Our participants

Dr. RD Vispute is a Founder and President of Blue Wave Semiconductors, Inc., a leading company in developing advanced thin film and nano-materials deposition systems and tools, and nanotechnology based electronic and photonic device market. He received his PhD in Physics, MS and BS degrees from University of Pune, India. He was post-doctoral and research Scientist at the North Carolina State University and the University of Maryland College Park. He has 25 years of experience in developing electronic and optoelectronic coatings, laser processing, and vacuum technology. Under his leadership, Blue Wave Semiconductors received MIPS, National Collegiate Innovation, and Invention Alliance, MPCA, NSF and DOD SBIRs Phase I and II and successfully transitioned technologies to generate revenues. He is responsible for the growth of the company from concept to product commercialization. Under his leadership Blue Wave Semiconductors was recognized as a finalist of “The Maryland Incubator Company of Year 2013”, presented by TEDCO, Maryland. He holds 5 patents, authored 4 book chapters, given numerous invited talks and chaired Materials Research Society, American Physics Society, European Materials Research, and International Conference Metallurgical Coatings and Thin Films conferences and meetings, published over 110 research papers. He has been on the panel of “Bootstrapping: Financial Survival Techniques Without Investment” in Entrepreneurs inspiring entrepreneurs by Technology Development Corporation of the Maryland State.

Kathleen Turano, PhD, is the CEO of Nataur LLC. She has over 35 years of leadership experience with teams focused on developing solutions for healthy living. Early on, Kathleen led teams in the area of human health research at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. After 20 years, she left Hopkins and co-founded Plant Sensory Systems (PSS), a biotech company that developed biotechnologies to improve the health of living organisms. As president, she grew the business from start-up to 12 employees and $6 million in revenue. In 2021, PSS spun out Nataur, a company focused on the commercialization of natural taurine and the development/ commercialization of other natural nutrients.

Ketan Patel is a transformative and visionary leader with over 20 years of experience in technology, infrastructure, and leadership. He has extensive experience in current and emerging information technology for industry-leading organizations and large government services. He provides a comprehensive understanding of modern digital transformation, DevSecOps, IT services management, cloud strategy, and software development. Ketan has worked with some of the largest US government agencies, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), The Veterans Affairs Administration (VA), and the White House, during a special engagement for elite technology efforts. He brings extensive government contracting experience leading with a people-centric approach to digital modernization. In addition to his government experience, Ketan is the Founder/CEO of Archesy Inc, a digital consultancy that helps transform the government by adopting digital services. Ketan holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from Shivaji University and holds various certifications PMP, AWS Practitioner, CSM, SAFe Agilist, and ITIL Foundation. He has also served as a member of multiple federal Technical Review Boards, Web Councils, and Cohort Projects across the government. Ketan has received numerous awards and recognitions throughout his career including the CMS Outstanding Achievement Award and Administrators Achievement Awards three times. He was also nominated for the Fedscoop Top Fed 50 Leaders in 2016. Ketan lives in Rosedale, MD, and is active on LinkedIn, where he invites connections with others in the technology and digital transformation industry.

Jay Polaki, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, is a global HR technology innovator and thought leader in HR digital transformation, future of work, ethical AI in HR, talent selection and assessment systems, and employee experience. She brings her experiential learning and insights to her keynotes and regularly contributes to Forbes, HRD, and other global HR publications. Meeting the challenges of people right where they are, taking the people-first approach, and providing transformational workplace technology solutions is why Jay loves working in the People function. As the founder & CEO of HR Geckos, a digital HR operations platform powered by an AI chatbot, Jay's mission is to transform employee experiences in the hybrid workplace so that people and organizations thrive. Making HR as agile as a gecko is Jay's motto! Jay lives in the Washington DC Metro Area, reads Agatha Christie, grows tomatoes and roses in her verdant garden, swaps HR tech stories with global HR leaders on her podcast HR Bytes, solves puzzles and crosswords, and loves training her chatbot, HR GeckoBot, with her little nephews.

Jim Keeney is CEO of Dapt Tech, Inc. a B2B SaaS company providing simplified job costing for growing small and mid-sized companies. As companies grow the requirement to focus resources toward more profitable sales lines becomes imperative. Dapt intelligently connects accounting, time tracking, and payroll to allow companies to track, measure, and grow. 

Working across industries and with companies of all sizes, Jim has successfully developed and implemented solutions that grow and adapt with the business. Dapt is the distillation of this prior work. 

Jim is also an active member of the Maryland startup community, either through his work building software solutions for early-stage startups at Fitter Web Consulting, as a board member and mentor with Launch Annapolis and FounderTrac, or as a mentor and I-Corp instructor for the Bowie State Entrepreneurship Academy. Notable successes from this work are his work with TitanHouse, Dexible, and InstantTeams which recently closed its $13 Million Series A. 

Angela Sims is “often referred to as the fixer. Leading finance teams through disruptive and unexpected events that threaten operational efficiency, the reliability of reporting, or regulatory compliance" " Yes, I’m called upon to fix but my real approach is true team transformation. I build sustainable value-added teams and systems that drive a culture of collaboration, risk mitigation, and strategic thinking.”

Angela Wells-Sims has over twenty years of analytic, strategic planning, financial reporting, compliance and management experience. She has proven ability in managing relationships and business functions across multi-facility, multi-regional healthcare organizations and government health agencies that has resulted in operational efficiencies, increased team engagement and high satisfaction ratings.

With over twenty years of corporate leadership in many organizations including Kaiser Permanente, University of Maryland Medical Systems, KPMG, ExpressCare Urgent Care Centers, and Holy Cross Hospital in C-Suite and other management roles, she strongly believes the development of people and processes is what builds winning teams. She has a track record in developing individual and group educational opportunities that bring about awareness, collaboration, and performance improvement.

Susanna Anderson is a highly experienced insurance industry leader and native New Yorker. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Government and Politics from St. John's University, and shortly after graduation, began her career in the legal field. However, Susanna quickly discovered her passion for the insurance industry and has spent the past 30 years building a successful career and leading teams of insurance professionals.

As a seasoned executive, Susanna is known for her strong leadership skills, strategic thinking, and deep understanding of the insurance industry. She has a proven track record of driving growth, improving operational efficiency, and delivering exceptional customer service.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Susanna is also the proud owner of a  "A Perfect Shirt." At A Perfect Shirt, customers can find the perfect shirt to express themselves, articulate their thoughts, and empower their minds with positivity. Susanna strongly believes that clothing can have a transformative effect on the way people think and feel.

When Susanna is not busy running her business or leading her team, she enjoys spending time with her amazing husband of 22 years and two wonderful sons, aged 19 and 17.