7TH ANNUAL AMERICAN INNOVATION CONFERENCE
PANELISTS & MODERATORS
Oakley Roberts
Vice President of Innovation and Product Management, Trane Technologies
Oakley Roberts is the vice president of innovation and product management for Trane Technologies plc, a global climate innovator focused on sustainable solutions for buildings, homes, and transportation. In this role, Oakley leads the company’s innovation and product management operating system. He also oversees Trane’s external innovation and technology partner ecosystem, which includes early-stage companies, incubators, universities, and strategic partners. His efforts have significantly expanded the company’s global network of partners in climate technology, driving growth through innovative new technologies that push the boundaries of what is possible for a sustainable world.
Oakley has worked at Trane Technologies for 22 years and has held various executive leadership positions in business unit management, sales, product management, and engineering. Throughout his career, he has been a customer-centric innovator and has successfully led businesses to achieve their growth aspirations by commercializing new products and services. He has multiple patents and inventions, holds an M.B.A. from Indiana University, and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Wright State University.
Leigh Anne Statuto
Executive Director of the Responsible Business Center
Leigh Anne Statuto is the executive director of the Fordham University Gabelli School of Business, Responsible Business Center. After earning a B.A. in Urban Studies and Sustainable Business from Fordham University, she started her career in the nonprofit sector aiding in homelessness prevention in New York City. Recognizing the severe urgency of the climate crisis and seeking to dedicate her career toward accelerating solutions, she earned an M.B.A. in Sustainability from Bard College, where she focused on impact investing and regenerative food systems. She has supported and led numerous sustainability projects including executive director searches for philanthropic foundations, exploration into the role of financial institutions for Electric Vehicle supply chains, and most notably, collaborated in the launch of carbon-labeled menus for Just Salad. In her role at the Responsible Business Center, she engages with corporate partners, supports sustainability linked initiatives, and guides thought leadership and strategic development for the organization.
Gina Woodall
VP of Client Services and Group Director, Illuminas
gina.woodall@us.illuminas.com
As the VP of client services and group director at Illuminas, Gina Woodall is a driving force behind Illuminas’ prominence in custom market research and consulting for services, technology, and non-profit sectors. Currently overseeing the American Innovation Index™, the inaugural study ranking U.S. company innovation based on customer perceptions, Woodall is committed to crafting research solutions that address dynamic business landscapes.
Her strategic guidance and research development skills are highly sought after by organizations, ensuring actionable project outcomes. Woodall, a prolific author and presenter, shares insights at renowned forums such as the American Marketing Association, Consumer Electronics Show, Insights Association, and the Frontiers in Services Conference. Serving as an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University, she holds an M.B.A. and undergraduate degrees in decision sciences and marketing.
Jay Shutter
Principal and CEO, Illuminas
jay.shutter@us.illuminas.com
As principal and CEO of Illuminas, Jay Shutter has more than 30 years of experience developing new research products and services that address the evolving technology industry. He is a recognized thought leader in research in the technology industry, and he has a long history of analyzing the impact of technology on businesses, consumers, and the economy.
Shutter is a seasoned qualitative researcher specializing in moderating focus groups and conducting in-depth interviews with IT leaders worldwide. With his hands-on experience and expertise, he empowers clients to transform research findings into impactful business, branding, and communication strategies.
Jeremy Neil
Vehicle Product Training Specialist, Toyota Motor North America
Jeremy Neil is vehicle product training specialist with Toyota Motor North America with over 28 years of automotive experience. During his tenure at Toyota, he also has held positions as a district service manager and field technical specialist. His journey in the automotive industry reflects both his lifelong passion for cars and his unwavering commitment to excellence.
In his current role, Neil leverages his deep understanding of both technology and sales to develop and deliver comprehensive training programs. His workshops and seminars focus on equipping dealership sales teams with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in a competitive market.
Neil embarked on his career after earning a Bachelor of Science in Automotive Technology at Pittsburg State University.
Evan DeKaser
Google Cloud Data & Analytics Sales Specialist for Enterprise Customers, Southern California
Evan DeKaser has a strong background in data, analytics, and artificial intelligence with a focus on cloud enterprise solutions. He’s held key roles at major tech companies such as Google and Salesforce, demonstrating expertise in SaaS applications, data management, and now AI/ML. Evan’s experience spans various aspects of the data lifecycle, from data capture, transformation, analytics and business intelligence. He also is an active member of professional organizations, such as Pavilion (f.k.a. Revenue Collective), and has a proven track record of success in business development, with multiple years of top performance and awards.
Katherine K. Hunter
Executive Director, Impact Finance & Advisory, Head of Venture Investing & Advisory
Katherine K. Hunter is an executive director on the Impact Finance & Advisory team within JPMorgan Chase’s Corporate Responsibility (“CR”) division and heads the Venture Investing and Advisory teams.
Prior to re-joining JPMorgan in 2020, Hunter served as an investment management advisor at Goldman Sachs. Prior to her work in investment management, she was a natural resources investment banker at Goldman Sachs and a public finance investment banker at JPMorgan Chase. She also served as a middle school math teacher and an assistant principal through Teach for America.
Hunter earned a B.S. in Commerce and B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. She currently resides in the greater Washington, DC region.
Clarissa Moses-Washington
Manager of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, JetBlue Airways Corporation
Clarissa Moses-Washington is the manager of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at JetBlue Airways Corporation and has led JetBlue in the effort to reimagine their DE&I strategy. She has developed opportunities to increase representation, created space for difficult conversations, and worked to help close equity gaps for their Crewmembers, their customers, and the communities they serve. Moses-Washington is dedicated to sparking positive change and has been instrumental in guiding JetBlue on their journey to embed DE&I into all of the ways they do business.
Previously, she worked for New York Life Insurance as the senior associate of Diversity & Inclusion, leading company-wide initiatives that helped drive awareness about inclusion and reinforce the importance of cultivating an environment where everyone has a sense of belonging.
She also is an urban leaguer. She served as the senior manager for diversity recruitment & events at the National Urban League for over four years and continues to create partnership opportunities between JetBlue and the New York Urban League Young Professionals. Moses-Washington has an accomplished educational background that includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations, a Master’s Degree in Branding & Integrated Communications Management, and several professional certificates. She also is a successful entrepreneur, and is the co-founder of 3C’s Productions, an entertainment and production company, working with clients such as Rap Snacks, JPMorgan Chase, Snapchat, and Shutterstock. In addition, she is the co-creator of “Do Yah Dance,” a charades-style dancing card game that celebrates Black culture. In her free time, she enjoys being a new mom, spending time with her husband, hanging out with her family, watching movies, and as a JetBlue Crewmember, she of course loves to travel.
Mary Strain
Generative AI and Machine Learning, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Mary Strain leads strategy for artificial intelligence and machine learning for US education at AWS. She began her career as a middle school teacher in the Bronx, NY. Since that time, she has held leadership roles in education and technology organizations. Strain has advised K12, higher education, technology companies, as well as state and local government, on innovative policies and practices leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to advance equity and access for customers, learners, and constituents. As an advisor to The Education Design Studio at The University of Pennsylvania, The Coalition of Schools Educating Boys of Color, and The State of NJ AI Task Force, she has been on the leading edge of bringing innovative solutions to the public and private sector for two decades. Strain holds a B.A. from Fordham University and an M.P.A. from The City University of New York.
Tim Keiningham, PhD
Strategic Consultant, Illuminas
As a strategic consultant at Illuminas, Tim Keiningham advises senior executives across industries on customer experience innovation, customer strategy development, and customer loyalty improvement. In his role, he also is responsible for advancing the company’s thought leadership through publications, keynote speaking engagements, and leading-edge product development. With a wealth of experience, Keiningham spent 17 years at Ipsos, where he held senior officer positions, culminating in seven years as the global chief strategy officer at Ipsos Loyalty. A New York Times bestselling author of “The Wallet Allocation Rule: Winning the Battle for Share” and eight other books on customer experience, loyalty, and satisfaction, he has contributed prolifically to leading management and academic journals. His groundbreaking research has earned him more than a dozen prestigious scientific awards, including recognition from the INFORMS Society for Marketing Science and the Marketing Science Institute. Keiningham holds a B.A. from Kentucky Wesleyan College, an M.B..A from Vanderbilt University, and a Ph.D. from Staffordshire University.
Laura Podesta
Communications Professional, Media Relations Specialist, Former Journalist
Laura Podesta is a dynamic live event moderator and media relations expert with a deep background in public speaking and storytelling. As a former national television correspondent, she has a talent for engaging audiences, facilitating meaningful discussions, and bringing out thought-provoking insights from panelists. Her experience spans organizing panels for industry conferences, such as SXSW, to coaching high-profile individuals—including celebrities, politicians, and executives—in public speaking.
During her time as a correspondent with CBS News until 2022, Podesta reported live on major national events, appearing on CBS Morning News, CBS News Streaming, and over 200 CBS affiliates across the country. She also contributed to the BBC, providing international audiences with key updates on breaking U.S. news. Prior to CBS News she delivered reports as a morning reporter at Chicago’s #1 station, ABC 7 Chicago.
A Carnegie Mellon University graduate and accomplished singer-songwriter, Laura lives in New York City with her husband, two sons, and their dog, Mowgli.
Kathleen Myers
AVP, Member Research Strategy/Member Strategy Organization, Navy Federal Credit Union
Kathleen Myers joined Navy Federal Credit Union in 2017 to lead member research in the newly created marketing organization, bringing experience in business planning, strategic consulting, and data analytics. She leads a team of insatiably curious research strategists, dedicated to gathering and sharing member feedback to impact critical enterprise decisions.
She and the team work hard to contextualize Navy Federal Credit Union’s members’ experiences by incorporating market and consumer insight, to build a more complete perspective and provide meaningful recommendations for our stakeholders. Myers’ track record of designing and executing marketing research and analysis programs supporting brand and product development includes tenures with Compaq / Hewlett Packard and CapitalOne.
A native of Massachusetts, she completed a B.A. at Tufts University. Kathleen holds an M.B.A. and an M.A. in Latin American Studies, both from the University of Texas at Austin. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and two young adults, one in his senior year as a second-generation Longhorn and one just starting his college adventures at Penn State. In her spare time, Kathleen loves reading, long walks that clear the mind, good music, and time with family and furry creatures.
Patsy Sciutto Doerr
Patsy Sciutto Doerr is an award-winning thought leader, speaker, coach and facilitator. Focusing on social and community impact, she has expertise in talent development, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, corporate responsibility and ESG/sustainability. Her greatest passion is helping organizations build and develop initiatives that best position them for long-term success in a diverse, global environment. Her commitment to change and cultural impact has allowed her work to be featured in several publications including Forbes and The Hill, and at conferences hosted by The Muse, Milken Institute, and Sustainable Brands.
Sciutto Doerr’s impact and success are rooted in more than 25 years of experience building and leading functions for organizations in the financial services, data, media, and non-profit arenas. Before starting Change for Social Good LLC as an independent consultant, she was the chief ESG and people officer at UDR, a leading multifamily real estate investment trust. Prior to her position at UDR, she served as CEO of The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc., and as global head of diversity and inclusion at Credit Suisse, respectively.
Before assuming this position, she was responsible for building and leading Thomson Reuters’ Diversity and Inclusion, corporate responsibility and ESG/sustainability functions. In this capacity, she successfully launched the ESG Institute, a cutting-edge resource and support center tasked with building awareness and understanding around social impact issues and metrics. She also is a brand ambassador, frequently speaking on talent management and social impact, as well as an adjunct professor of DEI at Fordham University.
Additionally, Sciutto Doerr has served on several boards and committees that align with both her business and personal passions (inclusion and education), including Marymount School of New York, Women’s World Banking, the Jackie Robinson Foundation, All in Together, Multiplying Good, and the Queens Museum.
Mardi Ditze
Country Sustainability Manager, IKEA
Mardi Ditze is a dynamic and innovative professional known for her expertise in sustainability. With over 15 years of experience, she has made significant contributions through her work. Passionate about community and sustainability, she is dedicated to creating impactful solutions that drive positive change. Ditze has worked on teams to secure power purchase agreements, create Trauma Informed interior design solutions, craft educational materials for employees, further the circular economy, and many other initiatives.
Outside of her professional life, Ditze enjoys hiking, biking, and reading, often finding inspiration in the world around her. As a lifelong learner, she is always seeking new challenges and opportunities to grow both personally and professionally.
Zoya Mirza
Editor, ESG Dive
Zoya Mirza is an editor at ESG Dive, an Industry Dive publication covering everything from climate disclosure regulations and green tech to corporate DEI efforts. Prior to her foray into business journalism, she covered Congress and the White House during her time as a political reporter in Washington, D.C. Her work has appeared in USA Today, Voice of America, Yahoo Finance, and United Press International, among others.
