Community & Guest List
Olenka Cullinan is a CEO and Founder of iStartFirst. She empowers women to up-Level their business and mindset via on-line Bootcamp, iStartFirst Women's Summit, and delivering keynotes and workshops for companies nationwide & globally. Olenka has developed a “Backbone of Success”™ method that helps female leaders to take action, get paid their worth and show up like a BOSS-Babe. Olenka’s work globally, combined with humor and personal experiences led to her recent appearances at TEDx (twice) and made her into one of the nation’s premier consultants.
Jay Gibb is a former software engineer, now the founder and CEO of B2B SaaS company CloudSponge. Together with his team, Jay has helped thousands of businesses drive growth over the last 20 years. With a unique blend of tech expertise and soft skills, Jay is an expert at helping entrepreneurs across all industries build the right products to reach a larger customer base and boost growth.
Dr. Jon Thompson, Founder and CEO of extraktLAB, is a separation scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur. He received his Doctor of Chemistry degree in 2001 from the University of Minnesota and has since has worked on everything from secret projects with NASA to helping companies enter the medical cannabis market. His company helps people find success in the business of pharmaceutical grade botanical extraction and refinement. Dr. Jon guides his businesses through ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) policies and believes we all deserve a sustainable future.
Julie Berninger is the host of Fire Drill Podcast where she explores how side hustles and savings lead to financial independence. She also is the co-founder of Gold City Ventures where she teaches people how to sell printables on Etsy.
Juliana Cardona is the founder and CEO of Street Entrepreneurs. She is an inquisitive, passionate creator and organizer constantly working to drive action and local impact. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Political Science and a minor in Communications and Latin American Studies from Florida Southern College. While in college, she spent time volunteering with 20 grassroots organizations in Florida, Colorado, Massachusetts, Washington D.C., Philippines, Taiwan, and Mexico. The service projects she undertook included installing solar bulbs in Manila with Liter of Light, and mentoring children in Lakeland FL with Big Brother Big Sister. Juliana has received multiple awards for her service, including a United States Congressional Bronze Certificate. As well, Juliana has also been honored by being named a Diana Davis Global Good Fund Fellow, Ford Motor Company Global Scholar, Aspen Latino Institute Fellow, and a Cologne Scholar. Prior to starting Street Entrepreneurs, Juliana collaborated with the World Bank Group’s Information Communications Technology Community of Practice for Agriculture to design and support the first Agri-Hackathon program in Uganda.
Christy Evon is Director and Co-Owner of Health Vantis, a medical facilitation business. She started her business after experiencing the Canadian health care system and frustrations with it while living there. Her background consists of a 14 year career in the US insurance industry and she has a Master's in Business from Indiana Wesleyan. She currently resides in Indianapolis, IN with her 2 boys.
David Cancel is a serial entrepreneur, podcast host (Seeking Wisdom) and angel investor/advisor. He is best known for creating hypergrowth products and product teams at companies such as Drift, HubSpot, Performable, Ghostery and Compete. David was named the top-ranked CEO by of USA Today and has been featured by media outlets such as The New York Times, Forbes, Fortune, Wired, and Fast Company, and has guest lectured on entrepreneurship at Harvard, Harvard Business School, MIT, MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Bentley, and other universities.
Kara Simon founded Loving Heart Holistic Wellness in 2016 in Bedford, Indiana. Currently located in Arlington, VA, Loving Heart Holistic Wellness practices Mindfulness, Meditation, Reiki, personalized Yoga and weekly Yoga classes, Emotional Freedom Technique, Sound Healing, and other healing services. Kara believes in compassion and sustainability, and provides classes and services that are trauma informed, and accessible to all. She is passionate about promoting resilience, nourishment, and enrichment for your Mind, Body, and Spirit.
Ronjini Joshua is the ceo and founder of The Silver Telegram a PR agency focused on brand awareness and media relations for technology companies. She has been in the PR industry for 17 years working at large agency's, as in-house PR and as the founder of her own agency. Ronjini is also the host of The PR Playbook Podcast, a podcast about everything you need to know about public relations as well as a contributor on Forbes and a speaker at industry events.
where he led all modeling and valuation work for the firm’s M&A and fundraising assignments."
