Philly Tech Week 2020

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.

Lisa is Seer’s Data Strategy Lead based in Philadelphia. She harnessed a passion for data and her tenure within digital marketing and business operations to focus on pushing Seer forward in utilizing data-driven strategies. Her favorite thing to do is dig deep into data to help clients solve complex business questions. Her second favorite thing to do is convince Wil of the virtues of bridge tables & ngrams.

Before Seer, Lisa worked in roles across the board in digital marketing and software with positions at TIG Global, MICROS Systems, and Oracle. Recently hitting ten years in the industry, Lisa started her career in PPC before branching into SEO, product management, program management, R&D, and finally Data Strategy. She has experience with clients at all levels and across most major industries. In her role as Data Strategy Lead, Lisa gets to touch a ton of Seer’s clients in one way or another, which is one reason she loves what she does.

Lisa is a graduate of the University of Delaware. In her free time, she enjoys eating at every new restaurant in the city and doing all things outdoors with her husband Bernard, kids George and Annie, and their too-energetic pup Deacon.

Philadelphia native, Charles “Charlie Mack” Alston, an entertainment giant has a long standing track record in the entertainment business, dating back to 1978 when he hosted his first house party for 250 youth in the basement of his mother’s home, subsequently becoming a concert promoter for well known Hip Hop Artists Doug E. Fresh, Roxanne Shante, Biz Markie, Big Daddy Kane and Stetsasonic. In 1979, Charlie Mack became a Record Promoter/A&R Director for the independent label, “April Records”. During the early 80’s, Mack began his professional career as security for Galaxy 5, road manager and security for and MC Breeze.

In 1987, Mack elevated from bodyguard to Executive Personal Assistant for his star friends Mega Star Will “Fresh Prince” Smith and Jeff “Jazzy Jeff” Townes. In 1997, Charlie Mack relocated to Los Angeles for several years and initially assisted Smith on the set of the blockbuster hit, “Enemy of The State” along with several of his subsequent major films. Known for unselfishly lending his professional relationships to aid aspiring talent and basically anyone in need, Charlie Mack played an integral role in discovering talent like Boyz II Men and others in the industry. Despite a lucrative and rewarding career working side by side with Will Smith, Charlie Mack chose to relocate back to his native Philadelphia in 2003 to be closer to his children and fulfill his dream of reigniting the entertainment and social vigor in the city of Philadelphia.

40 years in the entertainment industry, Charlie Mack has consulted with various companies such as Electric Factory Concerts, East Coast Express, Clear Channel and Live Nation; to name a few. He has provided both diverse and quality entertainment locally as well as nationally. Over the years, 215 Aphillyated and its subsidiaries have presented concerts featuring Gospel, Jazz, Hip-Hop, and R&B artists, such as: Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx, Gerald Levert, George Clinton and Hezekiah Walker; Comedians Chris Tucker, D.L.Hughley and Steve Harvey; Jazz Artists Najee and Larry Carlton; and Hip Hop Artists Notorious B.I.G., Jay Z, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott and DMX have headlined the billboards. Charlie Mack promoted and hosted Tupac Shakur’s very last concert in the city of Philadelphia and the only concert with Lil Kim and Foxy Brown on the same bill. Celebrity galas for Boyz II Men and N’SYNC are also part of his credentials. Mack added to his efforts, Film Producer, co-producing the block buster hit, “Atl,” starring Rapper T.I. Mack co-created and produced the VH1 Special – “Bridging The Gap”, which featured Queen Latifah, Eve, Snoop and The Game. Currently, Charlie Mack is lending his talents to produce the biopic of R&B Legend and Crooner Teddy Pendergrass.

Archna Sahay is a Sr Consultant with J Nowak Strategy, a strategic advisory firm based in Philadelphia. Archna's primary areas of focus include urban innovation and public-private partnerships. Prior to this role, Archna was the director of entrepreneurial investment for the City of Philadelphia. As Director, Archna was responsible for the economic and business development of the tech sector for the City. She launched various programs to help connect entrepreneurs to resources needed as they built their businesses in Philadelphia. Archna also managed StartupPHL, the City's platform for supporting entrepreneurship and startup activity in Philadelphia which also included management of an early stage venture fund and a grant program. She helped guide the growth of the platform from providing sources of funding to startups to also incorporating thought leadership, open innovation concepts and equitable and inclusive ecosystem development. Archna began her career in finance working for over 10 years at leading investment management firms working closely with high net worth clients.

Archna served as an Advisor for the 2018 SXSW Cities Summit and is currently on the boards of Philadelphia Community Corp, a non profit salvage organization combining workforce development and sustainable building and deconstruction practices as well as Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians, a non profit whose mission is to provide a soft landing for new immigrants through education, training, employment and entrepreneurship.

Barrie E. Litzky received her Ph.D. in organizational sciences and psychology from Drexel University and taught for the past 18 years at Penn State Great Valley. At PSU, Barrie’s primary teaching responsibilities included business, ethics, and society; sustainability; diversity leadership; and career management. She established the Consortium for Sustainable Business Development at Penn State Great Valley, which operated from 2010 through 2013 and supported various faculty research projects, a campus lecture series, and a variety of student initiatives including service learning and field trips. Barrie created courses in sustainability and social entrepreneurship and led the effort to create a graduate certificate in Sustainable Management Practices. In September 2017, Barrie returned to Drexel as an associate professor of entrepreneurship in the Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship. Excited to be at The Close School, Barrie is currently developing and teaching courses in social entrepreneurship and sustainability, resilience and failure, and mindfulness.

Ellen Weber joined the Fox School of Business as an Assistant Professor in the Strategic Management department. She serves as the Executive Director of Temple University’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute and Mid-Atlantic Diamond Ventures. Her areas of interest include funding early-stage companies, entrepreneurial ecosystems and women’s entrepreneurship.

She is also the Executive Director of Robin Hood Ventures, a leading angel group helping to fuel startup growth in the Philadelphia region.

Ellen has more than 25 years of experience creating strong teams and building strong leaders for emerging companies as well as Fortune 500 clients. She has been a Managing Director and Founder of Antiphony Partners, LLC, a strategic consulting firm that specializes in helping companies create sustainable value through innovation. Ellen was the COO and co-founder of VisionMine, which provides a specialized Open Innovation platform for large corporations.

She was involved in the growth of Investor Force, a provider of technology-based solutions for institutional investment professionals, where she created the company’s initial human resources department, facilitated strategic planning, and managed the organizational aspects of the company’s mergers and acquisitions. Additionally, she spent twelve years at Shared Medical Systems where she was responsible for initiatives encompassing organizational development, customer support and corporate communications. She was also a senior consultant for Andersen Consulting.

Ellen has been named one of the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Power 100, a guide to the region’s most influential people in 2017, 2018 and 2019. She was the 2018 recipient of the Alliance of Women Entrepreneur’s Iris Newman award, for demonstrating a strong commitment to advancing women, women’s entrepreneurship, and especially women’s high-growth entrepreneurship. She received the 2017 David Freschman award from the Pennsylvania Private Investors Group.

Ellen graduated from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in economics.

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.

Philadelphia native, James Lindsay, graduated from Cheyney University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing. He initially developed his marketing skills while serving as a manager in the consumer products industry for Johnson Products, an ethnic hair care company, and Warner-Lambert. These experiences, and his desire to own a business, empowered him to start Rap Snacks, Inc in 1994. The initial success of Rap Snacks helped solidify a co-marketing agreement with Universal Records. The deal consisted of advertising Universal’s Artists on all Rap Snacks bags. Eventually the company grew into a five million dollar business selling mostly twenty-five cent bags of chips.

In 2001 Mr. Lindsay decided to expand his product line by purchasing a snack foods line called “Mr. G” snack foods. Mr. G was a locally owned Philly brand that was best know for its hot and barbeque cheddar flavored chips.

In 2007, Mr. Lindsay launched Soulful Foods, Inc. The mission of the company is to provide consumers with a great cultural experience through unique products and seasonings, and to partner with other ethnic brands in order to expand their product reach in the marketplace.

The first product launched under Soulful Foods, Inc was a venture between Mr. Lindsay and Sylvia Woods, the “Queen of Soul Food”. They came together to develop a nationally recognized brand of snack foods called “Sylvia’s”.

The introduction included three flavors of Kettle Cooked Potato Chips fried in Sunflower seed oil, which eliminates trans fats. The initial flavors included honey barbeque, lemon pepper, and Louisiana hot.

Mr. Lindsay has been in the consumer marketing industry over 17 years. His unique marketing concepts and flavor profiles have differentiated his products from other snack items on the shelf and helped him build the company’s loyal consumer base.

In 2010, Mr. Lindsay continued to be an big influence in the music marketing industry; guiding platinum selling recording artist, Meek Mill by connecting his brand with corporate America and securing brand deals with companies such as, PUMA, Monster Energy Drink, and Ciroc. As well as partnering with Monster Headphones to help create the Monster’s 24k Headphones. Mr. Lindsay also assisted Meek Mill in growing PUMA’s business an additional 200 million over a five year period. He’s also worked with Master P and his family.

Over the past 12 years he has been featured on “CBS Morning Show”, ABC’s “The Jimmy Kimmel Show”, BET, Fox News, People Magazine, The “Tavis Smiley” Show, Black Enterprise, Forbes, and Entrepreneur Magazine. He was also recognized by Business Philadelphia Magazine as “Top 100 People to Watch”