KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Jay Rogers, Local Motors
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Amy Lynch, Generational Edge
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Breakout Session Speakers
Sean AlsobrooksSean likes to start new projects. He's founded a church, an internet printing company and a coffee shop. Most recently he started Makers Donuts.
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Terrence CarterTerrence is the Director of Economic & Business Development for the Knoxville Area Urban League. He works with organizations to plan & implement economic development projects to spur business growth throughout the region.
Ian DovanIan founded Seeds of Change, a business that seeks to restore dignity through meaningful employment. He is attending the MBA program at UT in Fall 2016 and his life mantra is strangers are just friends waiting to happen.
Ashley CappsAshley established AC Entertainment in 1991. ACE now books & produces over 1,000 concerts annually while operating & managing Knoxville's Bijou & Tennessee theaters, as well as Chattanooga's Tivoli Theater & Memorial Auditorium. Ashley founded the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, & the Big Ears festival.
Pastor Daryl ArnoldDaryl is the founder & senior pastor of Overcoming Believers Church in Knoxville. He is passionate about serving the Knoxville community, & his greatest joys are his beautiful wife of 20 years, Carmeisha Arnold, & his four children.
Cheryl Middleton JonesCheryl is senior vice president of international human resources for Scripps Networks Interactive. She is also responsible for the standardization of the HR process & systems globally.
Jim BiggsJim comes to Knoxville after 20 years in San Francisco, where he was most recently the director of business solutions for Essention Group. He is now the executive director for the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center. He was once a practicing attorney for the US, & is still a practicing Dead Head & amateur hockey player.
Jason AltmanJason worked in the restaurant industry through college and after graduation. He was hired by the Knoxville Track Club in 2006 and has been the director of the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon ever since.
Jill Van BekeJill is Director of Innovation for Launch Tennessee, working with entrepreneurs, innovators & investors across the state & around the US. She is focused on connecting early-stage companies to the resources they need to start, grow & stay in Tennessee.
Austin ChurchAustin is co-founder of Closeup.fm & a marketing consultant who helps freelancers, creatives, & executives grow their businesses. When he isn't helping his wife Megan wrangle their two children, Austin spends his time writing, reading, fly fishing, running, & travel hacking.
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Brandon BruceBrandon is co-founder of Cirrus Insight, a software-as-a-service company in Knoxville. He enjoys running and cycling and once raced his bike 508 miles across Death Valley.
Nicole ChandlerNicole is a Knoxville native & brings a servant's heart to the East Knoxville community. An advocate for youth and families, she has previously worked with other youth serving organizations. She is now the Executive Director for the Change Center.
Doug LawyerDoug is the VP for economic development at the Knoxville Chamber & leads the effort to recruit new jobs, wages, and capital investment into the Innovation Valley region. He holds a masters in urban planning from UTK & is a certified economic developer.
Courtney JonesCourtney founder of the MomSource Network. She is a passionate advocate for women and participates in many community events and committees that are focused on women in business and entrepreneurship.
Alexa SponicaAlexa is a local entreprenuer, chief operating officer of Hard Knox Pizza, & co-founder of the non-profit Live.Love.Hope. Alexa recently launched the "School of Hard Knox", an initiative bringing together local chefs with Austin-East High School's culinary program to teach kids culinary arts.
Becky HancockBecky has served as the Executive Director of the Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation since 2013. Becky oversees all activity at the venue, serves as the public face of the organization, & works with the HTTF Board of Directors to preserve & maintain this important community asset.
Kim BumpasA native Tennessean, Kim has 20 years of experience in hotels, venues & destination marketing management. As the President of Visit Knoxville, she is focused on promoting Knoxville as a travel destination for leisure travelers & conventions.
Will OverstreetWill is a former All-SEC football player & third round draft pick in the NFL Draft of the Atlanta Falcons. After retiring from football, he has become a serial entrepreneur, having started & sold several companies.
Patrick McAnallyPatrick is a conflict management practitioner from Nashville, TN. He works as a conflict management consultant across the country & serves as the Community Engagement Facilitator for Leadership Tennessee.
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Christi BranscomChristi served as General Counsel & Principal Broker for Partners Development for over 20 years before joining the City of Knoxville four & a half years ago. She now serves as the Chief Operating Officer/ Deputy to the Mayor.
Jonathan Sexton
Jonathan is a musician & award-winning tech entrepreneur in constant search of the middle ground between art & business. He is CEO of Bandposters, Co-founder of Artist Growth & Audiohand, & is Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Knoxville Entrepreneur Center.
Angie HamsteadAngie founded The Hozho Project with a mission to empower others through personal growth. It passionately supports others with their commitments to self-care, healthy management of energy and life/work boundaries. 
Caleb FristoeCaleb has worked in the nonprofit sector for six years and now runs a project he co-founded in 2014. CodeTN is an organization that promotes computer science among high school and middle school students in East Tennessee.
Paul SponicaPaul is a local entreprenuer & non-profit leader. He has launched multiple companies in the IT Services space & been involved in multiple acquisitions. Recently Paul worked with his wife on multiple social causes focused on kids in the under served urban communities of our city.
Jennifer EvansJennifer earned her BS from Vanderbilt University and JD from UT College of Law. She is currently VP of Operations & Strategy and General Counsel at Patricia Nash Designs, Inc. Jennifer has four sons ages 5-6 years old.
John TolsmaJohn is founder and CEO of Knowledge Launch, a Knoxville based educational media company. His firm develops live & virtual learning events for Twitter, Shell, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Prudential, Rolls Royce, & other Fortune 500 global companies.
Erin SlocumErin is a lover of words, the arts, natural beauty, & people. Hailing from Houston, Texas, but calling Knoxville, Tennessee her home for the last 11 years, she’s found her professional calling as a marketing specialist with fields of expertise in verbal & visual communication, digital media, & social content.
Valerie GuessIn 2007, Valerie started a "pop-up shop" out of her car in Nashville, TN. Four years later, she and her husband moved to Knoxville to open their first brick-and-mortar. Today and two kids later, they are both full time with Val's Boutique and are venturing into the online world of retail. They also just recently launched an ambassador programs for college students.
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