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Special Announcement: Three more speakers added to the 2023 SOAR Summit!

Posted on 2 years ago

We have another special announcement to make as we share that three additional speakers will be joining the 2023 SOAR Summit.

This group of speakers has helped transform and nudge Appalachia toward a more tech-savvy and futuristic path for our folks living here in the mountains.

Whether it’s developing small satellite wi-fi technology to help provide internet to remote work jobs in Appalachia to a different way of obtaining and creating energy in the mountains. 

Each of these speakers has something of value to share, teach, and influence in the direction of where Appalachia could end up in the future.

Meet the Speakers

Featured Speaker: Robert Schena

In 2001, Robert Schena co-founded Rajant Corporation, the pioneer of Kinetic Mesh® Networks. Mr. Schena has successfully grown this once-small startup in Wayne, Pennsylvania to have a strong international presence in a broad array of markets including military, industrial, transportation, utilities, and telecommunications.

Today, Rajant is doing business in over 75 countries with large global partners and has offices across the U.S., including offices in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Alabama, and in Eastern Kentucky’s very own backyard, Morehead, Kentucky.

TenTalk Speakers: Sandy Slayton & Steve Lee

Sandy Slayton

Sandy Slayton is a Vice President at Rye Development and Rye’s Project Manager for the Lewis Ridge Project, a closed loop Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Project planned in Bell County. Sandy has been working in the areas of environmental permitting, compliance, and hydropower for over 20 years, on projects including installing hydropower retrofits on existing dams, relicensing existing hydropower, and development of new closed loop pumped storage. She has a BA in Environmental Science from University of Virginia and an MA in Ecology from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Steve Lee

Steve Lee is the Chief Executive Officer at SkillUp Coalition, a non-profit technology platform whose mission is to ensure that every worker has high opportunity employment. Prior to joining SkillUp, Steven was the Managing Director, Income Security at the Robin Hood Foundation, where he oversaw $40 million in grants. Prior to joining Robin Hood, Steven was an Associate Partner at Bain and Company, providing strategic advice to financial services, technology, consumer goods, media and non-profit clients. Prior to Bain, Steven founded ThreeToEight, an educational software company.  Prior to founding ThreeToEight, Steven was a corporate lawyer at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, an international law firm.  Steven holds a B.A. and J.D. from Duke University, and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.

You still have time to register

There is still time to register for the Summit. Registration is $75, but if you use the promo code BLOG you can save $20 on your registration. That brings the price to just $55. It’s all-inclusive and includes:

  • Two full days of programming.
  • Breakfast, lunch, and snacks on both days.
  • The SOAR Summit Reception, presented by Whitaker Bank.
  • More than 100 booths in the SOAR Summit Exhibit Hall, presented by WellCare

If you are a high school or college student, use promo code STUDENT to get free admission to the SOAR Summit, all thanks to the Forcht Bank.

Register now!

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