Theme: Thoughts and Innovations for Change in the Community

An event focused on presenting a wide array of topics to discuss current practices and how change can help, show off ground-breaking innovations to propel us forward, and a whole other variety of topics to inspire those who are looking to make a change.

Atlanta International School
2890 N Fulton Dr NE
Atlanta, Georgia, 30305
United States

Andre Grossberg

Youth Advocate

A local student advocating for education for special needs accommodations in the STEM fields.

Anish Sankuratri

Youth Advocate

A local student wanting to explore the ideas of the future of Aerospace Technology.

Asanshay Gupta

Youth Advocate

A local student excited to show off his innovation for the accessibility community.

Lonnie Johnson

President and Founder of Johnson Research & Development Co., Inc. (JRD)

Lonnie Johnson is a 2022 inductee of the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame. He is the inventor of the SuperSoaker® water gun, which has generated several billion dollars in retail sales and remains a top selling toy worldwide. Mr. Johnson has over 140 patents, with over 20 more pending, and has authored several publications on spacecraft power systems. Mr. Johnson holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering, a M.S. degree in Nuclear Engineering, and honorary Ph.D.’s in Science from Tuskegee University. He also has an honorary Ph.D. from the University of Indiana. He is a former U.S. Air Force Officer and NASA Engineer. His professional service includes leadership roles on some of our Nations most advanced technology systems including the Stealth (B2) Bomber, NASA’s Voyager Mission, Galileo Mission to Jupiter, the Cassini Mission to Saturn and the Mars Observer project for which he receive a number of awards including Air Force Commendation and Achievement metals.

Marci McCarthy

CEO and President at T.E.N. & CEO and Chairman at ISE® Talent.

Marci McCarthy is the CEO and Chairman of ISE® Talent and the CEO and President of T.E.N., an information security executive networking and relationship-marketing firm. With nearly 30 years of business management and entrepreneurial experience, McCarthy founded T.E.N.’s flagship program, the Information Security Executive® of the Year (ISE®) Program Series, which is lauded by the IT industry as the premier recognition and networking program for security professionals in the U.S. and Canada.

Marsha Maxwell

Head of Technology & Innovation

With over twenty-five years of strategic, tactical and operational technology experience, Dr. Marsha Maxwell creates innovative environments and applications that harness the power of emerging technologies and neuroscience to enhance the educator's reach to better engage students and foster a culture of innovation in organizations. Her areas of interest include Augmented Analytics, Immersive Experiences, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, STEAM programs, and Smart Spaces. Marsha has also been very active in bringing STEM/STEAM initiatives to life especially for underserved and underrepresented groups throughout their educational journey from kindergarten to university and beyond. Marsha has been a featured speaker for various organizations’ educational summits and workshops including Microsoft, Apple, and Google for her skills in education technology, innovation leadership, strategic analysis and decision-making, and equity & inclusion in technology.

Praveen Gautam

CIO of BlueLinx

Praveen Gautam is a senior IT professional with 25+ years of Information Technology experience. As the CIO at BlueLinx, Praveen is responsible for working closely with business leadership to understand their business strategy, and developing & executing an IT strategy that supports company’s digital transformation journey. Prior to joining BlueLinx, Praveen held IT leadership positions at Altium Packaging, Brambles and Tellabs. He was responsible for IT Strategy, IT Governance, Enterprise Architecture, IT Security & Risk Management, Application Platform (SAP, JDE and other applications), Business Intelligence & Reporting, Data Management, Application Integration, Web Application Development, and IT Audit & General Controls. He has successfully built high performance teams that executed the IT Strategy.