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Photo of Frankie Abralind Frankie Abralind Executive Director at The Good Listening Project

Frankie Abralind is Executive Director of The Good Listening Project, a nonprofit that promotes good listening to support patient safety, nursing resilience, and physician wellbeing. Previously, Frankie served as the lead designer for the Innovation Hub at Johns Hopkins Sibley Memorial Hospital, where he worked on improving the healthcare experience for patients, staff, and visitors. Frankie studied design at Cornell University and earned his MBA from the University of Maryland.…

Photo of Gina Adams Gina Adams Founder @ Wareologie

Life, as they say, comes full circle. Many moons ago, I earned my BS in Human Environment and Design from MSU and worked in sales for The North Face. While there, I volunteered and taught people with disabilities how to ski. Working with an underserved population is tremendously rewarding. This opened my eyes to the need for adaptive equipment to empower people of all abilities the freedom to explore the outdoors in comfort.…

Photo of Bilaal Ahmed Bilaal Ahmed Founder and CEO at Linktank

Bilaal Ahmed is the founder of Linktank, a comprehensive roundup of events, organizations, and people in policy, advocacy, and research.

Photo of Nabeel Ahmed Nabeel Ahmed Founder & CEO Head of Global Marketing at Clements Worldwide

Nabeel is a visionary entrepreneur with 17+ years of extensive Marketing and Business Development expertise and has been part of 7 startups with4.5 successful exits. Nabeel is currently working on developing another tech-based startup, Tripli, a peer-to-peer social marketplace for travelersand locals. Nabeel is highly skilled in constructing and executing strategy, defining positioning and value propositions, increasing brand awareness, building partnerships, coaching high performance teams, developing and launching new products and services, and representing the company as a spokesperson.

Photo of Dave Anderson Dave Anderson COO at Hitch Inc

Dave is currently the COO at Hitch! (HitchRides), a DC-based start-up with a digital dispatch and mobile payment platform for the Taxi industry. Since graduating from Bowdoin College with an Econ major and Comp Sci minor, Dave has been able to prove himself as a software engineer, private equity analyst and acquisition negotiator, sales engineer, client-facing enterprise software consultant, strategy consultant, and sales & BD manager.…

Photo of Allie Armitage Allie Armitage Founder at Mind Into Matter

Allie founded her entrepreneurial design firm, Mind Into Matter, to help clients unlock their motivation and drive and build their lives around it. Sheis an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland’s Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and leads Design Thinking workshops for General Assembly, Linktank and her own sessions. She also coaches one-on-one with clients to help them “design think” their lives.…

Photo of Ben Armstrong Ben Armstrong Founder & CEO – 9miles Media & LeadBoss

I started my agency, 9miles Media, back in 2008 when I was 14 years old. I sold my first WordPress website project to two realtors in Sonoma County, California for $450. They had no idea that my buddy and I were teenagers, but they went on to become some of the top brokers in the state and referred us to others.…

Photo of Ashley Artrip Ashley Artrip Co-Founder at Mission Collaborative

I’m the Co-Founder of Mission Collaborative, where we help people of all ages and backgrounds design more fulfilling careers through a 30-day online Fellowship. I’m passionate about making career information more equitable and accessible so that everyone can obtain the resources and the community needed to navigate the many career changes throughout their life successfully. My passion for career development started in college when I noticed that my peers approached their education pathways based on little to no information about how it would affect them long term.…

Photo of Zach Axelrod Zach Axelrod Chief Development Officer at SmartAC.com, Inc..

Zach started his career in the energy industry as a wholesale power market analyst at ICF International. He moved to a position as Director of Market Solutions at GridPoint Inc., an Arlington, VA based smart grid company, where he structured smart grid transactions while building one of the industry’s first comprehensive financial models. Zach left GridPoint in August 2009 to found Skyline Innovations with the idea of helping small and mid-sized businesses implement clean energy solutions through an easy to understand and implement shared savings model.

Photo of Guy Barth Guy Barth CEO at Ziberty

Guy is an entrepreneur driven by the passion to deliver awesome customer experiences. Guy was shocked by how many pain points he encountered as a custom home buying customer, and now Ziberty is on a mission to offer an amazing custom home buying experience.

Prior to starting Ziberty, Guy was a fighter pilot in the Air Force and a bank analyst at Capital One.…

Photo of Louis Becker Louis Becker CEO/President at Charles J. Becker & Bros

Louis K. Becker started working for Charles J. Becker & Bros., Inc. in 1997 supporting operations and fulfillment. In Late 2000, Louis joined the sales team in Northern New Jersey, where he grew sales by focusing on supplying excellent service to the underserved Abbott programs. In 2005, Louis opened a new sales territory covering Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.…

Photo of RJ Bee RJ Bee CEO & Co-Founder at Osiris Media Corp

Experienced business leader, huge music fan. Combined my lifelong passion for music with my business experience to lead Osiris, a music podcast network. We are growing into the go-to music podcast network. Over the past 10 years, as Senior Vice President at Hattaway Communications, I led the growth of a strategic communications firm, including client services, business strategy, management and business development.…

Photo of Dan Berger Dan Berger Founder at Social Tables

As the CEO of Social Tables, a fast-growing, DC-based, hospitality technology company, Dan has been described as a “relentless and focused entrepreneur” and recognized 40 Under 40 in the meetings industry by Collaborate Magazine and Connect Meetings. Dan started developing websites in his teens and through college for organizations including MTV Networks, Glaxosmithkline and the United States Tennis Association.…

Photo of Andy Bhattacharyya Andy Bhattacharyya CEO at Amplo Global Inc.

Anirban has over 18 years of strategy, research and development, and implementation experience in physical and digital operations manufacturing, supply chain process improvement, and process automation services. He is the founding member of Amplo Global Inc., an AI-led Industry 4.0 risk management product company that powers AmploFly4.0, a platform that enables organizations to measure, assess and define 3 to 5 years of Industry 4.0 execution readiness.…

Photo of Jesse Bloom Jesse Bloom Founder at Sacred Kitchen

Jesse is a leadership facilitator and chef with almost 20 years of experience leading teams in the joyful art of making beautiful deliciousness. Jesse is a seasoned facilitator, leadership coach, and start up entrepreneur who is passionate about supporting people’s personal growth. At the intersection of these worlds of food and interpersonal development lives Sacred Kitchen, a place where preparing and sharing food are the key ingredients for creating powerful connections and beautiful relationships.…

Photo of John Boles John Boles Co-Owner at Capital Solution Design

John is a computer science graduate with 15 years of experience within the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) / software consulting space. John spent the first ten of those years working as a lead engineer architecting the US/Canadian/UK Census response capture systems. In that time, John also co-founded a medical software company called Capital Solution Design (CSD), with subject matter experts from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.…

Photo of Gore Bolton Gore Bolton CEO at Land Intelligence

Gore is an inventor, investor, and entrepreneur with more than 22 years of experience in real estate, technology, professional services, business finance and organizational leadership. He is an entrepreneur in all sorts of business and non-profit enterprises. He is a nationally recognized business leader in culture and innovation. His passion for engineering over the years has evolved into engineering great operations and companies, and most importantly, teams.…

Photo of Carly Booze Carly Booze Owner at POP Organizing

Carly Poppalardo has been organizing her entire life. Being organized is the number one skill that helps Carly excel in everything she does—from day-to-day multi-tasking to life’s biggest and most daunting challenges. in November 2010, Carly melded her experience, education, and her entrepreneurial spirit to create and launch POP Organizing. It is Carly’spassion to help her clients find their perfect organizational fix, and to show them just how easy it is to live a stress-free, more productive life.

Photo of Julianne Brienza Julianne Brienza Founding Director at Capital Fringe Inc.

Julianne is a founder of Capital Fringe and has been with Capital Fringe since its founding in 2005. She leads and guides Capital Fringe’s vision, change and community. Julianne has grown Capital Fringe’s budget from $300,000 to over $1 million. She has grown and shaped programs that engage audiences and artists equally, creating a unique experience on and off the stage.…

Photo of Whitney Brimfield Whitney Brimfield CEO at Spark Point Fundraising

Whitney Brimfield is the CEO of Spark Point Fundraising (www.spark-point.com), a full-service development firm with a commitment to equity and impact. Spark Point is the resource that nonprofits are hungry for – a whip smart, creative, and entrepreneurial thought partner that guides clients to a tailored, forward-looking strategy for achieving your desired growth and leverages decades of fundraising experience to ensure that your plan is properly implemented.…

Photo of Alex Budak Alex Budak Professional Faculty at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business

Alex Budak is a social entrepreneur and professional faculty member at Berkeley Haas. Budak created and teaches a transformative course called “Becoming a Changemaker,” and is Executive Director of the Berkeley Haas Global Access Program. He co-founded and now advises the social enterprise StartSomeGood.com, which has helped over 1,000 changemakers in 50 countries raise over $10 Million USD.…

Photo of Stephen Candelmo Stephen Candelmo Co-Founder and CEO at Synapsify

Stephen is a software executive and corporate and technology transactional attorney with more than 12 years of expertise in technology development and licensing matters, corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions. Stephen is currently Co-Founder and CEO of Synapsify, a content ratings and analytics company. Previously, Stephen was a co-founder of both Kaggle and Fedbid, now a Revolution Growth portfolio company and is well versed in the legal and business aspects of emerging companies and their investors.

Photo of Sara Capra Sara Capra Co-Founder at Orate

Sara is a Co-founder of Orate, focusing on sales and marketing. Orate is an online marketplace that helps event organizers find speakers on any size budget. Some highlights:

– Early stage startup that went through an accelerator during the first quarter of the business’s existence

– Raised a seed round during (and a little after) that time

– Transitioning now from an almost 100% manual process to moving the process online to be automated, piece by piece

Photo of Isabelle Carbonell Isabelle Carbonell Director at Izaca Productions LLC

Isabelle Carbonell, the founder of IzacaProductions LLC, is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who documents social, whimsical, ethnographic, and environmental stories around the world. She has worked with NationalGeographic, taught at Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar, and otherwise carries her two eyes with her on journeys around the world in search for stories and adventure. Currently, she has just finished her first feature “OneHundred Fires/Somos Buzos,” and she is working on her second feature”The Camel Race” for Al-Jazeera Documentary Channel, among other projects.…

Photo of Jon Carcone Jon Carcone Director Of Real Estate Development at 4 Brothers Buy Houses

Originally from Sparta, NJ, Jon went to Wake Forest University in North Carolina and majored in Business. After graduation in 2004 he moved to Arlington, VA and took a sales job with the management consulting company Corporate Executive Board. He started there as an inside sales rep and quickly moved up in the organization into outside sales, then sales management with larger and larger teams.…

Photo of Ali Cherry Ali Cherry Founder & CEO at Snack Packers

Ali is a snack and bicycle aficionado with a passion for discovering connections and helping people find better ways to do things. She is the founder and Snack Curator of Snack Packers, a healthy snack delivery service that improves workplace wellness and productivity. Prior to this venture, she spent eight years developing creative online marketing strategies to help more than thirty social cause organizations attract traffic and acquire engaged supporters.

Photo of Philippe Chetrit Philippe Chetrit Founder at Mobilest

Philippe Chetrit began his career in the film industry as a writer/director in NYC. He soon noticed an opportunity in representing freelance artists in NY and opened a small media development firm. After running his company for 5 years and experiencing fourfold growth, Philippe decided to pursue an MBA at Babson College because of its entrepreneurial reputation.…

Photo of Brian Christie Brian Christie CEO and Chief Innovation Officer at Brainsy, Inc.

Brian is the CEO and Chief Innovation Officer of Brainsy, Inc., a venture backed company that enables organizations and entrepreneurs to create private label expert networks. Prior to that, Brian was VP for Business Alliances at Promontory Interfinancial Network (PIN), where he joined as part of the initial executive team and before the company had a service to offer.…

Photo of Brandon Clark Brandon Clark Founder and Principal Accountant at Balanced Financial Solutions

Brandon Clark is the founder of BFS. He serves as the firm’s Principal Accountant managing all engagements and the day-to-day operations of the firm. He began working as an accountant in public practice in 2008. Brandon has worked for a Big Four multinational accounting firm, a regional accounting firm, and most recently, for BFS’ predecessor firm – John Wall & Associates.…

Photo of Larelle Clarke Larelle Clarke Founder/CEO at Ditch the Wait

I am Larelle Clarke, founder, and CEO of Ditch the Wait. Wife, mom of three, and self-taught entrepreneur of the Lean Startup model. Before starting my business, I worked nearly 15 years as a HUD contractor and DC government Public Housing employee. I am a native Washingtonian, traveler, and foodie. I am a lover of cultural exploration and all things business.…

Photo of Elizabeth Clubb Elizabeth Clubb Founder & CEO @ myFloc

Elizabeth Clubb is the founder and CEO of myFloc™ and is more than a bit obsessed with changing the way we think about aging. An eternal optimist and passionate learner, she is doing her part to create the world in which she wants to live since the best is yet to come.

She has more than 25 years of experience in strategy and innovation and is an avid student of emerging business models and technologies.…

Photo of Michael Cohen Michael Cohen CEO & Co-Founder at Suitless Inc.

Michael is passionate about business, growth, and community issues. He received his undergraduate degree in Sociology from Virginia Tech, after which he began working in HR for MicroStrategy in McLean, VA. Michael then spent some time working for two DC-based technology trade associations. During this time, Michael received a Masters in HR from Marymount University and a Masters in Adult Learning from Virginia Tech.…

Photo of Ross Cohen Ross Cohen VP, Strategy & Analysis at Frontpoint

Frontpoint challenges convention by bringing the world home security it can trust and feel great about. Great service has become a lost art, and we’re here to bring it back to the forefront, where it should be. It’s the reason we’re consistently ranked as the #1 security company in the country. Ross is the senior executive leading the creation of Frontpoint’s new strategy & Analysis function with accountability for building new marketing channels (digital and traditional) and optimizing the full customer acquisition funnel (marketing and sales).

Photo of David Conley David Conley Founder at Limitl.es

Dave Conley is a former AOL tech exec who introduced millions to the internet for the first time. After corporate, he joined the government, and as an entrepreneur, started several companies. After losing 150lbs and rebooting his life, today Dave is an inspirational speaker and author. His new book is about living a kick-ass midlife.

Photo of Richard Crespin Richard Crespin CEO at CollaborateUp

As the CEO of CollaborateUp, Richard works to accelerate collaboration among businesses, governments, and non-profits when they work together to solve big problems. During his career, Richard has worked across the private, public, and civil sectors to co-create high impact solutions to shared problems at lower cost and in less time than traditional approaches. Over the course of his career he has worked with many of the firms in the Fortune 500, the US Department of Defense, the US Agency for International Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, US Chamber of Commerce, and numerous large and small non-governmental organizations.…

Photo of Ali Cudby Ali Cudby Founder and CEO at Fab Foundations

Ali Cudby teaches a proven method to transform the customer culture for retail companies and other businesses that sell primarily to women. With Ali, businesses lay a strong foundation for building the deep relationships customer crave as the antidote to isolation in the modern economy.

The result?

Customers are inspired to buy more often and refer like crazy, while businesses thrive and change customers’ lives.…

Photo of David Curry David Curry President at Sure Optimize

I’m the owner of Sure Optimize, a data analytics company specializing in marketing with data. We help chief marketing officers improve the customer experience, bring in more customers and retain customers using data. I’m a single-owner working with a couple of contractors for implementation. I have a strong background in enterprise software and data systems. I’ve also gained experience in digital marketing through my CTO startup experience and working with marketing organizations in Sure Optimize.…

Photo of Lars Dabney Lars Dabney CEO & Master Sitewright at Lightning Fruit

I’m a former journalist-turned-humanitarian-attorney, and prior to starting Lightning Fruit (a web development company based here in DC), I worked almost exclusively for non-profits and government entities. I started developing websites freelance in college to make some spending money, and stayed on top of it as a hobby over my years of trying to save the world.…

Photo of Steve Dalgetty Steve Dalgetty Owner at An Endless Pursuit Photography

My primary passion is the intersection of art and business. For the past seven years I have run a successful part time fine art wedding photography business, An Endless Pursuit, with my wife, Bernadette. Our dream has always been to take this full time to allow more creative control with our time and a more flexible lifestyle with our children.…

Photo of Bob Daly Bob Daly Owner/Founder at DC Pizza

Bob started and currently owns DCPizza on 19th St. NW.  Previously, he has opened a California Tortilla in Rockville, MD and Chinatown, D.C..  Before that he opened maid services in Roswell, GA, Sterling , VA and Rockville, MD.  Bob graduated from SUNY at Buffalo with an accounting degree and worked for Dreyfus and Lord Abbott, in Manhattan, before becoming an entrepreneur.   …

Photo of Charles de Vilmorin Charles de Vilmorin CEO & Co Founder at Linked Senior, Inc

Charles is the CEO and Co-Founder of Linked Senior, Inc, the first resident engagement solution for the senior housing market. His passion for seniors and the long term care industry started with his relationship with older members of his family and the thesis he wrote while attending Georgetown University: The nursing home institution, a Foucauldiam paradigm.…

Photo of Andrii Demko Andrii Demko CEO at Mobile Cards

Andrii is an enthusiastic, ambitious and goal-oriented entrepreneur with lots of interesting ideas. His core interest is innovation–something that hasn’t been done before. Andrii is currently working on a service that links companies’ POS, CRM or loyalty program with customers via mobile phones without developing an app (mobile wallet technology).

Photo of Fred Dent Fred Dent Principal at Dent Wealth Advisors

Fred Dent, CFA, started Dent Asset Management in 1997. He is a frequent speaker and commentator on financial topics that inspire and educate. For eight years, he was the resident financial analyst on CBS affiliate WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge with his popular and informative segment, “Dollars and Dent.”

Fred earned his bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University.…

Photo of Jack Egle Jack Egle Owner at the Egle Group

Residential Real Estate Professional helping clients to purchase, sell and invest in homes. Extremely knowledgeable on local real estate market and ever-changing financing options available to buyers. Possess a very systematic and proven approach to selling homes for the best possible price in the least amount of time.

Specialties: First Time and Move Up Home Buyers and Sellers

Photo of Eugene Evans Eugene Evans Co-Founder and CEO at Gopop.tv

Eugene Evans is a pioneer of the interactive entertainment industry and is best known as an entrepreneur for his roles at several start-up’s and in large gaming and media companies including Electronic Arts and Viacom. Eugene has extensive knowledge of the global gaming industry having held positions in strategy, business, marketing and product development and activities on almost every emerging platform throughout his career.…

Photo of Sonja Faison Sonja Faison Partner, VP Client Solutions at Linksoft Innovate LLC

Sonja Faison runs business development and marketing for LinksoftInnovate LLC, a boutique IT consulting and software development firm. Aspart of the entire suite of services Linksoft offers its clients, Sonja also taps into her network to connect Linksoft clients with revenue or financing partners. Prior to joining Link soft as part-owner, Sonja has worked in sales and financial analysis capacities in commercial banking, and in business and product development capacities in the internet advertising industry.…

Photo of Lindsay Farris Lindsay Farris CEO at KEOCH

Lindsay is a Maori / Australian actor, writer, musician and entrepreneur with 20+ years in business, film and television. Lindsay’s first entrepreneurial endeavor began as a suicide prevention program he started at 16 in Australia that he subsequently grew into becoming the National Youth Theatre Company of Australia. During this time he maintained a career as a working actor in many theater, film and television roles.…

Photo of Darius Ferdows Darius Ferdows CEO/Founder at MindSquare

Darius has a passion to leave a mark on the world. Focusing on projects that have a social impact. Currently, leading two business under the MindSquare name. First, MindSquare Education is an online tutoring/learning platform which connects students to tutors. The focus is primarily on students with learning disabilities and special needs. MindSquare Health, helps student athletes who may have had a concussion, providing online assessments and connecting them to providers that can help.…

Photo of Ric Fleisher Ric Fleisher COO and Co-Founder at Merlin Mobility

Ric Fleisher has more than 25 years of experience in business development, sales and technology. He has been involved with 8 start-ups. These ventures have included ID verification, networking hardware, speech, streaming video, collaboration, intelligent agents and RFID. He has helped build early stage technology companies in Software, Hardware and Service areas. His current start-up, Urgent.ly, connects people with an urgent or top of mind need to the nearest party that can meet it.…

Photo of Daniel Forrester Daniel Forrester Founder at Thruue

Daniel Patrick Forrester is the Founder and CEO of Thruue. As an author, strategist, and navigator of organizational and cultural change, Daniel regularly challenges leaders to be guided by“big ideas” and act purposefully to realize the intended impact. The drive and ideas behind Thruue come directly from his book, “Consider”, which is informed by decades of reflective thinking and strategy consulting with for-profit and non-profit organizations.

Photo of Carlos Garcia Carlos Garcia President at Eng Garcia Properties

Carlos Garcia is an attorney, real estate investor, salesperson and brokerage owner. Carlos and his wife, Lucinda Eng, manage Eng Garcia Grant & Co (EGGC), a residential and commercial real estate sales team covering Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia and operating under the Keller Williams brokerage umbrella. EGGC has sold over $100,000,000 worth of real estate in each of the last 5 years and is on track to top $150,000,000 in 2017.…

Photo of Jennifer Gillins Jennifer Gillins President at Ambition, LLC

Jenn has 17 years of experience in learning & development, leadership development, organizational development, and leadership coaching. Jenn started her own company, Ambition LLC, in February 2012 and has a vision of growing the company to a small-to-mid-size business. At her previous job, Jenn was a senior manager with a staff of 30 and led (and grew) multi-million dollar projects.

Photo of Jared Gold Jared Gold Founder at Brevity

Jared graduated in 2012 with a BS in Information Systems and Operations Management from George Mason University. Immediately after college, he took a job with a large IT company as a business analyst working on financial ERP software. Jared decided that working all day in database software and a sea of cubicles was not for him and was immediately looking for a way out.…

Photo of Riah Gonzalez Riah Gonzalez Founder & CEO, Linq Consulting Services

I am the Founder & CEO of Linq Consulting Services, a female-focused, Virtual Assistant Matchmaking company.  Linq is designed to help business owners reclaim their time and up-level by building in an “extra set of hands” that high performers are searching for with the help of a Virtual Assistant. By working with an Assistant in the Philippines, our clients are able to find highly skilled help while still keeping the labor cost in check.…

Photo of Emily Goodstein Emily Goodstein Founder & CEO at Greater Good Strategy

Emily P. Goodstein combines her love of digital media with her extensive grassroots organizing background to help clients scale quickly and sustainably. Emily’s work helps organizations fulfill their missions, leveraging a multichannel approach to meld offline and online tools, including social media strategy, web and email outreach, fundraising, user experience consulting, and content marketing. Goodstein brings over 15 years of nonprofit advocacy, fundraising, marketing, and organizing experience to her work.…

Photo of Tyler Gray Tyler Gray Principal at Gray Street Solutions

With 20 years of experience in marketing, sales, and software development, Tyler is known for being at the forefront of emerging communications strategies and tactics. An expert in the lean startup methodology, Tyler’s skill in applying agile development principles to marketing challenges has made him a sought-after partner for businesses seeking to expand their digital presence.…

Photo of Lisa Gurwitch Lisa Gurwitch SVP at Word Learning

Lisa brings two decades of experience in charitable gift planning, fundraising, and philanthropy to her role as senior vice president for institutional Advancement and ExternalRelations at World Learning. In this position, she leads the nonprofit’s efforts to cultivate strategic partnerships with donors, foundations, and corporations through high-impact resource development initiatives. Lisa’s deep connection to WorldLearning stems from her participation in the Experiment in InternationalLiving, with which she travelled to Spain and Mexico as a high school student.…

Photo of Kevin Hailstock Kevin Hailstock Founder and CEO at Insightful Art

Kevin Hailstock is a web entrepreneur twice over and has been self-employed since the age of 23. In 2001, shortly after 9-11 and post “.combubble”, he co-founded Web Emerse, a web development company, and more recently Insightful Art, which makes it easy for everyday people to create digital art pieces online by providing building blocks based on the recipient’s personality.…

Photo of Kurt Hailstock Kurt Hailstock Founder and CEO at My Trainer GPS LLC

Kurt’s core philosophy is that in order to succeed, a business needs a focused mission, an inspiring vision, and a sophisticated strategy articulated in a manner relevant to the entire organization. He emphasizes the importance of working with a clear set of tightly defined objectives, targets, and time lines that are reinforced with clear, consistent, and frequent communication to ensure effective execution.…

Photo of Jason Hanny Jason Hanny Co-Founder and CSO at Pet Connect

My real name is John, but I go by Jason. I am 48 years old, live in Leesburg, I have no kids and miss my dog! I am the youngest of 6 (5 older sisters). Yes, I was spoiled by my father! I was born in Buffalo, NY and love to ski. I come from a long line of restaurateurs and absolutely love to cook.…

Photo of Mike Healy Mike Healy CEO at New Columbia Solar

Mike is a respected visionary leader within the flourishing renewable energy industry. Experienced entrepreneur and business strategist who has played a key role in starting two successful energy companies. He has been instrumental in developing business growth strategies from start-up level to maturity, including originating no less than 30 successful partnerships within the private and public sectors.…

Photo of Craig Hillman Craig Hillman Senior Vice President @ GaitBetter

Dr. Craig Hillman is currently the Senior Vice President of GaitBetter. He previously served as Director of Product Management of New and Emerging Technologies and Director of Software Development for Ansys. Dr. Hillman joined Ansys after a successful acquisition of DfR Solutions in 2019, which he founded and was the CEO. Prior to acquisition, DfR Solutions was recognized as the leader in simulation software for electronics, with over 75% of the Top 50 electronic OEMs as its customers.…

Photo of Jennifer Hong Jennifer Hong Founder & CEO at Clear Chain

Jennifer Hong is a human trafficking (forced labour and sexual exploitation)expert at the U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Her office is responsible for the U.S. government diplomatic and domestic TIP efforts, which include the annual Trafficking in Persons Report publication and President’s Interagency Task Force on TIP. The annual Trafficking in-person report has been hailed as the “gold-standard” of trafficking by governments, media, and civil society.…

Photo of Dennis Hooks Dennis Hooks President at Plynty.com

Dennis is currently the President of Plynty.  Plynty, LLC was founded to address the retirement crisis in America through the use of innovative technologies. We believe that financial advice should be easy to access and understand, and that people should have complete control over the decisions that guide their future. Plynty is a wholly owned subsidiary of AEM Corporation, a diversified services firm based in Herndon, VA.…

Photo of Rebecca Horton Rebecca Horton Founder and Creative Director at Trestles

Rebecca Horton is a designer with a focus on customer experience. Rebecca spent the last six years working with a variety of organizations, large and small, established and just starting up, helping them think about how to delight customers and get new ideas off the ground. In 2013, Rebecca launched a design platform called Trestles with a local friend.…

Photo of Michael Hoy Michael Hoy Co-Founder at MusicBox

Michael is the Co-Founder of MusicBox and owner of online print companyPrintSquares. Michael is also the Head Men’s Varsity Soccer Coach of returning back-to-back State Champions, Green Hope High School. He’s also the Host for Raleigh’s RAW: Natural Born Artists Showcase. When Michael is not working with MusicBox, Green Hope or RAW, he coaches multiple premier travel soccer teams for the North Carolina powerclub CASL.…

Photo of Nelson Irizarry Nelson Irizarry Chief Operating Officer at PayKii

Seasoned business professional with extensive general management, consulting and investment banking experience in financial services in emerging markets. Co-founded – PayKii – a U.S. financial technology provider focused on enabling cross border bill payment. We connect remittance providers and financial institutions with local billers around the world through a single hub enabling individuals living abroad to pay utility bills for their family back home.

Photo of Daven Johnson Daven Johnson Founder & CEO at Ntensify

Daven is the founder of Ntensify, an eCommerce solution that allows mobile gaming companies to profit from merchandise through on-demand manufactured 3D printed collectibles. Ntensify has launched collectible products for the #1 Apple App store game, Deer Hunter, from Glu Mobile(5M+ downloads in 1 week), as well as with the #1 YouTube original channel, Mondo Media (which has over 1.5B video views), in addition to many other brands.…

Photo of Michael Johnson Michael Johnson CEO at Clear Law Institute

Michael Johnson is CEO of Clear Law Institute, which provides (1) Continuing education webinars for lawyers, HR professionals, compliance officers, and accountants, and (2) Online compliance courses and learning games for organizations’ employees. Michael previously co-founded and served as co-CEO of BrightlineCompliance, which provided online courses to more than1.5 million employees of over 600 organizations. Michael sold Brightline to a private equity group in 2007.…

Photo of Sean Jones Sean Jones President at Revolution Payments

Sean Jones was President of Revolution Payments, a full-service payment provider for Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Government (B2G) companies that require a provider who can support the qualifications required for Level-2 and Level-3 Processing. Integrity, hard work and lots of energy have helped Sean become the person he is today. Growing up, Sean turned what many would think of as setbacks into successes, from being poor and homeless into a successful salesman.…

Photo of Scott Kaplan Scott Kaplan Founder at Jerry’s Kitchen

After 12 years in corporate sales leadership I was laid off and started my own business shortly thereafter. Jerry’s Kitchen, a modern-American food truck rolled onto the streets of Philadelphia in August of 2014 serving breakfast and lunch on the corner of 33rd and Arch Streets in University City. The truck would also regularly serve at local festivals and street fairs.…

Photo of Praveen Kathpal Praveen Kathpal CEO at Motor

Praveen Kathpal is CEO of Motor, a fast-growing company that helps electric utility companies accelerate consumer EV adoption. He previously served as VP of New Business at AES Next and as VP of Market Applications at Fluence, a leading energy storage technology and services company. He has served as chair of the Energy Storage Association board of directors.…

Photo of Pierre Kattar Pierre Kattar Owner at Pierre Kattar, LLC

Pierre Kattar is an Emmy Award-winning video journalist and filmmaker. As a backpack journalist, he reports, writes, shoots, edits and produces news videos and documentary films. Based in Washington, D.C., Pierre is available to travel for assignments.

 

Since 1999, Pierre’s work has won numerous awards including two Emmys, a Peabody, Scripps Howard Foundation, Casey Journalism Center and three RTNDA Edward R.…

Photo of Mike Keymer Mike Keymer CEO at Origent Data Sciences

Mike Keymer is an engineer and business leader with broad experience helping small companies grow and thrive. As Manager of the New Ventures practice at Right Start Group, Mike has helped many startups and early-stage companies with strategy, IP, sales and marketing, product development, and financing needs. In 2013, Mike co-founded Topspin Labs, a business incubator focused on helping established companies commercialize their technologies for new markets by founding new startups to pursue those opportunities.…

Photo of David Khim David Khim Co-Founder at Omniscient Digital

David is a co-founder of Omniscient Digital, a premium content marketing agency helping B2B software companies growing organic traffic and leads. He also serves as head of Growth at People.ai, implementing a freemium product-led growth motion to their suite of products, and previously served as a growth product manager and marketer at HubSpot for 6 years, helping them grow the freemium business.…

Photo of Shain Khoja Shain Khoja Founder & CEO @ Thriving.ai

Shainoor Khoja is the founder and CEO of Thrive Community, an innovative, digital platform that keep seniors connected and engaged with their families and caregivers. She also leads Better Business Enterprise, a strategic management consultancy with a focus on utilizing technology for social impact in emerging markets.

Shainoor has spent the past two decades driving social and economic development in critical fields, particularly healthcare and education in some of the world’s most challenging environments.…

Photo of Robert Kinsler Robert Kinsler Founder & CEO at United Fray

Robert Kinsler is the founder and CEO of United Fray and Publisher of District Fray Magazine. As a lifestyle services and media company, Fray is on a mission to Make Fun Possible by creating and sharing fun things to do. Working across social sports, events, and media, Fray builds communities, fosters relationships, and creates value for our members and partners.…

Photo of Allison Kirsch Allison Kirsch Former CEO at FI Consulting

Allison Kirsch is the Chief Operating Officer of FI Consulting. Over the last 6 years, she has played a central role in FI’s growth to more than 50 professionals through the strategic development, coordination, and oversight of the company’s operations, human resources, and finance functions. Allison’s focus on organizational development has allowed for scalable growth while maintaining FI’s core principles.…

Photo of Dorothy Kolb Dorothy Kolb Founder & CEO at dk east associates

Dorothy is an operations and finance executive with over 20 years experience in the sports, media and professional services industries including CBS Sports, FOX Sports, NBC, Scripps Networks and CBS Radio, as well as Deloitte in NYC. She has a BA in Accounting/Economics from Long Island University, and professional certificates in Human Resource Management from Villanova University and Executive Women in Leadership from Cornell University.…

Photo of Peter Korbel Peter Korbel COO at Capital Fringe

Peter is a native of Washington, DC and splits time professionally between his two favorite cities, DC and New York. Peter is COO of the District’s Capital Fringe, a non-profit organization centered on incubating artists in the performing arts. Peter is also Co-Founder and CXO of Blender, an upscale collaborative workspace targeted at established entrepreneurs and small businesses.…

Photo of Michael Lennon Michael Lennon Principal at Adlenn

Michael Lennon is an innovation architect with deep experience assisting large-scale organizations to innovate and transform their systems, their management practices and their staff. A former consultant with IBM, PwCCand the World Bank, he has worked in more than 25 countries. In 2008, Mr.Lennon co-founded Adlenn—a consulting firm specializing in equipping public managers to fulfil their mission by engaging the public in the novel, participatory and performance-driving ways.

Photo of Eric Levitan Eric Levitan Founder & CEO @ Vivo

Eric Levitan is the founder and CEO of Vivo, a digital health and fitness company focused on improving quality of life and independence for people 55 and over. Launched in April 2020, Vivo offers online, live and interactive small-group strength training classes with measured outcomes. Vivo leverages a scientific approach to building strength and function through individualized feedback from a live trainer while also providing social support and building community that drives an average monthly customer retention of 98%.…

Photo of Felix Brandon Lloyd Felix Brandon Lloyd CEO & Co-Founder at Zoobean

Felix Brandon Lloyd is Co-Founder and Chief Dad of Zoobean, provides web services to help libraries and schools better engage families and facilitate reading programs for their communities. In April 2014, Felix and Zoobean Co-Founder Jordan Bookey were featured on the ABC television show “Shark Tank” through which they gained an investment from businessman Mark Cuban.…

Photo of Chad Ludeman Chad Ludeman President at Postgreen Homes

Chad is trying to make Philadelphia a better city through his sustainable and design-centered real estate development company Postgreen Homes. Chad is interested in urban planning, green building, modern architecture/design, community building, and bringing a better quality building for both living and working to the average earners of Philadelphia. Chad is focusing on the urban neighborhoods of Philadelphia surrounding center city and connected by public transit.…

Photo of Rusty Luhring Rusty Luhring President at Luhring SurvivalWare, Inc.

Rusty Luhring is founder and CEO of Luhring SurvivalWare, which was launched in 2002 to fill a need he saw in the small business market. Thisneed was for a tool to help manage cash flow, to plan ahead in good timesand be confident in decision-making, but also to help out in the bad timeswhen survival is at stake.…

Photo of Walker Lunn Walker Lunn Founder and CEO at Grid Waste and Devoured

Walker Lunn is an environmental entrepreneur. He is the Founder and CEO of Grid Waste, an online exchange for waste and recycling services that helps waste generators reduce wastes, cost, and the environmental impact of waste collection logistics. He is the Founder of EnviRelation, LLC (now Devoured), the leading food waste composting service provider in the Washington, DC metro region.…

Photo of Rachan Malhotra Rachan Malhotra Founder at Alive Juices

Rachan’s experience includes 8+ years of programming and 5 years in online advertising. He has worked both for startups and large organizations. AliveJuices isRachan’s first foray into running one. Rachan was inspired to get into the food/health business after his father had a stroke in 2009. Along with his family, he created homemade juices for his father using Ayurvedic guidelines.…

Photo of June Marshall June Marshall Founder at Repperio

June is a business development, strategy and operations consultant to federal contractors in construction and wireless infrastructure. June has an early stage, bootstrapped software product in use by three existing clients. June has a 20-year background spanning financial services, emerging tech, supply chain and international logistics, commercial real estate and development, construction and wireless, with experience in high growth companies as well as Fortune 500.

Photo of Chris Martin Chris Martin Operations Director at Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington

After undergrad I spent four years as a US Air Force officer, then moved into the energy business where I spent 30 years in a range of IT, commercial, financial and public/government affairs roles, obtaining my MBA early in that journey. After retiring I led a Compass Pro Bono consulting project, then joined Samaritan Ministry as Operations Director.…

Photo of Kerrie Martin Kerrie Martin Founder at Live In Rhythm And Holistic Health Coach

As a health coach, Kerrie creates a safe and supportive environment that allows her clients to explore their current symptoms and health challenges and discover alternative approaches to healing. She founded Live in Rhythm with a desire to inspire others to new levels of health and happiness in their life.

Photo of Arjan Mastwijk Arjan Mastwijk Founding Partner at Dutch Label Shop

An engineer by training, worked most of my life in finance and technology (IT Auditing, Banking), and currently running an online fashion label (tag) business. From Amsterdam (The Netherlands) originally, lived in New York from 2006-2014, and now almost 3 years in Philadelphia. I love building and growing my own business. I approach many tasks and challenges with a focus on process and data analysis.…

Photo of Sean McDonald Sean McDonald CEO at FrontlineSMS

Sean Martin McDonald is the CEO of the Social Impact Lab (SIMLab) CIC, the makers of FrontlineSMS and FrontlineCloud. He is the Founder of the Capture the Ocean Project and the FrontlineSMS:Legal Project. Sean joined SIMLab in 2010 and works with organizations all over the world to figure out how to use mobile technologies to increase their social impact.…

Photo of David Mcginty David Mcginty Principal at H14 Developmnt Group

David designs, implements, and advises partners on unique multinational,cross-sector development investments in Africa, the MiddleEast, CentralAsia, South East Asia, and Latin America. He serves his partners (including start-up social enterprises, Fortune 100 executives, global NGOs, and community-based organizations) in the pursuit of innovative approaches to market-led and participatory development. He has worked extensively with multinational consumer products, agricultural, food and beverage, extractive, and pharmaceutical companies.

Photo of Charles McGuire-Wien Charles McGuire-Wien Co-Founder at Good World

Charles grew up in NYC and graduated from Johns Hopkins and BostonUniversity School of Law, where he focused on juvenile justice and public interest. After law school, Charles spent a year in Italy before working for four years as a teacher, coach, and assistant principal at one of DC’s lowest-performing public schools in Anacostia. After teaching, Charles started his own small law practice and helped found a successful legal services corporation for the disabled, where he worked until Co-Founding GoodWorld in July of 2014.…

Photo of Andy Meehan Andy Meehan Founder at Chuffed Inc.

Andy is the owner of Development Solutions Global, the company behind the Christian Inspirations & Papier de Maison greeting card and stationery brands, which generates $2-$3m in annual sales. Andy also has particular expertise in sourcing & producing products in China, with over 15 years of experience.

Andy is a small business enthusiast, who loves helping people connect, learn and grow.…

Photo of Dan Mindus Dan Mindus Founder and Managing Partner at NextGen Venture Partners

Dan is the founder of NextGenAngels, a collection of investors under the age of 40, which aims to be the ‘most entrepreneur-friendly angel group in the world.’ Prior to co-founding NextGen Angels, Dan was InvestmentDirector at CIT Gap Funds. Previously, Dan was Vice President at the New Vantage Group, an early-stage investing company, where he led more than20 investments.…

Photo of Jim Miner Jim Miner Founder at TextStow

Jim loves to build, create, innovate and problem-solve. He has a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Rochester. After undergrad, Jim worked as an Examiner at the US Patent & Trademark Office. While working as an Examiner, Jim attended law school on a part-time basis to earn his JD. Jim has since been in private practice for over

15 years, preparing and prosecuting patent applications, for the most part, in the business methods space.…

Photo of Scott Moran Scott Moran CEO at Go2

GO2 is a full-service growth agency focused on data-driven design and marketing. We work with clients to create and implement strategies that will help their business grow and thrive fast. All of the services offered by GO2 are tailored to fit our clients needs no matter where they are on their journey. I built and developed GO2 from the ground up, basing our methodology around the values of ideas-led, media-neutral, integrated, and multi-disciplinary growth hacking strategies.…

Photo of Jason Morris Jason Morris Owner/Principal at Profit Engine

My background is in tech sales and I spent 20+ years working in reseller channels across the UK and Europe.
After spending a few years in Sales and Marketing consultancy I could see the way digital engagement was changing the buying cycle. Utterly bored with corporate sales I decided to change.

I could see the huge potential in SEO but not how I could apply my existing skills and experience.…

Photo of Marvin Muhumuza Marvin Muhumuza Founder

Born and raised in Uganda and USA. Studied Accounting Information system and graduated with an MBA from Johns Hopkins University.

I keep a day job as an Information Security and Systems Auditor supporting public and private organization clients within the USA and overseas.

3 years ago, embarked on Real Estate business and we are on our second property which is a multi-unit building that has just been remodeled to market as a boutique style short term rental to corporate and professional clients.…

Photo of Demond Mullen Demond Mullen Owner at Streetside BBQ

Demond is a husband and father with a background in business process improvement. He has always wanted to work for himself and do something he loves to do. Demond enjoys cooking, so he decided to start a business that pertains to bbq, Streetside BBQ.

Before launching Streetside BBQ, Demond has a proven track record and thirteen plus years in the area of supply chain management, logistics, transportation and process improvement across a variety of businesses including, but not limited to, health care services, utilities, power, information technology and services and the chemical industry.…

Photo of Asaf Nagler Asaf Nagler Co-Founder at Solar Retina

I am a DC native and Co-founder of SolarRetina. Our company uses solar data, crowd-sourced from solar citizens, to provide needed intelligence and analysis to electric utilities, grid planners, and grid operators. Aside from our own special algorithms and analytical capabilities, part of what makes us unique is that we provide a mechanism for citizens to perform a small act (sharing their solar data) that, in aggregate, can have a significant impact on moving the needle on solar.…

Photo of Jason Nellis Jason Nellis Founder at Overachiever Media

Jason Nellis is the founder of Overachiever Media, a small firm dedicated to online video and social media marketing. Jason previously worked on theDigital Distribution team at PBS and was also Communications Lead atFosterly. Prior to PBS, Jason worked on both technology and content teams at Hulu. Jason earned his BA from Northwestern University.

Photo of Hector Ocasio Hector Ocasio Chief Executive Officer at Pet Connect™

Hector has worked with hospitality technology for over 17 years and is currently a Director of Product Strategy with Oracle. Simultaneously, Hector has co-founded Pet Connect, a platform that addresses the core needs of pet ownership, while providing proactive relationship marketing, community engagement, and e-commerce by connecting the Buyers and Sellers of the pet community.

Photo of Christopher Owens Christopher Owens Founder & CEO at LincSphere

Chris is a solo founder of a tech startup (though he does have a friend ready to come on as CTO once he is funded). The company was incorporated in 2013and has been running a beta in a web app version for the last few years.LincSphere then brought on two technology companies as equity partners-one of them is an app development company which opened the doors for their mobile pivot.…

Photo of Dave Patrick Dave Patrick VP Sales and Enterprise Solutions at The David Allen Company

Dave is currently VP of Sales and Enterprise Solutions at The David AllenCompany, accountable for top-line growth and enhancing operating and financial performance within the B2B business. Dave is an entrepreneurial executive with a startup (software, training, sales, professional services) and sales management and consulting experience and a proven background in organizational change and HR capital management.…

Photo of Michael Penny Michael Penny President at Savvy Rest

I spent the first 20 years of my life at Kripalu Center, a not for profit yoga center in Massachusetts. I was basically a renunciate most of that time, receiving an allowance but no income. Re-emerging into the working world in 1996 was very challenging with two young children. Work got as hard as delivering newspapers for awhile; but over time with love and support from friends and family, I was able to start an organic mattress company which has been flourishing for the past 10 years.…

Photo of Dale Pfeifer Dale Pfeifer CEO & Founder at Goodworld

An expert in leadership, communications and social media, Dale Nirvani founded Good World after seeing a need for giving to become a more meaningful experience for the giver. Before founding Good World, Dale worked extensively with nonprofits, corporations and foundations across the United States and in her native New Zealand to help them deliver cutting-edge programs and campaigns to help strengthen them internally and as effective agents of change.

Photo of Nakapan Phungephorn Nakapan Phungephorn Founder and Master Instructor at BETA Academy

Nakapan is the Founder and Head Instructor of the Academy for Body Efficient Tactical Arts [BETA Academy]. A life-long martial artist he has over 25 years of experience training, teaching, and competing in the arts. He established BETA Academy in 2009, and today the school has become Washington DC’s premiere source for professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu- Jitsu instruction in the Nations Capitol.…

Photo of Matt Piekarczyk Matt Piekarczyk Founder & President at Cortix System

Matt has been a serial entre(and intra)preneursince high school. He founded two companies, the most current one being an enterprise data integration platform. He founded numerous internal industry projects, such as one of Army’s first modern analytics platform, and he has led a number of bigger efforts as well, such as the network operations suite of solutions covering the entire tactical U.S.…

Photo of Rob Pierson Rob Pierson Founder and Principal Consultant at Piercing Digital

Rob Pierson is a growth-marketing specialist with a proven record in product optimization and marketing strategy development and implementation. He was the Chief of Staff at Trustify, a company that lets you hire a private investigator, on demand, in small and inexpensive blocks of time to do surveillance on anyone or anything. Rob served as the former head of marketing for Bellhops, which he led from seed to Series A ($6MM).…

Photo of Cosmina Popa Cosmina Popa Co-Founder at Conscious Venture Lab

Cosminais a business development expert and devoted entrepreneur-at-life whose experience is firmly rooted in the technology and sustainability sectors. She is passionate about transformative entrepreneurship as an avenue for international development and is pursuing that driving interest from one thrilling opportunity to another. She fell in love with coaching and leadership development while doing sustainable business consulting at the Centre for Synchronous Leadership in London.…

Photo of Peter Porretta Peter Porretta Principal Architect at Lighthouse Architecture

Peter J. Porretta, principal architect, brings a unique sensibility to architectural design. Growing up in the family construction business, he learned to appreciate the full scope of talents needed to execute an architectural concept through the challenges of the construction process to completion.

His design philosophy derives from that of the Roman architect Vitruvius, who famously wrote that a building should have “firmness, commodity, and delight.” A building should perform; it should provide a return on investment; and it should be a pleasure to view and to occupy.…

Photo of Adrienne Prentice Adrienne Prentice Founder at MotherNation

Adrienne is Co-Founder & CEO of MotherNation, a social support and advocacy community for Mothers. Prior to founding MotherNation shortly after the birth of her daughter, Adrienne spent years in the legal, management, talent development and coaching space. She began her career in private practice as a corporate attorney at Pillsbury later specializing in technology transactions at Cooley.…

Photo of Ann Quinn Ann Quinn Principal at Quinn Strategy Group

Ann Quinn has spent more than two decades advising privately held companies, nonprofits and family foundations that are facing the challenges of developing and implementing an organizational strategy, building organizational capacity, delivering mission and services or facing a funding event.

Ann brings real-world experience and a pragmatic process to guide organizations as they understand where they are, where they want to go and how to get there.…

Photo of Russ Rands Russ Rands Founder at Prolego

Russ Rands is an innovation leader applying more than 13 years of innovation and strategic business consulting experience at Fortune 1000 organizations, with particular emphasis on developing growth strategies that leverage open innovation models, including grand challenges, kickstarts, accelerators, lean startup, design thinking and co-creation opportunities.

Photo of Ranjith Reddy Ranjith Reddy Founder/CEO at LobbyHop

While working full time as an IT consultant, Ranjith moonlights as a part-time entrepreneur. Ranjith previously helped found two businesses and recently started an Indian meal delivery service called FlyingCurry. While trying to streamline FlyingCurry, Ranjith started to optimize delivery and discovered an opportunity to simplify the way food is ordered and delivered. Ranjith’s latest delivery venture is LobbyHop, which has a mission to ‘enable little freedoms’ for its customers.…

Photo of Victor Reinoso Victor Reinoso Founder at Hopscotch Ventures

Victor incubated Decision Science at the NewSchools Venture Fund, where he was Entrepreneur-in-Residence. Victor was formerly Senior Advisor on Innovation to the President of Georgetown University and Deputy Mayor of the District of Columbia, where he oversaw the city’s $1+ billion education budget and helped put in place many reforms. Victor was also previously an elected member of the D.C.…

Photo of Lygeia Ricciardi Lygeia Ricciardi President at Clear Voice Consulting

I like making things. In the last 15+ years, I’ve played a significant role in building and leading a movement to engage patients and consumers more fully in their health and healthcare through digital technology. Perhaps your doctor’s office or health plan has recently added a “patient portal”? Or maybe you track your activity through a Fitbit or another digital device?…

Photo of Haley Richers Haley Richers Owner at Haus Yoga Studio

Haley got her start in DC on Capitol Hill working for two Members of Congress. During her time on the Hill, she discovered her passion for yoga and the practice. After completing her 200hr yoga teacher training, Haley left the Hill to teach yoga and work for Vegetable and Butcher as their Community Manager. She worked to build out and manage V+B event based marketing and Brand Ambassador program.…

Photo of Matt Rogish Matt Rogish Co-Founder at Kimball

As Co-Founder/CEO of Kimball, Matt is running sales, product management, customer service, and anything not software development. In March 2019, he successfully closed the sale of ReactiveOps to a prominent Boston-based private equity firm, and exited as Founder/CEO. ReactiveOps does two things: DevOps consulting and outsourced operations, where they act as their client’s “outsourced, in-house” ops team.…

Photo of Aaron Rosenthal Aaron Rosenthal CEO/Founder at Golfswell

Aaron Rosenthal is the founder and chief executive of Golfswell, LLC. With a passion for golf and business, Aaron left his career in public service to serve the game of golf. Golfswell is a technology company tackling golf’s biggest problem: the amount of time it takes to play. Golfswell provides traffic management software to golf courses to speed up play and saves players and courses time and money.…

Photo of Ben Sands Ben Sands Founder at Sands Leadership

Ben graduated from Duke in 2000 with a degree in Public Policy Studies. At the advice of a much-respected professor, following college graduation, Ben went on to Harvard’s “Radcliffe Publishing Course”-to pursue his love for writing and reading. Since then, Ben has worked as a Web Developer, Professional Ski Instructor, Sales Executive, and Consultant to Fortune 500CFOs.…

Photo of Sam Scaffidi Sam Scaffidi Founder at Project Sweat

Samantha (Sam) Scaffidi is the founder of Project Sweat, a community of fitness enthusiasts, athletes, and like-minded individuals seeking more in the relentless pursuit of reaching their potential — more sweat, more change, more progress, & more connection. Sam is also a Senior Instructor at SoulCycle in NYC. She graduated from Towson University with her B.S.…

Photo of Jessica Schnabel Jessica Schnabel Founder/Creative Director at BloodMilk Jewels

Jessica Schnabel was born near the sea in New York and moved to Philadelphia as a young adult, where her business, BloodMilk, is currently based. Having graduated with an MFA in creative writing from the New School in 2007, Jess pivoted into designing jewelry accidentally after an unexpected loss as a method of coping. Her work seeks to both inspire others, as well as to soothe their own grief through thoughtful design as well as story-telling.…

Photo of Mitsi Sellers Mitsi Sellers President and Chief Believer at Great Goods LLC

Mitsi Sellers is an international development specialist with nine years of experience driving business growth and social impact across fifteen countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Mitsi is principal and founder at Effect LLC, which offers business and NGO clients growth strategies and efficiency gains through new business development, strategic partnerships and stakeholder engagement. She is a certified partnership broker and associate of The Partnering Initiative, a specialist program of the international Business Leader’s Forum based in the UK.

Photo of Shannon Sentman Shannon Sentman CEO at SOL VISTA

Shannon D. Sentmanis a nationally recognized expert in the field of high-performance, green buildings. As a founder and principal at SOL VISTA, he applies this expertise to assist real estate owners and users with preparing and implementing plans that enhance asset value through high-performance initiatives and onsite renewable energy generation. Before co-founding SOL VISTA, Mr Sentman worked as an attorney, federal lobbyist, and strategic consultant with the national law firm Holland &Knight, where he built a successful practice counselling private and public clients on sustainability-related matters.…

Photo of Neil Shah Neil Shah CEO at ThinkNimble

Aspire helps companies build better workplaces by providing customized incentives for employees. Our technology assesses individual employee workplace needs and designs creative benefits and incentive packages around them. Ultimately, we strive to combat employee turnover by creating engaging and personalized workplaces.

Photo of Semil Shah Semil Shah Chief Marketer at Shrushti Digital Marketing

I am Semil, swimming in the SEO sea since 2005. I moved to Canada in 2019 from India. Begun my career in affiliate marketing then moved to client facing the agency and now most of the work I do as a white label for agencies based in the US & UK. I also worked as a consultant and have a very good experience with work large SEO and development teams.…

Photo of Ammar Shallal Ammar Shallal Growth and Development at Eleven Eleven PR

I’m Ammar, which means builder in Arabic. It’s fitting because I love building things. From a burger rating app to a summer internship program for college students I’ve built lots of things over the past 20 years. I’m currently a number 2 in a public relations firm. I have helped us transition from freelancer to boutique agency.…

Photo of Masha Sharma Masha Sharma Co-Founder at RealAtom

Masha Sharma has 20 years of professional experience. She has co-founded and is currently serving as the Chief Technology Officer of RealAtom, a modern, all-in-one loan management SaaS platform designed specifically for $3B commercial real estate lending industry. She is a member of the Forbes Technology Council where she shares her expertise in information technology, product development, and startups.…

Photo of Jana Sharp Jana Sharp Founder/Principal at Sharp Insight, LLC

Jana Sharp is the founder and principal of Sharp Insight, LLC, a strategic consulting firm devoted to supporting mission-driven organizations in measuring and strengthening their impact. She is responsible for the vision and management of Sharp Insight and providing each engagement with strategic and content oversight. Jana is well regarded by her clients for her collaborative work style, deep knowledge of evaluation theory and practice, interactive facilitation, and her personal investment in their organizations.…

Photo of Patrick Sheridan Patrick Sheridan Co-Founder at Modus Create, Inc

Co-founder and CEO of Modus Create, Inc., a digital consultancy that provides enterprise training and mobile product development for clients such as Ogilvy PR Worldwide, Bloomberg, NBC/Universal, Time, Inc., Level3, Intuit, and many others. Patrick has over 15 years of entrepreneurial and consulting experience leading new product development engagements for early-stage companies and technology-enabled enterprises.

Photo of David Simnick David Simnick CEO & Co-Founder at Soapbox

Dave Simnick is the co-founder and CEO of SoapBox Soaps, a company with a mission to empower customers with the ability to change the world through everyday, quality purchases. SoapBox products are currently shelved in hundreds of stores across the United States and beyond. As an Eagle Scout, Dave’s dream was to found for-profit companies with a social mission at their core.…

Photo of Rob Sokol Rob Sokol COO at Washington National Cathedral

Rob Sokol graduated from the Seattle University Matteo Ricci college with majors in pre-law and International Relations, specializing in economics and Chinese. He moved to China for two years to learn the language. While there, he managed Fosters Beer for the city of Nanjing and developed new business relationships across the province. From China, Mr. Sokol moved to Washington, DC, where he began working at the Library of Congress as the creative director for the Librarian.…

Photo of Faton Sopa Faton Sopa Co-Founder/CEO at Manaferra

I’m Faton Sopa, the Co-founder/CEO of Manaferra, an SEO Agency for Education.

I have started my career in 2005 as self-taught developer and then I gradually moved to SEO as part of the agency we founded along with my partner (Granit Doshlaku) in 2014. I do have a marketing education background (BA and MA), and Digital Marketing is a field where I connected the dots between my technical abilities and marketing education.…

Photo of Jamey Stowell Jamey Stowell Chief Learning Officer

Jamey is an executive leadership coach and seasoned learning and development professional with 25 years of experience.  His coaching clients include leaders in nonprofit organizations, the federal government, corporate and start-up environments, and graduate students in Executive MBA and Public Policy programs. Jamey is an ICF Professional Certified Coach, a Certified Professional Co-active Coach, and an advanced facilitator in the Interpersonal Dynamics program at Stanford GSB.…

Photo of Justin Sullivan Justin Sullivan President at Impact Construction and Consulting, LLC

Justin Sullivan has over 20 years of experience in the construction industry as a tradesman, cost estimator, consultant, and business owner. This ground-up experience has enabled him to successfully execute projects of diverse sizes and backgrounds – from small residential renovations to large-scale government facility endeavors. He has worked with clients including the US National Park Service and the Department of Homeland Security, where he played a critical role in establishing new strategies to improve and manage the environmental and economic performance of their facilities and building Finding a lack of qualified ‘green’ and customer-oriented builders and consultants in the marketplace, Justin founded Impact Construction and Consulting, LLC.…

Photo of Swatee Surve Swatee Surve Founder & CEO @ Litesprite

Swatee Surve, Litesprite Founder & CEO, is a pioneer in the field of Health Entertainment and has led the development and launch of disruptive technology-based healthcare businesses for Microsoft, Nike, T-Mobile, Premera Blue Cross and Eastman Kodak. These commercialization projects led to several patents including Nike’s first wearable technology patents. She is one of Puget Sound Business Journal’s Innovators of the Year and is recognized as an international healthcare leader by organizations such as the U.S.…

Photo of Laura Taylor Laura Taylor Founder & President at Gaia Group PR

Laura Taylor is an expert communications strategist and founder of GaiaGroup PR. Laura and her firm specialize in assisting organizations, from publicly traded companies to non-governmental organizations, develop award-winning and effective communications programs. Laura is a seasoned executive with over 15 years of experience in communications with profitable businesses and global agencies, having managed programs, teams, and budgets for brands such as Sprint Nextel, General Electric and more.…

Photo of Eric Tobias Eric Tobias Founder at TobiasCounsel, PLLC

Eric Tobias is founder and principal of a soon to be launched boutique law firm, TobiasCounsel, PLLC. As both in-house and outside counsel, Eric has drafted and negotiated complex technology transactions including those involving cloud services, SaaS, reseller/OEM and distribution relationships, technology development, university tech transfer, manufacturing, outsourcing, joint ventures. Eric has spent almost his entire legal career serving emerging growth companies, many of whom are at the intersection of media and technology or offer products or services to large, risk-averse or highly regulated customers in media, healthcare or financial services.…

Photo of Anuraag Tripathi Anuraag Tripathi CEO & Founder @ Manifest

Manifest is Anuraag’s third startup and second in the 401(k) industry. He became passionate about helping people save for retirement, while helping restructure IL’s pension liabilities. Over the last three years, Manifest has transferred $500M+ in assets and is now building the pipes between the providers.

Photo of Bill Uniowski Bill Uniowski Cofounder & COO @ Zinnia

Bill Uniowski is a co-founder and COO of Zinnia, a therapeutic support platform for dementia care. Prior to founding Zinnia, Bill held a variety of strategy and operations roles at various media technology startups. He was CEO of The Cube, a leader in live-streaming video focused on the youth sports market, which was sold to Tribune Publishing.…

Photo of Ariane Valle Ariane Valle Co-Founder at Vegetable and Butcher

I am one of the Co-Founders of Vegetable and Butcher (“V+B” for short). V+B is a DC-based early stage food-tech startup, empowering on-the-go professionals to reach peak mental and physical performance.  We provide genuinely healthy food that nourishes and fuels the mind & body. Life gets busy. We make food simple. Prior to co-founding V+B, I spent time with Sweetgreen and Knightsbridge Restaurant Group, most widely known for Rasika, 701 and Bibiana.…

Photo of Daphney Vick Daphney Vick Founder @ Carefluent

Daphney Vick is the visionary Founder & CEO of Carefluent, a groundbreaking startup that is revolutionizing in-home care with a focus on cultural competence. Recognizing the profound impact of cultural, social, and linguistic compatibility, Daphney established Carefluent to address the critical need for suitable matches and meticulous matching criteria in caregiving. Motivated by her personal journey of seeking quality care for her father, she remains steadfast in her commitment to removing barriers to access and creating better outcomes and experiences for both care recipients and caregivers.…

Photo of Sean Virgile Sean Virgile Co-Founder at Diagnostic anSERS, Inc.

Co-founded a spectroscopy & nanotech company to commercialize SERS sensing technology from the University of Maryland that was acquired by Metrohm Raman in December 2017. As the co-founder focused on analysis, design, market research, and business development, was instrumental in:

  • cultivating partnerships and relationships to develop a thorough understanding of the competitive landscape;
  • acquiring over $500k in grants, including an NSF Phase I SBIR and Maryland Innovation Initiative Phase III;
  • prosecuting the patent and developing robust intellectual property defenses through trade secrets and contracts;
  • acquiring and using market research to guide corporate strategy;
  • pivoting the company from defense to biotech to forensics through literature analysis & primary market research;
  • drafting corporate agreements, sales contracts, and licensing deals, including use by police for fentanyl & heroin detection;
  • and negotiating and finalizing the details of the M&A agreement with Metrohm Raman.
Photo of Lisa Vogt Lisa Vogt Executive Coach and Business Strategist at Even Better Coaching and Consulting

Lisa Conners Vogt ACC, CPC is Founder and Principal at Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. She is an Executive Coach and Business Strategist who partners with entrepreneurial leaders to elevate all aspects of their lives. She works with private clients and with organizations to create and facilitate leadership development through group and individual coaching sessions. Her 30+ year career as a leader with financial, non-profit, federal consulting and telecom organizations, and many years as an entrepreneur, position her to address a wide variety of organizational and career challenges.…

Photo of Anu Vora Anu Vora CEO at PayTile

My name is Anu Vora, and I’m originally from Cincinnati, OH. I moved to Philly in January of 2019 and am working to grow my team at AdmitAlly, an Education Tech company that I’ve been building since January of 2018. We help high school students connect with current undergrads for 1-on-1 mentorship in the college application process.…

Photo of Pranav Vora Pranav Vora Founder & CEO at Hugh & Crye

Pranav was born and raised in the Midwest and misses it every now and then. As Founder + CEO of Hugh & Crye (a Washington, DC based online retailer of men’s shirting) he turned concept to launch and is behind the character, direction and growth that is Hugh & Crye. Recently profitable, Hugh & Crye has drawn the attention of premier press such as GQ, Forbes, and the Washington Post.…

Photo of Ryan Walderman Ryan Walderman Vice President and Co-Founder at Lescault & Walderman

Ryan is a co-founder of Lescault & Walderman, Inc. (LWI), a consulting firm providing bookkeeping, virtual CFO, and consulting services to law firms, non-profits, government contractors, construction firms, restaurants, and general professional services. Ryan started LWI in 2006 as a student at the University of Maryland. In its early years, the business experienced typical growing pains, but eventually settled into a model centered on attracting talented staff in a low overhead/virtual workforce environment.…

Photo of John Wall John Wall Cofounder @ Miicare

John started his own tech venture at the age of 13 designing, manufacturing, and programming products and wearables and as an electronics consultant. He co-founded MiiCare with Founder Kelvin Summoogum at age 18 and simultaneously went on to get his degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University in Silicon Valley before staying with MiiCare full-time as Head of Engineering.…

Photo of Martin Weinberg Martin Weinberg Founder at MarketGenesis

I am the founder of MarketGenesis, a B2B marketing agency that provides growing companies a full-service mix of strategy, tactics, and production. As a pioneer in B2B digital marketing, I created award-winning vision, strategies, and tactics for brands such as Comcast, Ricoh, Reed Business, uPenn, Campbell’s, Heartland Payment Systems, and Smiths Group, as well as many early-stage startups.…

Photo of Enlai Weng Enlai Weng Vice President of Client Services at 5AM Solutions

Enlai is an experienced Customer Success Manager with over 15 years of experience in driving customer loyalty, being a customer advocate, and exceeding customer expectations. Essentially making customers happy! The first and most important step in this is developing a deeply trusting relationship with your customers. Enlai has proven his ability to do so, by being able to expand inside sales for his own companies at Talent Insight(0-4k in monthly recurring revenue) and Enterprise Strategy Corporation(240K to 1.75 million annually), and in his management consulting roles(generated over 4 million inside sales).

Photo of Melinda Wittstock Melinda Wittstock Founder & CEO at Verifeed

Melinda Wittstock is Founder and CEO of Verifeed, a mobile and social platform for real-time vetting and validation of original crowd-reported content and social media posts. Verifeed helps brands, campaigns and media attract and retain targeted, committed consumers around relevant, trustworthy, interactive content. Melinda is a serial entrepreneur, award-winning journalist and executive, her award-winning career spanning BBC, ABC, CNBC, Times of London and more.…

Photo of Kathleen Wolff Kathleen Wolff Owner at EveryStep Productions, LLC

Kathleen Wolff is a communications and management consultant with 25+ years’ leadership in business strategy, broadcast journalism, filmmaking, and multi-media production for private industry, non-profit associations, and media organizations. Earlier in her career, Kathleen worked as a television news correspondent and anchor at ABC News, Fox News Channel and WABC-TV in New York City. She has also been a contributor to broadcast news segments on CBS News 60 Minutes and National Geographic Explorer.…

Photo of Rahama Wright Rahama Wright Founder & CEO at Shea Yeleen

Rahama Wright is the Founder and CEO of Shea Yeleen Health and Beauty a social impact company she created after serving in the Peace Corps. The DC-based enterprise develops shea butter creams, balms, and soaps that create living wage jobs for women in Ghana. Her entrepreneurial journey spans bootstrapping to securing her first round of venture capital investment from Ron Lauder and Dick Parsons, and landing deals with Whole Foods Markets & MGM Resorts International.…