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West Virginia University West Virginia Public Education Collaborative

Focus Forward 2024: West Virginia's Digital Destiny

Thanks for all who attended this year's Focus Forward. With 575+ registrants, it was our biggest and best event yet!

March 27 | 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 
Morgantown Marriott at Waterfront Place

We explored how new technologies will continue to revolutionize every aspect of society - at work, at school and at home. We are ready to thrive in tomorrow's digital world.

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AGENDA

9-10 a.m. | Networking Breakfast

10 a.m. | Opening Remarks

10:10 a.m. | Setting the Stage: Future-Proofing a Digital, Automated West Virginia

What does it mean to become a digital West Virginia? What technologies are on the horizon that will continue to revolutionize all aspects of society and how we communicate with one another – at home, at work and at school? Let’s get West Virginia ready to lead in tomorrow’s digital world.

  • Kimberley Williams, Director of Strategic Engagement and Innovation, Amazon Web Services

10:40 a.m. | Embracing Digital Connectivity

Hear from broadband champion, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, on the challenges and realities around broadband and digital equity in West Virginia, as well as the federal funding opportunities to capitalize on now.

  • U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Member, Communications, Media, and Broadband Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

11 a.m. | Networking Break

11:15 a.m. | Leading in Digital Identity

As the world’s economy digitizes and vast amounts of sensitive data and information are captured, how do we protect our digital identity? How can West Virginia not only prepare, but lead, in this critical, emerging sector?

  • Moderator: Sarah Biller, Executive Director, Vantage Ventures
  • Panelists
    • Zach Beecher, Head of Strategic Partnerships, America's Frontier Fund
    • Brian D. Griffith, Deputy Assistant Director, Identification & Investigative Services Branch, Criminal Justice Information Services Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation
    • Josh Di Frances, Head of Incubation, LG NOVA
    • Scott Swann, CEO, Rank One Computing

12 p.m. | Lunch

12:55 p.m. AI's evolution: looking back, Looking FORWARD 

  • Gayle Manchin, Federal Co-Chair, Appalachian Regional Commission; Co-founder of Focus Forward

1 p.m. | The Future of AI: Implications for industries, workforce and education

We are already playing catch-up to future technologies and the integration of AI into our everyday lives. What will our automated, augmented reality, digitized, paperless world look like in ten, twenty and thirty years?

  • Moderator: Jen Giovannitti, President, Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
  • Panelists
    • Jennifer Keating, Teaching Professor, Department of English; Writing in the Disciplines Specialist, Writing Institute, University of Pittsburgh
    • Erika Klose, Director, Office of PK-12 Academic Support, Division of PK-Adult Instruction and Career Engagement, West Virginia Department of Education
    • Illah Nourbakhsh, Professor of Robotics, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
    • Saket Sinha, Global Vice President – Exponential Technologies, IBM

1:45 p.m. networking break



2 p.m. | CYBER FORCES: how to stay secure  at home and abroad

As the chair of the Chair of the Senate Cybersecurity Subcommittee, hear from U.S. Senator Joe Manchin on the opportunities, challenges and threats in cybersecurity and what he’s hearing on digitizing our country from a national defense perspective. 

  • U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, Chairman, Cybersecurity Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Armed Services 

2:15 p.m. | Our Biggest Threat: Cybersecurity at Work and at School

What does the future of cybersecurity and the scaling of cyber skills alongside advanced technologies, AI and machine learning look like? What are the opportunities, challenges and threats to cybersecurity in all sectors, including in our education system? How can K-12, government, higher ed and the private sector work together to combat threats and leverage opportunities?

  • Moderator: Liz Vitullo, Assistant Vice President of Economic Innovation, West Virginia University 
  • Panelists
    • Josh Brunty, Faculty and Coach of the National Cybersecurity Team, Marshall University
    • Karen Evans, Managing Director, Cyber Readiness Institute; former first Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response at the U.S. Department of Energy
    • Major General James Hoyer, Vice President for Economic Innovation, West Virginia University

3 p.m. | Fireside Chat: West Virginia innovation Catapults to the International stage

  • E. Gordon Gee, President, West Virginia University
  • Ali Rezai, MD, Executive Chair and Director, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute
  • Brad D. Smith, President, Marshall University

3:45 p.m. | Closing Remarks 

Brandon Dennison, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development, Marshall University

4 P.M. | Special reception featuring dr. ali rezai and U.s. Senator Joe Manchin

Hosted by Discover the Real West Virginia, the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute and WVU Medicine. 

ABOUT FOCUS FORWARD

Robot Pointing on a Wall 

Focus Forward brings together business, government and education leaders to explore forward thinking ideas and how they can be adapted in West Virginia to help strengthen its workforce and economy in a rapidly evolving world.

Past events focused on how future jobs will be impacted by artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, and supercomputing assets, advanced technologies and critical changes to certain industry sectors.

West Virginia’s Digital Destiny will explore how technology will continue to revolutionize all aspects of our lives – at work, at school and at home. How can we best prepare for an intrinsic digital world – and thrive in it? 

Focus Forward is hosted by the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative and Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. This annual event is free and open to the public.