Speakers

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  Deborah Tillett

  Deb Tillett currently serves as the President and Executive Director of ETC (Emerging Technology Centers). Ms. Tillett is responsible for management and oversight of the City of Baltimore’s Technology and innovation center. In that role she provides the guidance, leadership and resources necessary for entrepreneurs to start, grow and succeed with their businesses.

  @etcbaltimore
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  Merritt Baer

  Merritt is a technology strategy consultant. She works with young tech companies to bring fresh perspective and key growth, and advises on tech and cybersecurity policy. She is a leader in Internet policy and translates her experience into innovation guidance for start-ups. She serves as Special Assistant in DHS Cybersecurity and Communications, where she provides cybersecurity strategy for critical infrastructure and advises the Cybersecurity and Communications legislative agenda.

  @MerrittBaer
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  Melody Kramer

  Melody co-leads NPR’s social team and manages internal projects related to NPR’s social and digital strategy. She is currently working on several projects involving breaking news, sourcing, daily news production, social media, our archives, and analytics. Previously, Melody worked as an associate producer at NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, where she was responsible for writing and producing all web content and social media for the show and some some daily on-air content.

  @MKramer
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  Amy Rubino

  Making things easier to use is not just my job; it's my passion. I strive to create technology that provides a positive experience for the user. I have worked with universities, non-profits, government agencies and commercial companies. Now I create great shopping experiences on Under Armour's website.

  @Amy_Rubino
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  Gretchen LeGrand

  Gretchen is the Executive Director of Code in the Schools, a Baltimore City non-profit that brings computer science education to underserved and underrepresented youth. A Baltimore native, Gretchen has been committed to serving her community for over a decade. She holds a BA from St. John's College, Annapolis, and an MS in Applied Psychology from the University of Baltimore. She lives in Bolton Hill with her husband, two kids, dog, and turtle.

  @gretchenlegrand
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  Ellen Miller

  Ellen S. Miller is the co-founder and executive director of the Sunlight Foundation, a Washington-based, non-partisan non-profit dedicated to using the power of the Internet to catalyze greater government openness and transparency. She is the founder of two other prominent Washington-based organizations in the field of money and politics — the Center for Responsive Politics and Public Campaign — and a nationally recognized expert on transparency and the influence of money in politics. Her experience as a Washington advocate for more than 35 years spans the worlds of non-profit advocacy, grassroots activism and journalism.

  @EllnMllr
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  Smitha Gopal

  Smitha is the CEO of Eyemaginations, a Baltimore company that creates visual patient education software to help doctors and patients communicate with each other. Prior to joining Eyemaginations in 2006, Smitha worked at a boutique investment bank. She earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Finance from the McIntire School of the University of Virginia. She lives with her family in Federal Hill.

  @Eyemaginations
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  Keisha Reed

  Keisha Reed is a social media strategist, Baltimore technology community member and contributor to Technical.ly Baltimore. She is the founder of K. Reed Digital, a web agency specializing in website strategy and digital media management. Raised in Washington, DC, her commitment to raising the awareness of the digital divide and placing more girls in STEM is a lifelong passion. When she is not settled in with a good book, she enjoys the company of family and friends around the dinner table.

  @IAMKJR
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  Sharon Paley

  Sharon Paley is the cofounder of Hack Baltimore and is a leading organizer of the Baltimore innovation and technology community. Honored by the White House in July of 2013 for her work building and growing the city’s civic hacking community, Sharon is dedicated to the idea that innovation, technology, and transparency are the keys to empower and improve the quality of life of Charm City’s citizens.

  @Sharon_Paley
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  Denise Brien

  Denise Brien serves as AOL’s Senior Director of Consumer Analytics & Research. In this role, Denise is responsible for bringing the voice of the consumer to decision makers in Products, Marketing, and Sales. She has worked in market research for 15 years and has extensive experience leading custom quantitative and qualitative research. Prior to joining AOL, Denise held positions in research and consulting at Premium Knowledge Group and JD Power and Associates. Denise serves on the board of the IAB Research Council and previously on the AMA’s Market Research Council.

  @dmbrien
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  Misty Melton

  Misty Melton is the founder and Chapter Leader of Girl Develop It Baltimore and Girl Develop It DC, an educational non-profit committed to bridging the gender gap and encouraging more women to enter tech careers by providing affordable and accessible hands-on classes and mentorship. Also a founding member of DCFemTech, a collective of leaders in the WIT community in the DC/VA/MD region, she is dedicated to the mission of bringing more women and girls into the world of technology and believes in collaborating with other organizations working toward the same goal.

  @m0onb4by
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  Monyka Berrocosa

  Monyka Berrocosa has been an experienced, out-sourced Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) since 1999. A forward thinking, innovator – Monyka began offering fractional access to higher level marketing expertise long before the word “Outsourced” became a ubiquitous buzz word. A native of Montreal, Canada, “M” as friends and colleagues call her (hence the name M. Consulting) has been living in Baltimore, MD since 1998. A successful business owner for over 14 years she combines corporate know- how with entrepreneurial achievement and is recognized as one of the Mid-Atlantic area’s most vocal, accomplished media and marketing communications professionals.

  @MyCityM
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  Caroline Worrall

  Caroline Worrall, CFA, CPA, has recently taken a position as the Chief Financial Officer of SalesWarp, an early stage, high tech venture. She spent the summer as the CFO-in-Residence at the Emerging Technology Centers.. Prior to joining the ETC, she was the Chief Financial Officer at Health Solutions. She oversaw the due diligence process and sale of the company to Interactive Health, a private equity backed corporate wellness services company in Chicago, IL. She has over 15 years as a senior executive in small to mid-sized businesses developing technologies and services for both the private and government sectors. In addition to directing the sales process, Caroline was responsible for the financial strategic oversight, including corporate financial reporting, audit, tax, internal controls and corporate governance.

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  Kelly Keenan Trumpbour

  Kelly Keenan Trumpbour works to inspire women to become investors in women-led startups. Her website, See Jane Invest helps women understand how and when to invest, and why entering the marketplace as entrepreneurs and investors enables women to express their values, give back to our communities, and model smart risk taking. Her mission is to grow a supportive female investment community in her hometown of Baltimore where she is a member of the Baltimore Angels and a 2014 Washington Pipeline Fellow.

  @KKTrumpbour
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  Brit Keller

  Brit Keller is a Vice President at AOL, where she is responsible for managing advertising operations for AOL’s digital advertising business. Brit has been in the digital marketing industry for over nine years and currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Advertising Operations Council. Brit is passionate about giving back to the community and is active in both mentorship and community outreach, including serving on the Board of Directors for the Towson University College of Business and Economics.

  @britkeller
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  Roni Ellington

  Mathematics Education Professor, Inspirational Speaker, Executive Coach, and STEM education scholar and mentor, Dr. Roni Ellington has authored several scholarly articles on STEM education, parental involvement, and successfully navigating the STEM pipeline, particularly for minority students. Her research has been featured in The Negro Educational Review and CBE-Life Sciences Education, Equity and Quality in Mathematics Education and Progress in Education, Volume II and the Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem Based Learning.

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  Heather Romney

  Heather is head coach of the RoboDoves, a high-performing robotics team at Western High School, an all-girls public school in Baltimore City. Heather teaches AP Art and Technology, has built two 3d printers, and is trying her hardest to keep up with all of the cool things that can inspire girls to pursue their interests in STEAM. She is convinced that after-school programming is the answer to many ailments and is currently creating a maker space at Western. Heather also performs and creates objects with Smelling Salt Amusements.

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  Zuly Gonzalez

  Zuly is the Co-founder and CEO of Light Point Security. Zuly co-founded Light Point Security to solve the biggest problem in cybersecurity today – web-based malware. Zuly heads all business development, marketing, sales and customer acquisition efforts at Light Point Security. Zuly has over 10 years of experience in the US federal government as an Information Assurance Engineer, Security Vulnerability Analyst and Program Manager for the NSA. In her technical positions, Zuly was responsible for securing national security information systems. As a Program Manager, she managed multi-million dollar Technical Security Countermeasures (TSCM) government contracts, and headed the Counter-IED (Improvised Explosive Device) mission.

  @ZulyGonz
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  Johnetta Hardy

  Ms. Hardy is currently the Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) at the University of Baltimore, which connects emerging and established entrepreneurs to resources and opportunities that accelerate their sustainable revenue and growth. She is also the Founder & CEO of the Hardy Solutions Group, LLC, a firm that specializes in providing resources, education and expertise to maximize the success of small businesses in business development, financial planning/literacy and executive coaching.