VP, Energy Impact Center
Formerly, I was Director, Ventures & Innovation at the world’s leader in real life entertainment, Discovery, Inc. My role was often described as the company’s global intrapreneur and futurist, responsible for identifying new technologies for implementation, investing in startups, and serving as the primary contact for startups. I created and maintained the company’s Consumer Experience Lab, led strategic investments in startups returning 1,500%+ gain (unexited) in three years, spearheaded the company’s global shift to cloud platforms (including Box.com and Docusign), and was responsible for the company’s first Alexa and Google skills (in 2015).
I am also a 2018 Zhi-Xing Eisenhower Fellow (spending a month in China studying blockchain, AI, and the future of work), an adjunct professor teaching innovation strategy at the University of Maryland, and the founder of Fosterly, an organization that connects innovators and entrepreneurs as they start and scale their endeavors in the greater Washington, DC region.
With a diverse background that spans many industry verticals of various scope and size (including finance, non-profits, startups, and Fortune 500 companies) I serve as advisor to several organizations, provide keynote presentations for events around the world on the future of marketing and technology (including leading global creative agencies such as Carat, Havas, MediaCom, Mindshare, Ogilvy, Publicis, and Zenith), and have been a guest analyst on the topic of business and technology on CNBC.com nearly two dozen times.
Just a few of the brands I’ve collaborated with include Amazon, Anheuser-Busch, Box.com, Discovery, DocuSign, Google, Microsoft, NASA, Pfizer, and Verizon.
Born just outside of Washington, DC in Potomac, Maryland, I returned to the DC region in 2007 after receiving my BA in Political Science, JD, and MBA from Washington, University in St. Louis. I’ve climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, biked the “death road” in Bolivia, built homes in rural Peru, assembled bicycles to help improve access to education, healthcare and economic opportunity in Zambia, and completed multiple marathons, triathlons, and 100+ mile bike rides.