Ashley Crowder is the co-Founder and CEO of VNTANA, a SaaS platform that makes 3D asset management and distribution incredibly easy via the industry’s only fully automated 3D optimization and content management platform. She has worked in the 3D/AR/VR space for over 10 years helping Fortune 1000 brands including Adidas, Hugo Boss, Decker’s Brands and more launch 3D applications to increase sales and speed up time to market. She has 14 patents on mixed reality technology and is a part of the Khronos Group to create standards in 3D technology. Ashley was featured as one of USC’s leading engineering CEOs of 2016 and has given talks on the future of mixed reality at prestigious venues including SXSW, Augmented World Expo, TEDx, World Economic Forum and more. Prior to co-founding VNTANA she graduated from USC with a bachelors and masters in engineering and gained valuable engineering experience at BP and Northrop Grumman. She leverages her engineering background to guide VNTANA’s overall direction and technology development to shape the future of e-commerce by making it easy to create a 3D version of every product in the world.

Cynthia Maller is Head of 3D Creative Technology at Walmart, and three of its digitally-native brands: Hayneedle, Art.com and Allswell. She is also a Certified Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Practitioner. Her focus is strengthening and scaling the three pillars of 3D in retail: inspiring aesthetics, visual integrity and operational excellence. She believes that every one of us has the talent and capability to add value to immersive commerce, and to be a builder, a citizen and a purveyor in the Metaverse. This drives her commitment to peer education, advocacy and invention. When she’s not at work, she’s on the ice, feeding her passion for figure skating. Her drive to try new things, to push herself, both in commerce technology and on the ice, is guided by the words of Erin Hanson, “What if I fall? Oh, but my darling, What if you fly?

Emilie is the CEO and Co-Founder of Zoe Immersive. Based in Los Angeles and Geneva, Switzerland, she oversees business strategy for the company, and was pivotal to establishing Zoe partnerships with Unity, Meta, Qualcomm, Epic Games, and others. Emilie is a Swiss designer & technologist at heart, specializing in human-computer interactions. Emilie’s ultimate goal is to empower the next generations to become creators in the metaverse.

Heather Haseley is the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of the Arizona State University Learning Futures and Lead Design Architect of Next Generation Learning.

At Learning Futures, we imagine and build the future of learning for all learners. Our goal is to create the conditions to foster creativity and collaboration to enhance learning. Faculty, students, and staff experience deeper empathy for all our learners by taking part in bold exploration and experimentation within a human-centered learning environment. Through our Collaboratory, Studios, and Emporium, we play, fail, learn and iterate through authentic collaboration. Our Learning Futures Collaboratory brings individuals, research, and communities together to imagine the future of learning and set a bold collective vision. Our Learning Futures Studios allow us to prototype and create POCs and MVPs for testing that inform the platforms, architectures, and infrastructure needed to scale our vision. Our studios are not full of professionals, rather groups of students who get paid to upskill in addition to working on meaningful projects for the institution and clients. Our platforms and products are made by students for students. Our Learning Futures Emporium allows everyone to access our tools, experience the future, and be inspired to co-create the future. Participants feel the excitement of positive growth and societal impact by contributing to the future of learning.

Before joining ASU, Heather served in leadership roles at the University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and Columbia University fostering innovation in learning through the creation of new centers, programs, communities of practice, and learning experiences. She has presented at national and international conferences and events around the world on learning innovation, giving feedback, learning design, and program development.

Heather Elizabeth Dodds, Ph.D. is a compassionate and enthusiastic research design advocate. She has current UX certifications and holds a Master’s Degree in e-Education from the University of Phoenix and a Doctorate in Instructional Design for Online Learning from Capella University. Heather’s 2013 dissertation is on the quantitative effects of virtual worlds (Second Life) on scientific inquiry skills.

In the past two years, Heather has authored two book chapters, one on the use of XR in STEM education and one for instructional designers guiding the use of XR in higher education. Recently, she also taught one of the first college courses ever to incorporate the Quest 2 headset. She actively publishes about the design and use of XR for learning via LinkedIn and her blog.

Jennifer has been with Siemens Healthineers for 13 years in various roles most recent is as Global Head of Education Designers. In that role she is responsible for design of development of internal training on Healthcare Products.

She lives in Pittsboro, NC currently with her husband & son both named James and her dog Taz.
Jen enjoys coaching little league and basketball in her spare time and spending time on the lake.