Stephen Fleming

"Top 5 Technology Trends in 2013"

Stephen Fleming is the Vice President of Enterprise Innovation Institute at Georgia Tech. Fleming has 16 years of private equity experience at the General Partner level. Prior to his venture capital career, he spent 15 years in operations roles at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Nortel Networks, and LICOM (a venture-funded startup). An Atlanta native and summa cum laude graduate of Georgia Tech, Stephen returned to his alma mater in mid-2005 as Chief Commercialization Officer. His appointment led a reorganization designed to streamline the handling of intellectual property, accelerate the licensing of technology, and make the Institute’s resources more readily accessible to business and industry. Stephen is active in the “alternative space” industry; he is an investor in three private aerospace companies and is a founding member of the Space Angels Network. Mr. Fleming also serves on the Boards of Trustees for the Spiritual Living Center of Atlanta and for Tech High School, a charter high school emphasizing science, math, and technology in urban Atlanta.

Danielle Herzberg

"Technology Making Small Business Competitive"

Danielle Herzberg serves as a Partner Channel Member for HubSpot, one of the fastest growing companies in the nation. Previously, she worked as an Inbound Marketing Specialist who provided CEOs, CMOs, and marketing directors with an introduction to inbound marketing by conducting assessments of their websites and showing them how HubSpot's tools and consulting could help. She helped generate revenue from free internet resources, develop business relations from the web, and drive more qualified buyers to their website. Herzberg graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Suma Cum Laude and currently resides in the Greater Boston Area. 

David Parker

"Business at the Speed of Light"

David Parker is the founder and CEO of Parker FiberNet, which evolved from David’s initial security systems business that he started during his college career at Georgia Tech. He grew Parker FiberNet through a focus on building fiber optic rings in medium sized cities in North Georgia and other states. Parker is recognized as an innovative business leader and has been a key contributor to the successful pursuit of the $21.4M ARRA grant awarded to the Appalachian Valley Fiber Network for fiber optic infrastructure for NW Georgia and Eastern Alabama. This new network, projected to be completed in 2013, will provide affordable, high-capacity bandwidth to bring new jobs and industries to areas hard hit with recent economic losses in Georgia and Alabama. David is active on the Board of Shorter University and Heritage First Bank in Rome, Georgia, and in 2010 traveled to Haiti as part of a specialized team mobilized to restore emergency communication after the devastating earthquake. He resides with his wife and two children in Lyerly, Georgia.

Greg Richardson

"New Models for Community Innovation"

Greg Richardson is the founder and Managing Partner for Civitium. Since founding the company in 2004, Greg has served as the lead advisor for Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago and numerous other U.S. and international cities on matters related to community broadband strategy, policy, technology and communications planning. Greg is a leading authority on how communities can apply technology for economic and social benefit. He is a regular speaker at international industry conferences, having spoken and led workshops on 5 continents and more than a dozen countries. 

Kris Carlisle & Adam Hayes

Special Live Demonstration of Contemporary Music

Kris Carlisle is an Associate Professor in the Fine Arts Department at Berry College.  He received his training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Claremont Graduate University.  He has been the winner of many competitions and the recipient of various awards including: the Martha Fischer-Tye Foundation Award; a Special Achievement in Musicology Award from the Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.; and a Georgia Music Teachers Steinway Piano Galleries Educator Grant.    

Specializing in contemporary music, Dr. Carlisle is currently promoting his latest album with Eastman Trumpet Artist, Adam Hayes.  The album – Current, is a collection of contemporary works for piano and trumpet.   This collaborative album features innovative compositions for trumpet and piano and is distributed internationally by Curvepoint Media.

Adam Hayes is Artist-in-Residence and Assistant Professor of Music at Berry College where he teaches the trumpet studio, courses in music, and conducts the jazz ensembles. Dr. Hayes is active throughout the eastern United States as a professional trumpet player and educator. A seasoned soloist, as well as chamber, orchestral, jazz and commercial musician, Hayes has performed throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. He actively commissions new works for trumpet by a variety of composers and has published articles and reviews for various music publications.

Marshall Seese

Songster Demonstration

Marshall is an experienced entrepreneur with a background in music, technology, and law. He earned a JD from the University of Michigan, and opened his own law firm, BCLS Legal, only two years after graduation. In late 2008, Marshall sold his stake in BCLS and joined North Highland as its General Counsel. In addition to his legal career, Marshall has launched a number of small businesses and is an experienced musician with a recording agreement through Backspace Records. Today, he is the founder and CEO of Songster, the first game by Atlanta-based startup, Mowgli. 

Allen Bell

"Creative Economies"

Allen Bell is the Program Director for Arts Education, Research & Information at South Arts, a nine-state regional arts organization based in Atlanta. He is also a freelance writer for Cobb Life Magazine and Cherokee Life Magazine. Prior to working for South Arts, Bell was the executive director for the Rome Area Council for the Arts. He received his BA from Berry College and his MA from State University of New York at Binghamton. Currently, he resides in the Greater Atlanta Area.

Special Thanks to Jason Shannon:

Arranging, Composition, Orchestration

For his day job, Jason Shannon is CTO for Civitium, a broadband consulting firm. But he is also a talented musician and composer, with his own repertoire of solo classical pieces on mandolin. Jason uses digital innovations and modern technologies like sampling and synthesis for orchestral writing and composition. He has composed a very special piece that will serve as the Confluence theme song. Listen out for his music throughout the event!

Chris Allen

EventHost.com

Chris Allen is currently the President of EventHost, an online application that simplifies volunteer management. The application reduces administrative headaches and allows users to better organize large events, year round volunteer programs, and small service projects. Allen is also the founder of iServe, which connects individuals with local service opportunities that match their passions, skills, and availability. He is a graduate of Berry College in Rome, Georgia.

Sy Allen

Georgia Power Renewable Development

Sy serves as a project manager for Renewable Development and Green Strategies for Georgia Power. He is responsible for the development of renewable energy projects with a primary focus on solar energy, including all issues related to regulatory and legislative policy and external relationships. Since joining Georgia Power in 2001, Sy has held several positions in customer service as well as graduating from Georgia Power Company's Professional Development Program. At the conclusion of rotations in Southern Company's Business Assurance and Georgia Power Community and Economic Development, he joined Renewable Development in his current role. 

Herrick Kroeger: 

Grand Trunk Hammock Sleeping Bag System

Herrick Kroeger is currently the store manager of Blue Sky Outfitter, a shop selling attire for outdoor enthusiasts. Blue Sky Outfitters has locations in Rome and Cartersville, Georgia, and it often hosts events during the warmer months. Kroeger is a 2009 graduate of Georgia Highlands College. Herrick will tell the story of his Hammock Compatible Sleep system, the newest innovation in Ultra-Light hammock camping.  The Sleeping Bag which can be used on any camping trip as a normal bag, also doubles as a fully incapsulating cocoon for the Hammock Camper.  The H.C.S.B. was produced and released on June of 2012 and since had been featured multiple magazines and articles with good reviews and much interest. Hear his entrepreneurial story.

Innovation in Education: 

Breakout Session

Flipped classrooms. iPads. Mobile learning. "Try-storming." BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology). How can we teach innovation and creative problem solving in the classroom? How do we most effectively integrate technology in the classroom to optimize the education experience?

Panelist: Rebekah Kinney

Rebekah Kinney  BS and Masters Degree in Elementary Education from Berry College.  She has sixteen years experience teaching grades PK-5th.  She has been a faculty member at Darlington School for 8 years. As of June 1st  of last year, she also has the title of Technology Integration Specialist for grades PK-6th at Darlington School. She will be discussing the integration of iPads and other technology into the classroom. 

Panelist: Zane Cochran

For over 10 years, Zane has had experience with a number of entrepreneurial ventures including technology, design and interactive media. Recently he worked as a senior account executive at Sommers Public Relations in Austin, Texas. Now, he is a student and is pursuing a graduate degree in Computer Science.

Panelist: Trey Cunningham

Trey Cunningham is the Chair of Sports Management at Shorter University. He holds a doctoral degree in human performance: teaching administration from The University of Southern Mississippi and a master’s in exercise science from Louisiana Tech University. Dr. Cunningham received his bachelor’s degree in fitness and wellness (clinical concentration) from Louisiana Tech University. He has teaching experience at Northwestern State University and the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Cunningham also served as operations director for the Center for Spectator Sport Security Management at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Healthcare Innovation: 

Breakout Session

Engage in dynamic and interactive dialogue around such topics as: interoperability, mistake-proofing, personalized medicine, and the dramatic future of healthcare-related innovations. In this "edu-tainment" focused session, you explore the interplay of the physician (the "MD"), the patient (the "PT"), and the health information technology professional (the "IT").

Panelist: Leonard Reeves

Dr. Leonard Reeves, Assistant Dean of Georgia Health Sciences University’s Northwest Clinical Campus in Rome, Ga., is an Academy Fellow, and has served as Campus Assistant Dean since 2010. A former high school math and science teacher, he is a graduate of Berry College and Mercer University School of Medicine. He is a member of the academy’s Commission on Continuing Professional Development, is a past President of the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians and serves on its Congress of Delegates.

Panelist: Chris McKinney

Dr. Chris McKinney directs the Office of Technology Transfer and Economic Development for Georgia Health Sciences University, leading a team of professionals to help clinical and basic scientists optimize the commercial potential of their discoveries. He oversees all aspects of the operation, including technology evaluation, marketing and commercialization activities. He also serves as GHSU’s chief liaison with the private sector regarding technology transfer; advises the Senior Vice President for Research on matters related to intellectual property and technology transfer; and oversees the Life Sciences Business Development Center. Dr. McKinney formerly served Vanderbilt University where he increased technology transfer revenues from $1.7 million to $11 million annually. He has served on the Board of Directors of several technology corporations, including Universal Robotics Inc. and American Learning Solutions.

Lean Implementation: 

Breakout Session

Engage in a dynamic discussion on Lean Implementation with national and regional experts. Lean Manufacturing is a business model and collection of tactical methods that emphasize eliminating non-value added activities (waste) while delivering quality products on time at least cost with greater efficiency. In the U.S., lean implementation is rapidly expanding throughout diverse manufacturing and service sectors such as aerospace, automotive, electronics, furniture production, and healthcare as a core business strategy to create a competitive advantage.

Panelist: Steve Sweat

Steve Sweat is the current Quality/RCI Manager at The Hon Company. He has 15+ manufacturing/improvement experience through knowledge and training of Toyota Production System (TPS) and as a certified Six Sigma Black Belt. His passion is to identify and eliminate all forms of waste (muda), think outside the box, and push the envelope to higher performance levels.

Panelist: Earl Robinson

Earl Robinson, Manufacturing Operations Analyst in the Boeing Commercial Airplane Lean Enterprise Office, will join this special breakout session discussion, in addition . He has been actively working to implement Lean Manufacturing since 1996. The Lean Enterprise Office is often referred to as the Boeing Moonshine Shop, a place where innovative, creative people have the materials and space to conceptualize, mockup and simulate improvement concepts

Panelist: David Newby

David Newby is the General Manager at Profile Extrusion. Among many things David lead a multi-million dollar investment in new technologies that is now earning Profile Extrusion new and continued business. He is an active Kiwanian, member of the Honda Goldwings Club, and avid motorcyclist.