Leadership

Luke Sykora is Head of Content with STVP, the Stanford Engineering Entrepreneurship Center

Hayagreeva "Huggy" Rao is a professor of organizational behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Specifically, he studies collective action within organizations and in markets, and his research revolves around scaling up innovation and talent. He co-authored the widely acclaimed 2014 business book "Scaling Up Excellence: Getting to More Without Settling for Less" with fellow Stanford Professor Bob Sutton, in the university's Department of Management Science & Engineering. Rao and Sutton recently launched the Designing Organizational Change Project, which is hosted by the Stanford Technology Ventures Program.

Cody Karutz is a virtual reality engineer at STRIVR Labs, a Palo Alto-based startup that uses VR to train athletes. Currently finishing his M.S. in symbolic systems at Stanford University, Karutz has over a decade of experience in virtual-reality content design. He studies the cognitive and perceptual effects of mixed-reality content in applied learning scenarios, and over his years at Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab, he has interfaced and led outreach with many of Silicon Valley's leaders regarding the current state and future of the VR industry. The New Yorker once described Karutz as "a mellow, collegiate blond in jeans and flip-flops."

Jonah Greenberger is co-founder of Bright, a Y Combinator and First Round Capital company delivering solar subscriptions to homes in developing countries. According to the company, "Bright allows financiers to understand the consumer and proposed solar project in ways not previously possible." He was most recently a director at Chevron Energy Solutions, where he helped build a renewable energy investment and construction group. Greenberger received his M.S. in thermodynamics and B.S. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, where he was a Mayfield Fellow.

Elaine Cheung is a founding team member of GRAIL, a new company formed to enable cancer screenings from a simple blood test. Previously, she was director of strategic partnerships, as well as director of business development, at Illumina, a leading provider of next-generation sequencing technologies. There, she focused on strategy and transactions to enable clinical adoption of new sequencing approaches in oncology, reproductive health and transplant medicine. Cheung also spent six years at Genomic Health, which develops and commercializes various tests that can guide treatment decisions for breast, colorectal and prostate cancer patients. Cheung earned a B.S. in biological sciences and an M.S. in management science and engineering, both from Stanford University, where she was also a Mayfield Fellow at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program.

Kyle Forster is co-founder of Big Switch Networks, which delivers fit-for-purpose data center networking solutions designed for enterprises, cloud providers and service providers. Prior to Big Switch, Forster spent most of his career at Cisco, initially as the technical assistant to Senior Vice President Mike Volpi, and later as a product manager in the cellular and wifi business units. In between Cisco and Big Switch Networks, Forster was vice president of product management at Joost, a peer-to-peer Internet TV company from the founders of Skype. He started his career at e-business consulting company Scient, first as a java developer and later engineering manager and co-founder of the wireless practice. He holds a B.S.E. in electrical engineering from Princeton University, an M.S. in computer science and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Dr. Johnson most recently served as Under Secretary of Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. As Under Secretary, Dr. Johnson was responsible for unifying and managing a broad $10.5 billion Energy and Environment portfolio, including an additional $37 billion in energy and environment investments from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The portfolio included research, development, demonstration and deployment (RDD&D) projects involving the national laboratories, universities, state and local governments and private industry in renewable energy, carbon capture and sequestration, nuclear power, energy efficiency, smart grid and nuclear waste. Under Dr. Johnson's leadership, the Department, for the first time, developed an integrated Strategic Technologies Energy Plan (STEP) for reducing our dependence on imported oil by 75%, achieving greenhouse gas reductions of 83% by 2050, and achieving 80% low-carbon electricity by 2035, while creating jobs and laying the foundation for the clean energy economy. Dr. Johnson brought to the Department a renewed focus on small business and entrepreneurship development, educating America's future energy workforce, and enhancing the accessibility and quality of the RDD&D of energy projects funded by the Department. Prior to joining the Department of Energy, Dr. Johnson served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, the largest research university in the U.S. From 1999-2007, Dr. Johnson was Dean of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University. In addition to her academic career, Dr. Johnson is an inventor and entrepreneur, holding over 45 U.S. patents (129 U.S. and international patents) and co-founder of several successful companies including, ColorLink, Inc. Dr. Johnson has received numerous recognitions for her contributions to the field of engineering, entrepreneurship and innovation, including the John Fritz Medal, considered the highest award made in the engineering profession. Other holders of this honor include Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and Orville Wright. Dr. Johnson received her B.S, M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Dr. Johnson also holds honorary degrees from Tufts University, Trinity College in Dublin, and the University of Alabama at Huntsville.

Born in Israel and raised in El Paso, Texas, Ori Brafman has been a lifelong entrepreneur in business, government and the nonprofit sector. His projects include launching healthy fast food restaurants, leading political and advocacy campaigns and co-founding Courtroom Connect, a wireless network company. In 2001, Brafman co-founded a network of more than 1000 CEOs working for peace and economic development projects. The network was supported by the likes of venture capitalist John Doerr and the Ford Foundation and has catalyzed projects in the Middle East, Africa, North America, Europe, and Asia. Most recently, Brafman has facilitated a course at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Following his first book, The Starfish and the Spider, Brafman wrote his second book, Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior, with his brother, Rom. Their latest book is Click: The Magic of Instant Connections. Brafman has appeared on the BBC, National Public Radio, Wall Street Journal/MarketWatch video, Fox News, CSPAN, and AP Video among others. He has presented before audiences at Microsoft, Amazon, Televisa, Stanford Business School, Harvard Business School, and many others. Brafman holds a BA in peace and conflict studies from UC Berkeley and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Dr. M. Elisabeth Paté-Cornell, the Burt and Deedee McMurtry Professor in the School of Engineering at Stanford University, is widely recognized as a leader in engineering risk analysis and management. Her research has focused on inclusion of both technical and management factors in probabilistic risk analysis models with applications that include the NASA shuttle tiles, offshore oil platforms, and medical systems. Since 2001, her research has also examined the possibilities of terrorist attacks on the United States. Elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1995, to its Council (2001-), and to the French Académie des Technologies (2003), Dr. Paté-Cornell has received many of the highest honors in her field. She sits on many advisory boards, including the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (2001-2004; 2005-), the Advisory Council of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. (2002-), the Boards of Trustees of the Aerospace Corp. (2004-), and of InQtel (2006-). She also chaired the Board of Advisors of the Naval Postgraduate School from 2004 to 2006. Dr. Paté-Cornell was born in Dakar, Senegal, in 1948. She attended public high schools both in Dakar and in La Rochelle, France. Her undergraduate degree is in mathematics and physics (BS, Marseilles, France, 1968), and her first graduate degrees are in applied mathematics and computer science (MS and Engineering Degree, Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble, France, 1970; 1971). In 1971 she came to study and live in the United States, where she has been a citizen since 1986. She received a Masters degree in Operations Research (OR) in 1972 and a Ph.D. in Engineering-Economic Systems (EES) in 1978, both from Stanford University. She then was an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at MIT, before joining the Stanford faculty in 1981, where she became Professor (in 1991) and then Chair (in 1997) in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM).

Dr. John R. Adler, Jr., launched his first enterprise in 1987, when he invented the CyberKnife System, a robotic surgical tool that uses image-guided computer systems to eradicate tumors throughout the body. With highly concentrated amounts of radiation, the tool can noninvasively ablate tumors almost anywhere in the body. With this technology, Dr. Adler went on to found Accuray Incorporated in 1990. Nine years later, the FDA approved the usage of CyberKnife Systems for treatment of head, neck and upper spine tumors; today it is approved in Europe, Japan, Korea and the United States for use in treating tumors throughout the body. Dr. Adler served as Accuray's Chief Executive Officer from 1999 to 2002, and as the Chief Medical Officer up until 2007. He founded the CyberKnife Society in 2002 and served as its President until 2009. Presently, Dr. Adler serves as a member of the Accuray Board of Directors. Educated at Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Adler completed his residencies at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital, both in Boston. He also completed a radiosurgery fellowship at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Today, Adler is the Dorothy and Thye King Chan Endowed Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford Medical School.

John R. "Trip" Adler III is an American entrepreneur who started the social publishing company Scribd. Adler grew up in Palo Alto, California, and then attended Harvard University where he studied biophysics and graduated in June 2006.

Born in San Francisco, Senator Jackie Speier holds a Bachelor's in Political Science from the University of California, Davis and a Juris Doctor from UC Hastings College of the Law.Prior to being elected to the Legislature, Senator Speier was Vice-President of Government and Community Affairs for Electronic Arts, a leading manufacturer of entertainment software. She was also Director of Government and Corporate Affairs for San Mateo County's largest non-profit agency, Poplar ReCare, which provides services to the physically and developmentally disabled community. Senator Speier was first elected to the Assembly in 1986 after serving on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors from 1980 to 1986. She was named Chair in 1985. Senator Speier worked as a legal aide to the late Congressman Leo Ryan from 1972 to 1978. In fact, her tenacious approach to representing her constituents stems from a brush with death in 1978. She accompanied Congressman Ryan to Jonestown, Guyana to investigate rumors that cult leader, the Rev. Jim Jones, was holding people hostage. On November 18, cult followers shot and killed Congressman Ryan. Five bullets struck Speier. Later that day, 911 cult members died. In her work, Senator Speier has championed issues such as increased collection of delinquent child support payments, California's uninsured motorist rate and workers' compensation fraud. She also tackled the issues of fluorination of water systems, statewide early AIDS intervention programs, andbreast cancer and child abuse prevention programs. Senator Speier is a married and has two children.

Deborah Collin Stephens has spent nearly 30 years working with leaders in corporations, government, and politics. She joined Gary Heil to form The Center For Innovative Leadership and together they co-authored 6 books, with three reaching the best sellers list: Maslow on Management, One Size Fits One, and Revisiting The Human Side of Enterprise. Her most recent book, This Is Not The Life I Ordered: 50 Ways To Keep Your Head Above Water When Life Keeps Dragging You Down, has garnered praise from entrepreneurs such as Jessica McClintock, Gerry Laybourne and Debbi Fields as well as writers such as Amy Tan and Arianna Huffington. Deborah co-founded the first e-learning program in the nation called Leadership Lessons From The Fastlane. which was viewed by over 1 million executives worldwide on Broadcast.com/Yahoo. She has been a guest lecturer in the Industry Thought Leaders program at Stanford University and a faculty member in the Stanford Professional Development and Executive Education program. She has also served as a judge for the Stanford Business and Engineering School's Entrepreneur's Business Challenge Contest where she enjoys spending time and effort nurturing and coaching future entrepreneurs.