research Consultants Association, and an active member of the Puget Sound Research Forum.

David is a frequent speaker, facilitator, and panel moderator. In the past few years, David has presented at his current organizations as well as the University of Washington, Santa Clara University, Cornish College of the Arts, the AMA Market Mix conference, the NW Insights Summit, and the Seattle chapter of the Interaction Design Association.

September 2026

WEDNESDAY, september 9, 2026 - 5:30 P.M. - IVAR’S SALMON HOUSE

Marketing the Brain: Building a Brand in a White Space Category

How do you market a concept that no one has ever heard of, using technologies most people don’t even know exist? That is the exact challenge that faced Xenia Kachur, biomedical engineer and founder of Mindeo Brain Fitness. Born out of her own recovery from a life-altering rock-climbing accident, Mindeo pioneers "biophysical brain fitness"—using physical, biological mechanisms and cutting-edge tech to combat neuroinflammation and optimize brain health. In this presentation, Xenia will take us behind the scenes of building a brand in a completely uncharted white space. She will share the unique hurdles of navigating consumer education versus conversion, translating complex neuroscience into compelling messaging, and introducing unfamiliar technology to a skeptical market.

Xenia Kachur
CEO, Mindeo
LinkedIn Profile

Xenia Kachur is a bestselling author, TEDx speaker, and the Co-founder and CEO of Mindeo, a Seattle-based company pioneering new approaches to cognitive longevity. With a background in biomedical engineering, she brings a rigorous, science-based lens to brain health—helping thousands of people improve memory, clarity, and mood as they age. A recognized leader in the field of cognitive wellness, Xenia is known for making complex neuroscience accessible, relevant, and actionable. Her bestselling book Mindfire distills a decade of brain health research into strategies for staying sharp in an increasingly distracted world. Her mission is to help people stay mentally strong for life—so they can lead, contribute, and enjoy what matters most.

November 2026

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2026 - 5:30 P.M. - IVAR’S SALMON HOUSE

What's Your Egg? Designing for Human Agency in the Age of AI

We open with a short film about Betty Crocker, a failed product, and the fix that saved it. When you remove all friction from an experience, you don't create delight — you create disconnection. People need to feel like they matter in the process.

Then we get to work.

This session unpacks a set of principle-based design patterns for building agentic AI experiences that keep people genuinely engaged. Not interface rules or platform playbooks — durable principles you can apply whether you're designing a marketing tool, a customer service agent, or a consumer app.

We'll explore how to give people meaningful moments of contribution, make AI actions visible without overwhelming, and design human-to-machine handoffs that feel like collaboration, not abdication.

**The big idea:** The best AI experiences aren't the ones that do the most — they're the ones that make people feel like they did.

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James Tee
Principal Experience Designer
Liberty Mutual, Ex Microsoft
LinkedIn Profile