Open Annual Conference 2023 | VentureWell | 21 March 2023 | The Westin Alexandria Old Town, 400 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA

OPEN brings together faculty, administrators, staff, and students from the STEM fields to share innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) experiences and research, learn best practices, and forge dynamic new relationships. This year, our welcoming community will gather in-person to discuss the tools, trends, and new strategies that will collectively move I&E education forward and prepare early-stage entrepreneurs for an ever-changing world.

OPEN offers content on the most pressing issues in I&E education today. During highly immersive sessions, you’ll gain effective new practices to apply to your class or program and collaborate meaningfully with fellow attendees—faculty, practitioners, and funders.

OPEN features a mix of networking opportunities that range from content-rich and topically-focused to fun and informal. Special events like the interactive poster session and OPENminds Showcase give attendees the opportunity to connect with fellow attendees or student teams and breakout sessions are designed to maximize discussion and interaction.

2023 Speakers

Phil Weilerstein
President & CEO, VentureWell

Raja Schaar
Program Director, Product Design, Drexel University

Jack Fuchs
Director of Principled Entrepreneurship and Adjunct Lecturer, Stanford University

Robbie Barbero
Chief Business Officer, Ceres Nanosciences, Inc.

Dean Chang
Chief Innovation Officer, University of Maryland

Brooke Smith
Learning Experience Catalyst, University of Maryland-College Park

Mark Ulrich
CUNY Queensborough Community College

Christine Mooney
CUNY Queensborough Community College

Wilfredo Moran
Assistant Professor, QCC - CUNY

Tamette Farrington
T’Farri Solutions, LLC Consulting Firm

Charles Mitchell
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Human Sciences, North Carolina Central University

Ramy A. Rahimi
Director / Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

Taysha Williams
Managing Director, Texas Tech Innovation Hub , Texas Tech University

Kimberly Gramm
Chief Innovation & Entrepreneur Officer, VP, Tulane University

Josh Green
Director, ICAP, George Mason University

Bob Smith
Director, I-Corps, George Washington University

Sadan Kulturel-Konak, Professor and Director of Flemming CEED Center, Pennsylvania State University- Penn State Berks

Abdullah Konak
Penn State Berks

Khanjan Mehta
Vice Provost for Creative Inquiry; Director of the Mountaintop Initiative, Lehigh University

Eric Lima
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

Frank Koe
Teaching Professor, Penn State University, College of Engineering

Cody Fairbanks
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus

Reilly Smith
Student, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus

Diane Sabato
Springfield Technical Community College

John Diffley
Professor of History, Program Coordinator for Liberal Arts/General Studies, Honors Program Director, Springfield Technical Community College

Ren Mao
Program Coordinator, Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property

Nathaniel Stern
Professor of Art and Mechanical Engineering, Director of UWM Startup Challenge, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

Ilya Avdeev
Director of Innovation, Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

Tiera Trammell
Program Manager, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Amelia Coffaro
Entrepreneur in Residence, Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Garret Westlake
Associate Vice Provost for Innovation, Virginia Commonwealth University

Perry Lee
Virginia Commonwealth University

Jack Oppenheim
Virginia Commonwealth University

Helen Wang
Virginia Commonwealth University

Pritpal Singh
Professor, Villanova University

John Gershenson
Director, Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship Program (HESE), The Pennsylvania State University

Isaac Wanasika
Professor of Management, Univ Of Northern Colorado/Management Department

Maggie Schoonover
Director of Sustainable Innovation, Assistant Educator, Wichita State University

Carlee Bishop
Director, Tech Leadership & Mgt MS program / Faculty Director, MS Applied Technology, Agnes Scott College

Nell Ruby
Professor of Art, Agnes Scott College

Chandell Stone
Huston-Tillotson University

Ruben Cantu
Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at Austin

Latane Brackett
Principal Manager of Innovation Programming, The National GEM Consortium

Talmesha Richards
Principal Manager, Innovation Relationships, The National GEM Consortium

Neela White
Project Director, AAAS

Iris Wagstaff
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Alejandra Y. Castillo
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, Economic Development Administration (EDA)

Nicol Turner Lee
Director, Center for Technology Innovation, Brookings Institution

Erwin Gianchandani
Assistant Director of the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, National Science Foundation

Isaac McCoy
Stillman College

Fallon S. Wilson
Founder, #BlackTechFutures Research Institute

Jeana Holt
Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

AkkeNeel Talsma
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Mari Luz Zapata Ramos
University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez

Moraima De Hoyos-Ruperto
Associate Professor, Univ. of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez Campus

Carrie White
Executive Director LaunchLab , West Virginia University

Anne Jones
Director Entrepreneurship, StartUp WV

Zahrasadat Hosseini
Oklahoma State University-Main Campus

Amanda LeMatty
Bench to Bedside Vice President / Biomedical Engineering PhD Student , University of Utah

Robert Falconer
PhD Student, University of Utah

Alessandra Ferzoco
Assistant Professor of Measurement Science, Olin College

Mukesh Patel
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Kristy Fall
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Thomas Katona
Associate Professor, California Polytechnic State University

Sarah Zappe
Assistant Dean for Teaching and Learning, Penn State

Alanna Epstein
Assistant Research Scientist, University of Michigan

Nathalie Duval-Couetil
Associate Professor and Associate Director, Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, Purdue University

Sue Cohen
Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus

Mary Goldberg
Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh

Jon Pearlman
Associate Professor & Chair, University of Pittsburgh, Dept. Of Rehab Science & Technology

Kene Turner
Director, National Postsecondary & Alumni Programs, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship

Zvia Schoenberg
President, Enactus United States

Chestley Talley
Director of Career Planning and Placement, Jarvis Christian University

Bill Ruch
Principal, Lewis-Burke Associates LLC

Jaime Wood-Riley
VentureWell

Angela Washington
Senior Advisor to Contracts, Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce

Shalaya Morissette
Chief, Minority Business and Workforce Division, U.S. Department of Energy

Trinity Samson
Northeast Ohio Medical University

Fayez Safadi
Northeast Ohio Medical University

Hope Ball
Northeast Ohio Medical University

Iain Kerr
Co-Director MIX Lab, Feliciano Center for Entreprenuership, Montclair State University

Jason Frasca
Co-Director MIX Lab, Montclair State University

Soyoung Kang
Assistant Teaching Professor, University of Washington-Seattle Campus

Jose Lugo
University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez

Jeffrey Babin
University of Pennsylvania

Clare Leinweber
Executive Director, Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking, Yale University

Michael Lehman
Professor of Practice; Director, Lehigh University

Caroline Glackin
Professor of Entrepreneurship, Fayetteville State University

Satya Chattopadhyay
The University of Scranton

Dale McCauley
Director of InnovationX and Makerspace Manager, Oregon State University

Athiel Mading
Mountaintop fellowship, Lehigh University

Sarah Wharmby
Program Officer, VentureWell

Izzy Santa
Qualcomm

Johnetta B. Hardy

Eric Bonsu
Associate Professor of Chemistry. Director of Entrepreneurship Academic Programs, Bowie State University

Anika Bisshoyo
Bowie State

Dave Hutchins
Program Manager, Biomimicry Institute

Cindy Cooper
Senior Program Officer, The Lemelson Foundation

Oscar Edwards
President/CEO, Higher Growth Strategies, LLC

Qyana M. Stewart
Howard University

Dr. LaTanya White
Principal Consultant- Racial Equity, Concept Creative Group

Hanif Omar
Professor, Entrepreneurship, Shaw University

Noe Vargas Hernandez
Assistant Professor, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Sylvia Robles
Assistant Professor of Practice-Entrepreneurship, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

James Woodell
Founder, Principal and CEO, Venn Collaborative

2023 Sponsors

• The Lemelson Foundation
• Morgan Foundation
• Impact
• PNC
• Ecomap
• Entrepreneurial
• The Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property
• University of Maryland
• Womble Bond Dickinson
• USC Marshall
• Startup Wind