Eli Marcus Smith founded and runs successful businesses in construction and real estate development with offices in Washington, DC, and Syracuse, NY. A committed and energetic entrepreneur, he is following in the footsteps of his parents who were successful business owners for over 40 years. Eli has been recognized by Governor Cuomo for his entrepreneurial spirit and achievement in contracting. He continues to give back to his community by mentoring students at area high schools and colleges.
Aurora Winter believes that if you determine how to bring the most value to others, you can be successful. She is a bestselling author, TV-producer, media coach, ghostwriter, and successful serial entrepreneur. She uses her film-making expertise and neuroscience training to help people communicate more effectively and get results. And if you have ever wanted to write a book or become an in-demand speaker, Aurora has the expertise and insights to help you achieve your goals.
Dr John H. Wilson also known as The-Entre-Professor, is an entrepreneur, intrapreneur, scholar, and public speaker with more than twenty years of experience in the technology industry. Recently, he left Corporate America to pursue a full-time faculty position at Drexel University as a teaching professor in the Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship and to launch Strategic Collisions International LLC, a development consultancy dedicated to helping entrepreneurs to launch, grow, and thrive.
Katherine Frankstone’s father taught her to bake at an early age—and she developed a life-long passion for it. After being a banker, becoming a mother to 3 children, co-founding a children’s museum, and going back to law school, she decided to turn her passion into a business, and Grey Ghost Bakery was born. Grey Ghost Bakery produces made-from-scratch cookies in ten delicious flavors using Southern family recipes and are found in over 300 stores in 32 states.
Keegan Federal became a lawyer at 22, a judge at 33, and, after 55 years, he is still practicing law, specializing in high-dollar catastrophic injury cases throughout the Southeast. He also mediates and arbitrates cases for other lawyers and assists other judges by serving as a Special Master presiding over their more complicated and time-consuming cases. Judge Federal is an honors graduate of Emory University, a Vietnam veteran with a Bronze Star.
Maxwell Adekoje is a native of war-torn Nigeria. A survivor of numerous adversities and crises, he moved to the United States to get a better life. A 20-year veteran in the airline industry, he moved up the corporate ladder and became airport supervisor at Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. Today he is the CEO and Founder of Higher is Calling. He’s a motivational speaker, online marketing training coach, and author of three books. His current release is an international bestseller.
Steve Orrin offers three decades of extraordinary success in a series of high-level roles at top-tier companies that include Intel Corporation, Sarvega, Watchfire Inc., Sanctum Inc., First Genetic Trust Inc., Lockstar Inc., and SynData Technologies Inc. He has developed a reputation as an industry leader, leveraging a history of delivering results in Innovation, Intrapreneurship, and Entrepreneurship. He is a Tech-enabled business professional who has launched and scaled companies and brought innovative industry-leading products to market. As Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Senior PE for Intel Corporation, Steve orchestrates and executes customer engagements in the federal space, overseeing the development of federal solution architectures to address challenges in government enterprise, national security, and other federal areas of focus. Mr. Orrin has dedicated himself and his vision as a leader who engages in projects with an “All-In” attitude.
Melissa Dobbins could do seventh grade math in third grade, but she couldn’t read. She was ridiculed by students and even teachers, who told her in so many ways, “Your best is only ever going to be so-so.” But with advice from her 6th grade teacher, she shifted her attitude from “I can't do it” to “No, I'm going to show you.” And she has continued to show everybody for years, including forming Career.Place, an anonymous candidate evaluation solution that removes bias from the screening process.