Organizing Team
Jasen Baker
Conference Chair
Jasen is a current MBA student at Harvard Business School. Prior to school, Jasen spent 8 years in the U.S. Army as a Special Forces Medic in 1st Special Forces Group.
Clif Luber
Conference Chair
Clif was a Supply and Logistics Officer in the Navy for 9 years. After the Navy, he worked at Anduril Industries on the Proposal and Capture team. He is currently a student at Harvard Business School.
Moises Navas
Conference Chair
Moises is a second-year MBA student at MIT Sloan. Prior to graduate school, Moises served for 10 years as an Infantry Officer in the US Marine Corps.
Daryna Ostafiichuk
Conference Chair
Daryna Ostafiichuk is a second-year MBA student at MIT Sloan. Before Sloan, Daryna spent 5 years with McKinsey & Company, working on digital transformations and operational improvement projects.
Ben Buchheim-Jurrison
Ben is a JD/MBA Candidate at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. Prior to school, Ben worked at Meta and served as an Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Air Force. After school, Ben will join Snowpoint Ventures as a Senior Associate.
Louis McCullagh
Louis is an MBA candidate at Harvard Business School focusing on international finance. Previously, he served in the U.S. Air Force as an acquisitions manager and led cyberspace counterintelligence operations.
Zach Zimmerman
Zach is an MBA candidate at Harvard Business School focusing on deep tech, cybersecurity, and defense ventures. He previously served in the U.S. Army as a Cyber Warfare Officer at U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency.
Dr. Fred Heiding
Fred is a research fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center, a board member at DEF CON’s Misinformation Village, and part of WEF's Cybercrime Center. He has appeared in Black Hat, DEF CON, BSides, IEEE Access, and HBR. Fred has identified over 45 CVEs.
Greg Knutson
Greg is an Executive MBA candidate at MIT Sloan and currently at Venus Aerospace, building the future of hypersonics. He served in the Navy as an aviator, tech evaluator, and the Head of Operations for a nuclear aircraft carrier.
Jessica Souder
Jessica is an Executive MBA student at MIT Sloan working as the Director of Government & Defense for Protect AI. She served for over 15 years as a Paramilitary Operations Officer with the CIA, focusing on covert action and technical programs.
Daniel Ackeret
Daniel is a second-year MBA student at Harvard Business School. Previously, he worked in corporate development and strategy at RTX’s Pratt & Whitney business unit.
Sara Ballantyne
Sara is a second-year MS/MBA dual-degree candidate at Harvard Business School and Harvard School of Engineering & Applied Sciences. Prior to school, Sara worked as a propulsion engineer at Blue Origin leading rocket engine test campaigns.
Drew Borinstein
Drew is an MBA student at HBS. Previously, he served in the US Marine Corps and earned degrees from VMI and Georgia Tech. After HBS, Drew will launch Argus Systems, where he and his co-founder are building AI-powered geospatial intelligence software.
Nate Wiegand
Nate, a 2nd-year MBA student at MIT Sloan, previously served as a PSYOP Officer in the U.S. Army, specializing in information warfare and counter-misinformation in Europe. Post-graduation, he will join BCG in their TMT and Federal practices.
Lisa Yan
Lisa is an MBA student at HBS. She previously worked at Waymo as an AI engineer. Post-graduation she will be working on her own defense tech startup Argus Systems, an AI-powered geospatial intelligence software for searching satellite imagery.
Sophie Zimmerman
Sophie is a 2nd-year MBA student at HBS with a background in physics. As a consultant at BCG, she focused on tough tech and AI. During her MBA, she gained experience in the AV industry and is currently doing research on AI in defense.
Shai Cohen
Shai is an MBA/MPP candidate at HBS and Harvard Kennedy School. He worked at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, where he focused on autonomy and AI. Before school, Shai worked at the Council on Foreign Relations and Bain & Company.
Josh Cortez
Josh is a first-year Harvard MPA candidate with previous experience as COO & Chief of Staff in Sports Tech, Senior Staff in Congress and as a tech professor. He graduated from the Darden School at the University of Virginia.
Molly Hassell
Molly is a first-year Harvard MBA student with previous work experience at SpaceX and in Aerospace & Defense VC. She is also a graduate of both Dartmouth and Oxford, and is a Special Operations veteran with seven combat deployments.
Ryan Holte
Ryan is a JD/MBA candidate at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. Prior to school, Ryan worked as an Acquisitions Officer in the United States Air Force, where he focused on policy reformation and AI-enabled technology development.
Nick Maynes
Nick is an MBA/MPA candidate at UC Berkeley/Harvard, focusing on national security, entrepreneurship, and defense ventures. He previously served as a U.S. Army Officer in the 82nd Airborne.
Lachlan Price
Lachlan is a dual MPP and MBA candidate at Harvard Kennedy School and MIT Sloan. Before graduate school he supported public sector clients - primarily the Australian Defence Force - as a digital consultant with McKinsey Australia.
Jonathan "JQ" Qu
JQ is a first-year MBA candidate at MIT Sloan. Prior to school JQ worked for 5 years in the Department of Defense as an economic analyst.
Alex Santangelo
Alex served in the Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer onboard a guided destroyer where he specialized in antiterrorism and antisubmarine warfare. He is currently pursuing a joint MBA/MPP degree at the Harvard Kennedy School and HBS.
James Sorensen
James is a first-year MBA candidate at Harvard Business School. Prior to HBS, James was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey, where he focused on helping senior government leaders solve challenging problems with aerial and space platforms.