John Hockenberry is a veteran journalist who has excelled in every facet of the profession, from broadcast radio to news magazine television to print as well as being a pioneer in online content. He is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the MIT Media Lab.

Hockenberry is also a tireless and internationally known advocate and spokesman for the rights of the disabled. He was one of the founding inductees to the Spinal Cord Injury Hall of Fame in 2005. He wrote and appeared in a cover story for Parade Magazine on the 15 year anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act, and is a contributing editor for WIRED Magazine and METROPOLIS. He was a guest on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and has been a stage presenter for national and international design conferences for more than a decade.

Hockenberry joined NBC as a correspondent for "Dateline NBC" in January 1996 after a fifteen-year career in broadcast news at both National Public Radio and ABC News. Hockenberry is a four-time Peabody Award winner, four-time Emmy award winner, and has won an Edward R. Murrow award and a Casey Medal.

He is the author of the novel A River Out Of Eden, and Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs and Declarations of Independence, a memoir of life with a disability.  In 1996, Hockenberry performed a successful limited run of "Spokeman," a one-man, off-Broadway show he wrote.

Hockenberry attended both the University of Chicago and the University of Oregon. He and his wife Alison live in Brooklyn with their two sets of twins.

James Geshwiler GM '00 is co-founder and chairman of the Angel Capital Association, fostering best practices and forming new angel groups across the country. He is also Managing Director of CommonAngels, and has participated in funding 18 companies through over 55 rounds of financing totaling over $100 million since 1999. Geshwiler is a contributing author to Cutting-Edge Practices in American Angel Investing, and has published papers through the Kauffman Foundation. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Texas at Austin, received a master's in political science from UCLA, and his MBA from the MIT Sloan School.

Dean Kamen is an inventor, an entrepreneur and a tireless advocate for science and technology. His roles as inventor and advocate are intertwined -- his own passion for technology and its practical uses has driven his personal determination to spread the word about technology's virtues and by so doing to change the culture of the United States. His vast knowledge of the physical sciences, combined with his ability to integrate the fundamental laws of physics with the most modern technologies, has led to the development of breakthrough processes and products.

As an inventor, he holds more than 440 US and foreign patents, many of them for innovative medical devices that have expanded the frontiers of health care worldwide. While still a college undergraduate, he invented the first wearable infusion pump, which rapidly gained acceptance from such diverse medical specialties as chemotherapy, neonatology, and endocrinology. In 1976, he founded his first medical device company, AutoSyringe, Inc., to manufacture and market the pumps. At age 30, he sold that company to Baxter International Corporation. By then, he had added a number of other infusion devices, including the first insulin pump for diabetics. Following the sale of AutoSyringe, Inc., he founded DEKA Research & Development Corporation to develop internally generated inventions as well as to provide R&D for major corporate clients.

Among Kamen's proudest accomplishments is founding FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an organization dedicated to motivating the next generation to understand, use, and enjoy science and technology.

Kamen was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Clinton in 2000 for inventions that have advanced medical care worldwide, and for innovative and imaginative leadership in awakening America to the excitement of science and technology. He was also awarded the Lemelson-MIT Prize in 2002, and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in May 2005.

David J. Baker, SPHR, Director of Talent, Adams Capital Management. He joined Adams Capital Management in July of 2001 and is responsible for assisting portfolio companies in hiring strategic positions and developing human resource (HR) plans. Prior to joining Adams Capital, David was the Director of Human Resources and Recruitment for the billion-dollar BATG Division of ADC Telecommunications, Inc., a service provider of voice, video and data systems for telephone, Internet, cable television and wireless companies. At ADC, David was responsible for eight domestic and three international locations. David also served as Director of Human Resources for TCI Cable and QED Communications.

David began his career with the Carborundum Company, and later joined the Swiss aerospace firm Contraves Goerz Corporation, where he was a Human Resource Manager. He is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resource Management (SPHR) and is a frequent speaker on the topics of recruitment and retention.

Currie Crookston, CEO of PetsDx. Currie has been immersed in diagnostic imaging technologies for the last 7 years.  He is a founder and current CEO of PetsDx.  A veterinary diagnostic imaging company.  He was previously a Director of Marketing with one of the nations leading MRI equipment manufacturers and recent recipient of the Malcolm Baldridge Award.  In this capacity, Currie has led the development of new products, overseen the marketing of MRI products and been directly involved with sales.  He has helped developed intellectual property and has been awarded a patent in diagnostic imaging technology.  Prior to this current position, Currie worked as a consultant with A.T. Kearney and served as a Task Unit Commander during his 8 years in the U.S. Navy SEAL Teams.  He earned his MBA from the University of Virginia and an engineering degree from the U. S. Naval Academy.

Holly Maurer-Klein, President, HMK Associates. Holly has been working as a consultant to the Pittsburgh corporate community since 1988. Her prior experience included directing the HR function at American Auto-Matrix, Inc., and holding the position of Managing Director for the Human Resource Management Group, a subsidiary of the Pittsburgh Technology Council. Ms. Maurer-Klein formed HMK Associates, Inc. in 1993 to provide full-spectrum human resources services to growing organizations.

Ms. Maurer-Klein has given numerous presentations on a wide variety of human resources topics to diverse audiences and has written many articles for regional business publications. She served for 10 years on the board of Beginning with Books, a non-profit organization with the mission of turning children into lifelong readers, and has also served on advisory boards for Power Link, a local non-profit organization dedicated to assisting women-owned businesses. In May 2001, Ms. Maurer-Klein was named one of Pennsylvania's Best 50 Women in Business for 2001 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic Development, in association with the business journals of Pennsylvania. Ms. Maurer-Klein holds a Bachelors degree from Penn State University.

J. Patrick McGregor, Ph.D., President, CEO and a founder of BitArmor Systems. Since 2003, he has led financing, operations, business development, and technical initiatives at BitArmor. Dr. McGregor holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University in computer engineering, an M.A. from Princeton University in computer engineering, and both an M.S. and a B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University in electrical and computer engineering. He is an expert in computer security and computer architecture, and he has authored and presented many research papers for refereed conference and journal publications. Dr. McGregor has also filed for several pending patents involving cryptography and security software. His experience includes technical positions at Hewlett Packard Laboratories and several other software companies, and he has been quoted regarding his security research in national publications including The New York Times.

John C. Rodney a partner at Thorp Reed & Armstrong LLP. John has a broad ranging business and tax practice with a particular focus on emerging companies.

Robert Kopf, Jr. - Mr. Kopf is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Smithfield Trust Company, an independent trust company located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with approximately $670,000,000 in assets under administration. As a state bank with trust powers only, Smithfield received its charter from the Pennsylvania Department of Banking ten years ago.

He is a 1966 graduate of Princeton University and received his law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1969. A practicing attorney in the estates-and-trust area for more years than he wishes to acknowledge, Mr. Kopf was a shareholder in the law firm of Buchanan Ingersoll, where he previously served as the Chairman of its Tax Section and its Compensation Committee, as well as a member of its Board of Directors.

Mr. Kopf is a member of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and a past officer of the Estate Planning Council of Pittsburgh. Throughout his career he has served on many charitable and civic boards and is the past president of the Harvard-Yale-Princeton Club of Pittsburgh and the Edgeworth Club of Sewickley, Pennsylvania.

Stephen G. Robinson - Stephen G. Robinson is active in both business and non-profit sectors in the Pittsburgh area. He is Managing General Partner of Robinson Venture Partners, a Pittsburgh area family venture capital partnership. Mr. Robinson is also Managing General Partner of Robinson Properties, L.P., a real estate investment and development partnership.  Mr. Robinson is Vice President/Director of Gateway Travel Management (GTM), the largest independent travel management and meeting planning company in Western Pennsylvania. He is also an investor and current or former director of numerous early-stage venture capital backed technology-oriented companies in Western Pennsylvania, including Webmedx, Precision Therapeutics, Bit Armor, mSpoke, True Commerce and Bethany Hospice.

His current and past non-profit Board positions include the I Have A Dream FoundationÒ of Pittsburgh (Past-President), Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association (Past-President), the Advisory Committee of the Donald Jones Center for Entrepreneurship at The Tepper School, Pittsburgh Social Venture Partners (founding Partner, Treasurer), Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Winchester Thurston School and Family Tyes.

Mr. Robinson graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh in 1975 with a BA degree in Political Science.

Jonathan Berman who has formed JBC, A Marketing and Business Development Firm which focuses on assisting clients with the creation and execution of efficient growth strategies. His work has reached across multiple industries, including packaged goods (food and beauty), software, real estate, electrical equipment manufacturing, printing, media, e-commerce, promotional products, and healthcare.

Jonathan has significant experience in all aspects of launching new initiatives. These include direct management of new product development; establishing senior-level co-marketing, distribution, and production relationships; creation and fielding of marketing programs; and design of organizational structures and business processes.

As a consultant and on the operating side Jonathan has worked with leading local companies such as Leeds, Robicon, Vocollect, and Nova Chemicals as well as nationally and internationally known organizations such as Bestfoods, Kelloggs, The Grammy Awards, Rhino Records, The Sporting News, NFL Films, Lucas Arts, and the NBA. Jonathan earned his MBA at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, and a BA in Economics at Vassar College.

Suresh Vishnubhatla is the Chief Technology Officer for Millennium Pharmacy Systems, a medication management service provider for the long term care industry. In his role as the CTO, he oversees the development of the software products and the operation of the network that connects all the facilities.

He joined MPS from BodyMedia Inc., where he was the Senior Vice President, Products and responsible for product development (hardware, software and informatics), clinical research and regulatory affairs. At BodyMedia he was also a key driver in the development of strategic partnerships and distribution networks for the suite of health and disease management applications. Prior to BodyMedia Mr. Vishnubhatla was responsible for Product Development at Emerson Electric Corporation’s Power and Water Solutions business.

His work during his career was primarily in the fields of real-time systems, software system development, networking, distributed computing and strategic partnership development. He has over 15 years experience building integrated systems that bring hardware, software and algorithmic components together to perform complex tasks.

As vice president of strategic design firm ThoughtForm, Tim Scanlon is passionate about understanding clients’ business challenges and the design magic that occurs when a diverse and talented team collaborates to creatively solve these challenges. Tim is often involved in formulating tailored project strategy with clients and coworkers to address business objectives for large and small companies in a wide range of industries. He is responsible for management, strategic marketing, and business development at ThoughtForm.

A strategic marketing and business development professional, Tim has 22 years of leadership experience in international marketing, user experience design, and strategic planning. He has effectively introduced new software and technology solutions for industry leaders Rockwell Automation, General Electric, Westinghouse Electric, and Structural Dynamics Research Corporation (SDRC). Tim was responsible for designing, staffing, and leading four user-experience design and marketing consulting teams to support the profitable growth of each of these businesses.

Tim is a 1984 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Industrial Design. He has studied Strategic Marketing Management at Harvard Business School and Strategic Marketing of Technology Solutions through California Institute of Technology. He also participated in the Rockwell Leadership Institute through Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business and is an active member of several design, marketing, and strategy professional organizations including Leadership Pittsburgh XXIII. In addition, he is on the board of directors for the MIT Enterprise Forum in Pittsburgh and Alucid Solution, Inc.

Babs Carryer, is President and CEO of RemComm, Inc. (www.remcomm-inc.com) , a provider of radio-based emergency communications and data transfer even in the absence of the internet, cellular service and commercial power. Babs has recently been featured in TEQ Magazine and the Pittsburgh Business Time, and RemComm was featured in the November 2006 issue of Popular Communications. Babs is widely experienced in the start-up community, having been involved with hundreds of early-stage companies seeking financing, growth, or acquisition partners. She was President of Carryer Consulting for 13 years providing strategic marketing and business planning services to technology companies, founder and CEO of MIDASBio Inc, a novel early-stage cancer diagnostic platform and founder and president of LaunchCyte LLC, a development company that creates, seeds, and harvests life sciences innovations from leading research universities.

Babs has a Masters in Management from Carnegie Mellon University, and teaches Entrepreneurship there at the Don Jones Center for Entrepreneurship. She also teaches Entrepreneurship at the Heinz School at CMU as part of the Masters of Information Systems (MISM) and the Masters of Medical Management (MMM) programs, and teaches entrepreneurial commercialization of new technologies at the University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Enterprise Development.

Norm Goldberg – ThoughtForm Inc – Senior Associate Norm is an experienced designer and part of the management team at the firm ThoughtForm, a design firm based in Pittsburgh whose work includes branding for a wide variety of corporate and non-profit clients. Norm has 25 years of experience developing and expressing brands through a wide variety of channels, including graphic identity programs, naming, designed environments, interactive experiences, and new product development. Norm is an alumni of Carnegie Mellon University in design and completed the Entrepreneurial Fellowship Program at the University of Pittsburgh. Most recently, Norm presented a branding and interaction design project developed for the Pitt at the Society for Environmental Graphic Design’s annual design symposium at Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Thomas B. Hotopp – Mine Safety Appliances Company – Director, President and Director 1996 – 2002. Tom joined Mine Safety in 1991 as VP and General Manager of the Safety Products Division. During Tom’s tenure as President and Director, Mine Safety, a global manufacturer of safety and instrumentation products achieved sales of $914 million in 2006 with a net income of $64 million. Tom is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Notre Dame. He is currently Vice Chairman of the Pittsburgh Symphony. Prior to joining MSA he held executive, sales, and marketing positions with the Kingston-Warren Corporation and Corning Incorporated.

Joshua J. Ziff - Bridge Semiconductor Corporation - Founder, President & CEO - Bridge Semiconductor Corporation manufactures thermal imaging sensors and cameras. Prior to founding Bridge, Josh was Vice President, Business Development for Medrad, Inc., a Pittsburgh-based manufacturer of medical equipment and disposables sold to hospitals worldwide. He worked on several, advanced nuclear reactor programs for General Atomic Company, Westinghouse Hanford Company, and Westinghouse Electric as a nuclear engineer and engineering manager. Josh received B.S. in Engineering and M.S. in Nuclear Engineering degrees from Purdue University where he was elected to Tau Beta Pi. He also earned a MBA with Distinction from Carnegie Mellon University. He holds two US patents.

Virginia (Ginny) Flavin Pribanic - President and CEO of MedRespond, LLC. Ginny is a founder of MedRespond, LLC, a technology company created to commercialize a patented artificial intelligence system developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University to the healthcare industry.  The technology combines AI and streaming media to simulate conversations online, providing a unique experience for the patient that captures the informatics behind each conversation to deliver 24/7 market intelligence to its customers.  MedRespond has created programs that help cancer patients explore clinical trials, encourage parents to seek early screenings for autism, educate patients about the risks of hospital acquired infections and provide tools needed to manage asthma.  MedRespond’s newest initiative will introduce online lifestyle coaches to help school-aged children improve their nutrition and lifestyle choices.  Ginny is a serial entrepreneur who has been a part of five technology start-up teams with innovative solutions to healthcare and communication challenges.  Ginny has an MBA from CMU’s Tepper School and is a board member of the MIT Enterprise Forum.  

Andy Norman served as an interface designer and senior project manager for MAYA Design's Human Sciences Group from 1999-2002. Prior to that, he was a tenured professor of philosophy at Hamilton College, where he taught logic, practical reasoning and critical thinking skills. His unique interdisciplinary research agenda led to publications dealing with knowledge systems, the logic of inquiry, learning and decision theory, and technology's impact on human perception and practices. Andy graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wesleyan University and has a Ph.D. from Northwestern University.

About Knosis (www.knosis.com): Knosis helps educators, training and development professionals and forward-thinking leaders impart the thinking and communication skills that knowledge professionals need to excel in today's information-rich environments. The Company’s unique system empowers people to combat overload, attain clarity, command attention, and communicate with power. Its flagship product is a software "thought processor" that lets you see the logic of your thinking. Argutect opens a window into the world of ideas, so you can assemble compelling lines of thought in an intuitive, drag-and-drop environment. Graphical cues and context-sensitive logic help promote clarity, critical thinking, and effective communication. Results are easily exported into presentation software or a word processor. Knosis also teaches The ArgutectTM Method: a step-by-step approach to preparing written documents that are clear, persuasive and actionable.

Roger Byford, one of the founders of the company, currently serves as chairman of the board of directors and chief technology officer of Vocollect, and has nearly 20 years of experience in the industrial application of speech technologies. As Vocollect’s CTO, Mr. Byford is involved in all aspects of the design and engineering of Vocollect’s voice-directed distribution systems. Prior to joining Vocollect, Mr. Byford served as engineering manager for Westinghouse Voice Systems, known for pioneering work in voice technology applications. He also worked for Westinghouse’s corporate Research and Development Center, where he collaborated to develop a voice-based access control system for apartment building elevators. Mr. Byford is a registered professional engineer, holds one U.K. and three U.S. patents, and earned his MA in Electrical Engineering from Cambridge University.

About Vocollect (www.vocollect.com): With more than 60,000 users at hundreds of companies and locations throughout Asia Pacific, Europe and North America, Vocollect has deployed more integrated voice-directed distribution systems than any other company. Together, its market-leading Talkman® wearable computer and integrated software suite cut operating costs by eliminating errors and improving worker productivity shift after shift. The company collaborates with a premier global network of systems integrators and leading WMS providers to serve warehousing customers in a wide range of industries. Using a real-time, working dialog, warehouse staff input data into their WMS - and work "hands-free, eyes-free™." With voice-directed applications and the Talkman belt-worn, ergonomic design, workers stay focused on the job at hand - they're not reading a screen, pick list, or purchase order; keying in data; or juggling both product and an input device. Vocollect’s systems are currently at work in a variety of applications ranging from picking, receiving, replenishment and other critical distribution functions, to quality control and data collection - virtually any function where it's faster and easier for people to speak aloud, than to enter data manually.

Bill Kaigler has more than 18 years experience in product management, business development, project management, engineering, and marketing in the business to business technology and medical device manufacturing industries. During his career, he successfully launched more than a dozen new products, was awarded more than ten patents for his innovations and served as marketing manager for corporate oxygen products. Before starting medSage, Bill served as Vice President of Product Management for Moai Technologies Inc. (originally Medebiz): an Internet start-up software company specializing in e-sourcing and B2B healthcare contract management currently operating in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and as Director of New Ventures, Respironics Inc. (corporate venture development and research and development organization). Bill has a Master of Science Degree in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Mellon University Graduate School of Industrial Administration and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University.

About medSage (www.medsagetechnologies.com): Founded in 2002 by William Kaigler, Mike Sturdevant and Nancy Nunley, medSage has brought together a talented team of professionals from the home healthcare, software and medical device industries committed to solving problems for home healthcare pharmacies. medSage Technologies invented and pioneered a revolutionary Patient Management System for the home healthcare provider and respiratory pharmacy industry.

The medSage Patient Management System provides benefits critical to a business’s survival in today’s environment to: Dramatically increase call center productivity; Reduce call center costs while improving quality of care delivered; Increase provider revenues with higher reorder frequency and improved patient compliance; Increase new patient referrals and reduce program attrition; Reduce or eliminate emergency orders and Leverage outcomes data to support joint commission compliance and improve quality of care medSage provides an end to end solution designed to scale to any size pharmacy or home medical equipment provider. Our hosted solution is ideally suited for the small to medium sized provider. The online hosted solution can be accessed using Microsoft Explorer 5.0. Enterprise solutions, suited for larger organizations, can be installed behind the customer’s firewall and fully integrated with back office applications.

Jack Roseman was formerly the John R. Thorne Professor of Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University where he taught for 13 years. Prior to that, he was the founder of three companies and President of On-Line Systems, an American Stock Exchange company eventually sold to Sprint. A serial entrepreneur and award-winning educator, Jack has been described as a wise, warm, insightful and often amusing guide to the realities of owning your own business. His book, “Outrageous Optimism” prompted one reviewer to call it possibly the best business book of 2004.

Rich Lunak is an experienced entrepreneur who helped lead a three-person, local start-up, Automated Healthcare, to a $65 million acquisition by McKesson Corporation, the nation’s 16th largest company. Rich was a key executive during the company’s earliest stages, helped raise $13 million in financing, oversaw the commercialization of multiple products, managed the company through rapid growth in sales and employees, and created a smooth transition when acquired by McKesson. As Group President, McKesson Automation, Rich led five autonomous business units which created and maintained nearly 500 local engineering and manufacturing jobs and employs more than 1,600 nationally. He was responsible for acquiring new technologies and the design, development and rollout of numerous robotic, automated and software products that are installed in leading healthcare providers across the country and around the world.

A technologist as well as an entrepreneur, Rich Lunak received a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh, and holds several U.S. patents. He is a guest lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Pittsburgh Technology Council, the Technology Collaborative (previously the Pittsburgh Robotics Initiative), and serves on the Carnegie Mellon School of Engineering Advisory Board.

For over ten years, Jessica Lee has advised early-stage and emerging growth businesses as an investment banker, outside general counsel and business/investment counsel, and institutional venture capital investor with an emphasis on the financial, technology and life sciences sectors. She has served as an advisor to, and as an executive/entrepreneur-in-residence with, both institutional investors and with early-stage and emerging growth businesses on matters such as strategic planning, business development, securities regulatory compliance, financing strategy, business combinations and joint ventures, corporate partnering, facilitation and mediation, and human capital.

Prior to founding her own firm, Ms. Lee had served as a partner at the financial and business law firm of Santone, Sweat & Passarello, LLP; and, prior to that position, as an associate in the Business and Finance Law Department of Titus & McConomy, LLP (formerly Cindrich & Titus). Jessica holds a J.D. from the Duke University School of Law, and a B.A. from Duke University, both in Durham, NC.; has been trained as a facilitator and mediator of management team and business matters through the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Business Mediation Training Program; is a member of the American Bar Association licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and before the U.S. Tax Court; and holds the following investment advisory and investment banking National Association of Securities Dealers licenses: Series 7, 24, 63, and 65.

Mona McGraw is President and Co-Founder of NuRelm, Inc. NuRelm is a profitable 4-year old Internet software and E-business solutions firm headquartered in Uniontown, PA. NuRelm is an Innovation Works portfolio company that has also received investments from the CL Fund, Endeavor Capital Management, and Fay-Penn Economic Development Council.

Mona holds an M.S. in Business Administration and two undergraduate degrees in Marketing and English. Prior to founding NuRelm, she held management and business development positions at Kaiser Permanente and IDX. Mona was recently appointed by Governor Rendell to serve on the PA Workforce Investment Board. She also serves on the Pittsburgh-based Tech Action GroupBoard of Directors, an advocacy group made up of Pittsburgh area CEOs of rapid growth technology firms.