Philly Tech Week 2018

The Founder + CEO of Digitability, she launched a new model that fully prepares people with cognitive disabilities for our tech-driven and highly social workforce. Digitability develops a sense of empowerment and the ability to persevere; this is helping people with neurodiverse needs overcome existing social and attitudinal barriers to obtaining and sustaining employment.

Scott Vinkle is a Canadian front end developer and accessibility advocate living in Canada. He spends his days assessing, consulting, and fixing accessibility issues on all the things at Shopify. Find out what else Scott is up to at svinkle.me.

Russ Kliman is an innovator, design leader, and evangelist for creativity and challenging mental models at SEI. Russ’ focus is to lead various programs and having direct strategic impact across all of SEI’s markets globally. In addition to leading various strategic programs, Russ is also the Head of SEI’s Global Innovation Program. In his strategic role, Russ engages with SEI’s business units to help creatively solve business challenges or explore new business opportunities. As the Global Innovation Program leader, Russ champions engaging SEI’s global community of employees in adopting design thinking, user-centered design principles, and creative and problem-solving facilitation techniques. Throughout Russ’ career, he has led product design, technology, and innovation strategies for businesses ranging from start-ups to billion-dollar enterprises. At various stages of his 16-year tenure with SEI, he has led various strategic initiatives from new business marketing and business development, to product design and technology leadership. Russ has held previous positions at Aetna, CIGNA, Advanta, Fleet Bank, as well as internet startups CDNOW and eSchoolMall. Russ holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems Design from Drexel University, located in Philadelphia, PA.

Since joining Comcast’s Technology & Product (T+P) Team in 2014, Fraser has been on the fast track to success – not only because of his broad and deep knowledge, but also because he is a catalyst for change. His collaborative approach, business acumen and innovative solutions drive important strategies that continue to evolve Comcast from a fast follower to an industry leader in the technology and innovation space. Fraser’s impact to our company has been swift and significant. He has quickly become an integral part of the T+P leadership team and a proven player for Comcast internationally. He has facilitated and fostered important relationships for Comcast and is highly regarded in the company and across the vendor community from OEM’s, SOC and WiFi partners. He is an influential and charismatic leader whose personality can charm and disarm; enabling him to build teams across functional boundaries. As Senior Vice President, Product and Technology, Devices Fraser is responsible for executing on our overall hardware development for all premise devices with a mission of improving new product service velocity, product differentiation and cost management. Fraser is a domain expert in high volume, device deployment, and manufacturing. Since joining Comcast, Fraser conceptualized and led the effort to transform Comcast device Industrial Design standards, putting focus on the product. He has been integral to reimagining the industrial design of Comcast devices helping the consumer see the Product as more than just another piece of technology in the home. He and his team launched the first voice controlled remote control improving functionality and providing accessibility capability that did not exist before. Fraser & Co. have also revamped the device product portfolio delivering a set of superior devices while driving cost down and quality up. Presently Fraser leads the company–wide effort to move to all IP, allowing customers to stream video over WiFi in their homes. Through his leadership and contributions, Fraser is making a lasting mark on Comcast and the broader Cable and Telecommunications industry. Fraser has broad leadership experience. Before joining Comcast he led the OnCue Hardware and Software Engineering team at Intel Media. Prior to that Fraser served as Director of Product for Intel Media and previously held various roles at BSkyB, including Head of Hardware, Planning and Design; Head of Emerging Product Strategy; and Design Manager, among other positions.

Jennifer Baker is an entrepreneur and executive producer who recently joined WRG, a part of The Creative Engagement Group as the Operations Director for the US. With nearly two decades of producing experiences and content for Fortune 500 brands under her belt, Jennifer knows how to craft an authentic story, creating an emotional connection between brand and consumer using the power of technology and innovation.

Some of her most recent projects have included the Lexus LIT IS which was featured in Dua Lipa's 'Be the One' video, an AR experience for Intel and working on The Single's Project which won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media - Multiplatform Storytelling.

Alan Flake is an attending surgeon in the Division of General Thoracic & Fetal Surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where he is Vice Chair of Research, holds the Ruth and Tristram C. Colket, Jr. Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery and acts as Director of the Center for Fetal Research. He is also Professor of Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Dr. Flake has led a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research laboratory directed toward surgical correction of fetal anomalies and fetal stem cell and gene therapy for over 20 years. Under Dr. Flake's leadership, the Center for Fetal Research is exploring innovations in prenatal treatment, particularly in the areas of gene and stem cell therapy, and for life-threatening anatomic malformations and diseases. Recently, the Center has developed new technology for physiologic support of the extreme premature infant, a development that could have major implications for the treatment of prematurity.

Dr. Flake has published extensively with authorship of over 350 peer-reviewed publications and over 100 review articles and book chapters. Clinically, Dr. Flake actively participates as a Fetal Surgeon in the Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Program at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with interests in fetal diagnosis and therapy, in utero stem cell and gene therapy, extracorporeal support of the extreme premature infant (the artificial placenta/uterus), hepatobiliary surgery, and minimally invasive neonatal and pediatric surgery.

Apu Gupta is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Curalate, Inc, a leading marketing technology company that enables brands and retailers to use social content and social audiences to sell more effectively online. Curalate works with nearly 1,000 brands and retailers, including Urban Outfitters, Neiman Marcus, Target, Crate & Barrel, Forever 21, and Burton Snowboards. Curalate has raised $40MM in capital from leading investors including New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and First Round Capital, and employs over 100 people at its offices in Philadelphia, New York, Seattle, and London. Prior to launching Curalate, Apu was chief operating officer and chief marketing officer at MedPlus Health Services, Pvt Ltd. Under his leadership, MedPlus raised $25MM in venture funding and became the second largest pharmacy chain in India growing to 650 retail locations and handling over 1MM customer transactions monthly. Previously, Apu was co-founder of TaoSecure an internet security startup as well as an early employee of WebEx Communications where he served in sales and marketing roles from WebEx’s Series A through the company’s IPO. Apu holds a BBA with a concentration in computer engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Apu was recognized as an E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year in the Emerging Entrepreneur category in 2013 and is a member of the 2018 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute.

Nicole Pumphrey has dedicated her career to fostering cultural understanding and promoting inclusion through education and workforce development. Nicole joined the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians as director of strategic partnerships in 2014, where she leads the organization’s external engagement strategy, building collaborations and advocating for the valuable contributions of immigrants to the region’s social stability and economic prosperity.