Felipe Sommer is a philanthropist at heart. His calling is to improve the quality of life for others, be it through education, entrepreneurship or anywhere needed. Family is my number one priority. Felipe is the co-founder of Nearpod, a mobile platform that empowers educators to create learning experiences that engage and inspire millions of students around the world. He obtained a BA in economics from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and received an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business.

Maria Derchi Russo joined Refresh Miami in November 2015 and currently serves as its Executive Director. Prior to joining Refresh, Maria led Marketing for a local parking startup and prior to that, she spent seven years running various Marketing programs for online travel site, Travelzoo. In her spare time, Maria runs Women in Miami Tech, a group dedicated to supporting and advancing women in technology roles in South Florida. Maria has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Boston University and a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Richard Lamondin is the Co-Founder and CEO of EcoSystems, a rapidly growing water and energy conservation firm focused on sustainability for the real estate industry. Under Richard’s strategic leadership, EcoSystems is one of the leading water and energy conservation firms in the country, recognized as the second-fastest growing firm in Florida and ranked No. 48 in 2020 and No. 75 in 2019 on the Inc 5000. In 2019, Richard was selected as Endeavor Miami’s Entrepreneur of the Year and was named one of South Florida Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. He has been recognized for his expertise by Forbes, the Miami Herald, Multifamily Executive magazine, and NBC6 Miami.

Claudia Durán is the Managing Director of Endeavor Miami, whose mission is to select, mentor and accelerate the growth of high-impact entrepreneurs in South Florida. Endeavor Miami currently supports 24 companies. Claudia is an experienced business leader with a demonstrated history of strategic business development in the for-profit and non-profit industries across the Americas. She began her career with SAB Miller in El Salvador. She then transitioned to a strategic development role at Taca International Airlines in El Salvador and Mexico, before moving to New York City to join Deutsche Bank’s Private Wealth Management group. Prior to Endeavor, she was the head of Ashoka in Brazil. Claudia holds an MBA from Instituto de Empresa in Madrid and a Bachelors degree in Finance from Penn State University.

Matt Haggman is currently the EVP, OCOG at The Beacon Council. Prior to that he created and built Knight Foundation’s initiative aimed at propelling Miami’s startup and entrepreneurial community. Over nearly six years as Miami Director he led the program in an effort to expand opportunity, drive innovation and foster greater problem-solving across one of the most diverse communities in the U.S. This work included more than 200 grants that funded the launch of efforts such as Endeavor Miami, The Idea Center at Miami Dade College, eMerge Americas, Babson WIN Lab, Black Tech Week and 500 Startups Miami, among many others. Upon leaving this role he was called in The Miami Herald “a pioneer who has spearheaded the entrepreneurial movement” in South Florida. Matt has degrees from Tulane University and Vermont Law School.

Johanna Mikkola is the CEO and Co-founder of Wyncode Academy a leading technical school dedicated to training top technology talent through best-in-class accelerated and immersive programs. She was selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur in June 2015. Johanna is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence for Babson College WIN LAB, is a founding member of the Miami chapter of the Female Founder Collective, sits on the content advisory board of eMerge Americas, and is an Ambassador for Aminta Ventures. She is also a member of Entrepreneur’s Organization. Johanna holds an honors Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Toronto.

Salomon Sredni is an accomplished Chief Executive Officer and Board Member with a solid track record of growth, profitability and customer satisfaction. Results driven and collaborative, Salo’s distinguished career encompasses tenures in Technology, Healthcare and Financial Services industries across domestic and international markets, and private and publicly traded companies. Salo is currently Managing Director of Ocean Azul partners, a venture fund looking to fund exciting technology companies early in their life cycle and a board member for several companies. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in accounting from The Pennsylvania State University, has taken master’s level courses at the University of Miami and a graduate of the Harvard Business School YPO Presidents Seminar.

Patricia Wexler is co-founder and Managing Director of Starlight Ventures, a VC Fund for early stage start-ups. Previously, she ran the family office for the McNamee family, and before that she was Principal at Elevation Partners. Before joining Elevation Partners in 2005, Patty was a Manager in the Strategic Planning group at The Walt Disney Company. Previously, Patty worked in investment banking as a senior analyst at DLJ, and served as an associate for the Boston Consulting Group. Patty graduated cum laude from Simon Bolivar University with an M.S. in Manufacturing Engineering, and she received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar.

Raul Moas joined Knight Foundation as Miami program director in March 2018. Prior to joining Knight, Moas served as the managing director of Miami Angels, Florida’s largest angel investor collective which brings together exceptional entrepreneurs and accredited investors to fuel success. Moas served as the executive director of Roots of Hope, an international non-governmental organization focused on youth empowerment in Cuba. Moas led the creation of programs like StartUp Cuba and social ventures like Discover Cuba. Moas is passionate about Greater Miami and deeply involved in making his community a better place. As a founding member of the Global Shapers Miami Hub, he focused on promoting more equitable and inclusive economic development. Moas is also a member of Class VIII of the Miami Foundation’s Miami Fellows program.

Erick Gavin is the Senior Program Manager at the Center for Black Innovation. He utilizes his background in data and design to create programming that positively affects the black innovation economy in an effective, measurable manner. He seeks to not only improve new and existing black and brown businesses' position in local innovation ecosystems, but unearth and cultivate each aspect of that ecosystem including but not limited to: black tech professionals, ally organizations, high net worth black and brown individuals, and education for our black and brown low opportunity communities. He believes that by better understanding these barriers to access we can discover more innovative solutions for everyone in the wider innovation community.

Pablo Sánchez is currently Chief of Staff for SoftBank's Investment Team. Prior to joining SoftBank, he worked as a Consultant at McKinsey & Company and Invermaster. Prior to that, Pablo founded Urvan, an on-demand transportation platform. He has a BA in Financial Economics from Columbia University.