Philly Tech Week 2018

John Miller is the Founder and President of Scribewise, a content marketing and storytelling agency that's services include brand strategy, public relations, social media, graphic design and email marketing. He has worked in marketing for close to two decades, helping to build brands from Aqua America to Zipcar. Prior to that he worked in broadcast news, including a stint as an award-winning radio host for the Philadelphia Eagles radio network.

Brett Hemenway Falk is research assistant professor in the Computer and Information Science at Penn. Dr Falk's use tools from mathematics and computer science to address large-scale societal goals in the areas of: 1) privacy and security in digital environments, 2) facilitating transparency and trust. Dr Falk's work focuses on translating mathematically sound, rigorous algorithmic developments into practical tools for solving real-world problems. Dr Falk has worked extensively designing and implementing protocols for secure computation, that effectively allow a collection of stakeholders to collaborate securely, without sharing sensitive data, and without the need for a centralized trusted authority. Blockchain technology represents another approach for using cryptography to allow mutually distrustful entities to interact without the need for a centralized, trusted authority, and Dr Falk's research group has several projects in this space, analyzing the technical underpinnings of existing systems, and developing new solutions built on rigorous, mathematical design principles. Dr Falk's research has been funded by the NSF, DARPA, IARPA, the Office of Naval Research, the Army Research Lab, the National Institute of Health, and the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.

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.

A teacher and mentor at heart, Neha is an passionate designer with expertise ranging from typography to content creation. Before joining Think Company as a Senior Experience Designer, Neha was the Department Chair for La Roche College’s Graphic Design Department, and additionally served as a Board Member on the Education Committee for AIGA Pittsburgh.

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.

Amanda is the cofounder and COO of NeedsList, the first marketplace for humanitarian aid that connects the supply, volunteer, and funding needs of NGOs with donors anywhere who can help. Prior to founding NeedsList, Amanda was Founder and Principal of ThirdSpace, a consultancy working at the intersection of human-centered design and social change with startups, government agencies, nonprofits, and some of the largest NGOs in the world, including Catholic Relief Services and the US Fund for UNICEF. Prior to ThirdSpace, Amanda was Director of Operations and Policy Programs at Hope Street Group, a think tank and nonprofit dedicated to increasing economic opportunity for all Americans. She is the cofounder of VOZ: Workers’ Rights Education Project in Portland, Oregon.

Margaret is the Chief Customer Experience Officer at Yet Analytics, a Baltimore based company that provides tools and solutions used to improve learning and talent development.

Margaret is interested in the development and design of connected learning environments that leverage xAPI and blended learning. Her background is in experiential education, curriculum design, teaching and team development. She is the VP of Community Impact for the Junior League of Baltimore, a member of the SXSWedu Advisory Board and co-founder of EdTechWomen.

Margaret received her BA in English and Environmental Earth Science and her MA in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University. She is a die-hard Blue Jay Lacrosse fan, spends a lot of time cooking, writing, organizing, and exploring and her favorite science-fiction novel is Neuromancer by William Gibson.

Ian leads sales and business development for strategic accounts at machineQ and is responsible for growing Comcast's enterprise IoT business across commercial and government markets. He has been with Comcast for more than 10 years in a variety of roles, most recently in Strategic Development. Previously, Ian worked with Comcast’s Interactive Media group and was focused on building partnerships to deliver Comcast content and features to its subscribers via 3rd party applications. Ian holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and an MBA from Drexel University.