Michael Drexler is the Chief Strategy Officer and Managing Director at Brightstar Capital Partners. He currently serves on the boards of America's Group and REMarkets, both Brightstar portfolio companies.

Prior to Brightstar, Michael was Managing Director and Global Head of Strategy and Business Transformation at J.P. Morgan Asset Management based in New York. He was a member of the division’s Operating Committee and worked with all business lines on strategic initiatives, including M&A, business efficiency, and decision making.

Previously, he worked for nearly a decade in a senior leadership role at the World Economic Forum as Member of the Executive Committee responsible for partnerships and content in the Alternative Investment industry and later the Forum’s content initiatives across the financial sector, infrastructure, and long-term investing. Michael also spent nearly a decade at Barclays Capital in London, as the Global Head of Strategy and Planning for the majority of his time there, following his role as a consultant at McKinsey & Co and a post-doctoral position at Stanford University.

Michael holds a doctorate in Mathematics from Oxford University and an M.Sc. in Engineering from the Technical University at Munich.

Joy Dunn is the Head of Operations at Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a clean energy startup based in Boston, where she is responsible for the company’s day-to-day operations including manufacturing, construction and facilities, safety, and quality. CFS was spun out of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and works collaboratively with MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center to combine decades of government and academic research with the innovation and speed of the private sector. Supported by the world's leading investors, the CFS team is driven by the climate change crisis to develop the fastest path to commercial fusion energy. Before joining the CFS team in early 2019, Joy spent a decade at SpaceX developing and manufacturing the Dragon spacecraft to deliver cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station. She was heavily involved with the manufacturing of the Dragon 1 spacecraft and played an integral role in SpaceX's achievement of being the first private company to launch a spacecraft in orbit and also dock with the International Space Station. She managed the manufacturing engineering team responsible for substantially reducing overall spacecraft build hours and cost while overseeing Dragon's annual budget and construction of a high-tech production facility for the Crew Dragon vehicle. Joy also co-founded both the Women's Network and LGBTQ employee interest groups at SpaceX and she is actively involved in STEM outreach events, including sitting on the Board of Directors for Out For Undergrad, a non-profit that helps LGBTQ students reach their full potential. She was also named to Business Insider's list of the Most Powerful Female Engineers of 2017. Joy received her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Re-elected to the Crescenta Valley Town Council in November 2018 to a second 3-year term, encompassing more than 22,000 residents in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, and currently serving as its Corresponding Secretary, Sophal Ear, PhD, is a tenured Associate Professor of Diplomacy & World Affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles where he lectures on political economy, security, development, and Asia. Previously, he taught how to rebuild countries after wars at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and international development at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. He consulted for the World Bank, was Assistant Resident Representative for the United Nations Development Programme in East Timor, Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Advisor to Cambodia's first private equity fund Leopard Capital, and Audit Chair of the Nathan Cummings Foundation. A TED Fellow, Fulbright Specialist, and Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, he sits on the Boards of Refugees International (Washington, DC), Partners for Development (Silver Spring, MD), International Public Management Network (Washington, DC), the Southeast Asia Development Program (Phnom Penh, Cambodia), and the Center for Khmer Studies (Siem Reap, Cambodia). He is the author of Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy (Columbia University Press, 2013, http://amzn.to/UXhoWc) and co-author of The Hungry Dragon: How China’s Resources Quest is Reshaping the World (Routledge, 2013, http://amzn.to/WkxCEf). He wrote and narrated the award-winning documentary film "The End/Beginning: Cambodia"​ (47 minutes, 2011, news blurb http://youtu.be/QwsSDPRI25E) based on his 2009 TED Talk (http://www.ted.com/talks/sophal_ear_escaping_the_khmer_rouge) and has appeared in four other documentaries. He is an Executive Producer of In the Life of Music (92 minutes, 2018) and Some of My Best Friends Are Kimchi: A True Documentary (Coming soon!). A graduate of Princeton and Berkeley, he moved to the US from France as a Cambodian refugee at the age of 10.

A serial founder, Salimah got her start in building communities by co-founding the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition to help protect BC’s endangered Spirit Bear and its habitat in the Great Bear rainforest. Under her stewardship the Coalition - which started with just two members and grew to a network of over 6 million members in 64+ countries. Their campaign to save the spirit bear – named the official mascot of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver – was recently recognized as one of the most supported conservation initiatives in Canadian history.

After beginning her international journalism career in the alleyways of Cairo, Salimah spent years filling on culture and politics from the Middle East, covering the war in Iraq and reporting on environmental security challenges in Africa. She also was on the trail for the historic 2008 US presidential campaign, and for a time was based in DC covering the White House. She has worked on assignment for Reuters, A&E, CBC Television, the Globe and Mail, The Walrus Magazine and the Cairo Times.

A fellow and graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in New York, Ebrahim also holds an honours degree in Middle Eastern History and International Relations from Trinity College, University of Toronto. She has been awarded and recognized for her work as both journalist and community builder, having been chosen and profiled by CBC Television as one of 25 Canadians who are changing the world; named by Chatelaine magazine one of its 80 amazing Canadian women to watch; and honoured by the World Economic Forum in 2009 as a Young Global Leader.

Her latest adventure: co-founding Artery.is and Bramble.live and thinking about how technology can facilitate our humanity online and off.

Margot Edelman is the third generation in her family business, Edelman PR, and leads the Bay Area Hub, which includes the San Francisco and Sacramento offices for the company. In her role as General Manager, she advises tech giants and industry disruptors alike on how to build trust and reputation.

Dr. Elisseeff is the Morton Goldberg Professor and Director of the Translational Tissue Engineering Center at Johns Hopkins Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Wilmer Eye Institute with appointments in Chemical and Biological Engineering, Materials Science and Orthopedic Surgery. She was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, and is a member of the National Academy of Inventors, National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine. She is committed to the translation of regenerative biomaterials and has founded several companies and participates in several industry advisory boards including the State of Maryland’s Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO).

As an award-winning tech business leader, Sofia Elizondo is committed to endowing people with fundamentally longer and healthier lives. She has built multimillion-dollar companies and brands in the consumer goods, pharmaceutical, and technology industries. Before Brightseed, Sofia led the commercialization of plant-based protein products, including the novel mung bean protein isolate to replace egg functionality. Sofia began her career at the Boston Consulting Group and was also a founding member of the BCG Henderson Institute; the consulting firm's think tank on the future of business innovation. She also served as an advisor to the UN Global Compact, the United Nations agency focused on the private sector, while it developed its global corporate sustainability standards released at the 2011 World Economic Forum in Davos. Her decades of leadership in corporate social innovation now enable Brightseed's mission to resource companies looking for scientifically validated and naturally derived products that can transform human health. Sofia holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She lives in San Francisco, California, with her husband and two young daughters. Accolades include Inspiring Women Leading in the AgTech Sector by Food Tank (2019), VentureBeats Women in AI - Award in the Entrepreneur category (2020), Top 100 Female Founders from Inc. Magazine (2021).

Undergraduate and Master's degrees, Harvard University; PhD, Stony Brook University. Policy and ethics expert in stem cell research for over 15 years, has been committed to changing the perception of life-saving science. Currently, Assistant Professor, Stony Brook University; Director, Education and Ethics, Stony Brook Stem Cell Facility. Co-Founder, VENTure Think Tank, to provide policy and technological solutions for ventilator users. Associate Director, Center for Community Engagement and Leadership Development, to empower underserved communities. Former Member, Empire State Stem Cell Board, which designed New York State's stem cell policy. At age 11, was in an accident leaving her paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a ventilator. Author of memoir, Miracles Happen (2002), which was made into a movie, The Brooke Ellison Story, directed by Christopher Reeve.

Ilwad Elman a young female leader at the forefront of the Somali peace process, and a global authority on peace and security.
Ilwad and her family became refugees following the outbreak of the civil war in Somalia, eventually finding asylum in Canada. Aged 19, she felt the responsibility to leave the safety of Canada and return to a Somalia still steeped in violent conflict, where she co-founded the Elman Peace Centre. At just 20, she co-founded Somalia’s first rape crisis center. Since then, Ilwad has become a champion of building peace through giving all those impacted by conflict — particularly women and girls — a seat at the table.
She has designed interventions aimed at security sector reform to create an inclusive space for women in peace building and developing programs for the disarmament and rehabilitation of child and youth soldiers as well as adults defecting from armed groups for their socio-economic empowerment, rehabilitation and reintegration. Beyond her duties at the Elman Peace Centre; Ilwad is an advocate for the Kofi Annan foundation and was a mentee of His Excellency, the late Kofi Annan for 3 years.
She has briefed the UN Security Council on numerous occasions since 2015; the most recent in 2021 on Climate and Security, a historic debate on the intrinsic link between climate change and conflict. Through the Elman Peace Centre, Ilwad has created a methodology for community-based peace building in contexts of ongoing conflict that is now being exported to conflicts across Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and in 2022 has scaled the approach also to Uganda, Burundi, DRC and Rwanda.
It has led to her becoming a UN expert advisor on Peace & Security to two consecutive UN Secretary Generals, she has contributed to policy cited in UN Security Council Resolution 2250, and in 2020 has completed a 2 year role where she was the youngest board member of the UN Peace Building Fund, advising the UN Secretary General directly on fragile & conflict affected states globally.
She is currently on UNICEF’s Global Board of Trustees for “Generation Unlimited” on employment, training & education globally. Under the leadership of the former Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs; Margot Wallström; is an advisor on the International Panel for the Environment of Peace 2022 project- Exploring the nexus between Climate and Security. Is on the steering Committee of the Every Woman Treaty for ending violence against women and Commissioner and lead convener on Youth, Peace, Security on the Principles for Peace initiative.

Ilwad has completed the following fellowships; President Barrack Obama’s Flagship White House fellow for Young African Leaders 2014. 2018- 2019 United Kingdom’s Foreign Office International Leaders Program Fellow. 2021 RAISA women leadership fellow Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spain .

Ilwad has been recognized with numerous awards and recognitions including but not limited to:

• 2015 Gleitsman International Activist Award from Harvard University
• 2016 Right the Wrongs Award from Oxfam America
• 2016 Young African Woman of the Year Award
• 2017 B.E.T Global Good Star Award Recipient
• 2018 AU Most Inspiring Young Woman Award
• 2019 100 Most Influential Young Africans
• 2020 Aurora Humanitarian Award Laureate
• 2020 Forbes Africa’s 50 Most Powerful Women
• 2020 Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pro Dignitate Humana Award
• 2020 German Africa Award
• 2021 Heirs of Africa Woman of Power award
• 2022 Center for Education, Development and Preventing Violent Extremism (Peace Award) from Chad
• 2022 King Baudouin Foundation Prize
• 2022 Africa Conference on Peace “Peace Shield Award” Mauritania
• 2022 Right Livelihood (Alternative Nobel) Prize
• 2023 Hessian Peace Prize

Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of 54gene, a health technology company advancing the state of healthcare through large-scale discovery and translational research, advanced molecular diagnostics, and clinical programs for the benefit of Africans and the global population. He holds a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from the University of London, a Masters in human molecular genetics from Imperial College London, and a Masters in Business Management from Claremont Colleges, California. He also worked as a cancer researcher and published a seminal paper on pancreatic cancer immunology, Gastroenterology Journal. He has extensive experience operating in the US, UK, and Nigerian healthcare industries. Prior to 54gene, Dr. Ene-Obong worked with leading healthcare organizations, including Fortune 100 pharmaceutical companies, academic and research institutions, and governments as a management consultant with PwC and IQVIA (formerly QuintilesIMS). Founded in 2019, 54gene has made the Time Magazine list of 12 innovations that would change healthcare in the 2020s and has been listed by Nigeria’s Punch newspaper as 1 of 5 innovations that would improve healthcare for Africans. 54gene also made the Fast Company list of the world's Most Innovative Companies’ in 2020. It was also awarded the best health technology solution by AppsAfrica. Dr. Ene-Obong was listed as 1 of the 30 most innovative entrepreneurs on the African continent in 2019 by Quartz Africa. In September 2020, Dr. Ene-Obong was labelled a Nigerian hero in the fight against COVID-19, by a Nigerian newspaper, ThisDay. Dr. Ene-Obong is also included in Fortune’s 40 under 40 most influential people in healthcare for the year 2020.

Karen Fang is Managing Director, Global Head of Sustainable Finance at Bank of America. Formerly, she was the head of Global Fixed Income, Currencies & Commodities (FICC) Cross Asset Trading, and the head of Americas FICC Sales & Solutions prior to that. She is a member of the Bank of America Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) committee, the Sustainable Markets Committee, as well as the firm wide Asian Leadership Council.
Prior to joining Bank of America, Karen was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs where she was the head of the Pension, Endowment and Foundation Cross Asset Solutions Group. Previously, she held senior positions in derivatives structuring, including at Merrill Lynch in Tokyo and Deutsche Bank in London.
Karen was named one of Fortune’s “40 under 40”and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum (WEF). She was selected to be a member of the WEF Expert Network. Karen was a member of the Bank of America team recognized by American Banker as part of their “Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance” feature and was called out as one of five leaders who has made a significant impact in a short amount of time. She served as a mentor for the Global Ambassadors program, a Bank of America partnership with Vital Voices and was honored by the Women’s Venture Fund for her work with female entrepreneurs. Karen was chosen by Investment Dealers’ Digest as one of the “40 under 40” bankers and she was also a recipient of the Women’s Bond Club of New York’s “Rising Star Award.”
Karen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Tokyo.

Joelle Faulkner co-founded and manages four funds with aggregate commitments of C$300 million. Area One Farms has maintained over 120,000 acres under Canadian ownership and control, helped 28 families establish equity positions in land that they farm, and brought over 15,000 acres into agricultural production from Area One's unique methods of land rehabilitation. Faulkner is a Director of Cognicity Inc., Baycrest Global Solutions Inc., Western University Entrepreneurship Advisory Board and the Canadian Rhodes Scholars Foundation.