Dr. Larry Smarr is a Harry E. Gruber Distinguished Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering at UCSD, and the Director of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2). Dr. Larry Smarr has spent the last 30 years building cross-disciplinary teams using cutting-edge technology to solve real-world problems. The California Institute for Telecommunications…

In 2013, Sony was a shadow of its former self. Many wondered whether the global, Japanese electronics innovator would recover. Mike Fasulo, President and COO of Sony Electronics for North America, let it be known in the fall of 2015 that Sony was back. Fasulo will share with us what has happened since taking the…

Mind the Gap Jennifer Eve Thorn is one of the co-founders and the current Executive Artistic Director of MOXIE Theatre, San Diego's only professional theatre dedicated to producing women's work. Now approaching it's 15th year and 61st production, MOXIE's mission is to create more honest and diverse images of women for our culture. Thorn explores…

One of our nation’s top thought leaders and innovators in resilience and turning adversity into opportunity, Dr. Ken Druck is a best-selling author, speaker, Executive Coach/Consultant and community leader who has helped countless individuals, couples, families, organizations and communities transform their most daunting challenges, changes and even tragedies into opportunities -- and become the best…

Linda Sheridan's talk will address using the power of art to change lives and to tell us about "Graffiti Art"; why it persists and what we need to understand in order to mitigate the destructive aspects of graffiti vandalism. The San Diego Cultural Alliance ( The Alliance) takes the creative talent and need of the…

Blind and autistic, musical savant Derek Paravicini has been featured twice on 60 Minutes and is the topic of the book “In the Key of Genius”, written by his teacher and author Adam Ockelford.  Both gentlemen will be in San Diego from London for the Mainly Mozart Festival’s “Music & Autism: Empowering the Mozart in…

This presentation will walk the audience through a brief history of how the current supply chain evolved, and the unique challenges that Cannabis Operators are burdened with through each step of the process. It will culminate with a focus on the existing challenges and our efforts to ensure practical regulation and normalization as a pathway…

In the last 50 years, Pride has grown from a riot against police brutality to a global movement for LGBTQ justice. Fernando López will walk through the history and evolution of Pride, both globally and locally, and the role of Pride in San Diego today. Caroline Dessert will discuss the ongoing efforts to serve and…

After an extensive national search and recruitment effort, the SANDAG Board of Directors announced in September 2018 that Hasan Ikhrata, a widely lauded transportation and planning expert, had been selected as their new Executive Director. Ikhrata was previously the Executive Director of SCAG, the Southern California Association of Governments (Los Angeles), for more than a…