Humanitarian Assistance / Disaster Relief
Lewis Curtis
Director
Microsoft Services Disaster Response
World Wide Public Sector Services
As the Director of Microsoft Services Disaster Response, Lewis is accountable for the safety and success of all Microsoft services teams and ground operations for disaster response worldwide. Lewis has been a long time technology architect and program manager for many years at Microsoft. read more
Rebecca E. Curzon
Senior Program Manager
IBM Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs
Rebecca E. Curzon is Senior Program Manager with IBM Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, with leadership roles in business integration, philanthropy, and volunteer enablement. Ms. Curzon manages IBM’s global strategy in humanitarian disaster response, applying IBM technology, solutions, expertise and innovation to critical needs in the aftermath of disaster; and developing strategic partnerships around mitigation of the effects of disaster using technology for smarter and more resilient cities. read more
Albert Gembara
Technology Integration Officer
USAID/OFDA
Albert Gembara is the Technology Integration Officer (TIO) for the U.S. Agency for International Development – Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA). OFDA is the office that is responsible for leading and coordinating the U.S. Government’s response to international crises and disasters. As TIO, Albert serves as OFDA’s lead advisor on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in humanitarian assistance and foreign disaster relief operations. read more
Paulo Gonçalves
Associate Professor of Management
Academic Director, Advanced Master in Humanitarian Logistics and Management
Università della Svizzera italiana
Prof. Gonçalves is Associate Professor of Management and Founder and Director of the
Master in Advanced Studies in Humanitarian Logistics and Management (MASHLM) and Humanitarian Operations and Supply Chain Management (MASHOM) at the Universita della Svizzera Italiana (USI), Switzerland. He is also Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SwissLeg, an affordable high-mobility prosthetic social enterprise that aims to restore mobility to the most destitute amputees in the world. read more
Jacob Korenblum
President & CEO
Souktel
Jacob leads Souktel’s growing team, building on his past experience managing economic development and emergency relief projects for US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) projects. Fluent in Arabic and French, Jacob has worked in the emergency aid sectors in the Middle East, East Africa, South Asia, and the Caribbean. read more
David Megginson
Architect, Humanitarian Data Exchange
UN OCHA
David has been active within the data-sharing community since 1991. David created the original schemas for the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), is currently leading the Humanitarian Exchange Language (HXL) standards initiative within the United Nations, and is serving as architect for UN OCHA’s new crisis-data initiative, the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX). read more
Patrick Philippe Meier
Director of Social Innovation
Qatar Computing Research Institute
Patrick Meier (PhD) is an internationally recognized thought leader on the application of new technologies for crisis early warning, humanitarian response and resilience. He presently serves as Director of Social Innovation at the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) where he develops and prototypes Next Generation Humanitarian Technologies using Social Computing, Big Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. read more
Nigel Snoad
Product Manager
Google.org Crisis Response
Nigel is a product manager for Google’s Crisis Response team, which is changing how citizens stay informed during crises by providing information and tools to help people collaborate during emergencies and build resilient communities. read more
José Holguín-Veras
Professor and Director
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Dr. José Holguín-Veras, is the William H. Hart Professor and Director of the VREF Center of Excellence for Sustainable Urban Freight Systems, and the Center for Infrastructure, Transportation, and the Environment at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2013 White House’s Transportation Champion of Change Award, the 1996 Milton Pikarsky Memorial Award, and the 2001 National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award, for his contributions to freight transportation modeling and economics. read more
Patrick Vinck
Program for Vulnerable Populations
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative
Patrick Vinck, Ph.D., is the director of the Program for Vulnerable Populations at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. He works on peace, reconstruction and development projects throughout Africa and Asia including most recently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Ivory Coast. He also serves as a regular consultant on vulnerability analysis and evaluations to the United Nations World Food Programme, World Bank, and Peacebuilding Fund. read more
Benson Wilder
Humanitarian Information Unit
Office of the Geographer and Global Issues
U.S. Department of State
Benson Wilder is a geographer and human security analyst in the U.S. State Department’s Office of the Geographer and Global Issues, Humanitarian Information Unit (HIU). Benson joined the HIU in July 2008 following several years of work in the non-profit sector. His work in the HIU centers on complex emergencies, conflict, and human security in sub-Saharan Africa, in particular Sudan, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. read more
Health and Disease Management
Jarrod Goentzel
Director
MIT Humanitarian Response Lab
Jarrod Goentzel is founder and director of the MIT Humanitarian Response Lab and is a research lead for the MIT Comprehensive Initiative on Technology Evaluation sponsored by USAID. His research focuses on meeting human needs in resource-constrained settings through better supply chain management, information systems and decision support technology. read more
Jonathan Lascher
Partners In Health
Jonathan Lascher is the Haiti Program Manager at Partners In Health (PIH). Since joining PIH in 2009, Jonathan has been responsible for managing programs and operations in Haiti. He helped manage the Haiti-based response efforts to the 2010 earthquake, coordinating emergency relief supplies, donated materials, and product distribution throughout PIH’s network of hospitals. Jonathan also managed PIH’s campaign to introduce the cholera vaccine in Haiti and oversaw the vaccination of nearly 50,000 people in the rural Lower Artibonite region. read more
Public Safety and Emergency Management
RADM Nicole Lurie, M.D., M.S.P.H.
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
U.S. Public Health Service
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Dr. Lurie is the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The mission of her office is to lead the nation in preventing, responding to and recovering from the adverse health effects of public health emergencies and disasters, ranging from hurricanes to bioterrorism. read more
Ted Okada
Chief Technology Officer
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
A member of the Senior Executive Service and FEMA’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Mr. Ted Okada is responsible for leading the technology strategy and direction for a wide variety of mission, business and enterprise systems, providing guidance, advisory services as well as investment and change management planning. read more
Emerging Technologies
John Clark
Enterprise Market Manager
Skybox Imaging
John is an Enterprise Market Manager at Skybox Imaging. Skybox empowers global businesses, governments, and non-governmental organizations to make better decisions with timely satellite imagery and analytic services. At Skybox, John is building a network of humanitarian partners that leverage Skybox technology to advance their missions. read more
Justin Hughes
Consultant
PA Consulting
Justin Hughes is a consultant based in New York with PA Consulting, a technology and
management consultancy that is headquartered in the UK. Since joining PA Consulting, Mr. Hughes has supported clients across the world in their technology sourcing and supply
chain projects with a focus on new and innovative technologies including biometrics and medical devices. read more
Andre Kearns
Senior Director
DigitalGlobe
Andre Kearns is currently Senior Director, Solutions Marketing at DigitalGlobe and leads the effort to identify, evaluate and incubate new solutions that enable the company to drive profitable growth. An accomplished executive, Andre has focused his career in technology, primarily serving in marketing and strategy roles. read more
Emanuele Lubrano
Founder and Vice-President for Drone Adventures
Head of Industrialization for senseFly
Emanuele Lubrano, Ph.D., is one of the founders of Drone Adventures. The goal of this non-profit organization is to demonstrate the many great applications of drones in conservation, cultural, humanitarian and search and rescue domains. This is done by carrying out practical missions using drones in the four corners of the earth and communicating the results through videos, articles and conferences. read more
Lina Nilsson
Innovation Director
Blum center for Developing Economies
University of California Berkeley
Lina Nilsson is the Innovation Director at the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the University of California Berkeley. At the Center’s Development Impact Lab (DIL), a USAID Development Lab headquartered at UC Berkeley, she designs financial and technical support platforms for university innovations (from ‘lab bench to community’). read more
Sreenivasan (Raj) Rajagopal
Senior Product Manager
IBM Cloud / DevOps Services
Raj manages App Development & DevOps in the cloud solution for IBM. He has over 16 years of software industry experience and has previously managed Test Automation, Service Virtualization (GreenHat) and Enterprise Change and Configuration Management Solutions (ClearCase, ClearQuest, Rational Team Concert, Jazz Integrations) for IBM. read more
Ramesh Raskar
Associate Professor
MIT Media Lab
Ramesh Raskar is an Associate Professor at MIT Media Lab. Ramesh Raskar joined the Media Lab from Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories in 2008 as head of the Lab’s Camera Culture research group. read more
Julie Shah
Boeing Assistant Professor
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab
MIT
Julie Shah is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and leads the Interactive Robotics Group in CSAIL. Her research goals are to develop innovative methods for enabling more fluid human-robot teamwork in high intensity domains—drawing on expertise in artificial intelligence, human factors, and systems engineering. read more
International Development, Poverty Alleviation and Food Security
Corinne Ringholz
AAAS S&T Policy Fellow
Data and Analytics Team
Center for Data, Analytics, and Research
USAID Global Development Lab
Corinne Ringholz is an American Academy for the Advancement of Science Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Agency for International Development – Global Development Lab (USAID/LAB). read more
Tomicah S. Tillemann
Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Civil Society and Emerging Democracies
U.S. Department of State
Dr. Tillemann and his team operate like venture capitalists, identifying ideas that can strengthen new democracies and civil society, and then bring together the talent, technology and resources needed to translate promising concepts into successful diplomacy. He and his team have developed over 20 major initiatives on behalf of the President and Secretary of State. read more
Nazli Choucri
Professor of Political Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Nazli Choucri is Professor of Political Science. Focusing on international relations, she concentrates on sources and consequences of international conflict and violence. Professor Choucri is the Principal Investigator and Director of a multi-year multi-disciplinary collaborative research project of MIT and Harvard University on Explorations in Cyber International Relations. read more
Amy Noreuil
Geographic Information Specialist and Co-Team Lead, Geographic Information Unit
USAID Office of Transition Initiatives
Amy Noreuil is a Geographic Information Specialist and Co-Team Lead for the USAID Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) Geographic Information Unit. USAID/OTI supports U.S. foreign policy objectives by helping local partners advance peace and democracy in priority countries in crisis. read more
Water, Energy, Agriculture, Policy, Security, Education, …
James A. Smith
Professor, University of Virginia
Founder and Director, PureMadi
Professor James A. Smith is the founder of PureMadi, a not-for-profit organization working to solve global water and health problems by working at the interface of water, societal, and human health disciplines. His research interests include sustainable point-of-use water treatment technologies for the developing world and their impact on human health. read more
Martha Symko-Davies
Director, ESI
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Dr. Martha Symko-Davies is the Director of Partnerships for Energy Systems Integration (ESI) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Previous to this role she was the architect for the PV Technology Incubator resulting in over $1.4 billion in private investments. Recently she was selected by DOE as one of the top Innovators in the area of photovoltaics. read more
