Laughing Matters Council

Meet our Laughing Matters Council Members!

Why We’re Different… Laughing Matters

Humor can reshape our cognitive processes, allowing us to dismantle mental barriers and embrace new perspectives. Leveraging the power of humor, we induce neuroplasticity, fostering unexpected creativity, ideation, collaboration and connection.

The Laughing Matters Council brings together distinguished industry leaders with an eye for workplace culture and breakthrough thinking to guide Peppercomm and its clients in using the principles of humor to drive long-term business success.

The Philosopher

Luvell Anderson

Luvell Anderson is an Professor of Philosophy at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research lies principally in the Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Humor, and Philosophy of Race. He is co-editor of the Routledge Companion to the Philosophy of Race and the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on Applied Philosophy of Language. Luvell is finishing a book on The Ethics of Racial Humor, forthcoming with Oxford University Press, and Philosophy of Race and Racism: The Basics, to be published with Routledge.

The Advisor

Clayton Fletcher

Meet Clayton Fletcher, the NYC comedy guru! From co-authoring HarperCollins’ ROI of LOL with our CEO, to Amazon Prime, Hulu, Sirius/XM and MSNBC, he’s everywhere, spreading clean, clever humor without the shock. He’s taught more wannabe comics (and thousands of brave businesspeople) how to unlock the prodigious power of truth in comedy and has served as Peppercomm’s Chief Comedy Officer for over a decade.

The Connector

Malcolm Frierson

Malcolm is a Professor of History at Riverside City College. His research zooms in on the political landscape of African American comedy, spanning from the Civil Rights Movement to the present day. Malcolm’s book, “Freedom in Laughter,” published by SUNY Press, has been hailed for its ability to illuminate “the connections between artistic expression and activism as a mutual exchange in the process of continuing to enlighten, inspire, and transform a painfully divided society.

The Culture Guy

David Horning

David Horning is the founder of Water Cooler Comedy, the creator of the 8-week leadership program “7 Steps To Reframe Retention And Create A Killer Culture.” Unlike other leadership speakers and consultants, David’s 9 years of comedy, speaking, and outsider consulting experience brings an outside-of-the-box, hands-on approach that is unafraid of asking the challenging questions that help leaders disrupt the status quo to face uncertainty, adversity, and change with a resilient, open mind.

The Improviser

Liz Joynt Sandberg

Liz Joynt Sandberg is a comedy writer, performer, director, and educator. She serves as the head of the Comedy Arts program at DePaul University, and performs regularly in Chicago and beyond with various improv groups. She is also a lead designer and facilitator for The Second City Works where she collaborates with clients like Harvard Business School, Thrive Global, Google, Microsoft, Swing Left, Indivisible, and others to leverage an improvisational mindset to solve real-world problems

We live in a time when laughter, comedy and humor has never been more important to everyone’s wellness.

The ROI of LOL

How Laughter Breaks Down Walls, Drives Compelling Storytelling, and Creates a Healthy Workplace.
Learn more.

Our weekly dose of humor + business!

We believe the magic happens when wit and wisdom join forces. Wit + Wisdom explores concepts that can help a leader or brand stand out (and hopefully brings a 😊 to your day)