Flop! Lessons on failing today to fuel your tomorrow.

John has over 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry, including technology, health plan, inpatient, and outpatient provider spaces. He helped design a care transition management solution and drove the product's implementation, go-to-market strategy and new features. John implemented a Health Information Exchange (HIE) solution in the provider space across multiple markets, contributing to opportunities for improving penetration to new and existing outpatient provider channels.

Ashley Ambrosio is an Artist and Teacher living in sunny Tucson AZ and originally hails from a small town in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. She has the creative hands + heart behind Spring + Vine, where she makes natural soap and functional pottery - goods designed for daily use and intended to bring joy to our wellness practices. For the last 3 years, she's been nurturing and growing this little vibrant small business, while offering beginner workshops and giving back to youth initiatives in our community. 

Bridgett Baldwin, with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Arizona Properties in Tucson, Arizona leads a successful team of full-time agents, bearing an uber-original name: The Tucson Agents. Bridgett started her career in real estate shortly after the birth of her son, Tosh in late 2009. She gained traction in this exciting time through listing and selling foreclosures, giving her extensive transactional experience as a brand-new agent.

Born and raised in Long Beach California, Antoine Cason was consistently told he was too small to succeed in football. Determined to persevere and succeed, he transferred high school from Long Beach Poly to Los Alamitos to play football. He earned a scholarship to the University of Arizona and had a lasting effect on the football program, with record-breaking moments, inspiring leadership, and community outreach helping change the history of Arizona sports.

My name is Dave DiCosola and I am currently co-founder and CEO of PackDash.com. PackDash is a concierge logistics service and tech platform focused on the customer's experience and access to data. We partner with digitally native consumer brands by using unique technology tools to communicate, collaborate, and move our customer’s products around the world. We essentially provide an Amazon-like shipping service for more than 100 digital selling channels. We recently moved our headquarters to Tucson and operate four fulfillment centers nationwide.

Rosalinda Freeman is currently an international business development specialist at The University of Paris Cergy. With a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics, she has conducted research into the best ways for college students to learn a language. In 2015, she founded Magnus Language Institute, LLC, a private language school in Scottsdale, AZ. As a native Spanish speaker and a teacher with more than twenty years working with Arizona’s students, Rosalinda is committed to building a real-life language learning for all levels.

Amy D. Herschell, Ph.D. is the Associate Vice President of Program Implementation and Evaluation for a Behavioral Health Managed Care Organization where she leads the development and implementation of rigorous, high-priority implementation projects and oversees outcome activities in support of program advancements (e.g., childhood wellness, evidence-based practice implementation, school-based mental health). Trained and licensed in Pennsylvania as a clinical psychologist, Dr.

Doreen integrates advanced mindset and nervous system techniques to help entrepreneurs and business leaders reach their full potential. Within her coaching program, she has helped hundreds of clients heal ancestral trauma that equips them to do the inner work needed to succeed in their personal and professional lives.

Originally from the suburbs of New York City, Dr. Amanda Kraus has lived in Tucson, AZ and worked at the University of Arizona for more than twenty years. Dr. Amanda Kraus is currently Assistant Vice President for Campus Life and the University’s Chief Accessibility Officer

Daryl Layson has a passion for cultivating and strengthening brands via creative marketing and strategic communication. He specializes in corporate communications, social media, and strategic storytelling, bringing a wide breadth and depth of experience having worked at the headquarters of a global Fortune 500 automotive manufacturing company, Dana Incorporated, world–renowned tech company, LinkedIn, and multiple notable fashion brands and retailers, such as Neiman Marcus Group.

Becky Madigan is an anesthesiologist, wife, and mom of two spirited children in Tucson, AZ. She works full-time in a community hospital setting but also races bikes as a Master’s racer in her free time. She and her husband have developed a real estate side hustle over the last 10 years comprised of about 30 rental units and growing.  

Dr. Brian Madigan is a Cardiac Surgeon with the Southern VA Health Care System.  After obtaining a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Arizona, Dr. Madigan attended medical school at The Ohio State University.  He then completed a General Surgery Residency and Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellowship at the U of A.  Dr. Madigan has been a full-time Cardiac Surgeon at the VA for the last nine years.  In addition to having an academic appointment at the U of A, Dr.

Derick Maggard joins the Franke Honors College and FORGE teams to launch an innovative new program - the Bachelors of Creative Intelligence and Innovation. His focus is engaging external partners to provide students with hands-on, real-world experiences and learn critical skills for success in the 21st-century workforce.

Dr. Joshua Nagao, DDS earned his dental degree from The Ohio State University, graduating first in his class clinically. He purchased a dental office 6 months after graduating and has since merged two other offices into his practice. In the time he has been practicing, Dr. Nagao has developed a passion for dental surgery, including implant placements, sedation dentistry, and complex reconstructions.

Journalist and entrepreneur Becky Pallack is a co-founder of Arizona Luminaria, a local civic news organization. Previously she was a co-founder of #ThisIsTucson and a reporter at the Arizona Daily Star and the Arizona Daily Sun. She’s a three-time winner of the Arizona Newspapers Association’s Freedom of Information Award and she was among the winners of the 2019 Google News Initiative’s Innovation Challenge.

Rafael F. Tapia, Jr., a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, is the Director of Tribal Community Connections at Local First Arizona. Rafael has over 20 years of economic, workforce, and community development experience. 

Allen is an expert technology strategist and serial entrepreneur. He has helped many Fortune 500 companies with their most challenging IT problems. Starting in the pre-internet days with America Online, and then rounding out his professional career with Microsoft, and WebMD. Allen possesses 20+ years of accumulated business acumen, technical knowledge, and IT leadership experience. 

Flora Tromelin is the founder and CEO of FCT Strategies, an LLC located in Phoenix, Arizona. Flora is an expert in public affairs and communication, with over 20 years of experience in management, diplomacy, marketing, communication, international protocol, and event management, and many years of experience supporting local initiatives for non-profit organizations. She received her master's in marketing and management in Reims, France. Flora is the former Chief of Protocol to the U.S. Ambassador to France and Monaco where she was one of the Ambassador's close advisors.

Nick Wayne is the founder and owner of HighWire Tucson, a prominent bar, nightlife, and community space located in downtown Tucson. HighWire is renowned for its molecular mixology and signature HighWire Pearl Shots. Nick embarked on his entrepreneurial journey in 2010, transitioning from corporate finance to house flipping. Within a span of less than 5 years, his risk-taking paid off, and HighWire became a reality. However, Nick's vision for owning a bar extends beyond cocktails.

Erica Yngve is a lifelong entrepreneur.  Growing up in Tucson, AZ, she began her first business at 11 years old by doing alterations and sewing for family and friends. She graduated from the University of Arizona with degrees in Business Management and German Studies. Her interest in manufacturing was piqued by her first job as a buyer for Simula Automotive Devices in Tempe, AZ.