Into AI, esports and failure lessons? We’re talking those and more in Introduced’s GROW room

Interested in hearing regional experts share biz and science lessons? The Grow track at Introduced is for you.

This year, we’re excited to welcome speakers from all over the map, from AI to behavioral science to esports, presented as part of one-hour sessions in panel, case study and lightning talk formats.

Introduced is a full-day event on Thursday, May 9 at Convene CityView in Center City. Grow is one of three tracks you can explore throughout the day, along with the Message track (media and creative) and the Impact track (civic and access).

Check out the full schedule and lineup for the Grow Room below, including speakers from the likes of the Philadelphia Fusion, Accenture Labs and Johnson & Johnson Innovation. For more details, head to the event’s site.

Here’s what’s in store at the Grow track this year:

Removing the Stigma: Creative Solutions for the Mental Health Crisis

This session is brought to you by NeuroFlow

One in five Americans live with behavioral health conditions. That means you almost definitely come into contact with them daily, at work, at home — you may have a condition yourself. Yet there’s still a lot of work to do to break the stigma. This session features a unique mix of executive leaders discussing innovative and creative strategies for combating this stigma in all areas of life.

• Tonya Ladipo, CEO, The Ladipo Group
• Russ Micoli, VP, Behavioral Services, Jefferson Health New Jersey
• Jessica Pickett, Founder and President, RPM Solutions Group
• Mitch Vidovich, Director of Government Affairs, Independence Blue Cross
• Moderated by Christopher Molaro, CEO, NeuroFlow

The Two Hottest Industries in America: esports and Sports Betting

In this session, we’ll be featuring two separate conversations: In one, you’ll learn all about the esports industry with Comcast Spectacor and Jarvus Innovations; in the other, two sports tech influencers will discuss the industry of sports betting. This a must-attend for anyone interested in either (or both) of these the rapidly growing industries.

Esports panel:

• John Fazio, founder of Jarvus Innovations and N3rd Street Gamers
• Tucker Roberts, President of Spectacor Gaming and Philadelphia Fusion
• Joe Marsh, Chief Business Officer, Spectacor Gaming and Philadelphia Fusion
• Moderated by Danielle Cohn, Head of Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs

Sports betting panel:

• Brian Musburger, Founder and CEO of the Vegas Stats & Information Network — VSiN is the first media network dedicated to sports gambling information.
• Wayne Kimmel, Managing Partner of SeventySix Capital — He’s a sports tech venture capitalist, entrepreneur and the author of “Six Degrees of Wayne Kimmel.”

Intersecting Science and Technology: Solution-Based Case Studies

How do people and organizations blend science and tech? This session features three case studies that merge the fields in innovative ways.

• Case Study #1 — Anthony Vance, Temple University’s director of the Center for Cyber Security, will discuss a series of Temple experiments that combine functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and traditional usability experiments to help find ways to improve cybersecurity warnings
• Case Study #2 — Meghan Miller, director of Consulting Services of CGI, will explore the role that data, technology and information sharing can play in easing the opioid crisis that kills increasing numbers of Americans every year.
• Case Study #3 — Snowflake (speaker TBA)

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning: Empathetic Use Cases

Are fears of AI and machine learning based on fiction or reality (or both)? This session presents three case studies that look at the benefits and pitfalls of the sometimes-controversial technologies.

• Case Study #1 — Steve Zemanick, Director of Consulting Services for CGI
• Case Study #2 — Brian Orrell, Chief Technology Officer of Pariveda Solutions
• Case Study #3 — Kris Skrinak, AI and Machine Learning Architect of Amazon Web Services
• Emceed by Michelle Sipics, Senior Editor, Accenture Technology Vision, Accenture Labs

The Next Big Idea: Approaches to Innovation in the Corporate and Startup Worlds

Whether you work for a large company or run a growing startup, this session will get your gears turning as five professionals from both sectors talk about developing ideas that will help put — or keep — your business on the map.

• Lisha Davis, Head of Innovation Studio, Vanguard
• Phil Charron, Executive VP of Think Company
• Kate Merton, Head of JLABS @ NYC, Boston & JPOD @ Philadelphia at Johnson & Johnson Innovation
• Matt Gillin, CEO of Relay
• Ebony Lee, Senior VP, Strategic Development at Comcast
• Moderated by Laurie Actman, Chief Marketing, Communications and Program Officer, Penn Center for Innovation

Fail Better: Startup Founders and Stories of Resilience

It’s like Yoda said: “The greatest teacher, failure is.”

These four lightning talks feature startups that have made the realLIST (aka startups we’ve identified as some of the most promising) in our Philly, Baltimore, D.C. and Delaware markets. Find out about the hard times these founders faced — and what they learned from them.

• Sujay Suresh Kumar, Cofounder and CTO of Lilu, Inc. (Philadelphia)
• Allysa Dittmar, President of ClearMask, LLC (Baltimore)
• Amira Idris, CEO and Founder of TheraV (Delaware)
• Alex Cohen, Founder & CEO of TwentyTables (D.C.)
• Moderated by Michelai Graham, Technical.ly DC

And reminder, this is just ONE of THREE rooms of content within Introduced.

Plus, get access to a rotating demo floor and individual meetings with purchasing reps, investors and founders. Comcast LIFT Labs will have a lounge setup to help you relax and recharge between sessions and you can end the day reflecting on all you learned at our happy hour presented by Linode!