April 1, 2026 | Morgantown Marriott
What happens when technology not only works alongside us, but actively shapes us? Minds and Machines takes a hard look at how emerging technology will continue to redefine the economy, work, education, policy, and even how we develop as humans!
Relive the conference! View some of our favorite moments from Focus Forward: Minds and Machines.
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Huntington Analytics in partnership with Advantage Valley
$10,000 in AWS Promotional Credits and $5,000 in Benedum Foundation grant funding
Small business owners in West Virginia often struggle to keep up with the administrative responsibilities that come with owning and operating a business. In an initiative described as “Minds and Machines applied to Main Street,” Huntington Analytics and Advantage Valley have partnered to deploy a Claude-powered AI executive assistant to 5–8 small businesses in Advantage Valley’s nine-county Charleston–Huntington metro region of Boone, Cabell, Clay, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Mason, Putnam and Wayne counties.
The AI-powered assistant will help streamline operations by supporting email management, calendar coordination, note-taking, invoice drafts, outcome reporting and more. Businesses across industries and in varying stages of growth will be considered for the pilot cohort.
Neurowired in partnership with the WVU School of Medicine
$5,000 in AWS Promotional Credits and $5,000 in Benedum Foundation grant funding
Rural communities in West Virginia face disproportionately high rates of cardiovascular disease and chronic disability, compounded by limited access to continuous monitoring and specialty care. Neurowired and the WVU School of Medicine have partnered to create a cloud-enabled platform that integrates multimodal health data to deliver quality care and close monitoring to patients, no matter where they live in the Mountain State.
Building on the discussion of the last two Focus Forward conferences, which centered on health and longevity and artificial intelligence, the project aims to break down barriers to access often caused by geographic isolation, lack of transportation and healthcare workforce shortages by enabling continuous, home-based monitoring of cardiovascular and functional health and supporting early detection, personalized care and improved quality of life in underserved rural communities.
STEMpact WV Corporation in partnership with Design-Build-Live
$10,000 in Benedum Foundation grant funding
The STEMpact WV Corporation and Design-Build-Live have partnered to establish R.A.I.S.E. Appalachia (Rural AI Skills and Engagement) to help rural students and community members build AI fluency, confidence and future-ready skills while strengthening support for STEM education and workforce development.
R.A.I.S.E. Appalachia will respond to discussions from Focus Forward: Minds and Machines, specifically those that emphasized how communities must be equipped to understand, evaluate and utilize emerging technologies, by expanding access to meaningful AI learning experiences in the Potomac Highlands. The program will help ensure that rural West Virginians are prepared to participate in—and help shape—the state's technology-driven future through workshops, workforce partnerships and community outreach and awareness.
Center for Business and Economics Research at Marshall University
$10,000 in AWS Promotional Credits
The Center for Business and Economics Research at Marshall University (CBER) will bring economic “Nowcasting,” the practice of estimating the current state of the economy in real time, to West Virginia through a state-of-the-art economic Nowcast that estimates current economic conditions before official data is released.
Nowcast estimates update all hours of the day, year-round. Pre-released state-level indicators on employment, earnings and price levels are combined with public and high-frequency indicators from sources such as the Federal Reserve, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Census Bureau, Google Trends and Indeed to estimate market conditions in West Virginia.
Motivated by Focus Forward: Minds and Machines’ emphasis on AI’s ability to provide valuable data to leaders, the project will allow West Virginia policymakers, state agencies, economic development organizations, workforce partners, businesses, academic researchers and community leaders to access timely economic information as needed.
Minds and Machines
Mike Sexton, Senior Policy Advisor for AI and Digital Technology, Third Way
AI's impact on the modern workforce is no longer theoretical. It's transforming jobs, reshaping skills requirements, and redefining how work gets done. But the pace of change can make it difficult for employers, educators, and policymakers to separate hype from reality and respond with confidence.
We will unpack and address the most urgent challenges and most promising opportunities across three cornerstone sectors that are vital to our region, healthcare, manufacturing, and energy. From skills and credentialing to adoption barriers and new career pathways, we will connect the mind (people, learning, leadership) with the machine (tools, data, automation) and discuss how employers build a workforce that is AI-ready.
Moderators:
Liz Vitullo Assistant Vice President of Economic Innovation, West Virginia University
Brandon Dennison, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development, Marshall University
Panelists:
Erienne Olesh, CEO, Resilient Energy Technology Infrastructure Consortium
Kevin Fields, Sr. Engineering Manager, Toyota North America
Ansaar Rai, MD, Professor and Chair, Department of Neuroradiology, West Virginia
University
Craig Molina, Chief Technology Officer, Trilogy Innovations
Explore the current use of AI in the classroom and how technologies elevate
teaching and learning. How should we be looking at the future of education?
What does America’s education system need to do to evolve, and how quickly?
Moderator:
David Wiley, Associate Professor and Academic Affairs Fellow for AI in Education, Marshall University
Panelists:
Makenzi Cutright, Data Driven Student, John Chambers College of Business and Economics, West Virginia University
Amy Cyphert, Associate Professor, College of Law, West Virginia University
Lisa Guernsey, Senior Director, Birth to 12th Grade Policy; Co-Founder and Director, Learning Sciences Exchange for New America
Michele Blatt, West Virginia State Superintendent of Schools
Discover how groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind clinical trials are leveraging globally unique neurotechnology right here in the heart of West Virginia to forge a new hope for human health and quality of life.
Moderator:
Clay Marsh, Chancellor and Executive Dean, West Virginia University Health Sciences
Speakers:
Peter Konrad, Chair of Neurosurgery, WVU Health Sciences; Professor and Executive Director of Integrative Neuroscience & Clinical Innovation
Jayme Strauss, Chief Clinical Officer, Precision Neuroscience
What does human-robot collaboration look like and where is it going? Gain insights from internationally recognized professor of robotics Illah Nourbakhsh, who has spent his career informing the global dialogue around AI ethics, ethical robot design, societal impacts and inclusive AI deployment.
Moderator:
Jen Giovannitti, President, Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
Speaker:
Illah Nourbakhsh, Professor, Robotics Institute; Inaugural Director,
CREATE Lab, Carnegie Mellon University
Artificial intelligence can do more than just produce answers. When used well, AI can help leaders see the bigger picture, understand complex challenges, and make better decisions.
Most people think of technology like a calculator. You ask a question and expect an exact answer. AI can certainly do that. But its real value often comes from something different, helping leaders connect information, see patterns, and explore options.
Moderator:
Katie Farmer, Executive Director of Strategic Priorities, Strategic Communications and Marketing, West Virginia University
Speaker:
Josh Spence, CTO and Co-Founder, Stitch AI; Advisor, Rural Health Transformation
Program (RHTP); Former State CIO, West Virginia; Cybersecurity and AI Strategist;
Cyber Ops, West Virginia Air National Guard
Rapidly evolving technology is creating incredibly powerful new tools for our work, home, and government. How should businesses, regulators, and individuals keep up with the speed of technology and make sense of the risks, rewards, and implications? From C suites to parenting, what do we need to know?
Moderator:
Rochelle Goodwin, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Communications, Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
Panelists:
Justin Antonipillai, Founder and CEO, Stewardshipped.ai; Former Under Secretary,
U.S. Department of Commerce
Hoda Heidari, K&L Gates Career Development; Assistant Professor in Ethics
and Computational Technologies, Carnegie Mellon University
Heather Abbott, CIO, State of West Virginia
Sal Khan has helped shape how millions of students learn worldwide. Now, he’s
sharing his outlook on what the future of AI in education looks like, plus
how we can upskill and retrain a workforce that is both adaptable and resilient.
Dive into the innovation driving changes to the way we think, learn, and
work in this ever-evolving technological era.
Panelists:
Sal Khan, Founder and CEO, Khan Academy
Michael T. Benson, President, West Virginia University
Brad D. Smith, President, Marshall University
An eight-year Focus Forward tradition continues as the presidents of West Virginia’s two largest universities take the stage together. This year, they will respond to questions submitted by students from colleges and universities across the state, addressing what’s next for higher education and how institutions are preparing for a future shaped by technology and artificial intelligence.
Moderator:
Ethan Hall, Management Information Systems Student, WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics
Connor Waller, Political Science Student; Marshall University Student Body President
Speakers:
Michael T. Benson, President, West Virginia University
Brad D. Smith, President, Marshall University
Book your stay for Minds and Machines! Group rates are now available at the Morgantown Marriott.
Make a ReservationFocus Forward’s annual event is uniquely designed to link education, health and economic development in the examination of an important emerging issue that will shape our future. National and statewide leaders address hundreds of public officials, educators, business leaders, community members, philanthropists and non-profit heads who come together to discuss why key issues matter to us all. Past topics have tackled AI and digital opportunities to changes in industry sectors such as energy.
Focus Forward is led by the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative (representing P-13 and higher education interests across the state), the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and Marshall University.
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