Philly Tech Week 2019

Brian Musburger is the founder and CEO of the Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN), the first media network dedicated to sports gambling information. Before launching VSiN in January 2017, Brian spent nearly two decades as a talent agent, negotiating contracts for some of the top names and personalities in sports and entertainment. In that time, he negotiated more than $250 million in sports, broadcasting and media contracts and endorsement deals for a diverse client base of leading figures across industries, including radio and television broadcasting, live television production, columnists, authors, digital content providers, coaches, and sports franchise owners and executives.

In 2012, Brian won a Regional Emmy Award for his role as Executive Producer of “Reporting For Service with Bryan Anderson” a show about service, highlighting Iraq War Veteran Bryan Anderson.

As the Atlantic Outreach Liaison for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Elizabeth Dougherty carries out the strategic direction of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, and is responsible for leading the USPTO's east coast stakeholder engagement. Focusing on the region and actively engaging with the community, Ms. Dougherty ensures the USPTO’s initiatives and programs are tailored to the regions unique ecosystem of industries and stakeholders.

A 27 year veteran of the USPTO, Ms. Dougherty previously served as the Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. In this role, she worked closely across the Agency's leadership to implement the policies and priorities for the USPTO. She began her career at the USPTO as a patent examiner after graduating from The Catholic University of America with a bachelor's degree in physics. While a patent examiner, Ms. Dougherty went on to obtain her J.D. from The Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America and served as a Senior Legal Advisor in the Office of Patent Legal Administration for a significant part of her career. Over the years, she has also served in the USPTO’s Office of Petitions, the Office of Innovation Development, and the Office of Government Affairs. Ms. Dougherty has dedicated much of her career to the USPTO's outreach and education programs focusing on small businesses, startups and entrepreneurs. In this effort she has developed, implemented, and supervised programs that support the independent inventor community, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and the intellectual property interests of colleges and universities. Similarly Ms. Dougherty has spearheaded a number of special projects with federal, state and local governments, and private organizations to promote and support invention and innovation in the United States.

Ms. Dougherty is a member of the Virginia Bar, the Giles S. Rich American Inn of Court, the Pauline Newman American Inn of Court, the American Bar Association, the Federal Circuit Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Patent and Trademark Office Society, the Supervisory Patent Examiners and Classifiers Organization, Women in Science and Engineering, Federally Employed Women, and the Network of Executive Women.

I am a 20+ year technology lead with a passion for healthcare.

Michelai Graham is a creative investigative and multimedia reporter. She completed her M.A. in journalism and public affairs with an investigative journalism focus in July 2018. Prior to graduate school, Michelai acquired a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in media & information from Michigan State University, where she served as co-writer during a study abroad program to India. She also serves as the chapter journalist for the Washington DC Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., where she is also an active member.

Sean Darras is a passionate impact entrepreneur who has been involved with numerous ventures throughout his career. His most recent venture, LUXTECH, was named Philadelphia’s 7th fastest growing company. Sean graduated from the University of Delaware where he studied business and engineering.

Annalicia is a Manager of the Digital and Strategic Design practice with Navigate and has 5+ years of consulting and industry experience leading software implementations and design thinking projects to enable business initiatives and driving enterprise transformation. She is a conceptual thinker who helps clients identify and apply solutions to improve business efficiency and effectiveness through process improvement and strategic design thinking.

Along with her work at Navigate, she is an adjunct professor at Thomas Jefferson University, where she teaches Innovation Essentials. Through this class, undergraduates learn the Integrated Design Process, which trains them in design thinking, identifying opportunities for innovation, prototype development, and business modeling.

Annalicia has spoken at numerous events advocating strategic design and social impact, with upcoming engagements this May at TEDxPhiladelphia 2019. She has an M.B.A in Strategic Design at Thomas Jefferson University and has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Widener University.

Now a Business Analyst at Comcast, Naomi has overcome tremendous obstacles to build a life for both herself, and her son, Kingston.

While attending school and completing the Hopeworks training, Naomi felt a huge sense of responsibility to also take care of her mom and sisters. At one point, she found herself in an unsafe and toxic environment. Despite these obstacles, she never let adversity hold her back from her dreams or her future. She recalls the support and mentoring she received from the staff as her favorite things about Hopeworks, and a significant source of motivation during difficult times. Naomi finished web design training in a few short months, moved into the CRIB, and successfully completed internships in Hopeworks’ training room, the Salesforce department, and the Development department. It was during her time as a Salesforce intern that she became interested in earning her Salesforce Certification. Even though her journey to certification was not easy, Naomi remained hopeful and never gave up. Her dedication paid off when she became Salesforce Certified in November of 2016.

A native Philadelphian, Goss sees her role as TD Bank’s charitable foundation relationships manager as “strategically connecting our resources to address social issues that are relevant to our local communities,” she wrote in an email.

Goss remembers becoming aware of urban centers’ social ills her freshman year at Howard University in D.C. It seemed unfair to her that poorer communities should have fewer resources, like grocery stores. She soon connected those inequities to the ones she saw back home.