Philly Tech Week 2018

Mark Wheeler, AICP, GISP is the interim Chief Information Officer for the Office of Innovation and Technology. He previously served as Deputy CIO and Chief Geographic Information Officer leading multiple teams of analysts, developers, and web designers. As GIO he introduced new spatial technologies and established programs to make web mapping, analysis and data sharing easy and accessible to all city staff to better enable decision making. He is a Citizens Planning Institute advisory board member and co-creator of the Neighbors Helping Neighbors Project and Citizens Toolkit. He has a master’s in regional planning from the University of Massachusetts

Ruth Fasoldt serves as the Director of External Affairs for Link, the most comprehensive, free public Wi-Fi network in the world. Ruth manages Intersection's public-private partnership with both the City of New York for LinkNYC and Philadelphia for LinkPHL, in addition to overseeing all community outreach and timely local partnerships to help make Link a welcome part of the community.

Ruth has spent the past eight years advocating for the importance of stakeholders input and understanding. Prior to joining Intersection, Ruth was the Business Development Manager for ACCA USA, the US headquarters of the world's largest accounting accreditation. Ruth was also the Director of Membership and Special Events for the Association for a Better New York (ABNY). Ruth holds a B.A. in History from Union College, and Masters degrees in History and Archives Management from Simmons College.

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.

Amanda Pike is a Senior Experience Designer at Think Company, specializing in UX research and strategy. With a background in Library & Information Science, she’s been making sense of complex information in the digital space since 2008. In her role with Think Company, she works with clients across a wide range of industries and sectors to understand research goals, strategize on research approaches and methodologies, and execute research plans to uncover user needs, create user-centered solutions, and validate design concepts.

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.

Dan Berry is the Head of Integrated Solutions at Nuix . Dan has over 15 years of experience as an application architect providing expertise in analysis, design, implementation, and delivery of eDiscovery, information governance and enterprise content management solutions. At Nuix, he consults with clients and partners on design, implementation, and delivery using Nuix’s scripting, Java, and RESTful APIs.

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.

Dan has been working with youth for the past two decades in a variety of capacities, working as a teacher, school administrator, and organizational leader. Beginning in the juvenile justice field, Dan has developed extensive expertise in the use of restorative practices and trauma informed methodology both inside the classroom and in the larger community.

Over the years, Dan has been recognized numerous times for his work with young people, including a Meritorious Service Award from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the Distinguished Educator of the Year for Eastern North America, the United Way’s Reis Community Advocate Award, and the Campbell Soup Foundations “Seek the Power of Different” Award.

At Hopeworks, Dan is responsible for the overall implementation of the learning culture of Hopeworks throughout the entire Hopeworks organization, managing all program aspects of Hopeworks and corresponding staff, including Hopeworks’ training program, residence, and social enterprises.

Recently, Hopeworks was honored to be recognized as the 2016 Greater Philadelphia Non Profit of the Year, and the 2016 South Jersey Non Profit of the Year, as well as winning the prestigious 5th Annual Scattergood Innovation Award.