Arash Adami is a neuroscientist and has over 15+ research experience, ranging from stem cells to brain injury and MRI physics. His career includes 5 years as a regulatory affairs professional attending multiple FDA meeting and he has founded 2 startups (medtech, gaming). Currently, Arash serves as the executive director of a local nonprofit and teaches neuroscience and data literacy at Weber Honors College.

CRVFT is disrupting the men’s grooming industry with premium hair styling and facial care products designed to help men look and feel their best with minimal effort and expense. We’ve simplified keeping men’s grooming to be up to date with fashion trends and matching their lifestyle with the correct products while integrating the highest tested ingredients. Since starting the company in 2018, we’ve earned the Amazon’s Choice Badge across our product line and impacted thousands of men to look good, feel good, and be great. Prior to CRVFT, I helped scale and co-lead Tinuiti’s (FKA CPC Strategy) Amazon Department for 4 years, becoming the largest Amazon Ad Agency in the world. My primary focus was on growth opportunities and keeping Tinuiti ahead of its competitors by constantly evolving and improving the online experiences of clients so they could thrive on bottom-of-the-funnel and top-of-the-funnel retail search channels. Additionally, I serve as a mentor to students through the San Diego State University's Aztec Mentor and Lavin Program. My commitment to SDSU is driven by my experience there as Student Body Vice President, which uniquely placed me as COO of Associated Students, a $30M student-directed not-for-profit auxiliary organization of San Diego State University.

Senior Technology and Product Leader with proven success in Pharma and Healthcare Technology. Accomplished leader with diverse expertise in IT, product management, and operations. Renowned for developing innovative solutions and aligning business and product strategies to achieve organizational objectives. Skilled in building and leading high-performing teams and managing diverse global stakeholders to drive success in the pharmaceutical and healthcare technology sectors. Led development of Novo Nordisk's diabetes titration app as a Software as Medical Device (SaMD) from inception through clinical trials to commercial readiness. Established and managed global IT teams overseeing operations and maintenance of 50+ enterprise systems including HRIT, RDIT, S&M IT, and Manufacturing IT. Implemented a Shared Services organization to optimize system management; using Lean Six Sigma principles and tools such as DMAIC, RCAs and more to ensure operational excellence, reduced issue resolution time by 60%.

A two-time SDSU grad, (BA, Communications with Emphasis in Public Relations | MBA, Emphasis in Marketing), Ben is the director of marketing, communications and public affairs for Aztec Shops, Ltd. which runs the SDSU Bookstore and SDSU Dining among other commercial enterprises on campus. Ben previously worked as an independent film publicist in Los Angeles.

In 2017 I founded Uqora, a direct to consumer brand focused on urinary tract infection prevention, diagnosis, and management. Uqora was sold to Pharmavite in 2021. I currently advise other startups, primarily e-commerce brands. My education background is in biochemistry at UC Berkeley.

Tim Hance is the founder of Hance Fractional Counsel, PC, a boutique law practice that provides fractional general counsel services to venture-backed startups. Previously, Mr. Hance served as general counsel for both public and private companies. In addition to managing day-to-day legal matters, Mr. Hance has completed numerous strategic transactions, including venture capital financings, initial public offerings, spin-outs, and mergers/acquisitions. Mr. Hance graduated from Harvard Law School and began his law career at the top Silicon Valley-based law firm Cooley LLP, where he specialized in representing startups. Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Hance was a senior business analyst at a large Silicon Valley startup. Mr. Hance grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and enjoys board games and surfing in his free time.

Wendy Kim is an international best-selling author of the book: Beyond Blending In: An Immigrant Daughter's Guide to Overcoming Cultural Bonds for a Life of Authenticity and Abundance, public speaker and certified diversity, equity and inclusion educator. She works with Fortune 500 companies to support people from underrepresented groups to make their voices heard, take up space and be leaders in their organizations. In her work across different organizations, Wendy has found that one of the most underutilized resources is leadership across underrepresented groups.

PRODUCT & OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE with diverse leadership expertise, including Product/Roadmap Management, OKRs/KPIs, Program/Project Management, Process Improvement, Workflow Redesign, Change Leadership, Agile Product Life Cycle Management, Technical Support/Dev Ops, Healthcare, EHRs, PACE, Value-Based Care, FDA/CMS Compliance, Strategy Development, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Executive Reporting, Analytics. Mom of two amazing teens. I enjoy watching sports, gardening, decorating, beaches, sunsets, food and wine, and spending time with friends and family.

My name is Jim Meyerott. I am an SDSU alumni, graduated in 2015 with a degree in Finance. I am currently the owner of a popcorn company called PartyPop since 2018. We sell our popcorn wholesale, events, festivals and do private catering as well.

Javier Ortega-Araiza is the founder and CEO of Infinite Expeditions. Since 2011, he has designed top-notch educational, business, and sports travel experiences across the world. As a digital nomad, he has spent time in 30+ countries. He has been a visiting lecturer on entrepreneurship at the University of Toronto, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Illinois at Springfield, among others. Besides Infinite Expeditions, he is the founder of Scholars Media, a company focused on creating compelling content and enhancing the power of storytelling. His writings have been featured by outlets such as Business Insider, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Fox, the New York Post, the Toronto Star, and the Winnipeg Free Press, among others.

Lauren Rowley is an investor, operator, and former nonprofit executive. She invests in health, climate tech, and real estate. As the Founding Partner of Myrtie, Lauren serves funds and accelerators by providing back-office operations, investment support, and investor relations. She excels at driving strategic initiatives, streamlining processes, and ensuring efficient execution of investment strategies throughout the life of the portfolio. She works at the nexus of impact and venture capital, bringing a unique blend of strategic leadership and operational expertise. Prior to investing, she designed and capitalized structural change initiatives addressing health, poverty, and education.

Jeff Silver, Founder and Recent Owner of Rough Draft Brewing Company After graduating from UCSD in 1994, Jeff began a career in technology sales with Maxwell Technologies. After receiving his MBA from UCI in 2002, he transitioned to executive positions in marketing with Capital One Bank and Kemper Insurance and then on to building a business with Rough Draft Brewing Company in 2012. Jeff’s hobby turned passion then career began shortly after graduating from UCSD as he began making beer with a home brewing kit he received as a gift from his parents. With many a batch tested on his roommates and friends, he eventually became an award winning home brewer with local and national honors. Rough Draft began with support and investment from a number of UCSD and UCI classmates and has grown from one brewer and a few beer tenders to a staff of 18 in brewery operations, sales and the tasting room. Over the past few years, the brewery has expanded and evolved from the brewery tasting room to include domestic and international distribution, a kitchen that serves food to tasting room patrons, and a pub on campus is the Mesa Nueva graduate student housing area at UCSD, and a tasting room at the popular Sky Deck in the Del Mar Highlands.

Steve has spent his career primarily in the mobile/wireless communications industry. He has worked for large multi-national companies, such as Siemens, Motorola, Qualcomm and Viasat, down to early stage start-ups. He was the co-founder of a wireless communications company and a computer security company. Mr. Sivitz had leadership roles in business development, sales, marketing, and product management for global markets. He has over 30 years’ experience revitalizing sales, developing partnerships for go-to-market and technology transfer strategies, negotiating supply agreements, and expanding market share in mobile communication industries – cellular, enterprise wireless and satellite. During his career he lead the product management and launch of 15 products and services.

Angel investor, startup and mid-size business advisor, saas software development leader

Tracy is a passionate product leader with broad experience in all aspects of product management, including product strategy and prioritization frameworks, product discovery, end-to-end customer experience design and optimization, user research, iterative development, go-to-market planning and product market fit. She has led product teams at GoDaddy, Appfolio and Intuit, among others, and has overseen the conception, execution and delivery of several category-leading products.

JILA T’KANCHI is a global executive leader who has most recently served as Director of Software Development for both Personal and Professional tax software at Intuit. Her span of influence covered both the U.S. and Canada with a team of 200 full time employees and an additional 50 contractors during tax season. In this role, T’Kanchi was responsible for launching new online products while enhancing existing products, ensuring all were of the highest quality and compliant with tax law changes prior to production. Under her direction, her team contributed to a $4.5B tax business at Intuit, strengthening the company’s reputation by staying ahead of the competition in product deliveries and quality. Having started as an individual contributor at Intuit, climbing the leadership ladder 4 times, T’Kanchi developed the ability to navigate between big ideas and operational execution to bring Product Vision to life, setting both business and employees up for success. In her 19-year tenure at Intuit, T’Kanchi has a track record of: • Being open to new challenges, leading large organizations through unexpected and uncharted change • Encouraging a bias toward action and an obsession with delivering customer value (MVP), allowing organizations to learn quickly and pivot as needed to meet business goals while solving customer problems • Retaining passion for building high performance organizations through diversity, continual process & technology improvements, and innovation • Driving rapid, measurable results across

Shirley Yager is a business and market development executive with 20+ years of experience evaluating, quantifying, and validating new markets, business opportunities, and launching high tech products. Her work results in the generation of new revenue streams and the creation of new business units. Most recently, she served as the Director of Product Management at Qualcomm where she analyzed new growth areas, M&A deals, and formulated strategy for Qualcomm’s $6+ billion technology licensing business. In the past, Shirley has worked with startup companies, both as a part of the founding team and as a consultant. With depth of experience in market research, marketing, product development, product management, and business development, Shirley wears multiple hats when serving in an executive role and as an individual contributor for these startups.