Philly Tech Week 2020

Josh is a founding Partner at First Round Capital, a seed-stage technology venture fund. Josh has been an active entrepreneur and investor in the Internet industry since its commercialization.

In 1992, while he was a student at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Josh co-founded Infonautics Corporation – and took it public on the NASDAQ stock exchange in 1996. Josh founded Half.com in July of 1999, and led it to become one of the largest sellers of used books, movies and music in the world. Half.com was acquired by eBay in July 2000 — and Josh remained with eBay for three years, running the Half.com business unit and growing eBay’s Media marketplace to almost half a billion dollars in annual gross merchandise sales. In late 2003 Josh helped to found TurnTide, an anti-spam company that created the world's first anti-spam router. TurnTide was acquired by Symantec just six months later.

Josh founded First Round Capital in 2004 to reinvent seed-stage investing. Since that time the firm has invested in over 300 emerging technology startups – becoming one of the most active venture capital firms in the country. Josh has consistently ranked on the Forbes “Midas List” of the top 100 tech investors. He has been named as one of the top ten ‘angel investors’ in the United States by Newsweek magazine, one of "Tech's New Kingmakers" by Business 2.0 magazine and a "Rising VC Star" by Fortune magazine. Josh also is the proud winner of a second place ribbon in the 2011 Nantucket Watermelon Eating competition.

Josh is an inventor on thirteen U.S. Patents for his work in Internet technology. In June 2000, he was awarded Ernst and Young’s prestigious “Entrepreneur of the Year” award for the Greater Philadelphia region.

Josh earned a Bachelor of Science degree cum laude in Entrepreneurial Management and Marketing from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Tiffany is a dedicated leader passionate about creating sustainable social impact through social entrepreneurship and more importantly, empowering people. She's been nominated for the Greater Philadelphia Social Innovation Award and also recognized by Generocity, Social Innovation Journal, Philadelphia Citizen, Wharton Business Radio, and Penn News as a leader of social entrepreneurship. Tiffany is the Founder & CEO of Fulphil, which she created to empower the youth to pursue their passions through entrepreneurship on the micro scale within cities to create a collectively broader effect. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of Hult Prize Ivy.

She is a current graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, pursuing a dual degree in M.S. Nonprofit Leadership (Cl ‘19) while holding her B.A. in Sociology, concentrating in Health and Medicine (Cl ‘18). She has also worked for City of Philadelphia's Office of Innovation and Technology.

Member of House of Delegates since January 30, 2017. Member, Ways and Means Committee, 2017- (finance resources subcommittee, 2017-19; racing & gaming subcommittee, 2020-; chair, election law subcommittee, 2020-, member, 2017-); Marijuana Legalization Work Group, 2019-; Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, 2020-. Member, Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, 2017-. Associate member, Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus, 2019-. Member, Pimlico Community Development Authority, 2019-.

Member, City Council, Baltimore, representing District 7, December 8, 2011 to December 8, 2016. Member, Education Committee, 2011-14. Vice-Chair, Labor Committee, 2011-16. Member, Executive Appointments Committee, 2011-16; Public Safety Committee, 2011-16. Vice-Chair, Housing and Community Development Committee, 2014-16 (member, 2011-14). Member, Budget and Appropriation Committee, 2014-16; Land Use and Transportation Committee, 2015-16.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, 1978. Attended Baltimore Polytechnical Institute, Baltimore, Maryland; Tuskegee University, B.S. (electrical engineering), 2001. Former video network engineering manager, Verizon Communications, Inc.; senior project manager, Baltimore Gas and Electric Company. Member, Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee, 2008-10. Member, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. VIP List, Daily Record, 2012. Lifelong member, St. Matthew Catholic Church, Baltimore, Maryland. Married; two children.

A past columnist for both The New York Times and The Washington Post, Gene now writes regularly for The Hill, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine and The Guardian.

Gene has written 5 books on business management, specifically geared towards small and medium sized companies. His most recent is In God We Trust, Everyone Else Pays Cash.

Nationally, Gene appears regularly on MSNBC and Fox News as well as The John Batchelor Show and SiriusXM's Wharton Business Channel where he talks about the financial, economic and technology issues that affect business leaders today.

Through his keynotes and breakout sessions, Gene helps business owners, executives and managers understand the political, economic and technological trends that will affect their companies and—most importantly—the actions they can take to continue to grow and profit.

Gene owns and operates the Marks Group PC, a highly successful ten-person firm that provides technology and consulting services to small and medium sized businesses.

Prior to starting the Marks Group PC Gene, a Certified Public Accountant, spent nine years in the entrepreneurial services arm of the international consulting firm KPMG in Philadelphia where he was a Senior Manager.

Some individuals are going through life, just living the everyday ‘grind.’ Then you have those who live with a purpose, who honestly want to improve their surroundings in their community. Dr. Leslie Grace is one of these people in the city of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Professor Grace has always been self-driven and a little more mature than her peers in her thinking. Even as a young girl, she clearly knew what her life goals were going to be. A younger Leslie Grace was in newspaper articles at the age of 16/17 years old. She had well thought out opinions even then, wise beyond her years by today’s standards. She was a young lady with determination and big dreams to chase, which fueled her mind daily.

Professor Leslie Grace is an educator, social entrepreneur, philanthropist, and will be a new author this upcoming spring. This amazing single mom lives to empower the young people in her community. The Elements Of The Community Inc provides educational, media relations, financial literacy and entrepreneurship programming to communities around the United States. Dr. Grace has taught thousands of young children & adults how to open their own businesses and manage their finances. “Why do we teach our young people to be good workers, instead of teaching them to be good owners? We must stop limiting the potential of our youth.” Dr. Grace truly understands that real freedom comes from being financially free, because that is the only way that those from the inner cities will have a chance to live the “American Dream.”

The exposure that the young people are getting about today’s financial situation here in America, and how to avoid those landmines, will surely result in a financial behavior change, totally different from what their parents had experienced in their youth. Dr. Grace is truly dedicated to increasing the financial capabilities of young Americans and their immediate family members. She is so committed to teaching her young students about ownership over their lives, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Dr. Leslie Grace is well educated, but don’t be thrown off by how young this educator looks. She has definitely done her time in institutions of higher learning. She lives by the motto, “What Is The Point Of Having All The Degrees And You Are Not Helping Change Lives.” This young lady has more degrees than a thermometer and welcomes any information that will continue to educate her.

Dr. Grace has won numerous community and innovation awards from the business world locally in the city of Philadelphia. Dr. Grace was nominated to attend the United States Women Summit, hosted by the White House in 2016, because of her dedication to women and their families. The release of two books are on the horizon this spring for Dr. Leslie Grace, that will help change the landscape of children and their families globally. She is not afraid to step out in front and be the game changer in her community. She definitely won’t let grass grow under her feet (and that is just the way she likes it).

Kareem is the Director of Outreach and Partnership at the Collective Success Network. This organization provides mentoring to First Gen and Low Income (FGLI) college students by matching them with mentors in their chosen professions.

He is also an IT Auditor at Chubb Limited and sits on the finance and audit committee for the Philadelphia Youth Network.

Kareem is a graduate of Drexel University with a BSBA in Management Information Systems and enjoys all things gaming in his off time.

Executive Director, Head of Community Affairs & Corporate Responsibility, Americas UBS AG Jamie Sears is Head of UBS Community Affairs & Corporate Responsibility, Americas. She also leads the UBS Foundation USA.

Since joining UBS in 2012, Jamie co-led the development of our philanthropic strategy, overseeing the firm's high-impact flagship initiatives and launching our signature programs in the areas of education and entrepreneurship. As the architect and program head for UBS Elevating Entrepreneurs, a portfolio of programs focused on driving inclusive entrepreneurship, she oversaw the creation of Project Entrepreneur, which seeks to build the pipeline of female founders of high-growth companies, and UBS NextGen Leaders, a multi-year commitment to increasing college and career success for first-generation and low-income students.

Jamie and her team are responsible for grant making, partnerships with national nonprofit organizations, community stakeholder engagement, and employee volunteering and giving programs. UBS's philanthropic efforts have received media coverage in outlets including The New York Times, Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and Inc.

Prior to UBS, Jamie held a variety of roles in the Office of Corporate Engagement at Goldman Sachs, including serving on the launch team for the firm's global 10,000 Women initiative to support women entrepreneurs, designing and managing the engagement strategy for the 10,000 Small Businesses domestic education program, and working as a program officer with leading scholarship organizations to advance underrepresented female undergraduates pursuing careers in business.

Her previous experience includes establishing and managing the New York University Reynolds Foundation Program in Social Entrepreneurship and working at Teach for America on the Corps Member selection and national development teams. Her early experience at TFA influenced her life-long commitment to education equity, social innovation, and impact investing.

Jamie holds a Master of Public Administration from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Politics and Spanish from Pennsylvania State University. She is on the board of the National College Access Network and is a member of Entrepreneurship Funders Network, NationSwell Council, and the Social Innovation Summit Council. She lives with her husband and son in New Jersey.

Cerron was confirmed as the Secretary of Labor on January 24, 2018 where he leads state efforts to connect Delaware businesses with talented workers, and develop relevant workforce development and training programs.

Prior to that he was Acting Director of the Delaware Economic Development Office (DEDO), Cerron managed the dissolution of DEDO and the creation of the new Division of Small Business, Development, and Tourism within the Delaware Department of State. He served as the Division’s Director, leading a team responsible for providing key services to Delaware businesses, administration of the Delaware Strategic Fund, and marketing Delaware as a premier tourist destination.

During his time at DEDO and the newly-created division, Cerron had led the state’s efforts to attract businesses and good-paying jobs to Delaware, keep them here, and ensure that Delaware remains a leading state for businesses to grow and thrive.

Cerron grew up in Washington D.C. and moved to Delaware to study Political Science and Law Studies at Delaware State University. Driven by a desire to make a positive impact and following his passion for public service,

Cerron has worked as a Legislative Aide for the Delaware State House of Representatives, New Castle County Deputy Director for U.S. Senator Tom Carper and State Projects Director for then-Congressman John Carney, and Legislative Liaison for Governor Jack Markell.

Cade lives in Wilmington with his wife, Kasmira, and two daughters, Jonnie and Toni.