Philly Tech Week 2019

Brian is CTO at Monetate, a Philly-based SaaS company focused on creating meaningful, personalized interactions between the world's leading brands and their customers. Monetate's platform personalizes over a hundred billion interactions each year, powered by sophisticated Artificial Intelligence that learns from millions of events each second.

Previously, as CTO of Health Market Science (HMS), Brian lead the healthcare-focused data management and analytics company through a successful acquisition by LexisNexis.

Brian has published and contributed to books on machine learning, real-time processing and distributed systems. This has lead to recognition as a perennial Datastax Cassandra MVP and winner of InfoWorld’s Technology Leadership award.

Brian began his career in Silicon Valley, but as a Philadelphia native, has returned to the region and is dedicated to growing the innovative, entrepreneurial spirit of the city.

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.

A creative powerhouse, Envy has been writing, hosting and producing award winning content for radio, tv, print and the web in the Philadelphia Metro Area for well over 15 years. She is an award-winning veteran of both music format Radio ONE and talk radio’s ICBC and LEVAS Communications, and regional TV’s Good Day Philadelphia as a regular contributor. Envy’s range in all forms of relevant media is proven - from hosting radio, television and web shows; to her entrepreneurship in publishing, voice acting and media coaching; to finding engaging ways to balance branding through social media with living an actualized, spirit-centered life—with style. She is a details driven media pro specializing in polish, personality, authenticity and Star People.

Sara Mohazzebi is the founder of Think Free Productions, a media and production company committed to promoting stories of diversity, equality, and thinking outside the box in a variety of formats including digital media content, documentary shorts and series, commercials, music videos, and scripted television and film projects. Known as a leading expert in social good, arts/subculture, and innovative entrepreneurial coverage, Sara has consulted for wide range of high-profile and award-winning nonprofit organizations, and advertising agencies including Saatchi and Saatchi’s Team One and Shine On Sierra Leone and is a speaker and moderator at popular media and tech conferences. At Think Free, she brings her expertise and experience as a former social good and culture journalist to her current directing and executive producing slate.

Prior to Think Free, Sara was the editor-in-residence for the launch of the digital division of Reese Witherspoon's production company Hello Sunshine. During her residency, Sara created and directed the original limited docu series Turning Point with co-producer and director of photography Alexis Casson featuring Amanda DeCadenet of Girl Gaze, designer Melody Ehsani, and Style Seat CEO Melody McCloskey. She also created the written series The Storytellers where she interviewed a spectrum of female storytellers about their creative process such as author Elizabeth Gilbert, television writer and director Gail Lerner of ABC’s Blackish, feature film and television costume designer Mona Many, EVP of Marvel Studios Victoria Alonso, director and activist Abigail Disney, and novelist Emily Giffin. Additionally, she created the monthly original essay submission series where the public can submit their personal essays and be published on Hello Sunshine's digital platforms.

For the past decade, Sara has been an international journalist and producer and has travelled the world covering the endeavors of social good activists, cultural influencers, icons, and A-list entertainment talent. With a reputation for reporting from refugee camps to red carpets, her work has been published in numerous popular domestic and international media outlets including The Daily Beast, Esquire, Marie Claire, Teen Vogue, Emirates Woman, + PopSugar. Sara was also the syndicated columnist + host of the series Up To Real Good, a column dedicated to socially conscious brands with a global give back to women and children’s health and development for TakePart World (Participant Media’s news division). Sara has also written for and been commissioned by the United Nations World Food Programme and the Montblanc Signature For Good initiative in addition to being a global culture correspondent for Puma Social.

Sara has an MFA in Film Producing from the American Film Institute and is the recipient of the Amy Bloch Producer Fellowship for producing excellence. She also has a B.S. in Film + Multimedia Production from Drexel University.

Her favorite word is yes.

Michael O’Bryan is widely recognized as an expert practitioner and thought leader in the fields of community development, organizational culture, and trauma-informed practices. Since 2015, O’Bryan has served as the Director of Youth and Young Adult Initiatives at the Village of Arts and Humanities, a nonprofit headquartered in North Philadelphia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of the Arts and a certificate in Childhood Trauma Studies from Jefferson University. O’Bryan is currently a Corzo Fellow at The Corzo Center for The Creative Economy at The University of the Arts, and an Innovation Fellow at Drexel University’s Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation, in support of a startup venture focused on the advancement of behavioral skills and equity in the field of workforce development. Prior to that, O’Bryan spent more than a decade working directly with underserved populations — including veterans, adults in recovery, returning citizens, and families experiencing homelessness — and as a consultant and advisor for multiple nonprofits, businesses, and local government agencies. O’Bryan speaks to audiences nationwide about his work, including convenings hosted by Cornell University, The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, NeighborWorks America, and the famed Apollo Theatre in New York. His commitment to service has also helped him amplify his contributions to the Philadelphia region by serving on the boards of two philanthropic institutions: The Samuel S. Fels Fund and The Philadelphia Cultural Fund.

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.

Frank Denbow is a computer scientist and entrepreneur from New Jersey. He is currently a Startup Advocate at Microsoft, helping support the startup community in NYC. He is the founder of INK’A, a platform for producing top quality custom apparel for companies and influencers. Frank has bootstrapped INK’A into millions in revenue and enjoys supporting other entrepreneurs in the startup ecosystem. Born in Harlem, and raised by Jamaican & Guyanese parents in New Jersey, Frank caught the bug for entrepreneurship at an early age, selling cologne on eBay, and began programming in middle school. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon’s Computer Science program, Frank interned as a software developer at Apple before building his own companies. Frank has held leadership positions in community organizations such as Startup Weekend, Startup Digest, & Coalition for Queens / Pursuit, helping connect entrepreneurs with the resources they need. Out of this desire, he created INFLECTION, a community for profitable companies. With passions for spreading computer science education and in affecting change in prison reform, Frank serves on the advisory board for Academy For Software Engineering (a Computer Science focused high school) & volunteers with organizations like Defy Ventures.

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.