Philly Tech Week 2018

Karina was born in Riga, Latvia and moved to San Francisco in 1988. She is a serial entrepreneur, mentor, adviser, and educator. She spent more than a decade in Silicon Valley in senior positions helping companies grow globally. She also launched three ventures of her own, including WorldUpstart, a consulting practice focused on providing mentorship and advice on best innovation practices to institutions around the world and helping international companies enter US market. In addition, she worked as a Digital Enterprise Portfolio Manager at the University of Pennsylvania PCI Ventures where she managed a portfolio of 19 companies and launched and ran AppItUP, a digital accelerator for mobile apps. She is now a Director of Business Incubation and Accelerator Programs at the University City Science Center where she’s developing and strengthening incubation and commercialization programs for startups and entrepreneurs across the business lifecycle. . She frequently gives seminars and webinars on a range of topics that may be helpful to startups including "Pretotyping," based on the work of Alberto Savoia and Jeremy Clarke.  In addition, her translations of Russian poetry has been published in World Literature Today and Common Knowledge, as well as other publications.

Mark Willis is a designer, strategist and entrepreneur. After a decade directing digital strategy at Harvard University, he recently moved the Philadelphia area to grow his design firm, Clean Sheet Co., and to consult with startups and digital projects at the intersection of art and technology. He’s a co-founder at the Philly-based Texel Foundation, a new consortium creating open-source infrastructure to power blockchain-driven artwork projects.

Sylvester Mobley is the founder and CEO of the youth tech education nonprofit, Coded by Kids. Through Coded by Kids, Sylvester works to increase access to tech education opportunities for those who are underserved, especially children of color and children who come from underserved communities. Sylvester’s mission is to ensure that every child has the support, resources, and opportunity to build the next Google, Microsoft or Facebook, regardless of what they look like or where they come from.

Because of the dominant role technology plays in our society, Sylvester believes that building a tech industry that is diverse, inclusive and equitable is one of the most pressing issues we face today.

Under his leadership, Coded by Kids has grown from an organization that served fewer than 15 children in one Philadelphia recreation center to serving more than 200 students per week in schools and community centers in three states. Sylvester has received awards for his work from several organizations including Philadelphia City Council, the Philadelphia Business Journal, The Philadelphia 76ers, Billy Penn, and Philadelphia Academies.

Sylvester got his start in technology while serving in the United States Air Force. He is a veteran of the war in Iraq, who served in three branches of the United States military over 12 years. Sylvester is also a graduate of Temple University’s Fox School of Business.

Cathy is currently the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), where she is responsible for the Information Security Program, which includes cybersecurity, risk and compliance, threat and vulnerability management, incident response, and security awareness and training. She is also a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and is Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC). She has extensive experience in various industries and currently serves on executive governing body forums on privacy and security. Cathy was a recipient of the 2017 Breakaway Leadership Award at the Global CISO Executive Summit.

Eloise N. Young was named Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning and Information Services in April 2016 after serving as the Chief Information Officer of the Philadelphia Gas Works for nine years. In her current role Young is responsible for the design, implementation and oversight of a robust, repeatable and participatory corporate strategic planning process. Prior to her appointment as CIO, she served in a number of positions in PGW’s Information Services Department including Director of Technical Strategy and Support, Manager of Systems Services, System Administrator, DBA, and developer.

In her role on the Innovation Management team, Eliza oversees a portfolio of initiatives that increase the City’s internal capacity for innovation, creative problem solving, and cross-sector engagement. Her core work involves managing the Innovation Lab, Innovation Academy and Innovation Fund; and leading Innovation Consulting, a program that leverages specially trained City employees to provide internal consulting services for internal and external stakeholders seeking to address challenges in new ways. Prior to joining the City, Eliza worked at Project HOME; she attended the University of Virginia, where she studied history and religious studies, and pursued a Masters degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan. When she’s not innovating, Eliza can be found exploring new restaurants in Philly with her husband and rescue pit bull, Brew.

Emrah Ercan is the director of digital strategy & innovation at Suez Water Technologies and a member of the Company’s innovation and digital board of directors. He joined Suez Water (formerly GE Water) in 2012, bringing more than 15 years of innovation and commercial leadership experience to the organization.

In his current role, Mr. Ercan oversees corporate digital strategy, facilitating company activity in industrial IoT and asset performance management. This responsibility extends to include applying big data analytics and artificial learning to industrial water treatment and energy/resource management. Previously, he served as VP of strategic initiatives at GE Oil & Gas and GE Digital, where he established an internal incubator to fund early-stage digital oilfield ideas, which were later implemented across the global commercial team.

Prior to Suez (GE), Mr. Ercan spent ten years at Ashland, where he held a variety of management, operations, sales, and marketing roles, ultimately serving as the company’s West Coast territory manager and leading a successful effort to streamline operations, strengthen the product line, and drive growth.

Mr. Ercan holds an MBA from the University of Southern California, an MS in Industrial Engineering from Chalmers University in Sweden, and a BS in Chemical & Process Engineering from Bogazici University. In 2013, Mr. Ercan was honored by, then CEO, Jeff Immelt with the GE Corporate Innovation Award – in recognition of his achievements in the digitalization of the global field service team. Emrah is a member of the American Turkish Young Society Leaders (YSL) and an executive board of director of Stamford Metal Group in Stamford, CT. He is an avid reader, a devout Besiktas fan and resides in New York City with his family.

Ronethea Williams is the Founder of Field LabX, an experiential education company that facilitates global leadership and character development experiences. Programs are facilitated throughout the world and focus on skills and competencies like empathetic leadership and marketing in emerging markets.

Ronethea previously worked in the talent development space, partnering with top MBA Programs and Fortune 50 companies to help thousands of millennial professionals realize their career potential.