Philly Tech Week 2018

Kathryn is VP of Marketing at La Colombe Coffee Roasters. She drives marketing and communications efforts for one of the leading independent coffee roasters and ready-to-drink companies in the US. With a knack and a passion for positioning brands at the intersection of aspirational lifestyle and functional, Kathryn works to build brand awareness and promote La Colombe’s products and services to consumers through retail, e-commerce, cafe, and hospitality channels. Kathryn came to La Colombe from her position as Director of Marketing for Free People, a boutique women’s fashion brand and part of Urban Outfitters, Inc. An intuitive understanding of people and their behavior helps Kathryn accomplish her ultimate goal: connecting more people with great product.

Rebecca Etter is the Senior Manager of Innovation at Acelerada, a division of Bimbo Bakeries USA, where she is designing an innovation roadmap in the bread & baked goods categories. Rebecca’s innovation experience extends into the snack and wine categories, where she worked in ideation and commercialization at KRAVE Pure Foods/The Hershey Company and Diageo.

Prior to traditional roles in innovation Rebecca spent several years on the agency side (Raison Pure, Interbrand and Landor Associates) supporting strategic development for her clients; and three years at Conde Nast Publications as a travel and photo editor for Cookie Magazine.

Rebecca has a B.A in Communications from the University of Arizona and a Masters of Professional Studies in Branding from the School of the Visual Arts in New York.

Brett Topche is the co-founder and Managing Director of Red & Blue Ventures, where he makes seed and early stage investments in technology companies from the University of Pennsylvania ecosystem. He has spent much of his career primarily focusing on investments in ecommerce, digital media, mobile applications, marketing technologies and B2B software. Prior to co-founding Red & Blue, he spent more than nine years at MentorTech Ventures, which had a similar focus. He represents Red & Blue on the Board of AptDeco and as an observer at Burrow. He has also served or observed on a number of other startup Boards, including Wanderfly (acquired by TripAdvisor), Cloudmine, PayPerks, goTenna, Curalate, Quad Learning, SeniorHomes.com (acquired by Bankrate) and TicketLeap (acquired by Patron Technology).

Prior to joining MentorTech, Brett was a member of the Fund Investments Team at Hamilton Lane Advisors, a fund-of-funds manager and private equity investment consultant. In this capacity, he evaluated private equity funds across a broad spectrum of stages and strategies on behalf of both discretionary and non-discretionary clients. During his time at Hamilton Lane, Brett reviewed more than 100 funds, including venture capital, mezzanine, buyout and real estate funds. Based in part on reports he drafted, more than $1 billion was invested into these funds.

Prior to working for Hamilton Lane, Brett spent more than four years as an Associate with NJTC Venture Fund, where he focused on investments in early-stage companies in the software, Internet and communications sectors. His responsibilities included deal flow generation, initial company reviews, performing due diligence on potential investments, participating in deal structuring, reviewing legal documentation and working with companies post-investment, occasionally as an Observer on Boards of Directors.

Brett is a magna cum laude graduate of the Wharton School, with a B.S. in Economics, with concentrations in Finance and Legal Studies and a Political Science minor from the College and Arts and Sciences.

Valeisha Butterfield-Jones is the Global Head of Women and Black Engagement for Google and the co­founder and CEO of the Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network (WEEN).

A well-rounded business leader, Valeisha has a deep passion for diversity and inclusion. The evidence is in her portfolio of work, spanning two decades of driving social responsibility campaigns and community engagement programs for corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

Valeisha’s accomplishments have been recognized by Forbes, Glamour, Marie Claire, and Essence.

Valeisha is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University and a North Carolina native, but now splits time between New York City and Los Angeles. She’s married and the mother of two sons.

Jon Biedermann, VP of Fundraising Solutions for SofterWare, has served the nonprofit community for over 22 years. In 2001, he launched the online version DonorPerfect, which pioneered SaaS (Software as a Service) fundraising solutions for nonprofit organizations. In 2006, he helped form the Fundraising Effectiveness Project and in 2012, he spearheaded the formation of the Growth in Giving Initiative with AFP and the Urban Institute. He has conducted dozens of sessions about nonprofit technology both in the US and Internationally. Jon currently sits on the boards of several youth-oriented charities and serves as a board member for both the The Giving Institute and The Giving USA Foundation.

Thomas Jay Rush is the founder of QuickBlocks.io, a blockchain focused consultancy and software company delivering account-specific, articulated data from the Ethereum blockchain. Mr. Rush is also the founder of the Philadelphia Ethereum Meetup group. Prior to founding QuickBlocks.io, Mr. Rush served as President and CEO of Great Hill Corporation, an Internet-based software vendor first started in 1994. A practicing poet, Mr. Rush speaks and writes widely about the blockchain and its implications.

Allison Hossack is Principal of Research and Strategy at Think Company. In her role, she ensures the successful execution of research to discover insights about user needs that inspire creative and effective solutions to enhance user experience. As a hands-on leader and problem solver, she savors big challenges and opportunities. Her user research has supported strategic initiatives, digital roadmaps, and product prioritization for companies spanning finance, energy, media, and healthcare including Johnson & Johnson, Transamerica, and Wharton University.

Erin Janklow is the Founder and CEO of Entrada: Employer Sponsored Learning. A social entrepreneur with a curious and compassionate disposition, Erin developed Entrada to create an equitable and sustainable way to improve workers' lives. Entrada is a tech company that teaches service workers English as they work in only 100 days, using our scientifically designed TalkBack Method. Our product empowers service workers for success in the workplace and in their communities in only 30 minutes a day. Erin is fluent in Italian and advanced in Spanish and learned both languages in her twenties.

Erin is a Halcyon Fellow, holds an MBA in Social Entrepreneurship from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College, and a BA from Northwestern University. Her first entrepreneurial venture was teaching English as a Second Language, followed by 3 years working in sustainability and hospitality while at TripAdvisor. She is CELTA certified, facilitates energy work, and loves hiking, ancient history, and swing dancing.