Community & Guest List

Adriana L. Cowdin is a 4-time entrepreneur and “retired” Corporate America C-level marketing executive who led social media marketing for a $40B retailer overseeing 150 brands and was the CDMO for a $1B home security company. In 2016, Cowdin founded Dekaf Digital, a social media marketing agency that takes the pain and uncertainty out of social media for high-growth start ups across the globe. She has been featured in media outlets worldwide including ABC, NY Times, Inc. 500, Hoovers, and Reuters to name a few.

Graduating from Georgia Tech in 1991 with Highest Honors in Electrical Engineering, Angela Fox has often been asked how she moved from such a technical education with early roles in corporate systems and strategy into a life where she is transforming companies and communities, building cultural facilities, and serving as a catalyst for change and role model for impact and meaning in every area she touches. The answer is simple. At engineering school, she learned to solve problems – the more complex the issue, the more elegant the solution. She walked away with a Co-Op student’s awareness that there are many areas where a creative mind is key, that molds are meant to be broken, and that there is no situation that cannot be made better. As the CEO of the Crystal City Business Improvement District (BID), she was asked to create an organization that would change the way people see, perceive, and experience Crystal City. In a very short time and at a nationally-recognized level, she did just that. From a long-standing belief that the area was a “concrete canyon” that no one would visit without an appointment to the shortlist for Amazon’s HQ2, as well as winner of the International Downtown Association’s Pinnacle “best of the best” award because of her strategic implementation of competitive programs, as well as her ability to engage and infuse energy into the community as a whole. People are the heart of any company, campus, culture and community, and the only way to bring about real, active, and repeatable transformation is to enlist their energy as stakeholders in the process, the progress, and the ultimate success. As a 32-year, Tesla-driving vegetarian who runs 5Ks, cycles thousands of miles every year, and practices all forms of yoga, all while being committed to her community by serving and chairing local arts boards, and she inspires people to embody the changes they seek to achieve. She is an dynamic speaker, dedicated mother, friend, and proud promoter of the philosophies and processes that she learned on the ground throughout her career. She has traveled all over the world (6 continents, 72 countries, and 47 states), worked with a Japanese Security Software firm as a C-level coach and interim Marketing VP, and run her own consulting firm providing business strategy, marketing and executive coaching services to individuals, corporations, and non-profits. She has re-introduced many people to the personal and business value of building lives that matter, to them, helping them become active contributors, board members, citizens and participants. Whether launching Verizon.net, introducing new programs at Cultural Tourism DC, or building an award-winning new theater in downtown DC, she is dedicated to her community and is honored to forever be a Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech!

Amanda Abella is an award-winning content creator, keynote speaker, and business coach who specializes in helping business owners activate their persuasion prowess so they can make more money.

Her clients go from hating sales and marketing to achieving 90% close rates and closing multiple five-figure deals. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Huffington Post, Business Insider, Univision and many more.

Prior to teaching marketing and sales, Amanda spent a decade as a financial writer and wrote content for companies like Wells Fargo, Discover, Credit Karma, Santander and more. She's also partnered with companies like Capital One and Transunion in financial education campaigns.

She's also the Amazon bestselling author of Make Money Your Honey and has created a community of over 60,000 people across social media channels make more money and live a more affluent life.

As Co-Founder and CEO, Armon created Coalesce, the only data transformation tool built for scale. Prior, Armon was part of the founding team at WhereScape, a leading provider of data automation software. At WhereScape, Armon served as national sales manager for almost a decade.

Alan Heymann, JD, PCC specializes in coaching through transitions — such as the transition from individual contributor to leader, the transition into a larger and more complex role, or the transition into a different career. He brings a warm, open and energetic presence to his coaching clients. To date, Alan has coached leaders who were born in 16 countries and work on 5 continents.

An expert communicator and engaging speaker, Alan spent more than two decades in public, government and nonprofit communications — leading teams from 2 to more than 100 people who use words and images to inspire positive change in society. Inspired by a career transformation he brought about with the support of an executive coach, Alan decided to become a coach himself. He founded Peaceful Direction in April 2019.