Philly Tech Week 2018

Jason Berger is a partner at the Philadelphia based law firm Margolis Edelstein and chairs the firm’s Entertainment and New Media practice group.

Jason’s expertise lies in recognizing talented artists, individuals and companies, developing strategy to achieve long-term success, and protecting their interests by rigorously negotiating and drafting the agreements forming the basis of their business relationships.

Jason’s practice focuses on securing and negotiating agreements in the music, television/film, digital media, technology, art and fashion industries. Jason’s client base covers the entertainment, media and technology industries and includes established and developing artists, songwriters, producers, bands, independent record labels, digital distribution companies, content creation and management companies, music publishing companies, apparel companies, management companies, executives, actors, models, and multimedia fashion and lifestyle companies.

Jason is a member and active participant in The Recording Academy’s Philadelphia Chapter, formally serving as an Advisor to the Board of Directors and currently involved in the Chapter’s Advocacy Committee.

Jason is active in his community of Philadelphia, PA, where he is an adjunct professor at Drexel University’s acclaimed Music Industry Program, teaching a wide variety of music and entertainment related topics. When not assisting his clients or working with his students, he is involved in a variety of music related endeavors from curating live performances to cofounding and developing nicethingsMUSIC, a technology inspired independent record label and distributor.

Andrew directs the Innovation Management group within Philadelphia’s Office of Innovation and Technology. Aligned closely with the City’s Chief Administrative Officer, Innovation Management focuses on developing capacity for innovation within municipal government and finding ways to make technology accessible and meaningful to the public. Before moving into the innovation space, Andrew directed Philadelphia’s implementation of a citywide network of technology-enabled community centers known as Keyspots. Andrew earned a graduate Degree in Geography from Temple University in Philadelphia and continues to teach there as an adjunct instructor.

John Grady serves as President and CEO of PIDC, Philadelphia’s public-private development corporation, where he is responsible for the organization’s efforts to develop and implement collaborative strategies, resources, and products to invest in the people, places, projects and initiatives that drive economic growth to every corner of Philadelphia. John leads PIDC’s efforts to strengthen relationships with Philadelphia’s public, private and philanthropic sectors to attract and deliver resources that promote business growth, investment and development across the city and throughout its economy. He directs internal activities around strategy, business development, capitalization, impact assessment, and the development and delivery of real estate and financing initiatives and products that fill project financing gaps for both neighborhood and large-scale commercial, industrial and mixed-use developments, deliver capital to growing businesses, and energize the development of the city’s workplaces of the future. With nearly 30 years of leadership experience in public-private partnerships that drive investment, development and job growth in and around Philadelphia, John joined PIDC in 1998, serving in a variety of senior leadership positions including overseeing city-wide real estate development activity and the acquisition and redevelopment of The Navy Yard, and has been its President since 2011. Prior to joining PIDC, John spent 9 years with the Cooper’s Ferry Development Association planning and developing Camden, NJ’s commercial waterfront. John is a native Philadelphian and a graduate from La Salle University with a BA in Economics and the University of Pennsylvania’s MPA program. He is active with a number of educational, business and civic organizations throughout the city, including as a Trustee at La Salle University and Roman Catholic High School; a Distinguished Alumni Fellow at the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania; and as a Director of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, the Collegiate Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development and the East Falls Development Corporation.

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.

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.

Joseph C. Guagliardo is a partner at Pepper Hamilton LLP resident in the Philadelphia and New York offices, where he co- leads the Technology Group and is Chair of the Blockchain Practice. His practice focuses on technology transactions and general counseling around technology and intellectual property commercialization. Prior to practicing law, Joe spent more than a decade at an international venture-backed Fintech company, where he served in various technical and business roles in the design and implementation of capital markets trading and settlement software for banks around the world. He is a technology enthusiast and avid follower of the technology industry and related legal trends. Joe is a sought-after speaker and author on emerging technology- related topics, including the far-reaching applications of blockchain and smart contract technology in government, the private sector and law. In 2017, he was named a “Top Author” in the JD Supra Readers' Choice Awards for his thought leadership on the emerging topic of blockchain.

Tiffany Polk is an Executive Director within the GTI Integrated Compute Services (ICS) Organization. Her current role is Head of the Storage Service. She is accountable for the strategic direction, fiscal policy and operational soundness for the $470M Storage portfolio across File, Block and Object.

Prior to joining JP Morgan, she was Director of Client Management at EMC where she focused on Technology Services client delivery, solutions and portfolio.

Prior to EMC, Ms. Polk was a Senior Manager and Global Head of Services Portfolio, Operations and Communications at Hewlett-Packard. Ms. Polk has more than 20 years of Technology experience including Delivery, Program Management, Solution, Design, Sales and Services.

Ms. Polk is a member of GTI’s Diversity committee. She is also a member of WITI (Women in Technology International), PMI (Project Management Institute) and Delta Sigma Theta, a public service sorority.

Ms. Polk holds BA from Dartmouth College and a MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland. She is married with two children and enjoys reading, travel and gardening.

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.