JULY 14 – TECH & EDUCATION
Valerie Lundy-Wagner
Valerie Lundy-Wagner is associate director of the Public Policy Institute of California Higher Education Center and a research fellow at PPIC. Before joining PPIC, she oversaw the California Community College system’s research team as well as its IT operations and education technology portfolio. Previously, she led applied policy research at New York University, the Community College Research Center, Jobs for the Future, and California Competes. She holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Arts in Education from Stanford University, and a Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental engineering from the University of California Los Angeles.
Thomas Schnaubelt
Thomas Schnaubelt is the assistant director of the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions at the Hoover Institution. Prior to this role, he held various leadership positions at Stanford University, including executive director of the Haas Center for Public Service and associate vice provost for education, where he launched Cardinal Service and other national initiatives focused on civic engagement. With a career spanning over two decades in higher education, Tom specializes in democratic engagement, experiential learning, and university-community partnerships. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Mississippi.
Dan Lee
Dan Lee is the head of product at Lirvana Labs, an edtech startup focused on innovative learning solutions. He previously served as co-founder and head of product at Gedit, another education technology venture. Prior to that, he was a product manager at Edmentum, where he led development for a personalized learning platform with multi-million dollar annual revenue. Dan holds a master’s degree in technology, innovation, and education from Harvard Graduate School of Education.
JULY 15 – TECH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Sarina Patel
Sarina Patel is the program manager of policy and engagement at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford. Sarina is an earth scientist with experience in policy, research, education, public speaking, and conservation. She brings her backgrounds together by fostering relationships between Stanford scientists and policymakers to help advance California's climate, sustainability, and environmental goals. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and Geology from Middlebury College and a Ph.D. in Seismology from the University of California Berkeley. At Stanford, Sarina manages the Rising Environmental Leaders Program, helps to organize Uncommon Dialogues and other events that convene experts to tackle policy problems, and co-publishes a biweekly environmental policy newsletter.
Diana Gragg
Diana Gragg is the managing director of the Explore Energy program at Stanford University’s Precourt Institute for Energy, where she helps students navigate courses, internships, and opportunities related to energy across the university. She also teaches in the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department. Diana holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of California Berkeley and a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford. Her background includes work in sustainable transportation, energy efficiency, and environmental advocacy, and she previously worked as a production engineer at Dow Chemical.
JULY 16 – TECH & THE ECONOMY
Tiffany Teng
Tiffany Teng is the BRB product marketing and GTM executive at You.com. She is a seasoned product and go-to-market executive with 20 years of experience scaling startups in the United States and internationally. She co-founded Bloomspot.com (acquired by JPMorganChase), led major initiatives at Chase including the redesign of Chase.com and the launch of ChasePay, and later served as chief of staff and VP at OakNorth, a $2.8B fintech unicorn. Tiffany currently leads GTM strategy at You.com and teaches for Stanford’s Continuing Studies Program. She holds degrees from Stanford in management, psychology, and cognitive neuroscience, and serves as board chair of SaverLife, a national nonprofit focused on financial security.
Christie Ko
Christie Ko is the executive director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab (S-DEL). Prior to joining S-DEL, she was the associate director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy. She was previously head of member services for the MIT Energy Initiative, where she worked closely with corporations, foundations, and individuals supporting research, symposia, events, and educational programs. Christie sits on the advisory boards for the Centre for Work-Based Learning (University of Strathclyde) and the Centre for Relationship Marketing and Service Management (Hanken School of Economics). Christie received a Bachelor of Arts in Literature from Boston University and a Master of Science in Writing and Cultural Politics from the University of Edinburgh.
Simeon Bochev
Simeon Bochev is the co-founder and CEO of Compute Exchange. He is a proven leader that sits at the intersection of business, technology, and policy with a passion for building teams and ventures, rapidly scaling organizations, and pushing frontier technologies within the AI/ML and data science space. Over the span of his career, he has worked in big tech and startups, on critical policy topics, and with NPOs on advancing the rights of underprivileged groups. He is currently the head of operations for the Search & Knowledge Platform within the AI/ML team at Apple and a known international speaker on business and technology, particularly how AI is rapidly changing our world. He graduated with his Master of Business Administration (with Distinction) from Harvard Business School and with both his Master of Science in Finance and Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering (with High Honors) from the University of Texas Austin.
Erin McKinney
Erin McKinney is principal policy counsel for Amazon Web Services (AWS) State, Local, and Education Public Policy. Erin is currently focused on AI regulatory efforts and other technology policy matters, regularly interacting with internal and external stakeholders and policymakers. Before pivoting to focusing on tech policy, Erin previously worked on the AWS Tax team, as the state and local tax legal advisor at IBM, and as a senior associate at Grant McCarthy Group LLC. She holds a Juris Doctor from Pace University and a Bachelor of Arts in Gender Studies and Communication from Loyola University Chicago.
JULY 17 – TECH & DEMOCRACY
Eric McGhee
Eric McGhee is a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, and policy director for the Understanding California’s Future research initiative tasked with exploring key trends and challenges facing the state. His research on elections and electoral reform has appeared in numerous academic journals, and his work has been profiled on National Public Radio and in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Economist. Before joining PPIC, he was assistant professor of political science at the University of Oregon and served as a congressional fellow through the American Political Science Association. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California Berkeley.
Tracy Alejandra Navichoque
Tracy Alejandra Navichoque is the program manager for AI and Society at the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence at Stanford.
Zabrae Valentine
Zabrae Valentine is principal at Public Good Group. She has 25 years of experience engaging policymakers and the public to strengthen democratic institutions. She has worked in the California State Legislature, the U.S. Senate, and internationally with the National Democratic Institute. In California, she helped lead key bipartisan efforts such as redistricting reform through the Voters First Act and the launch of CA Forward. She now advises individuals, organizations, and initiatives on cross-partisan collaboration, civic engagement, and effective policy development. Zabrae holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts from Grinnell College.
