Dr. A. Emin Aktan

Dr. Aktan received his PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1973 in earthquake-structural engineering, advised by Dr. M.A. Sozen. After serving 6 years as assistant professor at the Middle East Technical University in Turkey, he joined the University of California at Berkeley as a research engineer. During 1979-1984 he was mentored by Drs. V. Bertero, E. Popov and R. Clough as he managed the US-Japan Cooperative Research Program on RC Buildings. Subsequently he held academic positions at LSU and University of Cincinnati until joining Drexel University in 1997. Currently he is John Roebling Professor of Infrastructure Studies at Drexel University. Dr. Aktan’s research since 1984, mentored by late Prof. J. Yao, focused on structural identification and health monitoring of operating prototype buildings and bridges. He has strived to integrate analysis, field experiments on actual constructed systems and a structures laboratory, with heuristic knowledge, and participated in the structural identification of FEM Models of dozens of operating and decommissioned constructed systems including major long-span suspension bridges. Dr. Aktan served as the founding chair of the ASCE SEI Technical Committees on “Performance Based Structural Engineering” and “Structural Identification of Constructed Systems”. His passion is reforming civil engineering education by leveraging operating multi-domain infrastructure systems as field laboratories for research and education. Dr. Aktan has been funded by NSF, FHWA, EPA, NIST and by various state and local governments since 1984, supported and graduated more than a dozen PhD’s, published several dozen journal articles, and consulted for prestigious corporations and university programs. He has been especially honored when junior colleagues he has mentored became accomplished full professors.

Mark Capriotti

Mark Capriotti is the Co-Founder of ReAnimator Coffee Roasters, a coffee roaster/retailer that wholesales coffee to cafes and specialty grocers locally, as well as around the country, and has three retail locations in Philadelphia.

Mark got his engineering degree from Drexel University and spent 10 years working as an engineer before venturing out on his own to start ReAnimator. After starting the operation in the basement of his house in Fishtown, ReAnimator opened its first retail location in 2013 right in the heart of Fishtown. Five years later, ReAnimator also operates locations in Kensington and West Philadelphia, as well as co-owning Res Ipsa Cafe, which was on Bon Appétite Magazine’s list of America’s Best New Restaurants for 2017.

Mark is into all things food and beverage and loves to experience both while traveling. Feel free to contact him at markcapriotti@reanimatorcoffee.com.

Mark A. Castellano

Mark Castellano is founder and President of Soliton Energy, a commercial/industrial solar developer based in New Jersey. Mr. Castellano’s clients include real estate companies, industrial companies, retail spaces, warehouses and distribution centers, data centers, public/private school districts/universities, and municipalities. He oversees business development in North America.

Most recently at his previous startup, RenewTricity, Mr. Castellano co-developed and sold a 10 MW DC grid-connected solar farm in New Jersey. He secured funding for project development and purchase. Mr. Castellano has extensive experience in the renewable energy, semiconductor, financial services, and telecommunications sectors. His past employers include distinguished companies such as Texas Instruments, Merrill Lynch, and AT&T Bell Laboratories.

Mr. Castellano volunteers in several Princeton alumni activities, and is currently President of the Princeton Club of Northwestern New Jersey. Mr. Castellano holds a B.S., Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College and a M.S., Electrical Engineering from Princeton University.

Cecily Kovatch

Cecily Kovatch is the founder of Fueled for Growth, a consulting firm focused on innovation in the energy and industrials sector. Ms. Kovatch’s unique career spans many aspects of the energy industry, from oil & gas to utilities and renewable energy. She thrives at solving complex problems to find new, sustainable ways for companies to grow. Previously, she created, launched and led the innovation program for a renewable energy company. Prior to that she was Head of Energy & Industrials research at an independent research firm helping buy-side clients better understand and value the sector. She began her career working on oil rigs as a field engineer for Schlumberger and is recipient of a Wildcatter Award for discovering oil & gas in Brazoria County, TX. Ms. Kovatch is also an Adjunct Professor at Stevens Institute of Technology where she teaches Entrepreneurial Thinking and an Entrepreneur-in- Residence at Stevens Venture Center advising cleantech startups. She holds a bachelors degree in Geology and Environmental Studies from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Garrett Melby

Garrett Melby is co-founder and Managing Director of GoodCompany Ventures, a nonprofit accelerator for social entrepreneurs that has mobilized over $75mm in private capital to scale their impact. An innovator in social finance, Garrett designed GoodCompany’s Social Impact Projection model, now adopted by impact investor groups and accelerators, and holds a patent for Mission Aligned Portfolio Strips, a tax strategy for patient capital.

Garrett is an active angel investor with Investors’ Circle, where he was a founding member of IC’s first regional chapter. He has also served on the Investment Committee for the Wharton Impact Investing Partners and as an evaluator of social innovations for Echoing Green, the MIT Climate CoLab, NetImpact and the Environmental Media Association. Garrett is also a Director of Generocity.org, the platform for social innovation in greater Philadelphia.

Previously, Garrett was a VC with Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., a $12 billion NYSE listed technology investor. He began his impact investment career as an emerging market finance attorney in the New York, London and Washington offices of Skadden Arps.

Garrett holds a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from Boston University.

Anna Mikulska

Anna Mikulska, is a nonresident fellow in energy studies at the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies and senior fellow at UPenn’s Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, where she teaches graduate-level seminars on energy policy and geopolitics of energy. Her research focuses on the geopolitics of natural gas within the EU, former Soviet Bloc and Russia including potential use of natural gas as a geo-economic tool to bolster European energy security. Mikulska is also a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and serves on the editorial board of the law review at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland. Mikulska speaks Polish, English, German, Farsi and Russian. She holds a law degree from Adam Mickiewicz University, an MA in international relations from the University of Windsor, Canada, and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Houston.

Angela Pachon

Angela Pachon is the Research Director of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at Penn. At the Center, she oversees the research agenda and the grants and visitors programs. Her research focuses on energy policy in Canada, Pennsylvania and Latin America. Prior to joining the Kleinman Center, she was a policy advisor to the Ontario Energy Board where she participated in the development of regulatory initiatives for gas and electricity utilities. She also worked in the UK as an analyst and consultant in the energy practice of NERA Economic Consulting where she led projects in Africa and the Middle East. She also advised clients about the implementation of EU directives for electricity and gas in various European countries. Angela received her Master of Science in Local Economic Development from the London School of Economics and a B.S. degree in Economics from Universidad Javeriana at Bogota, Colombia.

Rina Patel

Rina Patel is a trained facilitator, writer, and consultant. Prior to moving back to the United States this past year, Rina spent six years running Aahana, a non-profit organization for disabled children and women in India. Her non-profit led her to India for two years where she lived and worked with adolescent girls in slums while also exploring the world on a deeper level. Experiences like backpacking through Southeast Asia, walking 1,000 kilometers across Spain, and motorbiking through Vietnam led her to communities and people that taught the power of inner transformation as a vehicle for systematic, societal change. Personally and professionally, she is now on a mission to inspire others to live the life they feel called to live. You can read more at www.rinagpatel.com.

Jason Sherman

Jason Sherman is a serial entrepreneur, award winning filmmaker, published author, journalist and tech startup expert. He has been featured by several media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Verge, and ABC News. He is fluent in Spanish, is a classically trained violinist, and is a regular speaker on FOX's Futurist TV Show: Xploration Earth 2050.

Jason runs a technology consulting company and film studio from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He gives guest lectures at Drexel University, Temple University, and University of Pennsylvania, as well as several hackathons and tech meetups. His methodologies on entrepreneurship and data driven decisions are his main source of education to those he helps all around the world. His startup book Strap on your Boots is the culmination of his life's work to help other entrepreneurs succeed and is the focus of a class he created and teaches at the Wharton School of Business.

Geoff Weber

Geoff Weber is the Managing Member of Weber Law, LLC, a boutique business law firm that focuses on the needs of rapidly growing companies. He is an entrepreneur and a lawyer, often working as an outside general counsel for other entrepreneurs as they grow their businesses. Before launching Weber Law in 2009, Geoff worked for some of the Philadelphia area’s larger law firms, concentrating his practice on mergers and acquisitions, capital raises (including venture capital transactions) and general corporate representation. He is an active participant in Philadelphia’s startup community and a frequently invited speaker on topics related to business law and entrepreneurship. He also serves as the President of the Delran Education Foundation, which raises money to support innovative educational programs.