Cannabis at a tech conference? Meet the leaders helping DC Startup & Tech Week break new ground

There are plenty of high-profile speakers at DC Startup and Tech Week, the newly rebranded annual conference that returns this month for its ninth  year, including Noelle Russell, founder of the AI Leadership Institute, USPTO Director Kathi Vidal and “Shark Tank” casting consultant Brandon Andrews

But the event’s real value lies in its programming — new subtracks this year include cannabis and mental health — and the connection it offers to one of the country’s biggest innovation markets.

The breadth and depth of the week’s sessions relies on the expertise of local ecosystem leaders who volunteer to coordinate panels, fireside chats, happy hours, the annual pitch competition and everything else happening Monday, Oct. 21, through Friday, Oct. 25. 

Rachel Koretsky and Seema Alexander, the longtime co-chairs of what was originally called DC Startup Week, have pulled together an impressive collection of people to help make this year’s event sing. 

Scroll down to meet those people, many of whom you’ll recognize from Technical.ly’s past coverage, along with info about which topics they’ll be leading, including tracks and subtracks on climate, AI, food, government, life sciences and more. You can check out the full schedule here and pick up passes online.

• Darius Clair: The founder of D.E.A.L.S. Venture Group and program manager for Techstars initiatives in DC and Baltimore leads the early stage track.
• Katie McKenzie: The head of the technology sub-track co-organizes the recently revamped DC Tech Meetup and leads the design consultancy Dinwood.
• Kay Rodriguez: The CEO of Outerly, which won the conference’s early-stage-track pitch competition in 2022, co-heads both the DC Startup Women track (which has related programming throughout the year) and sub-track for female founders and funders.
• Casey Williams: Rodriguez’s fellow leader on the DC Startup Women and female founders and funders programming is the principal of local fintech-focused investment firm Fenway Summer.

• Nina Archie: Leading the government and innovation sub-track, Archie is the CEO of the consultancy Innovator Connector and manages innovation-related projects at the Department of State. 
• Chida Sadayappan: A senior leader in Deloitte’s AI and cloud computing division, Sadayappan heads up the developer-focused DevFest track, an outgrowth of the DC DevFest conference he also organizes. 
• Colin Campbell: The director of the food company Krave Jerky leads the food and consumer packaged goods sub-track. 
• Gilberto Nazario: The Web3 sub-track co-organizer heads up the recurring Web3DC meetup and affiliated community.
• Shailee Adinolfi: Nazario’s counterpart on the Web3 sub-track is a leader within local Web3 ecosystem builder DC DAO and the business development head for Trust Machines.
• Colin Fraser: The CEO of marijuana delivery startup Upling heads up the new cannabis sub-track.
• Kaitlin Capobianco: Another organizer behind the DC Tech Meetup, Capobianco co-leads the Startups4Good track and works as a senior manager for Halcyon.
• Erna Redzepagic: Capobianco’s Startups4Good counterpart also works as a Halcyon senior manager
• Anjali Mahadevia: The head of business development for Silver Spring-based, sustainability-focused financial transactions platform Future is in charge of the climate and sustainability sub-track. 
• Brendan Sullivan: The founder of Zama Health, which was recently acquired by Volt Athletics, leads the new mental health sub-track.