Arry Yu
Chair, Cascadia Blockchain Council
Managing Director, Yellow Umbrella Ventures
Strategic operator with expertise in scaling businesses with a consistent track record building high performing businesses and teams. Co-founder of the Cascadia Blockchain Council with the WTIA, who also recently raised over $32 million dollars in an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in 2017.

Arry is a podcaster with Windshield Time Studio, innovator, and speaker/writer as seen in: Forbes, CNN Money, Huffington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Puget Sound Business Journal, Geekwire, Retailing Today, Seattle Times, and more.

She advises/mentors with Ready Set Raise with the Female Founders Alliance, is an Executive Mentor with GroundWork and other accelerators, and is an investor in Tenta Browser, Stow-it, tZERO, and Ikigai. She also personally takes on special consulting projects on the side in marketing and PR for clients.

Twitter/Telegram = @ArryinSeattle

Michael Schutzler
CEO, WTIA
Michael Schutzler is an entrepreneur, engineer, science geek, and first generation immigrant. He is the CEO of the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA). Before joining the WTIA, Michael led the merger of Livemocha – a community of 17 million language learners – with the popular education software company Rosetta Stone. He also built Classmates.com into the first profitable social media application, transformed online marketing at Monster.com, and grew the online gaming business at RealNetworks to become a global leader.

He teaches part time at the University Of Washington Foster School of Business, serves on several boards, and is an investor in Flowplay, YouSolar, Koru, Moment, 9 Mile Labs, Alliance of Angels, Keiretsu Forum, and Social Venture Partners.

As a successful Internet entrepreneur, lead angel investor, and veteran executive coach, Michael has personally invested in twenty-four companies, served as coach and advisor to more than 100 executives, and has raised over $50M in private financing.

Dr. Joseph Williams
Director, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
A former executive with Microsoft and Sun Microsystems, Dr. Williams served as the Dean of the School of Business, Government and Economics at Seattle Pacific University before joining Commerce. His distinguished career in the tech industry, in academia and the public sector includes extensive experience working with angel investing and software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies and customers on the business models and economics of cloud computing. He has authored three books and dozens of articles related to the ICT industry while he was a professor in the College of Business at Colorado State University in the 1990s. Dr. Williams has degrees from the University of California-Berkley, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Texas-Austin.

Lynne Robinson
Mayor, City of Bellevue
Lynne Robinson joined the City Council in 2014, and she has a long history of civic involvement. She Is a champion for startups and small business and has encouraged startup and equity crowdfunding workshops at Bellevue City Hall.

She represents the council as chair of the Eastside Human Services Forum Executive Board, and member of the Safe Energy Leadership Alliance, King County Cities Climate Collaboration and King County Mental Illness and Drug Disability Oversight Committee. She is council liaison to the Human Services Commission and the Disability Board.

Before her council election, Lynne served on and chaired the Bellevue Network on Aging and the Parks and Community Services Board.

A physical therapist with her own business, Lynne holds a doctorate in physical therapy. Lynne developed an interest in computer science while in college and worked on the first programmable word processor during college summers in San Francisco.

Robert Mao
Founder and CEO of ArcBlock, Inc
Robert Mao, Founder and CEO of ArcBlock, Inc., is a serial entrepreneur and innovator. Robert’s projects and activities have been covered widely by global news media, including TechCrunch, CNN, USA Today, and other outlets. Robert was introduced to Bitcoin in 2009, and has been researching and experimenting with blockchain technology since 2013. He has spoken about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology at events around the world.

Prior to beginning his own startup, Robert worked for Microsoft Research’s Future Social Experiences (FUSE) labs, a research center focusing on social computing and machine learning. Prior to joining Microsoft Research, he worked for Microsoft Europe’s Global Product Development unit, Before joining Microsoft, Robert founded Lodesoft Corp and UUZone Interactive Inc. in China. The latter was the leading Voice Over IP solution at the time, and one of the first social networking services in China. He also co-founded the non-profit Seattle Entrepreneurship Club, which is now one of the largest entrepreneurship organizations in the Pacific Northwest.

Joe Roets
CEO, Dragonchain
Joe Roets is the architect, founder, and CEO of Dragonchain. He has over 20 years of experience in software architecture, focused primarily on security and scalability. He has created and led multiple technology startups, beginning in the mid-1990s. Joe is a visionary and thought leader in blockchain technology having led or contributed to projects in the space since 2010 at companies such as Overstock, Coinbase, Symbiont, and The Walt Disney Company.

Joe Cutler
Partner, Perkins Coie
Joe Cutler is a Privacy & Data Security Partner at Perkins Coie LLP and core member of the firm’s Fintech and Blockchain Technology & Digital Currency industry groups. His practice emphasis includes cryptocurrencies and distributed ledger technology, like blockchain, in areas related to privacy and data security, consumer protection law and Internet law. He focuses on regulatory issues surrounding token sales, digital identity, IoT/Ai/Blockchain convergence and the business of blockchain. He has an extensive background in providing legal guidance on regulatory issues related to financial services, including the Bank Secrecy Act, FinCEN regulations, anti-money laundering requirements, and state money transmission and financial services laws. Joe also advises technology clients regarding compliance with state and federal privacy and data protection laws, including anti-spamming and anti-phishing statutes, computer intrusion laws, and state data protection and breach notification laws as well as international data protection laws, like GDPR.

Matt Medlin
CPA and Owner, Clark Nuber
Matt Medlin leads Clark Nuber’s practice serving angel and venture-backed enterprises in SaaS, blockchain, game studios, AI, machine learning, AR/VR, telecom, consumer products, cryptocurrency, fintech, medtech and health sciences. Clark Nuber is a Seattle-area CPA firm, with a team of over 200 professionals; Matt’s practice helps start-up and emerging-growth companies establish sound business, accounting, taxation and data security practices to enhance their ability to raise funds, attract customers and develop their team. New clients are usually in the pre-seed to C round in funding, and we help them grow toward an exit. Matt is an active angel investor, a partner in the SeaChange Fund and member of the Alliance of Angels. He is on the board of the Technology Alliance, advisory boards of InKlood and Prolaera and a board observer for StepChange Data, a blockchain security center. Prior to joining Clark Nuber, Matt was a partner with Arthur Andersen and KPMG in Seattle and also spent seven years as a forensic accountant and fraud investigator in Washington DC. He graduated from Eastern Washington University, majoring in Accounting and Management Information Systems.

Jesse Proudman
Founder & CEO, Strix Leviathan
Jesse Proudman is a serial tech entrepreneur. His current venture, Strix Leviathan, has developed an algorithmic trading platform for cryptocurrency markets. Previously, Proudman founded and raised more than $22M for cloud computing startup Blue Box before a successful exit to IBM. Proudman is a passionate advocate for mental health support for startup founders and serves as a mentor and board member for the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington. Twitter: @jesseproudman

Chris Ingrao
COO, Lumedic
Chris Ingrao is co-founder and chief operating officer of Lumedic Inc., a Providence St. Joseph Health company founded in Seattle to transform healthcare operations and patient experiences with advanced technologies. Chris brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in startups and multinational corporations applying leading-edge technologies to create new value.

Prior to Lumedic, Chris was a vice president for Switzerland-based Luxoft, one of the world’s leading technology services providers. In this role, he led global teams specializing in blockchain, machine learning and Internet of Things solutions. Chris joined Luxoft upon its acquisition of Radius, a company he co-founded in 2010. Previous experience includes additional technology entrepreneurial success in executive/co-founder roles at Beijing-based iSoftstone and Seattle-area startups Akona Systems and Asentrix.

Joe Honan
Founder, Yunity
Joe is a 25 year successful parallel-entrepreneur, and has founded, scaled, and led the successful acquisition of multiple disruptive technology product and services organizations. Joe’s companies have led the transformation of technology into the cloud, provided unprecedented capabilities to unlock and surface valuable data within organizations, and transform business models to embrace exponential technologies. Joe has been a passionate advocate of blockchain solutions, and is a recognized expert, speaker, and thought leader in the transformation and evolution of traditional business models to embrace and accelerate utilizing exponential technologies.

Joe is the Founder & CEO of Trinity Exponentials Inc., a market leader in advisory, technology, and capital solutions focused on the convergence of innovative start-ups, established market leaders, and the application of Blockchain, AI, Extended Reality, IoT, and Machine/Deep learning. Under Joe’s leadership, Trinity has become a talent magnet for exceptional experts, and a trusted partner to some of the world’s most successful media & entertainment, gaming & esports, real-estate & financial services brands. Joe is the executive advisor, board-member, or equity founder of a portfolio of organizations making massive impact in the evolution of triple bottom line conscious businesses in the web 3.0 world balancing people, profits, and planet. His “Big 3” active causes are “Clean Air, Clean Water, and abundant Wildlife”

Pamela Dingle
Director of Identity Standards, Microsoft
Pamela is an identity geek, Integrator, Architect, strategery opinioneer, extrovert, and jack-of-all-trades. With over 15 years of experience spent putting Identity-related infrastructure into large organizations, seven years in the CTO office of a software vendor, meeting customers, working on strategy and vision, participating in standards efforts, Pamela is on a mission to make a big impact project by project. She currently is working at Microsoft as part of their already strong commitment to open identity standards.

Jennifer Mace
Shareholder, Clark Nuber PS
Jennifer Mace, a shareholder at the Seattle-based Clark Nuber PS, leads the CPA firm’s international tax team. She serves clients around the world in professional services, SaaS, blockchain, game studios, AI, consumer products, and cryptocurrency.

Jennifer’s practice helps guide multi-state, multi-national businesses’ growth and expansion internationally. Jennifer and her team provide consulting at the company level, but also help guide employees who are relocating overseas and non-U.S. employees relocating to the U.S. for the first time.

Prior to joining Clark Nuber PS, Jennifer was with the global mobility group at KPMG in Seattle. She graduated from Seattle Pacific University, majoring in Accounting, and Golden Gate University with a Master of Science in Taxation.

Marina Welkhoff
Co-founder & Managing Partner, WXR Fund

Martina is the Co-founder and Managing Partner at the WXR Fund, an early-stage venture fund investing in women-led spatial computing (AR/VR/AI) companies.  Prior to launching the fund, WXR hosted an accelerator from which 26 companies have graduated.  

Before shifting her full time focus to investing, Martina was an entrepreneur who founded her first company, Zealyst, in 2010.  Zealyst was a corporate gaming platform that strategically helped employees to build their professional network and in turn collected data for their employer on culture, morale, and engagement.  After 6 years of building Zealyst, Martina founded a virtual reality company called ConveneVR that was focused on pushing the boundaries of social VR.  She was inspired to transition into the VR industry after recognizing the unique opportunity the creation of a new computing platform provided for women and underrepresented minorities.  

Martina is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and an advisor to the Center for Leadership & Strategic Thinking at the Foster School of Business.  From 2013-2017, she served as the board president of Seattle Women in Tech before transitioning the nonprofit to a for-profit company that is scaling the model globally.  In 2018, Martina won a Lumiere Award for Distinguished Leadership from the Advanced Imaging Society.  She received a BA in English with a minor in Chemistry from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.

Nick Hansen
CEO, Luxor Technology

Nick is the CEO of Luxor Technology, the largest North American mining pool for Bitcoin and 9 other cryptocurrencies.  Nick is classically trained as a software engineer, but has been a hobby miner since 2015, mining his first Bitcoin with GPUs.  His background in enterprise software development combined with his passion for cryptocurrency has given him a unique foundation from which to build Luxor into the organization it is today.

Ray Walia
Founder, Launch Ventures

Ray Walia is a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in both the entertainment and technology sectors. Ray founded Launch Ventures which owns and operates a network of private incubators, innovation labs, and investment funds. The most prominent incubator is Launch Academy, Western Canada’s leading entrepreneurship facility, which has incubated more than 6000 entrepreneurs of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $1.2 Billion in funding. Launch Academy is a designated provider for the Canadian Startup Visa Program. Ray has invested in over 30+ startups either personally or through his funds and was named Entrepreneur Mentor of the Year for 2014 and 2015, BIV Top Forty Under 40, G20 Young Entrepreneur, and BC Tech Person of The Year Finalist 2018.

Ross Kenyon
Co-founder & Creative Editor, Nori Carbon Removal Marketplace

Ross Kenyon is a cofounder of the Nori carbon removal marketplace where he serves as Creative Editor. Ross has had a varied career, working at an academic center and taking PhD coursework in political philosophy before making the switch to screenwriting and producing content. He has also worked in technology communications in the blockchain space with groups such Tezos, Sweetbridge, Indiegogo, Blue Frontiers, and Horizen. He currently leads the development of Nori’s creative media and podcasting, and hosts their Reversing Climate Change podcast.

Rex St. John
Head of EGX Developer Relations, NVIDIA

Rex St. John has spent his career as a Software Engineer, Technical Evangelist, Team Leader and Ecosystem Manager constructing global developer programs at the world’s leading semiconductor giants: Intel, Arm and now NVIDIA. Having been a technical evangelist and product manager at Intel’s New Technology Group, Rex has gained extensive personal knowledge in the field of robotics, industrial IoT, IoT, autonomous vehicles, perceptual computing, TinyML, silicon, semiconductor trends and ecosystem leadership for advanced hardware technologies. In his free time, Rex volunteers his experience to train developers in emerging markets on how to better advertise their skills in order to attract customers and get jobs. He lives in Seattle with his wife, two children and two cats.

Paul Rapino
Chief Growth Officer, Global Blockchain Business Council

Paul Rapino is the Chief Growth Officer at the Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC). He is also on the Leadership team of the GBBC-Interwork Alliance (IWA), which focuses on Tokenization Standards and Industry Certification. Prior to this, Paul was Head of Growth and Ecosystem Development at IWA and reported to the IWA Board of Directors. He led the merger of IWA into GBBC.

In earlier work, Paul held leadership roles with two blockchain startups that focused on fractionalizing high-valued assets with tokenized payments and smart contracts. He also was a leader for TF Labs, managing blockchain conferences and podcasts. Prior to this, he was Director of Financial Services at Microsoft in both New York and Seattle for 18 years. Here he worked with financial institutions on digital strategy and marketing partnerships. Paul is inspired by the vision to help enterprise and startup companies drive the new “Token Economy.”

In addition to his work with GBBC, Paul is also the co-chairperson of the “Green Working Group” Global Standards Mapping Initiative (GMSI 2.0), and on the Steering Committee with the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) Cascadia Blockchain Council, focused on working with business leaders and policymakers around blockchain technology. This includes work with the Washington State Division of Financial Institutions (DFI) and Policy Regulation. Paul lives in Seattle, Washington, and has twin 6th graders. He is an active community volunteer and coaches his children’s basketball and baseball teams.

Kory Hoang
Co-founder & CEO, Stably

Prior to Stably, Kory was an Analyst at PitchBook in Seattle where he picked up the ABCs of venture capital fundraising. On the side, Kory is also an active algorithmic trader who has advised many hedge funds on various topics ranging from quantitative trading, momentum and mean-reversion strategies to VIX derivatives and cryptocurrencies. Since 2018, he has led his company through 3 venture funding rounds, secured Stably’s largest business deals, and grown his team from just 4 members initially to 20+ today. Kory holds a BBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Washington Bothell.

Tim Davis
Leader, Global Center of Excellence for Blockchain Assurance, Deloitte & Touche LLP

Tim leads Deloitte’s Global Center of Excellence for Blockchain Assurance, an initiative to drive global coordination and capability in audit and assurance approaches to the emerging cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. The Center has developed award-winning technology solutions to auditing blockchains and is integral to developing talent and approaches to meet the needs of this growing industry.

He serves a range of blockchain related clients including a number of large digital asset exchanges, crypto custodian services, and enterprises adopting blockchain technology. He advises his clients in areas of internal control, risk management, and regulatory compliance.

Michelle O’Connor
VP Marketing, Taxbit

Michelle O’Connor is VP of Marketing at TaxBi.t, where she leads all marketing and public relations to elevate TaxBit’s brand as the industry leader amidst rapid growth across the cryptocurrency space. In addition to her role at TaxBit, Michelle is the Expansion Chair at NYC Women in FinTech. She is passionate about improving access to financial services for the un/underbanked with a proven track record of leading brand management, marketing communications, and community building in the FinTech space.

Before joining TaxBit, she was the VP of Marketing and Community at Uphold. She drove the global expansion of the digital wallet and industry-first products across LatAm and emerging markets, building democratized access with a community-first approach. She also developed the brand’s global marketing strategy, brought cohesion and intention to the brand voice, and facilitated Uphold’s online community. She also managed public relations, content marketing and development, and social media strategy.

Marco Daoura
Strategic Consulting, Medical Devices, HealthIT and Digital Health at Latham Biopharm Group

Marco has over 20 years of experience in medical devices and digital health innovation. His career crosses multidisciplinary areas of product development, from corporate settings such as Philips Healthcare and Boston Scientific to agile startups such as UltraLinq Healthcare and Novuson Surgical. Marco supports his community by advising and mentoring incubators and startups at the University of Washington CoMotion Labs and Seattle Cambia Grove. He chairs the Northwest Tech Committee of Keiretsu angel investors and VCs, and chairs the Lake Washington Institute of Biomedical Devices.

Mark Mueller-Eberstein
CEO and co-founder of CodexDF

CEO and co-founder of CodexDF, the enterprise accounting software for digital assets. Mark co-founded CodexDF based on his experience leveraging cutting-edge technologies and connecting business leaders and information technology (IT) professionals for over two decades. He’s had a strong passion for blockchain technology since 2014. He is an active investor, keynote speaker, and best-selling author in 12 languages and has been a digital transformation leader for blockchain, cryptocurrencies, IoT, AI, and cloud computing for the last decade. Mark is building on his experience as founder of Adgetec Corporation, Managing Member of the Codex3 blockchain investor partnership, and advisor to investment funds with leadership positions at HP and Microsoft. Mark predicted early that social media, communication technologies, and cloud computing would become a key information and communication technology enabler for businesses and result in transformation for the IT industry and professions. Mark is actively invested in organizations focusing on the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain technology, and crowdfunding. He is a managing member of the private Codex3 investor group and advisor to several Venture capitalists (VCs). Mark’s academic research dives into innovation acceleration through removing inefficiencies (e.g. around financial transactions). Mark’s personal passion includes unlocking the economic potential of billions with blockchain technology. As a speaker, Mark has excited audiences in many countries and continents. His appearances include TEDx, APEC, World CIO Forum, Central Asian Economic Forum, SIC, and Microsoft’s WPC.

Originally from Germany, Mark is bilingual and speaks English and German. He received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Technology in Berlin and also studied at the University of Marburg. He currently resides outside of Seattle, Washington State, USA.