A UC San Diego alumni and second generation Latina, Alexa-Rae Navarro is the Executive Director of Startup San Diego, the official non-profit supporting the San Diego startup ecosystem. Prior to running Startup San Diego, she spent the last eight years in Los Angeles working at the intersection of tech, corporate,…
Few can claim to be as hard-working and successful in two vastly different industries at the same time as Javid Javdani. After moving to the US in 1982 in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, Javdani worked relentlessly as a young man out of high school to make ends meet…
Patrick Frank is the Co-Founder and COO of PatientPartner. This health technology platform enhances the patient experience for surgical candidates by pairing them with a “surgery mentor” who has been through the same procedure. Recently named Forbes “30 Under 30” in consumer technology, Patrick has spent his entire career scaling…
Dr. April Moreno is an entrepreneur and nonprofit founder with a PhD in public health and informatics. She works as a business consultant in strategic planning, implementation and health IT patient/user experience. She the founder and CEO of the Autoimmune Community Institute, dedicated to autoimmune health equity in research, advocacy,…
Raised as a foster child, Maya experienced a difficult childhood. To help her stay positive, Maya looked for beacons of light in her life. She found herself praying for guidance and relying on the kindness of strangers to help her stay focused on her goals. As she grew older and…
Madison is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wildcast, a patent-pending podcast and guest networking platform that soft-launched in September 2020 as a streamlined way for those in the podcast industry to connect and collaborate. Prior to Co-Founding Wildcast, Madison led production at a podcast network, primarily producing top-charting pop culture…
“The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do” (Steve Jobs) That’s how Diana Aquino defines herself. Passionate about life and challenges, including the one on making a difference around the world. Diana is the Co-founder of the brand DiAnno, in…
Ralph Giannella is a real estate developer and entrepreneur. He has a diverse entrepreneurial background including, real estate development, energy technology, banking and wine & spirits. Born the son of Italian immigrants, Ralph started his work and entrepreneurial life at the early age of 12 years old. He worked after…
Whitney is an intuitive healer, spiritual mentor and founder of Sojourn Healing Collective, a sacred healing space created for people to come as they are, align with their purpose and feel supported as they grow to their greatest potential. In her 20’s, her curiosity around healing and thirst to know…
Michael Levitt is the founder & Chief Burnout Officer of The Breakfast Leadership Network, a San Diego and Toronto-based burnout media firm. He is an in-person and Certified Virtual Speaker, a Certified NLP and CBT Therapist, a Fortune 500 consultant, #1 bestselling author, and hosts the Breakfast Leadership Show, a…