Penn State presents
The Global Impact Forum
Workforce Readiness in the Age of AI and Automation
November 3-5, 2025 • Pittsburgh, PA
The Global Impact Forum (TGIF) is an annual event aimed at fostering economic development, social mobility, and positive impact through education and innovation.
Founding Partners:
TGIF 2025: Featured Speakers
Gregg Behr
- Executive Director, The Grable Foundation; Founder and Chair, Remake Learning
Jimyse Brown
- Executive Director, Moonshot Museum
Erik Widner
- Vice President of Technical Operations, Exus North America
Jason Brown
- Henry Buhl, Jr., Director, Kamin Science Center & Vice President, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
Lina Dostilio
- Vice Chancellor for External Relations, University of Pittsburgh
Larry Terry
- Vice President for Penn State Outreach
Todd Keruskin
- Chief Revenue Officer, Graduation Alliance
Gretchen Clutter
- Google Pittsburgh Site Co-Lead, Engineering Lead for Google’s Capacity Delivery group
Dr. Michael Reed
- President, Pennsylvania College of Technology
Al Motley
- Founder and CEO, TECHADEMICS
Kendra Ross
- Head of Social Impact, Duolingo
Jonathan Dambrot
- CEO, Cranium AI, Inc.
Sean Roberts
- VP, US Strategy of Code.org
Roozbeh Aliabadi
- Co-Founder, ReadyAI & World Artificial Intelligence Competition for Youth (WAICY)
Bhavini Patel
- Executive Director, Sustainable Pittsburgh
Michael Golden
- Vice Dean of Innovative Programs and Partnerships, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
Adeel Khan
- Founder and CEO, MagicSchool AI
Patrick Methvin
- Director of Education, Postsecondary Success, Gates Foundation
John Stamper
- Professor and Researcher, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
David Horton
- Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, Penn State University
Haroon Choudery
- Co-Founder and CEO, Autoblocks AI
Kostas Pelechrinis
- Associate Professor, School of Computing and Information, University of Pittsburgh
Po-Shen Loh
- Carnegie Mellon Math Professor; Social Entrepreneur and Inventor; Former USA Math Olympiad Team Coach
Angie Berzonski
- Executive Director, Community Foundation for the Alleghenies
Olga Pogoda
- Chief Operating Officer, KEF Robotics
Todd Underwood
- Head of Reliability, Anthropic
Lisa Dughi
- Chief Executive Officer, NAF
Audrey Russo
- President and CEO Pittsburgh Technology Council & Fortyx80
CJ Spates
- Head of Marketing & Data Analytics Risk and Senior Vice President, Citizens
Nayli Russo
- Founder & CEO, Russo Leadership
Megan Nagel
- Regional Chancellor, Penn State
Meg Hamel
- Vice President, Education at HolonIQ
Amy Loyd
- Chief Executive Officer, All4Ed
Nandika Madgavkar
- Chief Growth Officer, Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose
Dominic Papa
- Global Advisor on Digital Workforce Readiness, N50 Project
Jennifer Nash
- Head of Education Impact - US, LEGO Education
Wayne Walters
- Superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools
Prithwis Mukhopadhyay
- SVP, Head of Technology Innovation at Huntington National Bank
Ryan Newman
- Moderator, Dare to Disrupt Podcast
Tyler Samstag
- Executive Director at Remake Learning; Director of Instructional Innovation at Allegheny Intermediate Unit
Jennifer Lench
- Executive Director of the Center for Strategic Partnerships, PA Department of Community and Economic Development
Jose Garcia
- Future of Work(ers) Program Director, Ford Foundation
Jan Morrison
- Founder and CEO, TIES
Earl Cole
- Founder & CEO of The SMART Tire Company; Champion of Survivor: Fiji
Charlotte Dungan
- Chief Learning Officer, Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamps
Stefani Pashman
- Chief Executive Officer, Allegheny Conference on Community Development
Thomas Murray
- Director of Innovation, Future Ready Schools, All4Ed
Dr. Thomas Butler
- Executive Director, Appalachia Intermediate Unit 8
Tony Wagner
- Senior Research Fellow at the Learning Policy Institute
Lance Lindauer
- Co-founder & Executive Director, Partnership to Advance Responsible Technology (PART)
Scott Beatty
- President and CEO, SoftWriters
Esther Wojcicki
- Journalist, Educator, and "Godmother of Silicon Valley"
Molly Kinder
- Senior Fellow – Brookings Metro, Brookings Institute
David Lenze
- Faculty Director, Nittany Lion Consulting Group; Associate Teaching Professor, Management and Organization at Penn State Smeal College of Business
Mary Beth Green
- Chief Innovation Officer, Sheetz
Soundar Kumara
- Allen, E., & Allen, M., Pearce Professor of Industrial Engineering & Co-Founder of Lightscline
Charles Camarda
- American Engineeer, NASA Astronaut, Author
Ed Gainey
- Mayor, City of Pittsburgh
Roberto Clemente, Jr.
- CEO RCJ Global Impact
Jerome Bettis
- Pro Football Hall of Famer, Entrepreneur, and Philanthropist
Glenn Finch
- Managing Partner for the Financial Services Sector of IBM Consulting
Zac Taormina
- Regional Operations Director - Clean Air North America, Johnson Matthey
William Shaw
- Executive Vice President, American Student Assistance (ASA)
Justin Aglio
- Associate Vice President, Penn State Outreach; Executive Director, Readiness Institute at Penn State
Dr. Carrie Rowe
- Acting Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Education
Dr. Jordan Mroziak
- Chief Academic Officer and Senior AI Learner Designer, Ready AI / AI Literacy and Ethics Learner Designer, Stanford University
Slava Rubin
- Managing Partner, humbition
John Thornton
- CEO, Astrobotic
Mark Cuban
- Entrepreneur and Investor; Founder, Cost Plus Drugs and Mark Cuban Foundation
Dr. Bradley Webb
- Dean of Engineering Technologies, Pennsylvania College of Technology
Andrea Tapia
- Dean of the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State
Khalid Mumin
- Superintendent of Reading School District (PA) and Former PA Secretary of Education
Neeli Bendapudi
- President, Penn State
Who is TGIF for?
If you’re navigating or shaping the future of work and learning, you belong at TGIF.
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Educators and professors redesigning learning for the AI era
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Employers and workforce leaders building future-ready teams
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Students and young leaders exploring what’s next
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Innovators, technologists, and EdTech startups shaping tools for tomorrow
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Community orgs, policymakers, and funders working toward equity and access
