OELS 2026

22-24 September 2026 | National Harbor, MD


   Keynote Speakers   


Mica Dolan

President & CEO, Advanced Technology International

Jennifer Rocha

Senior Strategic Partnership Manager, TechConnect Division, ATI

Regina (Gina) Sims

Director, DoW Office for Small Business Innovation

Jennifer Thabet

Office Director Small Business Programs Office, DARPA

Justin Welch

Operations Director, Idaho National Laboratory

John Williams

Executive Director, Small Business Innovation Research Consortium (SBIRC)

  Speakers   


Pedro M. Allende

Under Secretary for Science and Technology, Department of Homeland Security

Kyle Asman

Founder & Managing Partner, Backswing Ventures

Ken Barrett

Chief Business Officer, Arzeda Corp.

Jaipreet Bindra

Senior Advisor, University of Ottawa

Katie Bornfleth

Marketing Communications Project Manager, TechConnect Division, ATI

Jamie Breakfield

Technical Director, Naval Shipbuilding and Advanced Manufacturing (NSAM) Center of Excellence

Sophie Burkholder

Senior Investment Associate, Innovation Works

Bob Burton

Director of Defense Technologies, North Carolina Military Business Center

Jim Caley

Director of Operational Energy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Energy, US Navy

Joshua Carter

Associate Administrator, SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation

Conrad Clyburn

Chief Executive Officer, MedForeSight

Allison Cole

Head of Strategy and Engagement, Aerospace & Satellite Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Krista Covey

CEO & President, First Flight Venture Center

Preeta Datta

Director of Innovation, Americas, Evonik

John David

Chief Transformation Officer, BryceTech

Doug Doan

Founder & General Partner, Hivers & Strivers

Grayson Dorr

Program Manager, Advanced Technology International (ATI)

Scott Duff

Head of Government Relations, General Matter

Jeff Eggers

Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Rsquared

Faris Fakhry

Investor, Lowercarbon Capital

Justin Fanelli

Chief Technology Officer, US Navy

Todd Gillen

Head of Business Development, Fluree AI

Tom Gillespie

Partner Head of Alliance Fund, Geodesic Capital

Joel Griffin

Co-Founder & President, Riphean Group, Riphean Investments

Dale Grogan

Managing Partner, Michigan Capital Network

Daryl Haegley

Technical Director, Air & Space Force Cyber Resilience Office for Control Systems, US Air and Space Force

Jason Hay

Director of Technology, BryceTech

Deborah Hemingway

Founder and Managing Partner, Ecphora Capital

Max Hopkins

Business Development Manager, Advanced Technology International (ATI)

Greg Jaffe

President, Jaffe Policy Consulting LLC

Jonathan Jakischa

Principal, Open Innovation, TechConnect Division, ATI

Rich Julien

Partner, BOKA Capital

Nick Kacsandi

Senior Business Development & Sales Manager, TechConnect Division, ATI

Matthew Laudon

Vice President, TechConnect, TechConnect Division, ATI

Colleen Laughlin

Board Member, Station DC

Eric McFarland

Chief Science Officer, First American Nuclear Company (FANCO)

Jonathan Mercado

Principal, First Bight Ventures

Sarah Mineiro

CEO and Founder, Tanagra Enterprises

Kevin Mish

Program Manager, Abbott on Call

Valerie Moon

Executive Director, Communications Cybersecurity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (C2 ISAC)

Emma Mooney

Outreach & Project Manager, TechConnect Division, ATI

Laura Murphree

Senior Marketing and Program Manager, TechConnect Division, ATI

Wilson Nance

Consultant to Deputy Secretary of War - Deregulation, Security, Advanced Technologies, Department of War

Justin Pierce

Strategic Development Manager, Space & Mission Systems, BAE Systems

Shelby Pierson

Founder and Principal, Invicta Analytics, LLC

Jay Reckard

President, Reckard Consulting

Bart Romanowicz

Senior Advisor, TechConnect Division, ATI

Ashley Sadorra

Technical Program Manager, Defense and Space, Idaho National Laboratory

Jennifer Sanders

Executive Director, North Texas Innovation Alliance

Jennifer Shieh (Invited)

Acting Director, Innovation, Small Business Administration

Seth Spergel

Managing Partner, Merlin Ventures

John Squires

Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office

Camille Stebbins

Deputy Director, Advanced Technology International

Mike Stebbins

Sr. Vice President, Medical and Threat Countermeasures Division, Advanced Technology International (ATI)

John Thomas

Partner, Frontera Group

Lily Toto

Senior Associate, Two Lanterns Venture Capital

Sonia Vohnout

Founder & CEO, OppsSpot, LLC

Troy Warshel

Executive Vice President, Potomac International Partners, Inc.

Brent Wells

Senior Project Manager and Research Analyst,, Advanced Technology International (ATI)

Lesley Wilhelm

Action Officer - Wargaming, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (RDT&E), US Navy

Justin Wright-Eakes

Founder & Managing Partner, Oval Park Capital

Justin Yang

Co-Founder, DMV Bio

Naval Operational Energy Office, Tech Advisor, US Navy

Managing Partner, In-Q-Tel

Founder, Big Idea Ventures

Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Chief Technology Officer, Empower AI


Sponsors and Exhibitors
 



2025 Sponsors and Exhibitors



Sponsors and Partners (co-located with Defense TechConnect Innovation Summit)

Sponsors & Partners



 Government Partnr


© Copyright 2026 TechConnect. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use