Meet the Class of 2024

Richard Averitt is an endlessly curious artist, entrepreneur, angel investor, father, and student of life. He is a self-described storyteller with a servant-leadership ethos who practices being a better human every day. Richard holds a BFA from San Francisco Art Institute (Fine Arts, Art History). He has 32 years in the Arts; 30 years as an  entrepreneur across disciplines, hospitality, real estate, gaming, technology; and, 20+ years in tech. His most  treasured accomplishment is The Well Project, a global non-profit established in 2002 that leverages technology  to improve health outcomes and quality of life for women living with HIV.

Bryan Garey is the Vice President for Human Resources at Virginia Tech. He has more than 25 years of HR and organizational development experience. As part of the HR team at VT, he is spearheading change that will position HR to better support a growing and changing Virginia Tech, helping to create a work environment and experience for all faculty and staff to develop and thrive in support of our bold beyond boundaries vision. Bryan  has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from St. Mary’s College of Maryland, a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Virginia, and a Master of Sciences Degree in Management from the University of Florida. A native of Baltimore, Bryan has spent the last 30 years working as a professional actor and director, educator, and Human Resources professional. His HR experience includes work with a non-profit startup, a Fortune 100  company, and higher ed. Bryan is certified as a Professional in Human Resources through the Society of Human Resources Management and has been a featured speaker at state, regional, and national conferences of human resources and higher education. Over the years, Bryan has lived in Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Gainesville, and Charlottesville and is happy to be part of the Hokie Nation. 

Sruthi Krishnan is currently employed as a Structural and Payload Design Engineer at the Boeing Company in  Huntsville, AL. At present, she is working with the Avionics and Software Team for the Space Launch System (SLS)  Program supporting the NASA customer at Marshall Space Flight Center. Sruthi received both her Bachelor of Science (BS) and a Master of Science (MS) Degrees in Aerospace Engineering, and a minor in Mathematics, from  Virginia Tech. She is a proud alumnus of Virginia Tech who is excited and thrilled to be back in Blacksburg at the VT campus. 

Cristina Martínez Pinto is the Founder and CEO of the PIT Policy Lab. As a tech policy entrepreneur, she works to advance people-centered technological development and technology governance in Latin America. She has worked as a Digital Development Consultant at the World Bank, led C Minds' AI for Good Lab and co-founded Mexico's National AI Coalition IA2030Mx. Cristina holds a Master in Public Policy from Georgetown University and a B.A. in International Relations from Tec de Monterrey. She recently completed the Young Leaders in the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Fellowship by the Department of State, and was selected as a Responsible AI Fellow by the Stimson Center and Microsoft. She is also a proud mom of two toddlers. 

Jennifer Morgan An is the Chief of Staff and Director of Operations for the Vice President of State & Local  Government Operations at Boeing. In this position, she assists the Vice President by leading the enterprise-wide  State & Local Operations across the United States. The State & Local team manages relationships with elected  officials and business leaders, advocate for key issues that advance Boeing’s business objectives and  philanthropic opportunities to give back to the communities where Boeing employees live and work.

Keith Rebello is a Senior Technical Fellow at The Boeing Company where he leads the company’s strategy for  microelectronics while also conducting research and development in artificial intelligence, autonomy, sensors,  and security technologies. He is an expert in applying system level methodologies and agile development  processes to both software and hardware to build advanced capabilities. Prior to joining Boeing, Keith served as  a Program Manager in the Microsystems Technology Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency  (DARPA). During his three and a half years there, he directed a $200M+ research portfolio focused on hardware,  supply chain, and cyber security, as well as technologies for intellectual property protection, artificial  intelligence accelerators, robotics, and space applications. Previously he served as a Technical Director for  Emerging Technologies in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, was a member of the  Principal Staff at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL), and held positions in commercial industry. He has been an instructor at The Johns Hopkins University and adjunct faculty at the  United States Naval Academy.

Marisa Ronan is based in Ireland and works for Microsoft, where she is responsible for global leadership  development and professional skilling in Cloud Operations + Innovation (CO+I). She was an academic before entering the tech sector and has a PhD in American Studies and was Snr Research Fellow in the Centre for Environmental Humanities in Trinity College Dublin.

Danielle Ruderman is a Senior Manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS) with the Worldwide Security Specialist  organization, where she leads a team of global security specialists. Danielle has been with AWS since 2016. She started her technology journey while earning her BS in Chemistry from Washington and Lee University, writing code to predict protein folding, which led to a role as a software developer. She evolved this into a technical career spanning more than 20 years, with enterprise companies as well as startups and government  organizations. Today, Danielle enjoys discussing how to build organizational cultures that reinforce security controls, and design systems and mechanisms that "make the right thing easy" so security can be a business enabler.

Shaka Senghor is the President/Creative Director of Shaka Senghor, Inc, having previously held the position of Vice President of Corporate Communications at Navan (TripActions), an online travel management, corporate card and expense management company valued at $9 Billion. 

During his tenure at Navan, Shaka played a pivotal role in shaping the company's strategic evolution. His leadership encompassed the successful execution of a comprehensive company re-brand, the development of cutting-edge sales and success training programs, and the formulation of a robust DEI strategy. 

Shaka is a distinguished author, wth his memoir, "Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death and Redemption in an American Prison," achieving recognition on the New York Times and The Washington Post Best Seller Lists. His sophomore mainstream release, "Letters to the Sons of Society," was released in 2022 to critical acclaim and was a two-time Porchlight best seller. 

Shaka is a former MIT Media Lab Director’s Fellow, and a former Fellow in the inaugural class of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Community Leadership Network. His 2014 TED Talk was featured in their “Year in Ideas” roundup and has over 1.5 million views.

Shaka is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Black Male Engagement (BMe) Leadership Award, the Manchester University Innovator of the Year Award, the FORD Man of Courage Award, Ebony Magazine Power 100 Honoree, and the NAACP Great Expectations Award. He was recently recognized by OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network) as a “Soul Igniter” in the inaugural class of the SuperSoul 100, a dynamic group of trailblazers whose vision and life’s work are bringing a higher level of consciousness to the world around them and encouraging others to do the same. 

He has taught at the University of Michigan and shares his story of redemption around the world with top businesses, universities, and in popular media. Today, Shaka’s priority is shifting societal narratives by creating content with deep social impact and high entertainment value.

Jeremy Treadwell is a visionary entrepreneur and futurist from Chicago, IL, living in Maryland. With a passion for guiding businesses toward their desired futures, Jeremy has earned the moniker “Vision Capitalist.” As a certified Futurist, Jeremy has empowered clients to reach their full potential  and navigate the complexities of the ever-evolving business landscape through innovative strategies. As a sought-after speaker, he captivates audiences with engaging talks on Cybersecurity, Strategic Futures, and User Behavior, leaving a lasting impact on individuals and organizations alike. Beyond his consulting endeavors,  Jeremy shares his wealth of knowledge and expertise as an esteemed adjunct professor at Bradley University, where he imparts his wisdom in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and User Experience Strategy. His dedication to education and commitment to nurturing the next generation of visionaries showcase his leadership inside and outside the classroom.

Amrita Tripathi is a published author, former news anchor, and an entrepreneur. She is the founder-editor of The  Health Collective which focuses on mental health story-telling from an India lens, and the founder of Tap In Tribe  (beta), which looks at women's leadership. She has 20 years of work experience across print media, broadcast  journalism, and digital, and was most recently the Head of Content Partnerships, Twitter India. Her novels, Broken News (2010) and The Sibius Knot (2015) deal with the darker side of urban realities and Tripathi co authored the non-fiction Mindscape series of books on mental health in India with leading psychologists - Real  Stories of Dealing with Depression (2019) with Arpita Anand, Young Mental Health (2020) with Meera Haran  Alva, and The Age of Anxiety (2021) with Kamna Chhibber. Tripathi most recently co-authored Life Interrupted:  Understanding India’s Suicide Crisis (2022) with senior psychiatrists Dr Soumitra Pathare and Dr Abhijit Nadkarni.