George DeMet started building websites at a time when the internet was just emerging as a new medium of communication. And ever since for the past 25 years, he has worked in the field of Drupal, Open Source, and digital experiences through his business Palantir.net. His focus on creating a sustainable business for the long haul, reducing the carbon footprint, and keeping the human side at the center of everything is what differentiates him from other founders and organizations. As of now, he is excited to see how businesses evolve and adapt on the other side of the pandemic.

As the Chief Strategy Officer at White Rhino, Teri helps organizations in the B2B and healthcare industry build trust across their buyer's journey. With psychological and neuroscientific studies, her team uncovers what motivates audiences on a personal level to drive a deeper brand engagement. Teri has always been fascinated by the human brain and excited about the intersection of emotional and artificial intelligence to drive serendipitous moments of engagement between brands and consumers.

Jessica Drislane started her career in Private equity, where she learned a ton of things crucial to be an entrepreneur. When she felt she needed to be in the thick of things, she took a hiatus from her Private equity world and explored a completely different area- art school. The new career pivot allowed her to do some soul searching, and, after deep contemplation, she decided to team up with Gary King and launch Open Scholar, making it the first research project to be incubated outside of Harvard. 

Jessica then talks about the methodology she has been sticking to over the years to say ‘Yes’ to only the things that bring harmony in her life. She speaks about how it is important to read outside your own area of interest to gain a different perspective, and how the pandemic has changed the way her team functions.

Computers first piqued Jeff’s interest when he volunteered to help with them at his first job in addition to his sales responsibilities. After that, Jeff decided he wanted to work in software so he moved to Washington DC for bigger opportunities.

In 2001 Jeff founded his agency, Phase2, which has become a pillar of the Drupal community it was formed in. Since founding Phase2, Jeff has served two terms on the Drupal Associate Board and is a frequent volunteer and participant at global events.

Jeff is also actively involved in diversity and inclusion initiatives—including training women in acquiring design, coding, JavaScript, project management, and UX skills to jumpstart or advance their career growth.

He also advises peer agencies on how to create personalized digital experiences while protecting individual privacy and security in healthcare, financial services, and government spaces.

Resources he recommends:

• Harvard Business Review
• Podcast: 2Bobs by David C. Backer and Blair Enns
• The Business of Expertise by David C. Baker
• The Win Without Pitching Manifesto by Blair Enns
• The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle

He started his first business in his mid-twenties, collaborating with a business partner out of a makeshift office: a one-bedroom apartment with a shared computer and one phone line. Years later Dave founded Mediacurrent with Paul Chason, a friend that goes back to his elementary school days, The two of them saw a huge void in the marketplace for agencies that could assist organizations with adopting an Open Source web strategy. Starting in 2008, they began sponsoring Drupal conferences around the nation. Today, Mediacurrent is one of the most recognizable names in the Drupal marketplace and a top 10 contributor.

One of Michael’s first jobs was working at the district of the high school he attended, installing closed-circuit and cable T.V. systems with a lift and a hammer drill. After graduating college, he worked for a hosting company building on Lotus Notes by day and working on his startup ideas at night. After launching his startup, he encountered Drupal and built a prototype that helped raise over 12 million dollars to launch his next business venture, becoming the CTO of a top 50 website. Michael was just getting started.

Mitchell joined the US Navy at the age of 19 because he realized he didn’t have the maturity to continue college. After serving six years in the military, this rescue swimmer pursued his business administration degrees and took up a “Special Projects” position at a travel guidebook publishing company, Lonely Planet. 

Today, he plays a major role in transitioning his company to a digital-first mindset, quickly adding new features to get content to their users in the ways they've needed the most. In this episode, he shares his future plans, what he would’ve done differently, how COVID has been a blessing in disguise,  and about the book he reads over and over again.

While studying environmental design at college, he became interested in the newly created World Wide Web, and found it aligned perfectly with the things he liked to do. Soon after, he pivoted over from engineering to project management, and further to customer success—before launching his own company: Advance Velocity. 

In this episode, we're speaking with Bill about his journey from wanting to design buildings in school to leading an agency through a pandemic, stepping outside the comfort zone, his interests in EdTech and the CMS space, and the authors that inspire him. 

Resources he recommends:

1. Elevate by Robert Glazer
2. Friday Forward by Robert Glazer
3. Difficult Conversations by Douglas Stone

He drives digital transformation roadmaps for some of the biggest nonprofits and NGOs the world over (e.g. UN Agencies like UNICEF) at the agency that led digital strategy for Barack Obama’s historic ‘08 presidential campaign. Meet Sam.