Name: Innovation Summit | Day 1
Start: 2026-04-23T08:00:00-0400
End: 2026-04-23T17:00:00-0400

Thursday April 23, 2026 8:00am - 5:00pm EDT

CODE Building @ 240 W Main St, Charlottesville, VA 22902

Join us at the Innovation Summit, where the next era of entrepreneurship and ideas takes shape. Convening founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders, we’ll rally around bold projects that turn ambition into community impact. Building a company today requires far more than a breakthrough product. It demands the courage to take risks, to iterate publicly, to navigate uncertainty, to attract and deploy capital wisely, and to build communities of support that make growth possible.

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Note: This Summit is ticketed.
Please purchase your tickets on Humanitix. You will then receive an email from Sched with login information that allows you to make your personal schedule.

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A special thank you to our sponsors: The 14th Annual Tom Tom Festival is presented with the University of Virginia, Virginia Tourism, R.L. Beyer Custom Homes, Ludwig Kuttner, and The City of Charlottesville

Speakers

Robert Brooke

Director, Federal Funding Programs, Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation

Jennifer Hiltwine

Director, Higher Education Initiatives, Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation

Sandra McCutcheon

Director, Partnerships and Projects, Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation

Chelsi Bennett

Director of State and Local Government Affairs, Right to Start

I am a senior advocacy and stakeholder engagement leader with 15+ years of experience leading multi-state public policy, government relations, and partnership strategies across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. I specialize in convening diverse stakeholders, translating... Read More →

Mari Soonsoo Bae

Founder & CEO, Ara Platforms

Mari Soonsoo Bae is the founder & CEO of Ara Platforms, an AI-powered insight workspace for data teams. She brings 14 years of experience in product development and business strategy, including leading global planning for four Google Pixel programs totaling over $10B. Her work aligned... Read More →

Christopher Anderson

Founder/CEO, Joy of Wine Company, Inc.

Christopher Anderson is the Founder & CEO of Joy of Wine Company, where he is building the infrastructure layer for regulated commerce. His platform, Compliance Vine™, transforms multi-state wine compliance from manual, spreadsheet-driven work into real-time enforcement at the point... Read More →

Zak Doenmez

Cofounder, Torev

Zak is a cofounder of Torev Motors, an Arlington, Virginia-based company making next generation electric motors for the automotive and defense markets. Before joining Torev, Zak worked in government, spending 6 years working on policy development in the United States Senate. He also... Read More →

Jennifer O'Daniel

Senior Investment Director, Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation

Scott Acton

Professor and Chair, Charles L. Brown Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UVA

Scott T. Acton is the AT&T Professor and Chair of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Virginia, where he directs the Virginia Image and Video Analysis laboratory. He served as Program Director and acting Deputy Division Director at the NSF Computer and Information... Read More →

Miles Davis II

Director, Central Virginia National Security Alliance

Miles J. Davis II is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in National-level and Department of Defense intelligence leadership, national foreign policy and intelligence community policy development, resource management, and analysis. He served as a United States... Read More →

Samrat Dudhat

Founder, Timecoyl, Inc.

Samrat Dudhat is the founder of Timecoyl, an Arlington-based startup building self-updating community displays for independent hotels, coworking spaces, and community venues. With 20 years in software development and a background designing rapid-decision displays for Navy operators... Read More →

Aliyah Desautels

Founder/CEO, Otterwise

Aliyah Desautels is the founder and CEO of Otterwise, a Virginia-based startup tackling one of the most expensive and underestimated risks in early-stage companies: the wrong hire. Bad hires don't just cost money — they cost momentum, culture, and the jobs that would have followed... Read More →

Emily Pochter

Director, Software and Cybersecurity, VEDP

Emily Pochter serves as the Director of Software and Cybersecurity at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), where she leads strategic initiatives to position the Commonwealth as a national leader in technology, cybersecurity, and AI innovation. She cultivates collaboration... Read More →

Ace Callwood

Director, Envoy

Ace Callwood is a Director at Envoy, a firm specializing in negotiation, mediation, and partnership building for organizations across the globe. Combining his role as the firm’s lead mediator with his background in tech entrepreneurship, Ace works at the intersection of digital... Read More →

Abby Fifer Mandell

Director, UVA Galant Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Abby Fifer Mandell is the Director of the Galant Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the McIntire School of Commerce and Senior Lecturer of Commerce, General Faculty. Prior to joining the faculty at McIntire, Abby served for 17 years at the University of Southern California... Read More →

Tim Ryan

Executive Director, Innovate Hampton Roads

Tim has extensive experience in entrepreneurship, early-stage startups, and angel investing. Tim has placed himself at the center of Hampton Roads’ entrepreneurial and innovation community. He is the Executive Director of Innovate Hampton Roads, an organization that celebrates regional... Read More →

Kevin Leslie

Associate Vice President - Innovation & Commercialization, Old Dominion University

Kevin is the Associate Vice President for Innovation and Commercialization at Old Dominion University, where he is responsible for advancing university technologies, increasing research-driven economic development, and strengthening collaborations with regional and state ecosystem... Read More →

Lauren McAdams

Program Manager, Thought Leadership, Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology

John Schott

CEO, MOVA Technologies

John Schott is CEO of MOVA Technologies, an AgTech company improving performance and efficiency in poultry production. MOVA’s FEATHER platform combines advanced ammonia filtration with real-time monitoring and analytics to deliver improved flock health, productivity, and profitability... Read More →

Chip Bobbert

Director of Innovation, Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance

Chip Bobbert is the Director of Innovation at the Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance (RBIA), where he leads regional innovation strategy across a portfolio of programs designed to accelerate technology and life science commercialization. In this role, he focuses on founder and... Read More →

Heather Lyne

Director of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, 1717 Collective

Heather Lyne designs and leads community and economic development initiatives that connect people, ideas, and resources. With experience in Virginia, Colorado, and abroad, she brings a background in community organizing, nonprofit leadership, and hospitality to her work. Heather holds... Read More →

Jody Keenan

Director, Virginia SBDC Network

Jody Keenan is a longtime advocate for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and the communities that support them. With nearly three decades of experience, she has built a career focused on helping founders navigate challenges, find resources, and turn ideas into sustainable ventures... Read More →

Paula Sorrell

Assoc. Vice President, Mason Enterprise @ GMU

Paula Sorrell is the Assoc. Vice President overseeing Mason EnterpriseTM at GMU. This includes the federal programs that support small business and tech start-ups in Virginia, including the SBDC, the APEX Accelerator, NSF I-Corps, 4 business incubators, the Office of Technology... Read More →

Adrian Felts

Chapter President, AFCEA Central Virginia

Adrian Felts is a seasoned project management professional and an active leader in advancing STEM education across Central Virginia. As President of the AFCEA Central Virginia Chapter, Adrian plays a pivotal role in connecting government, industry, and academia to strengthen the region’s... Read More →

Brian Ralston

President, General Atomics Intelligence

Brian Ralston is the President of General Atomics – Commonwealth Computer Engineering Inc. (GA-Intelligence). He is a retired Air Force Colonel with 25 years of military experience in a wide range of analytic leadership roles. He led test and evaluation activities for the B-1B... Read More →

Andrew Tsintsiruk

Founder & CEO, Rohic Inc.

Andrew Tsintsiruk is the Founder and CEO of Rohic Inc., an AI-native multi-agent orchestration platform that turns deep research and agent workflows into measurable go-to-market execution. Rohic deploys specialized AI agents to analyze sales pipelines, run market and deal-strategy... Read More →

Michael Timmons

Founder & CEO, GoodFences

Michael Timmons is the founder of GoodFences, an AI-powered platform transforming how homeowners associations (HOAs) operate. GoodFences automates architectural approvals, violations, and other back-office processes, reducing decision timelines from weeks to seconds while lowering... Read More →

Hamid Motahari

Founder and CERO, UpBrains AI

Dr. Hamid Motahari is the CEO and Founder of UpBrains AI, an agentic AI company building the No-Touch Operations System for supply chain and distribution. The platform automates Quote-to-Cash, Procure-to-Pay, and Quality & Compliance workflows end-to-end, and has a growing customer... Read More →

Lisa Lewis

Co-Founder, hidn.ai

Ian Haddad

Co-Founder & CEO, P.S.

Ian Haddad is a self-taught engineer and repeat founder currently studying at Virginia Tech on a full tuition scholarship as one of 35 students in the Calhoun Honors Discovery Program. He started early. At 12, he got hit by a minivan riding his bike home and used the $500 insurance... Read More →

Steve Waddell

President & CEO | Principal Investigator, Index HealthTech

Steve Waddell is the CEO and President of Index HealthTech and Principal Investigator on multiple NIH-funded programs redefining how functional health decline is detected and managed. He is the creator of the Healthy Habits Index™ (HHI) — a novel behavioral biomarker that continuously... Read More →

Harry Dubke

Founder & CTO, Suede Web Systems

Harry is a Virginia native and founder of two C'ville-based startups. His latest business, Suede, operates at the intersection of artificial intelligence and public policy. He received his BA in Government & Hispanic Studies from Hamilton College

Jack Deutsch

Co-Founder, Amphibian AI

Jack Deutsch is a fourth-year Echols Scholar at the University of Virginia studying Commerce and Computer Science. As a co-founder of Amphibian AI, Jack built the Amphibian Pond — an AI knowledge-management platform that helps SMBs capture, query, and operationalize internal company... Read More →

Revanth Damerla

CEO, Stride Robotics

Revanth Damerla is the Founder and CEO of Stride Robotics, where he is developing next-generation powered prosthetic limbs that restore natural mobility and independence for people with limb loss. He recently completed his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan... Read More →

Derek Hall

Co-Founder / COO, Liquet Medical

Derek Hall, MS, is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Liquet Medical, where he leads the development of next-generation solutions for blood clots and complex vascular conditions. With a robust academic foundation in biomedical engineering and drug & device regulation, Derek... Read More →

Emily Smith

Founder and CEO, Side Nerd Apps

Emily Smith is the founder of Side Nerd Apps, a company turning unstructured, real-world inputs (texts, conversations, quick updates) into structured, validated, system-ready data.

After years working in analytics and technology consulting, Emily saw the same problem everywhere. Organizations rely on portals, apps, and complex systems to collect information from employees, volunteers, and customers. Many people struggle to use them. The result is incomplete... Read More →

Michael Beiro

CEO, Linebird

Michael Beiro is the Founder and CEO of Linebird, an Ashland-based technology company redefining the future of work on the grid. Linebird's flagship innovation, the Osprey NPS, enables utilities to perform critical live-line work—from diagnostics to emergency restoration—using... Read More →

Marco Rubin

Sr. Investment Director, VIPC

Marco Rubin is a highly regarded investment professional within the venture capital industry with a track record of value creation and ecosystem building in challenging environments.

Marco serves as a board member to numerous privately held portfolio companies and leads seed and early-stage investments. There he leads energy, aerospace and defense tech investments into Virginia’s fastest growing seed and early-stage startups. Since inception in 2004, the entire... Read More →

Amit Singh

CEO, NearStar Fusion Inc.

Amit is a successful entrepreneur who spent 25 years in the Intelligence Community (IC) before joining NearStar Fusion in 2023. Prior to the IC, Amit received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering at the University of Virginia and worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center developing... Read More →

Serene Almomen

CEO & Co-Founder, Attune

Serene Almomen, PhD, is Co-Founder and CEO of Attune (formerly Senseware), a building monitoring and intelligence platform that helps organizations see what’s happening across their buildings in real time so they can catch problems early and improve system performance over time... Read More →

Jermeen Sherman

Managing Director, Black Ambition

Jermeen is the Managing Director at Black Ambition, a nonprofit founded by Pharrell Williams to close the opportunity and wealth gaps through the provision of capital, coaching, care and community to dynamic underrepresented entrepreneurs.
Jermeen combines the best of strategic and analytical thinking from the business world with an unrelenting commitment to social impact and equity. Having worked in and alongside executive teams in community-based organizations, nonprofits, universities, and municipal government, Jermeen... Read More →

Noelle James

Managing Director, Startup Virginia

Noelle James, an Ohio native, initially moved to Richmond to serve as a law clerk for Chief Justice Leroy R. Hassell, Sr. of the Supreme Court of Virginia, and quickly became attached to the city and its business community. After her clerkship, Noelle spent 10 years as a corporate... Read More →

Nancy Pattillo

Executive Director, Cyber Bytes Foundation

Nancy Lynn is a dynamic nonprofit executive and workforce innovation leader serving as Executive Director of the Cyber Bytes Foundation. With a strong track record in strategic partnerships, grant development, and program execution, she has successfully led multimillion-dollar funding... Read More →

Ryan Wright

Co-Director of AI Research and Professor, UVA

Ryan Wright is the Rolls-Royce Commonwealth Eminent Professor of Commerce, Co-Director of AI Research @ UVA, and Special Advisor to the Provost on AI Research at the University of Virginia. He leads university-wide strategy on AI research, working across disciplines to translate emerging... Read More →

Reza Mousavi

Associate Professor, UVA

I'm a professor at UVA. My work focuses on how AI operates, how people consume and respond to AI-generated content, and how those interactions influence individual behavior and society at large. In parallel with my research, I develop AI-based applications, including luukai.io, an... Read More →

Sage Salvo

Founder and CEO, Words Liive

Gil Perkins (doing business as Sage Salvo) developed a digital platform as a service (PaaS), called The Opus App, to engineer a new learning ecosystem where Opus facilitates the mass collaboration between media, music artists, and classrooms for purposes of automating customized lesson... Read More →

Elizabeth Tikoyan

Founder and CEO, Healp

Elizabeth Tikoyan is the Founder and CEO of Healp, an AI-powered diagnostic platform built to fix a $1 trillion problem: misdiagnosis affects 84% of patients, burying them in redundant tests and years of delays. Healp matches symptoms to real patient data to surface likely conditions... Read More →

Jenny Lynn Walding

Founder/CEO, milkmade Innovations, Inc.

Jenny Lynn Walding’s personal breastfeeding challenges abroad inspired the creation of milkmade. Despite exclusively breastfeeding her firstborn, her daughter became malnourished and failed to thrive due to an undiagnosed tongue tie that limited effective milk transfer. This experience... Read More →

Sunnie Capelle

CEO, C-Star Solutions

Sunnie has over 20 years of Defense and Intelligence experience building and leading science and engineering technical teams. As a U.S. Army civilian at the National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC) she managed MASINT and GEOINT programs for research and operationalization of remote... Read More →

Nat Puffer

Partner, In-Q-Tel

Nathaniel is a global strategic investor working on behalf of American and allied Intelligence Communities. His work has allowed him to engage with some of the most innovative startups in the world, tailoring their solutions for commercial and strategic outcomes. After the better... Read More →

Evan Eckersley

COO & Co-founder, Icarus Medical

Evan received degrees in Bioengineering and Finance from Lehigh University's IBE program with a strong focus on customer-centric design, biomechanics and innovation. Evan's previous experience was in the design of proteins, cells, and biomanufacturing systems as a Cofounder and COO... Read More →

Darlenne Helena

Founder, Helena Media

Darlenne Helena is a digital marketing strategist, content creator, and Founder of Helena Media; a social media agency helping brands build lasting, meaningful connections since 2020. With 15 years of experience at the intersection of marketing and technology, Darlenne has managed... Read More →

Serena Hagerty

Assistant Professor of Marketing, Darden School of Business

Serena Hagerty is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. Her research examines how consumers expect firms—and one another—to navigate contentious socio-political issues, with a particular focus on economic inequality and... Read More →

Alex Ahlstrom

Consultant, Bain & Company

Alex Ahlstrom is an incoming consultant at Bain & Company in Washington, DC and a dual MBA/M.Ed. candidate at University of Virginia. A former higher-education marketing researcher, he has spoken on the impact of AI on universities and on how institutions use marketing analytics and... Read More →

Katy Shuck

COO & Co-Founder, Reelist

Katy Schuck is Co-founder of Reelist, a platform helping companies find and hire talent directly from social media. Reelist automates social recruiting so qualified, ready-to-work candidates flow straight into existing hiring systems, expanding reach while reducing friction in the... Read More →

Jeana Bolanos

CEO/Founder, SalesE

Jeana Bolanos is the CEO and Founder of SalesE, an intelligent workflow automation solution for manufacturing and distribution. She has a deep passion for finding creative solutions for difficult problems. Jeana is a mother of 3 young children, a military spouse, a former Navy Nuke... Read More →

Daniel Bailey

Principal and Managing Director, Go Line Strategy Group

Daniel Bailey, Astraea’s CEO and Co-Founder, is using his broad experience garnered from his time in Military Intelligence and as an Artificial Intelligence consultant to Fortune 500 companies to now help decarbonize the global economy. Leveraging his experience in requisitioning... Read More →

Mike Moore

Former Chief Commercial Officer, Board Director, WillowTree Inc.

Seasoned technology executive and Board Director with 25+ years of experience scaling digital businesses globally. Former Principal and Chief Commercial Officer at WillowTree, now TELUS Digital Solutions—a leading digital experience consultancy delivering end-to-end services across... Read More →

Omar Garriott

Executive Director, UVA Darden School of Business, Batten Institute

Omar Garriott is Executive Director of UVA Darden’s Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology. Prior to Darden he built a career as a “Tech Intrapreneur for Good,” venture founder, and bestselling author. He has led product marketing teams and education... Read More →

Andrew Schoka

CEO & Co-Founder, Hardshell

Andrew is the co-founder and CEO of Hardshell, where he leads the company's efforts to support secure AI adoption by growth-oriented companies. Prior to founding Hardshell, Andrew spent over seven years on active duty as a cyber operations officer with U.S. Army Cyber Command and... Read More →

Jason Nabi

Project Manager, Futures Initiative, University of Virginia

Jason is the Project Manager for UVA’s Futures Initiative, where he leads a pan‑University working group to chart pathways for institutional innovation across research, teaching, and organizational practice, with a strong emphasis on multidisciplinary collaboration, community‑driven... Read More →

Jen Fleisher

Councilor, City of Charlottesville

Jen Fleisher is a Charlottesville City Councilor, public health practitioner, and longtime community advocate. She currently serves a four-year term on City Council and brings a background rooted in direct community care to local governance. Jen entered public health through her work... Read More →

Kate Byrne

Podcast Host, WomenAdvancing, Founder/Advisor

Kate Byrne grows things; people, businesses, movements. Her career marries her love of media, the power of technology, financial literacy and the impact of heart in people and business as forces for good. The Stanford grad is a trusted voice and cross-sector translator, a gifted rainmaker... Read More →

Ashley Wenger

Program Manager, VCU da Vinci Center

Ashley Wenger is a program manager, facilitator, and champion for small business growth. A graduate of James Madison University with a background in marketing and educational media, Ashley has spent the past four years working with entrepreneurs and small business owners to start... Read More →

Neal Piper

Founder, Luminoah

Neal Piper is the Founder and CEO of Luminoah, a MedTech company dedicated to making enteral nutrition delivery simpler, smarter, and easier for everyone.

Before founding Luminoah, Neal spent his career advancing healthcare in the U.S., Asia, and Africa. He began his career in Pfizer’s Neuroscience Division and later served as President of the Global Health Fellows Alumni Business Network. Neal also worked as a Global Malaria Advisor... Read More →

Monique Adams

Consultant

From 2015 to 2023, Monique served as Executive Director of 757 Angels. 757 Angels grew into one of the country’s largest angel groups, with over 100 members/investors who invested more than $100 million in startup and early-stage companies. This investment created over 1,500 high-paying... Read More →

Thomas Rogers

Co-Founder & President, Skillbit

Thomas Rogers is the co-founder and President of SkillBit (formerly MetaCTF), a skill assessment and development platform built to help corporate cybersecurity teams measure, grow, and retain top talent. With over a decade of experience in technology, Thomas has worked at the intersection... Read More →

Jay Bernas

CEO, HRSD

Jay Bernas, P.E., serves as the General Manager/Chief Executive Officer of the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD), the 14th largest wastewater utility in the U.S. serving nearly 2 million residents across 20 cities and counties in Eastern Virginia. With more than three decades... Read More →

Caitlin Verdu

Resilience Coordinator, Virginia Office of Resilience

As Resilience Coordinator, Caitlin works closely with stakeholders at the local, state, and federal levels to support collaboration, information-sharing, and informed decision-making.Prior to this role, Caitlin led the Virginia Department of Forestry’s Watershed Program. Caitlin... Read More →

Psalms Morales

Founder, Busco

Psalms Morales is a double Hoo, holding a B.A. in Gender Studies and completing an MBA at the Darden School of Business. A former Bain consultant and nonprofit executive, Psalms brings a rare combination of analytical rigor and community-rooted leadership to everything they build... Read More →

Whitney Katchmark

Water Resources Principal, Hampton Roads Planning District Commission

Whitney Katchmark joined the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) in 2006. Ms. Katchmark leads the Water Resources department which coordinates multi-jurisdictional efforts in the areas of drinking water, wastewater, flooding, water quality and sustainability. Ms. Katchmark... Read More →

Paul Robinson

Executive Director, RISE

Paul Robinson Ph.D., is founder and Executive Director of RISE, a Hampton Roads, Virginia based, nonprofit dedicated to accelerating innovation and business growth around solutions to resilience challenges. Since 2018, RISE has deployed over $10 million in financial support and services... Read More →

Lara Merriken

Founder, LÄRABAR

Sponsors

434 Accelerator

434 is a long-format accelerator program, providing select technology-driven, early-stage startups based in and around Charlottesville with at least nine months of program support, including: dedicated workspace, experienced founders-in-residence, monthly programming, a large network... Read More →

Black Ambition

Black Ambition, a non-profit organization founded by Pharrell Williams in 2020, is dedicated to closing the wealth and opportunity gap faced by underrepresented entrepreneurs in the U.S, and abroad. Through prize competitions and bespoke founder programming, Black Ambition provides... Read More →

CAV Angels

Charlottesville Business Innovation Council

City Charlottesville Office of Economic Development

Code Building

CODEBase

Common House

Cville Bio Hub

Focused Ultrasound Foundation

GovSmart

Grit Coffee

Harvest Moon Catering

Laser Thermal

Laser Thermal is a Charlottesville-based technology company born out of decades of academic research and development in the ExSiTE Lab at the University of Virginia. What started as academic work has grown into a small but rapidly emerging company focused on solving a problem many... Read More →

Lighthouse Networks

Ludwig Kuttner

Luna Labs

High-impact solutions for mission-critical challenges.
Luna Labs is a product development company working with leading organizations and key government agencies to create unique solutions for complex challenges in defense, industrial, and healthcare markets.

Old Dominion University

Patent Portfolio Builders PLLC

R.L.Beyer Custom Homes

RadioIQ

RAMP

In the past ten years, Roanoke’s Innovation Corridor has experienced remarkable growth. Today, Roanoke, Virginia has attracted thousands of the top researchers, physicians, faculty, students, and medical professionals who are motivated by the opportunity to make meaningful discoveries... Read More →

Startup Virginia

The Bradbury

Located in the heart of Charlottesville, on the historic Downtown Mall, the Bradbury is a place of possibility, connection, and community.The Bradbury is more than an elegant, versatile, event space; The Bradbury is an all inclusive, one of a kind, boutique experience for any occasion... Read More →

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