Meet the HTBS Founding Advisory Board

How To Be Social is the community that connects your life, love, and career. Building a community that lasts takes more than great events. It takes the right people guiding it.

This August, we welcomed six leaders as our Founding Advisory Board. Each one brings deep experience in a part of what HTBS needs to grow: money, leadership, brand, technology, community, and partnerships.

Together, they're helping us build what comes next, from our 2027 events in Dallas, Austin, Los Angeles, and New York to the HTBS Conference.

Meet the board.

Ricky Tejapaibul, Chair, Finance & InvestmentRicky guides HTBS toward long-term financial sustainability. He advises on capital strategy, sponsorships, revenue growth, and planning, so that HTBS can scale to new cities and keep showing up for its community.

Darryl Gaines, Chair, Leadership & Organizational DevelopmentDarryl strengthens HTBS from the inside out. His focus is leadership development, governance, organizational culture, and building the volunteer teams that bring our events to life.

Rick Krisburg, Chair, Brand, Media & Strategic CommunicationsRick helps HTBS tell its story clearly and consistently. He pushed us to sharpen our positioning this year, and it shows. He advises on brand strategy, media, public relations, and thought leadership.

Margaret Grayson, Chair, Corporate Partnerships & Technology ImpactMargaret builds the technology that helps HTBS scale. She's already made a difference: she helped launch our new booking, registration, and payment systems, so joining an event or becoming a Socialite now takes just a few clicks. She advises on technology strategy, scalable systems, and the digital tools that keep our community connected, and she brings in corporate partners who share our mission.

Leesa Branch, Chair, Creative CommunitiesLeesa keeps HTBS rooted in its creative community. She advises on member engagement, local chapter development, creative hub partnerships, and volunteer leadership, so every city feels like home.

Ryan Moeller, Chair, Partnerships & Ecosystem GrowthRyan expands the HTBS network. He's building relationships with partners, sponsors, and organizations across New York, Los Angeles, and Texas, and he's shaping our digital programming and conference partnerships.

Why this matters

HTBS isn't trying to be anyone's forever community. We're a connector and catalyst, the place you find your people and get inspired to start something of your own. This board helps us do that at a bigger scale, in more cities, for more people.

Want to get involved? Whether you'd like to partner, sponsor, speak, or join as a Socialite, we'd love to hear from you. Reach out at howtobesocialhtbs@gmail.com.

Stay Social.