ADVISOR

Leslie Lum, a Professor at Bellevue College, has extensive industry experience including strategic planning at a company now part of Citigroup, investment banking with HSBC, and general management of a retail start-up.

For the past 20 years, she has worked with scores of minority- and women-owned enterprises as part of the UW Foster Consulting and Business Development Center.

Lum authored the textbook Personal Investing and co authored Business Consulting in a Multicultural America.

She has an MBA from Columbia University, a MSW and BFA from the University of British Columbia, and holds the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation.

ADVISOR

Sustainability Leader and Clean Energy Entrepreneur.

Burt Hamner has worked for over 25 years in over 20 countries helping industry and government implement clean technologies and policies to reduce pollution and grow business. His clients and network include the World Bank, the UN, US Agency for International Development, Asian Development Bank and thousands of great people working for a better world with clean tech. He has served as a Professor of Operations Management and Environmental Management in two business schools.

In 2008, after leading a major study of tidal and wave energy for a public utility, he became a renewable energy entrepreneur. He founded, grew and sold a company making hydrokinetic turbines that make clean energy from water flowing in canals and big water systems. His company won many awards and raised over $3 Million from impact investors. Since then, he has become very active with impact investing and clean tech networks around the world.

In 2013, he founded a new company, Hydrobee SPC, to create solutions for personal clean energy generation. His thermo-electric generator for stove chimneys is a global finalist in National Geographic's "Chasing Genius'' award. His other two companies were named Global Top 30 startups by the Global Cleantech Clusters Association. From Oct 2020 to March 2021, he participated in the NewChip Accelerator to build, support and launch the FireBee power generator that enables "smart" clean cookstoves that power phones and lights and internet from waste heat.

As of March 2021, his other activities include partnership in a waves-to-hydrogen startup, representing an offshore wind tech company, and teaching sustainability accounting to CPAs.

Here in Seattle, he is the Organizer of the Seattle Clean Energy Meetup and the Seattle Impact Investing Meetup, together having more than 2000 members.

ADVISOR

Deepa Prahalad Abhyankar is an author, business strategist and consultant specializing in opportunities at the intersection of consumer experience, technology and strategy. Passionate about emerging markets and innovation, she began her career researching how to improve efficiency in UN’s procurement and later moved to Singapore to become a commodities trader with Cargill.

Prahalad has worked as a management consultant with firms from start-ups to large multinationals. In 2008, she collaborated with RKS to research and co-author the book, Predictable Magic: Unleash The Power of Design Strategy To Transform Your Business (Wharton School Publishing), and served as the firm’s global insights leader.

She is the founder and president of Anuvaa LLC.

ADVISOR

Gilad is an Israeli born AI Entrepreneur, Board Director, and Venture Capital Investor based in Seattle. Today, Gilad leads Brook Bay Capital, an AI focused fund, and serves on numerous boards of both large traditional and startup businesses, including Virtuoso, Selfbook, Thatch, Swayed, Faye, and others. Gilad is passionate about Travel & Hospitality and other experiential businesses and has a deep background in Artificial Intelligence and Personalization.

Gilad began his entrepreneurial career early, while at the University of Washington, with roles as a co-founder, head of Business Development, and head of product for multiple startups. Most notably, Gilad was the founder and CEO at Utrip, a pioneering AI startup in the travel space. Gilad has built strategic partnerships with some of the largest companies in the world, taken product to market utilized by nearly 100 million people, and is a leading thinker about personalization and consumer applications of AI.

Gilad is a prolific public speaker and participates in many major industry and technology events. Gilad is also an active mentor through Plug & Play, the University of Washington, and other organizations. Additionally, Gilad is involved with the academic and nonprofit fields including serving on the board of the Pillsbury Institute for Entrepreneurship at Cornell University, the think tank AI & Faith, and others.

Gilad is passionate about his young family, technology, travel, food, yoga, history, and more.