Advisory Board

The Austin Forum on Technology & Society Advisory Board is comprised of partner organizations and at-large community leaders in technology, business, government, and education who meet 8-10 times per year to provide guidance and support in the areas of impact, development, community relations, and programming of future topics and speakers. Their participation helps increase the influence and impact of the Austin Forum on the whole community.

  • Stephanie is the Community Manager at Bárd, specializing in cultivating meaningful connections and fostering engagement within diverse networks. She thrives on bringing incredible people together and sparking collaborative magic. With a heart for innovation and a passion for building vibrant communities, Stephanie is excited to dive into the Austin Forum and engage with its dynamic network of thought leaders and changemakers.

  • As an entrepreneur, investor, and creator, Adam has been involved in numerous ventures over the years. As the Founder of Ionic Security,​ he has been recognized by Forbes as a 30-under-30 thought leader in technology and by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer. Additionally, he served on the inaugural Global Future Council on Cybersecurity on behalf of the World Economic Forum.

    He currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Cybersecurity at the World Economic Forum, an elected member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of both the advisory board for the College of Computing and the Institute for Information Security and Privacy at Georgia Tech, a charter member of TiE, a Distinguished Lecturer for the Robson Program at Emory University, and as a board member for Savvy Cyber Kids a 501(c)(3) providing educational materials for families to better enable them in navigating the digital world safely.

  • ​Eric is currently a Fellow in the Research division at Arm in Austin, TX leading the systems research group. The group's activities include exploring the place of Arm within data centers, network infrastructure, high performance computing, distributed systems, edge computing, and investigating next-generation concepts in security, operating systems, runtimes, and systems software.

    He was a research staff member in the Future Systems Department at IBM's Austin Research Lab. Over nearly twelve years at IBM, he has worked on low-power dense server and network processor appliance blades, DRAM power management, full system simulation, high performance computing, hypervisors, and the Linux operating system. Before coming to IBM, he worked for four years at Lucent Technologies Bell Laboratories on the Plan 9 and Inferno operating systems.

  • Mark Boost is a serial entrepreneur celebrated for his exceptional ability to rapidly grow tech companies. With a career spanning over two decades, Mark has founded and led multiple successful ventures, including LCN.com, one of the UK's largest web hosting companies, ServerChoice, a provider of bespoke managed and cloud hosting services, Ai Networks, a leading business ISP, Bulletproof Cyber, a fast-growing cybersecurity firm, and Civo, a pioneering cloud computing provider known for its innovative Kubernetes hosting solutions. Mark's visionary leadership, coupled with his unwavering commitment to innovation, has consistently propelled his companies to industry prominence, leaving an indelible mark on the technology landscape.

  • Mark is a graduate of UT Austin with a degree in Computer Science and over 20 years of experience in data center sales. As a Senior Sales Manager at Supermicro, he oversees the TOLA region, delivering Supermicro’s cutting-edge infrastructure solutions to clients. Prior to joining Supermicro, Mark held roles as a Sales Engineer and Technical Sales Manager at Dell Technologies, where he worked with enterprise accounts. Based in Austin, TX, Mark enjoys coaching his children’s sports teams and spending quality time outdoors with his family.

  • Kate Hubben is Vice President of NFP, an Aon company, a global insurance consulting firm. Kate is a strong advocate for her clients and consistently recognized for outstanding client retention. Kate is a licensed specialist in self-funding and works with companies to provide solutions for benefits technology solutions and  cost containment.  Prior to NFP, Kate was a Lead Consultant at Willis Towers Watson and Senior Director of Global Patient Services at the Cleveland Clinic.  Kate has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Cleveland State University and a Bachelor of Arts from The Ohio State University.  Kate lives in Austin and Cleveland, Ohio.

  • Hugh serves as Chief of Programming for the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival. This event brings more than 25,000 digital creatives from across the United States and around the world to Austin for five days of panels, brainstorming, networking, deal-making, and fun. Forrest graduated from Austin High School in 1980 and then majored in English at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Before joining the SXSW team, he founded a small alternative publication called The Austin Challenger.

  • Sherri R. Greenberg is a professor of practice and fellow of the Max Sherman Chair in State and Local Government at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, and she is a professor of practice at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work. Additionally, she is the LBJ School Assistant Dean for State and Local Government Engagement. She is a primary researcher for, and Chairperson of, Good Systems, Ethical AI at UT Austin. Greenberg serves on the Austin Smart City Alliance Board of Directors, and the Austin Forum on Technology & Society Advisory Board. Previously, she was a member of the Central Health Board of Managers, and a member of the City of Austin Housing Investment Review Committee.

    Greenberg has served as a senior advisor to Austin Mayor Steve Adler. She was a Texas state representative from 1991 to 2001, and she chaired the House Pensions and Investments Committee and the Select Committee on Teacher Health Insurance. She also served on the House Appropriations, Economic Development, Elections, and Science and Technology Committees. Previously, Greenberg was the City of Austin capital finance manager and a public finance officer at Standard & Poor’s.

  • whurley is the founder and CEO of Strangeworks, an Eisenhower Fellow, a Senior Member of the IEEE, founder of the Quantum Computing Standards Workgroup at the IEEE, the first Ambassador to CERN and Society, and the co-author of "Quantum Computing For Babies” and the upcoming “Quantum Computing for Dummies” (available for pre-order now). Prior to starting Strangeworks, he was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs [NYSE: GS]. He came to Goldman Sachs via the acquisition of his second startup, Honest Dollar. Prior to Honest Dollar whurley founded Chaotic Moon Studios which was acquired by Accenture [NYSE: ACN].

  • Stacy Vu is the Chief of Staff at whurley, Inc. She is a skilled professional in project management, executive support, and digital marketing. Stacy has played a vital role in optimizing operations at whurley, Inc. She also offers executive support to whurley, the CEO & Founder of Strangeworks. Apart from her responsibilities at whurley, Inc., Stacy is the author of an AI-focused blog called VUGRL. Her blog features the latest AI technologies and provides useful tips on utilizing AI tools like Midjourney and ChatGPT. She has also authored a Quantum Coloring Book, titled Quantum Adventures which can be found on Amazon.

    Stacy has a wealth of experience in various roles across multiple industries. She served as a graphic design consultant in internal communications at Expedia, Inc., led rebranding initiatives at Ronco, and spent 12 years at IBM. During her time at IBM, she worked as a Senior Multimedia Developer and created product demos for technical marketing, as well as digital assets for ibm.com. In this role, she received an Outstanding Innovation Award for Implementing New and Compelling Awareness Generation Programs on the Tivoli Web Site. As a Web Program Manager, she built a team that supported marketing and sales enablement, designed dynamic multimedia assets for go-to-market campaigns, and managed the day-to-day operations of the product website. In addition, she was a Web Developer for IBM Tivoli's Internet Business unit. Stacy also holds a US Patent - Method and system for distributing image-based content on the internet.

  • Nancy built a formidable career at several of the most influential ad agencies in NY, Chicago, and LA and for more than a decade has been the Founder/CEO of Play Big Inc., a strategic inspiration company. Her current work dives deeply into the emerging intersection of tech, business, and society. Her expertise and experiences range from A.I. to frozen foods, to reinventing the internet, and all of her projects have a key common denominator: transitioning away from the extractive operating systems and outdated business thinking that no longer holds up... to create more sustainable, inclusive, and dynamic solutions the future demands.

    Author of the Amazon bestselling book Leadering: The Ways Visionary Leaders Play Bigger, Nancy is a frequent panelist at South by Southwest, global keynote speaker, Singularity University guest lecturer, and the world’s first TEDx licensee. She is recognized as one of the world’s top female futurists and is co-Founder of the Femme Futurists Society.

  • ​Houli serves as lead instructor, Product Management & Design, for Flatiron School, where she is currently assigned to the Army Software Factory (US Army Institute for Software Development). She also facilitates design sprints and workshops for select government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Previously, she served as lead instructor in the User Experience Design Immersive program at General Assembly.

    Houli has also served as Managing Director of the Austin Forum on Technology & Society, a nonprofit organization that explores the impact of technology on society, and Managing Director of Austin Smart City Alliance, a consortium of companies, organizations, and individuals collaborating to advance Austin through digital technologies, data collection, analytics, and modeling. Additionally, she has served as executive director and chief lobbyist for Austin Music People, the trade association for Austin’s $2 billion music industry. She is a certified facilitator and an award-winning public speaker and writer, with recent appearances at ProductCamp, Control the Room, Austin Design Week, Hire Women Week, and AIGA Changemakers.

  • Student of life, interested in the intersection of the me and the not-me. Wide-ranging experience across many industries and companies around the world. Kevin started work life as a manual/semi-skilled laborer and is a U.S. Army Veteran. Kevin has a Bachelor's in Aviation from Ohio State University (1988), plus several hundred hours as both pilot in command and second on numerous types of GA and military aircraft. In 2012 Kevin received his Masters in Information Systems Management, with 6 class concentrations in Project Management.

    Kevin then joined the Dell Networking Advanced Engineering team for 5 years. He also architected modernized exascale system management for current generation shipping Cray supercomputers and brought up 30 data centers, under cloud, and initial staging deployment. Kevin has 18 granted U.S. PTOs, 2 international patents, and another handful of disclosures in progress since 1992, spanning many areas of the computer industry, most of which were real-world products.

  • Michael Ignatowski is a Senior Fellow at AMD Research in Austin, where he leads the research work in advanced memory architecture for high performance computers. Mike was involved in AMD’s role in winning the bid for the Frontier Exascale system to be installed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory next year. Before joining AMD 10 years ago, Mike worked at IBM in upstate New York for 27 years in advanced development and research. Mike has a master’s degree in computer engineering from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor’s degree in physics from Michigan State University.

    Outside of work, Mike serves on the board for Common Ground for Texans (CG4TX.org), a local group dedicated to promoting civil discourse among diverse communities and seeking common ground solutions toward a healthy democracy. He also serves on the board of 350-Austin, a local chapter of the international 350.org organization dedicated to reducing the threat of climate change. Mike is also the former president of the Central Texas Chapter of the World Future Society.

  • Harold has more than 30 years of leadership experience in consulting, public accounting, and the U.S. Air Force. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Texas State University.

    Prior to becoming a partner at Atchley & Associates, LLP in 2005, Harold managed his own accounting practice and later merged with Faske Lay & Co., LLP as a partner. Harold is retired from the Air Force and the Air Force Reserves.

    Harold centralizes his practice in mergers and acquisitions, business valuations, litigation support, expert witness consulting, and forensic accounting. He has extensive expertise in these practice areas in addition to succession planning, taxation, attestation, and general business consulting. As the managing partner of the consulting services group, he has the ability to evaluate and explain complex business transactions as well as see them through to success.

  • As the COO at Civo, Sophia has spent 6+ years diving headfirst into the cloud native ecosystem and has found a deep passion for fostering collaboration, driving connections, and nurturing vibrant communities. Her dedication to creating meaningful experiences and her passion for technology has propelled her to co-organize a multitude of impactful initiatives within the technology landscape. From setting up global meetup groups like Disruptive Tech and All Things Kubernetes to co-organizing conferences such as KubeCrash and Civo Navigate, Sophia consistently strives to cultivate collaborative spaces.

  • Steve Meier

    Steve is a co-founder of KUNGFU.AI, a category leader in the AI professional services space. He leads the innovation and growth teams at KUNGFU.AI, a management consulting and engineering firm that helps companies define and accelerate AI programs. He has over six years of experience in AI strategy, selling AI services, and leading a rocket science consulting firm in an emergent market. He has a MIT Sloan School of Management certificate in Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy.

  • Dr. Steve Kramer, Chief Scientist of KUNGFU.AI, is a computational physicist and data science entrepreneur with 30 years of post-Ph.D. experience in AI, data science, research, software, and business management. He earned a Ph.D. in physics in the Center for Nonlinear Dynamics at The University of Texas at Austin. Steve has extensive research experience spanning data mining, machine learning, anomaly detection, bot/cyborg detection, clustering, network graph analysis, deep learning, spatiotemporal forecasting, predictive analytics, social media analytics, and pattern discovery/recognition. In 2014, he patented a robust method for dynamic anomaly detection based on chaos theory. Steve spoke at Data Day Texas in 2014 and 2018 and at Data Day Seattle in 2016. Since 2011, he has served as a program committee member and reviewer for the ACM KDD and IEEE Security and Intelligence Informatics conferences. He recently acted as the Principal Investigator on multiple subcontracts for DARPA's Information Innovation Office and on four different prototype contracts for the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). He is proud to serve on the Board of the Austin Forum on Technology and Society and as a member of Board of Technical Advisors for data.world.

  • Cyndi Schultz is the Sales Director at Capital Factory. Cyndi was previously the Director of Community Relations at March of Dimes from June 2013 to June 2014, where they were responsible for the planning and implementation of events and fundraisers. Under their leadership, the Austin Signature Chefs Gala raised over $280,000. Cyndi was also awarded the top family team award from 2013 to 2017.

    Before their work at March of Dimes, Cyndi was the Regional Sales Manager at Mediatech Inc from December 2011 to August 2012. Cyndi won a marketing contract through Dell that allowed products to be sold through quarterly publications without competing products listed.

    From January 2010 to December 2011, Cyndi was the Pharmaceutical Sales Manager at Warner Chilcott. Cyndi Schultz received a B.A. in Communications from Texas Lutheran University.

  • Mellie Price is a highly experienced innovation and operations executive, venture fund manager, angel investor, philanthropist, data geek, and technologist who has worked in organizations ranging from non-profits to startups to publicly traded companies to state government. As an MSTC alumna, Mellie is passionate about the Austin startup and technology ecosystem and a proud ambassador for Texas McCombs.

    As an eight-time entrepreneur, Mellie is also well known as a co-founder of the nationally recognized startup accelerator program and entrepreneurial hub, Capital Factory. In 2015, Mellie launched SoftMatch, a tech-enabled corporative innovation consulting firm, to help Fortune 1000 companies connect with emerging technologies, startups, and talent that can help navigate this era of digital disruption. Formerly, Price was the Founder & CEO of Front Gate Solutions/Front Gate Tickets, one of the largest privately held primary market ticketing software platforms in the US/Canada from 2002 to 2015 when it was sold to Live Nation/Ticketmaster. Mellie is currently a Partner at Notley Ventures and Senior Advisor to Ecliptic Capital.

  • Mark, Head of Innovation at NFP, drives the innovation process both within and outside the organization. Having served in the employee benefits industry for over 28 years, Mark joined NFP’s corporate team in 2010 to launch their HR Technology practice. In 2018 Mark took on his current role where he has played a key role in creating and executing NFP's Digital Transformation Strategy. A thought leader, Mark authors articles, speaks at industry events and sits on technological advisory boards. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Pennsylvania State University and resides in Austin, TX with his family.