Bill Nussey
Technologist, Clean Energy Advocate
Cara Turano Snow
connector
Native Atlantan and successful technology executive Cara Turano Snow lives life to the fullest. She manages teams that generate millions of dollars in revenue, is a respected community leader and runs marathons for fun! But the loss of her mother to cancer helped her discover her true passion and an important life lesson.
researcher
Former startup CEO Dana Kanze’s
research interests lie at the intersection
of implicit gender bias, investor and
entrepreneur behavior and the impact on
startup funding, growth and
survival outcomes.
Dana is a doctoral fellow at Columbia
Business School. Findings from her work
has been featured in The Academy of
Management, The Harvard Business
Review, The Wall Street Journal,
Bloomberg, BBC News, Entrepreneur,
Fortune, Inc., TechCrunch and Quartz.
She graduated magna cum laude from
The Wharton School and began her
career as an investment banker and
strategic consultant with Citigroup and the
Winterberry Group.
Erich Netherton
Sound Engineer
cardiologist
As cardiologist and medical director of the Providence Heart Institute’s Basecamp
Cardiac Prevention + Wellness initiative
in Portland, Oregon, James Beckerman
collaborates with the community to create
free programs such as Play Smart Youth
Heart Screenings and Heart to Start, a
multi-state exercise program.
He is the team cardiologist for the
Portland Timbers Major League Soccer
franchise and is a member of the American
College of Cardiology’s Leadership
Council on Sports and Exercise, WebMD’s
Clinical Advisory Board, and the Ironheart
Foundation’s Board of Directors.
James holds degrees from Harvard
University and Harvard Medical School
and completed his internal medicine and
cardiology training at Massachusetts
General Hospital and Stanford University
Jasmine Crowe
Anti-hunger Activist
Jason Martin
Public Education Activist
Juana Mendenhall
Biochemical Engineer
cyberspace connector
Justin Daniels believes government-private collaboration and public debate
about balancing innovation versus security are imperative in the face of
persistent and sophisticated cyber threats. He is the founder of Atlanta Cyber Week,
a week-long series of events organized by members of the Atlanta cybersecurity
ecosystem to connect business leaders, innovators, policymakers, and academics.
Justin is a shareholder at law firm Baker Donelson Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz,
PC, and creator of its Cybersecurity Accelerator, which facilitates the growth
of emerging domestic and international cybersecurity companies.
Justin holds a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech and an MBA and a law
degree from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.
neuroscientist
Krzysztof Czaja’s obesity research focuses on changes in the human brain following a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. His lab at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia is investigating the role of neural gut-brain communication in the development of obesity with the goal of finding non-surgical ways to overcome it. His work has been featured in Science 2.0, ScienceDaily, and Quartz. Krzysztof, an associate professor at UGA’s Department of Veterinary Biosciences & Diagnostic Imaging, has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed research papers and several book chapters. He holds a D.V.M. from the Veterinary Medicine College at the Academy of Agriculture and Technology in Olsztyn, Poland and a doctorate in neuroanatomy from the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.
Lonnie Johnson
Inventor
Louise Wasilewski
Criminal Justice Reformer
Matt Meister
Research Engineer
Rickey Bevington
journalist
Atlanta native and two-time Emmy Award
recipient Rickey Bevington believes the
contract between the news media and the
people, is broken. To restore this contract,
we, the people must become savvier
consumers of news.
Rickey is Georgia Public Broadcasting’s
Senior Anchor/Correspondent, and local
host for NPR’s nationally syndicated
“All Things Considered” during
afternoon drive. Her work has been
recognized by journalism organizations
including the Southeast Emmy Awards,
RTDNA’s Edward R. Murrow Awards,
Georgia Association of Broadcasters,
the Associated Press and Society of
Professional Journalists. Rickey was
the only Georgian awarded a Marshall
Memorial Fellowship by the German
Marshall Fund of the United States in 2014.
sensory artist
Music is color for Siana Altiise. Patterns,
depth of tones, shapes and their thickness
are her “sheet music.”
Siana uses her extrasensory condition
known as synesthesia to compose songs
according to their vivid color patterns
and tones and to give life to emotions
that music evoke through her paintings.
An Atlanta resident, Siana has created
experiential, interactive spaces for
Synesthetes and non-Synesthetes alike in
the United States and Asia.
Siana holds a Bachelor of Science degree
in Experimental Psychology from Florida
Atlantic University and was previously an
English language instructor in Asia.
Susan Sparks
Pastor, Comedian, Attorney
neurocience explorer
Tejas Athni is a high school senior at
Stratford Academy in Macon, Georgia and
a student researcher at Detroit’s Karmanos
Cancer Institute and Georgia’s Fort Valley
State University. His research on the
effects of certain plant compounds on
glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer cells
is being readied for submission to peerreviewed
journals.
Tejas’ other interests lie in community
service and journalism. He founded CPR
Education NovoToro, a nonprofit focused
on teaching basic life saving skills, and
is the editor-in-chief of an international
online magazine known as the Publizette.
Tejas’ long-term goals include pursuing
a career in the medical field, either as a
physician or a medical researcher. He is
the winner of the 2017 American Academy
of Neurology’s (AAN) Neuroscience
Research Competition.