Christian Idiodi

Christian has been a product leader for over 15 years, building teams and developing enterprise and consumer products that have shaped companies such as CareerBuilder and Merrill Corporation as well as clients such as Microsoft, Starbucks, and Squarespace. Christian is passionate about helping companies implement the discipline of product management to build world-class products and new technologies.

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Cyrus Bakhshi

Cyrus is a FinTech builder, angel investor, and equestrian barn owner. He loves diving into tough problems, learning something new, and finding ways to do more with less.

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Patrick Quattlebaum

Patrick Quattlebaum (PQ) is a designer, consultant, and teacher who gets up every morning to bring creativity, rigor, and humanity to problem-solving. With more than two decades of experience in design strategy and service design, he places a premium on pushing design practice to be more value-centered, collaborative, and iterative. Along with co-author Chris Risdon, Patrick shares his design philosophy and its practical applications in Orchestrating Experiences: Collaborative Design for Complexity (Rosenfeld, May 2018). As CEO of Harmonic Design, Patrick leads a growing team of service designers and consults with organizations desiring to transform their service ecosystem to better meet the needs of people. He takes pride in creating a studio environment in which practitioners have a strong voice in strategic direction and the space to experiment with how they work with one another and clients.

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Mike Thomas

Mike Thomas, CEO of Upstream 360 and U360 Medical, began his career in research and development at Procter and Gamble. In R&D, his focus was holistic product design work and innovation strategy. Eventually, he transitioned into marketing, where he learned the foundations of product communication and storytelling. Bridging the gap between designing and selling a product would set him up for success as owner of Product Communication Agencies that illuminate unseen product magic and fascinate consumers in surprisingly obvious ways. Mike has a BS in Chemical Engineering and an MBA with a Marketing Emphasis, and authored the book, Agents of Change: Unleashing the Innovation of Real-Life Superheroes. When he’s not working, he coaches his kids in baseball and softball.

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Jessica Allison

Jessica is the product lead for Logistics and Service Operations at CarMax. She is passionate about growing strong teams, bringing communities together, and building products that make people’s lives better.

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Luke Farrell

Luke Farrell is a Product Manager and Lead at the United States Digital Service based in Washington DC.
At USDS, Luke leads rapid response efforts for the White House ranging from mitigating major supply
chain shocks to launching critical public websites. Currently, he leads the USDS team working to keep
millions of people enrolled in Medicaid through the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. To
date, Luke and the USDS team have partnered with over a dozen states to keep over 3 million Americans
enrolled in life saving health insurance. A former Google Product Manager, Luke led elections integrity
across high risk platforms and helped drive strategic crisis response for the CEO of Alphabet.

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Zuzana Love

Zuzana Love leads product strategy at the newly established Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology at the Centers for Disease Control (OPHDST). This is the first office at CDC solely dedicated to leading, coordinating, and executing a comprehensive public health data strategy and promoting response-ready data and systems. OPHDST accomplishes its mission by incorporating human- centered design principles and by bringing technology and public health experts under one roof. Prior to this, she led the U.S. Digital Service effort at the CDC. USDS is a non-partisan organization within The White House that delivers better government services for Americans through technology and design by hiring mission-driven professionals from diverse backgrounds.

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Ankit Mathur

Ankit Mathur is the Chief Technology Officer for the United Network for Organ Sharing, an organization responsible for delivering the critical public health service of organ matching and transplantation for the nation. Prior to that, Ankit served as the Chief Delivery Officer for the U.S. Digital Service at The White House leading strategic technology and policy-related improvements across all of government. He is a veteran technology leader with over 20 years of experience in software development, digital product delivery, and technology strategy. In 2016, Ankit co-founded Roundtrip Health, a digital healthcare transportation marketplace assisting health systems and health plans to remove transportation as a barrier to care. Ankit also helped build one of the first health information exchanges in the State of Virginia, one of the first in the United States. In 2019, he was a recipient of the Richmond Venture Forum “Founder of the Year” award and was bestowed the honor of being named “Richmond’s Top 40 Under 40″ by Style Weekly in 2020.

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Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck is the CEO and co-founder of AnswersNow, a platform that supports parents of children on the autism spectrum by pairing them with their own personal certified expert.

As an LCSW and in-home therapist, Jeff saw first-hand that the current state of services (outpatient therapy, in-home counselors, specialty schools, hospital systems and clinics) had a number of flaws, including long wait lists, poorly trained clinicians, and a lack of convenient parent and caregiver training and support.

Jeff started AnswersNow to solve those problems.  AnswersNow uses a comprehensive approach to Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) that combines cutting-edge technology and evidence-based strategies to help children reach their fullest potential. They offer individualized programs tailored to each child’s needs and use an interactive virtual platform that pairs families directly with their own personal BCBA. AnswersNow has raised over $25M in venture capital, and currently delivers therapy to hundreds of families across 4 states.

When not working on access to care Jeff spends his time running around Richmond with his wife Amy, 5-year old Sonny, 2-year old twins Gray and Bennett.

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Lindsay Jones

With over 13 years of immersive experience spearheading UX teams and architecting innovative solutions, Lindsay is a seasoned leader renowned for her transformative impact within CapTech. Renowned for her ability to cultivate dynamic and high-performing teams, Lindsay thrives on fostering environments where creativity flourishes, resulting in the delivery of sleek, intuitive interfaces and unparalleled user experiences. Her expertise spans diverse platforms, including mobile apps, responsive web, and desktop applications, with a proven track record across retail, manufacturing, government, and financial sectors.

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Jill Palkoner

With over 14 years of experience in product environments, Jill is a seasoned expert in establishing customer-centric Product organizations that drive value realization. Her expertise lies in cultivating high-performing teams capable of excelling in challenging landscapes. Jill’s adeptness at navigating ambiguity and swiftly adapting to change is complemented by her collaborative approach, which emphasizes building strong partnerships to achieve organizational goals. She holds a Product Strategy certificate from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management and is a SAFe 6.0 SPC.

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Kelley Williamson

Kelley Powell Williamson is Chief Purpose Officer at Wellist, a purpose-driven digital health company revolutionizing HR Tech and employee support after a decade of supporting patients, earning recognition among Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024. Guided by a conviction to treat people well and to surround herself with others who do the same, she has enjoyed an unconventional career trajectory at the intersection of finance, data, technology, and the profoundly human artistry that propels a company’s growth. Previously serving as CEO of MacLaurin Group, Kelley co-founded and expanded C-suite technology services to companies across five countries. As Managing Director for Royall & Company, she contributed to establishing market leadership in consumer engagement data and analytics for Ed Tech. Kelley‘s influential voice extends through her best selling book “Courage To Lose Sight of Shore” and features in notable publications such as Forbes, Entrepreneur, CEO World and Thrive Global. And yes, feel free to ask her why she’s always in sneakers.

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Patrick Moran

Patrick Moran is the co-founder of Look North World (LNW), a company established in June 2023 following a $2.25 million Seed round from London Ventures and 1UP. LNW specializes in content development and publishing for User Generated Content (UGC) platforms, often referred to as “The Metaverse.” Before founding LNW with CEO Alex Seropian, founder of Bungie and co-Creator of Halo, Patrick held product roles including Chief Product Officer at Kongregate, Franchise Lead at MobilityWare, and esteemed companies like Amazon, Disney, and EA.

Patrick’s expertise extends to the video game industry, where his contributions have generated over $3 billion in revenue and captivated millions of players worldwide. Notably, his involvement in the development of Mass Effect 2 swept the Game of the Year awards. In 2021, IGN recognized Mass Effect 2 as the #6 best game of all time.

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Megan Sowder

Megan Sowder is a product manager with the United States Digital Service, with over a decade of
experience in digital product leadership. She is currently the product manager for IRS Direct File, which
launched in 2024 and is the new free tool to file your federal taxes directly with the IRS. Megan also was
product manager for the redesign of the Social Security Administration’s website. Prior to her term with
USDS, she was Director of Product for NPR, a product management consultant with Booz Allen
Hamilton, and VP of Product at CQ Roll Call. Megan specializes in building and scaling development
teams, using data and research to inform product decisions, and navigating bureaucracy.

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Kasey Hayes

Co-Founder of CURE, a business consulting firm with a creative DNA. Dedicated to understanding context, Kasey has built CURE accordingly: the firm focuses on people (strategy and research) and then products (brands, websites, AI tools, LMS platforms, intranets, and marketing launch campaigns) – driving the solutions to fulfill the missions of their clients. 

Kasey has always been fascinated by the need to quickly immerse herself in new industries and build relationships to make better products. This has included working with the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine to showcase groundbreaking clinical trials; leading marketing for one of the largest global manufacturers of aviation safety and survival equipment, a challenging role in a heavily regulated industry; and rings true today with CURE’s clients, which include the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, AARP Member Benefits, Advance Auto Parts, the World Wildlife Fund, and the UK Department of International Trade.

She has served as a mentor for Startup Virginia’s pre-accelerator, the Idea Factory, and loves helping other businesses and organizations flourish. Kasey has a BA in English, and a BA in Communications from the College of Charleston and an MBA from the University of Miami. Go Canes!

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