Marla Beck is a serial entrepreneur, visionary consumer brand-builder, CEO and investor focused on mission-driven consumer brands. She co-founded and was the Chief Executive Officer of Bluemercury, Inc., a high-growth, disruptive omni-channel beauty retailer founded in 1999 and acquired in 2015 by Macy’s Inc. Ms. Beck also co-founded M-61 Laboratories, creating the clean, sustainable brands M-61 Skincare and Lune+Aster Cosmetics. Prior to founding Bluemercury, she was a consultant at McKinsey and Company. Ms. Beck enjoys advising and supporting entrepreneurs in the for-profit and social entrepreneurship sectors. Ms. Beck served at Harvard Business School as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence. Since 2014, she has served as a judge at Harvard Business School’s New Venture Competition. Ms. Beck serves on the Advisory Board of Harvard Business School’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurship and the Center for Public Leadership Advisory Board at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She serves on the Board of Directors of the National Retail Federation, the Global Advisory Board of EdX, is a trustee of the Sidwell Friends School and is an independent director on the Board of Directors of The Children’s Place (NASDAQ: PLCE). She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MPA from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a BA in Political Economy with high honors from the University of California, Berkeley.

A seasoned SaaS leader with over 20 years of experience driving consistent and transformative growth across diverse industries. Chris' expertise spans building high-performing teams, developing repeatable and scalable GTM processes, and fostering a strong, purpose-driven culture that fuels success. As the founder of a GTM consulting practice, Chris partners with organizations across multiple verticals to solve their most pressing challenges—whether scaling revenue, refining sales and marketing alignment, or navigating the integration of acquired companies. Specialize in managing remote/virtual sales teams, mastering complex sales cycles, and crafting innovative strategies tailored to each client’s unique goals.

As Chief Product Officer at Ripple Operations, Kara leads the product vision, strategy, and roadmap, ensuring the company’s suite of solutions continues to address the unique challenges of the maritime industry. With over two decades of experience driving product innovation and growth in the tech sector, Kara brings a wealth of knowledge and a proven track record of scaling products and teams for global impact.

Dr. Low brings a remarkable 41 years of dedicated service to the state of Georgia. She served as the State Director of the Georgia Department of Education, Division for Special Education Supports and Services. Her extensive experience spans roles such as Senior Program Manager, where she has championed pivotal initiatives including the Teacher/Provider Retention Program, the CEEDAR project, and the Special Education Leadership Development Academy (SELDA). Her expertise in transition services, assistive technology, and professional learning has significantly advanced post-secondary outcomes for students with disabilities. Dr. Low’s career is decorated with prestigious accolades such as the G-CASE 2013 Lillie Moncus Award for Outstanding Special Education Administrator of the Year and the GAEL 2014 President's Professional of the Year Award. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Middle Grades Education from Brenau University, and both a Master of Education in Special Education - Learning Disabilities and an Education Specialist in Special Education Administration from the University of West Georgia.

After a successful fifteen-year career as an entrepreneur that included founding, growing, and ultimately selling his startup, Dan Cohen transitioned to academia full time in 2005 when he accepted a faculty appointment at The University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business from 2005-2007. While at the University of Iowa, Cohen earned accolades for teaching, advising and mentoring excellence before moving on to Cornell University from 2007 to 2015. While at Cornell, Dr. Cohen taught courses on entrepreneurship and business at the undergraduate, graduate, and executive levels and founded and directed eLab — Cornell’s entrepreneurship accelerator program hailed by Forbes Magazine as a major driver of Cornell’s ascent to a #4 national ranking in entrepreneurship. Professor Cohen was also awarded Cornell’s Robert N. Stern Memorial Award for Mentoring Excellence in 2012. In 2015, Cohen moved on to Wake Forest University as a Full Professor of Practice in business and entrepreneurship. In 2016 Cohen co-founded Startup Lab and became more integrally involved in the Center for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship. In the summer of 2017, Cohen was named the John C. Whitaker, Jr. Executive Director of the newly minted Center for Entrepreneurship while remaining a full Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurship. In terms of research, Professor Cohen studies how nascent entrepreneurs develop passion for entrepreneurship and how, and under what conditions, they form an entrepreneurial identity. Cohen also researches how entrepreneurs develop key capabilities such as how to spot and develop valuable opportunities.

Accomplished national education leader with strong track record of building organizations/programs and cultivating relationships. Adept at strategic alliance, partnership management and program execution. Led education-oriented corporate social responsibility efforts for Microsoft and served as the former CEO of the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Former policy advisor and strategist for state federal initiatives including The Helping America's Youth Initiative, Building A Grad Nation Summit for America's Promise Alliance, and NBC News' Education Nation. Also served as the National Program Leader for Youth Development for the USDA, overseeing all 90,000 4-HClubs. Internationally recognized speaker and author with a focus on leadership development and social emotional learning. Published by Scholastic.

Jon Issacson has nearly two decades of experience working in the private equity and venture capital industries as both an investor and executive. From January 2019 to December 2019, Mr. Isaacson served as the Chief Financial Officer of Senseonics, Inc. (NYSE: SENS), a portfolio company of venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates, and provided advisory services to Senseionics from January 2020 to June 2020. Prior to joining Senseonics, he served as the Chief Financial Officer of Edelman Financial Services, LLC from November 2017 to December 2018. Before joining Edelman Financial Services, he served as a Managing Director for over 14 years at American Capital, Ltd from November 2002 to January 2017. Mr. Isaacson also held roles at Thayer Capital Partners, L.P., GTCR LLC, McKinsey & Company and Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC. He served as a director of ECA Medical Instruments, The Meadows and Alchemy Corporation from 2014 to 2016, where he served on the compensation and audit committees of each.

Prior to co-founding University Startups, John started and ran international business units at GlaxoSmithKline and taught Entrepreneurship at Georgetown University. John is a multiple Entrepreneurial Excellence and Outstanding Faculty Award winner at Georgetown, and his student teams have won school and industry awards, government grants and investor funding. His books Mastering Customer Interviews for Entrepreneurs and Mastering Social Impact for Entrepreneurs are used in new business design courses nationwide. John was named Maryland Entrepreneur of the Year by the Clean Energy Center, and his past companies have been awarded Maryland Incubator Company of the Year and ‘Best For Environment’ by the non-profit B-Lab.

Potter is a forerunner in creating meaningful social change through her expertise in spearheading social impact strategies and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. She has a proven track record with national non-profit organizations, as well as some of the world’s largest and most influential brands, including Paramount, MTV, and Comedy Central. Throughout her prestigious career, Potter has established herself as a respected, nationally known thought leader developing innovative ideas and creative solutions. With expertise including the issues of Race, Identity, Culture, Equity, and Social Justice, she is known for masterfully managing moments of crisis with her unflappable style. A native of New York, Potter received her Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Northeastern University and Masters in Corporate Communication and Public Relations from New York University. She served as Chair of the Board for the National Job Corps Association and is currently Chair of the Board of Directors of Fostering Change for Children and a member of the Board of Directors for United Way. She was awarded "Change Agent of the Year” in 2018 from the Digital Diversity Network, is a Webby Anthem Awards juror and a Diversity Committee Member for Transform Films. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Ravi Puli is a self-made, first-generation entrepreneur and the Founder, President, and CEO of International Solutions Group (ISG), an award-winning technology services firm. Ravi has over 30 years of experience in the tech space. Ravi is passionate about seeking resources and opportunities to empower businesses and individuals in reaching their full potential. Born in India, Ravi embarked on his journey as a first generation immigrant with a deep desire to make a difference. Fueled by hard work and determination, he is a serial entrepreneur, has played a pivotal role in helping businesses flourish, as evidenced by the heartfelt testimonials from satisfied customers. At ISG, Ravi leads a dedicated team of professionals who share his vision of creating value for clients through innovation and hard work. The growth structure at ISG ensures that employees have ample opportunities to develop and enhance their skills, contributing to their professional growth. However, Ravi's commitment to philanthropy extends far beyond his business ventures. He strongly believes in supporting social and humanitarian causes and actively participates in initiatives that bring about positive change in society. Ravi is particularly passionate about empowering start-ups in the fields of education and healthcare, as he recognizes their potential to drive meaningful and lasting transformation.

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham appointed Dr. Arsenio Romero as the state’s fifth Secretary of Education in February 2023. Now retired, Secretary Romero is the son of a New Mexico educator and grew up with a clear understanding that there is no greater calling in life than that of a teacher. He has spent his entire life in the classroom focused on providing every student a world-class education and an equitable pathway to opportunities. He is a proud homegrown leader, born and raised in New Mexico. As Secretary of the New Mexico Public Education Department, Dr. Romero was responsible for more than 330,000 students at every level and every age, and he led initiatives in academic excellence, educator pathways, and student well-being. A homegrown New Mexico leader, Dr. Romero has 25+ years of experience as a teacher, principal, and superintendent. He's been recognized as National Superintendent of the Year and Administrator of the Year and taught at NMSU for over a decade, where he also served on the Board of Regents.

Bobby Tahir was the Chief Technology Officer at Hobsons, leading long-term technology vision and responsible for the Hobsons technology organization spanning Software Engineering, Cloud Operations, Data Science & Analytics, and Enterprise IT. He also facilitated the technical community within Hobsons. Prior to joining Hobsons in 2018, Bobby served as CTO of the K12 Division of Community Brands, a leading provider of software solutions to the Private School market, where he helped the company to integrate and bring to market a number of significant software services. Previously, Bobby was Vice President of Engineering at Diamond Mind, where he focused on development of PCI-compliant payment processing and reconciliation systems and mobile-enabled payment solutions. Bobby joined Diamond Mind from Envictus, a pioneer in the EdTech market, where as CTO he focused on development of college readiness and financial aid platforms and K12 learning management systems. In addition, Bobby served as a Consultant with Nortel Networks Global Professional Services Group working with Fortune 500 organizations focused on the Internet Service Provider (ISP) market. Bobby has a B.S. in Physics from Virginia Tech.