Philly Tech Week 2019

Jon has more than 20 years of experience in the data technology space across various industries and disciplines. He has led application development teams in the big data, business intelligence, and campaign management domains for both on-premise and software as a service (SaaS) deployment models, and has deep experience in portfolio and project management and data center operations.

In November 2017, Jon joined TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, as Head of Information Management. In this role on the U.S. Technology Solutions team, Jon provides data strategy and implementation services in support of the bank's analytics and reporting capabilities. He also is accountable for all aspects of information management technology — from solution design and delivery through production support and operations. Prior to joining TD Bank, Jon served as Senior Director, Enterprise Data Management and Analytic Platforms, for CVS Health, where he was responsible for driving the planning and implementation of the company’s enterprise data strategy and data platforms. He also led campaign management operations for CVS/Caremark.

Jon graduated from Rutgers University with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.

CEO and Founder of TheraV, formerly known as Vibrating Therapeutic Apparel (VTA), Amira Idris is a social entrepreneur with a passion for positively impacting lives. She has a master’s degree in entrepreneurship and design from the University of Delaware (UD) and a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering, with minors in biomechanical engineering, and bioelectrical engineering from UD. While pursing both her degrees, Idris was a full scholarship student-athlete for the UD women’s track and field division one team.

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Idris came to the United States when she was nine years old. Even as a young child, she always wanted to be an engineer, and was fortunate to have had the opportunity, resources and support to pursue this dream in the United States. Her passion for social impact was influenced by her experiences in the United States and Nigeria. With her venture, TheraV, Idris combines her love for social entrepreneurship and engineering.

Venture: TheraV offers drug-free, wearable devices that use vibration therapy to help amputees and neuropathic pain suffers manage pain, so they can sleep better, feel better and live better, without the risk of drug dependence, or drug side effects.

My days are spent finding talent, building brilliant teams, and improving people operations. For me, this means being human, asking the right questions, and making smart, data-driven decisions. I'm forever curious, with a real knack for people, data, and problem-solving. Especially when they're all tangled together as a sparkly new challenge. YAY!

When I'm not talking talent or wrapping my head around a project, I have some hobbies. Like filling my studio with as many plants as possible, showering them with love, and being the best cat mom I can be. I'm an aspiring yogi, novice runner, and a sucker for cycling (both indoor and outdoor). I love long walks through Whole Foods, good arch support, and an ice cold kombucha.

Conrad Benner is a photographer, podcaster, curator, and founder of StreetsDept.com, a photo-blog that discovers art on the streets of Philadelphia. Conrad’s blog has been named one of the ‘Best Blogs for Travellers’ by The Guardian, and his photography highlighted by Mashable and Instagram, as well as printed in Time Magazine and the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Winner of the 2011 Philadelphia Geek Award for ‘Geek Culture Journalism,’ Conrad was named ‘Best Art Curator’ in 2014 by Philadelphia Magazine, ‘Rad Guy of the Year’ at the 3rd Annual Rad Awards in 2017, and one of ‘The 100 Most Influential People in Philadelphia’ by Philadelphia Magazine in 2017.

Conrad has used his growing influence not only to celebrate Philly’s burgeoning arts scene, but also to affect change. Most notably with his successful #SEPTA247 campaign, in 2014, which pushed the South Eastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) to reintroduce overnight weekend service to Philadelphia’s elevated and subway trains. As well as with his work on Next Stop: Democracy, a Knight Cities Challenge winning project, which aims to increase voter turnout in Philly with the help of local artists. And his work in 2016 with Covenant House Pennsylvania to create #AmICutOut, a pop-up art installation to help raise awareness and money to end youth homelessness in Philadelphia. And in the Trump-era, with his work co-organizing Signs of Solidarity, an inauguration day public art protest in opposition to hate and in protest of any and all that embolden divisiveness; co-organizing Collective Action, a silent art auction which raised over $23k for 10 local and national social justice organizations; and curator and organizer of Revolutionary: A Pop-Up Street Art Exhibition, a six-week exhibition, commissioned by Visit Philadelphia, which featured the work of 13 contemporary Philly-based artists who are challenging the current political and social status quo installed at 13 locations across Philadelphia’s Historic District.

Born and raised in the heart of the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Conrad has indeed eaten a WAWA hoagie for breakfast before, and on many occasions, and he’s not mad about it.

Erica is CTO & Founder at IOpipe where she is building tools to help developers of serverless applications iterate faster and support their applications in production. She is a former maintainer of Docker and OpenStack and has been building cloud, ops, and infrastructure tooling for over 15 years.

Frank is an Associate Principal Engineer with Cerner in Malvern. For the past 23 years, he has worked on the Document Management product, part of the Electronic Health Record. He is an alumni of Penn State University, with a BS in Electrical Engineering and an MS in Computer Engineering.

Jessica is the founder of RPM Solutions Group, Inc., a consultancy firm focused on promoting and supporting the mission of public service agencies. Jessica has over 15 years of public service experience. Jessica served as an all hazards lieutenant and paramedic with the Fairfax County, Virginia Fire and Rescue Department where she was a Certificate of Valor recipient. In addition to her fire service field experience, she represented the County as a gubernatorial appointee and technical information specialist on the USAID/FEMA (VA TF 1) Urban Search and Rescue team. Jessica also served as a deputy emergency manager and regional program manager for the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Department of Public Safety. Jessica earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from George Washington University, remains a Nationally Registered Paramedic, and is a candidate for a Master of Public Health degree from Drexel University.

As Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS in New York, Kate is responsible for external engagement, innovation sourcing, company onboarding, portfolio management, operational excellence, educational programming and P&L. She catalyzes and supports the translation of science and technology into valuable solutions for patients and consumers across the pharmaceutical, medical device, consumer and healthtech sectors.

Kate joins JLABS with 15 years of experience working across the Healthcare industry, starting in R&D before moving onto roles in Marketing, Business Development, External Alliances, Medical Affairs, Health Outcomes and most recently Disruptive Innovation. During her career Kate has been part of teams that have discovered new drugs, worked to develop and gain approval for blockbuster diabetes products and is passionate about being part of the future of healthcare where science intersects with the rapid advancements in health care technology.

Kate holds an undergraduate degree in Pharmacology & Toxicology from King’s College London, and a PhD in Pharmacology & Toxicology from University of California, Irvine Medical School. She received her MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.