Dr. Jesse Butler

Biography:

Jesse Butler received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Oklahoma in 2006 and joined the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Central Arkansas in 2007, where he now serves as Full Professor and continues to teach courses in philosophy, ethics, and critical thinking. He is also a US Fulbright Scholar and taught courses on American philosophy at Jinan University in Guangzhou, China in 2016-17. His primary research area is the philosophy of mind and his recent work focuses on the virtues of ecological self-understanding, with applications in mental health, environmental ethics, and responsible use of technology.

Dr. Brad Conrad

Biography:

Brad R. Conrad, Ph.D. is the Education and Workforce Development Manager within the Partnerships and Outreach Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Office of Advanced Manufacturing (OAM). Brad received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Maryland – College Park and a B.S. in physics with a minor in history from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

Prior to NIST, Brad served as the Director of two membership societies for the American Institute of Physics: the Society of Physics Students and Sigma Pi Sigma, the Physics and Astronomy Honor Society. There he supported a network of over 800 undergraduate physics and astronomy student groups at two-year/four-year institutions and +80,000 lifetime members. Earlier he was a tenured Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Appalachian State University, where his research focused on nanoelectronics, acoustics, and microscopy. Before becoming a professor, he was a National Research Council (NRC) Fellow at NIST in the Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory where he studied the electrical properties of organic single crystals.

Grace Rains

Biography:

Grace Rains is the Executive Director at the Conductor, a public-private partnership between the University of Central Arkansas and Startup Junkie Consulting that drives innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic empowerment in Central Arkansas. In her role, Grace guides the strategy and execution of Conductor programming, oversees the operations of the Arnold Innovation Center, and collaborates closely with entrepreneurs and stakeholders to cultivate an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem in central Arkansas. Grace attended the University of Central Arkansas for both her undergraduate degree and Master of Business Administration. She is a 2021 graduate of Leadership Arkansas and a 2022 recipient of Arkansas Business’s 20 in their 20s. Previously, Grace served as the Executive Director of the Ark Angel Alliance, the state’s first angel investing network. She also served as the State Coordinator for Global Entrepreneurship Week through the Global Entrepreneurship Network.

Stacy Gunderman

Biography:

Stacy Gunderman is Director of Administration for FutureFuel Chemical Company.  She received her B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arkansas and has been with the Batesville, Arkansas, site through its transitions from Eastman Kodak to Eastman Chemical Company to FutureFuel Chemical Company serving many roles within the plant.  As Director of Administration, she oversees responsibility for Human Resources, Training, and Communications and Public Affairs. She completed her Masters in Operational Management from the University of Arkansas in 2022.

Brad Gentry

Biography:

Bradley Gentry is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gentry Professional Services. A native of Benton, Arkansas, Brad holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Arkansas. He earned an MBA from the University of Maryland and six graduate certificates from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Bradley is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Certified Contingent Workforce Professional (CCWP). He worked as a systems engineer and program manager at Northrop Grumman in Baltimore, Maryland, and has over 20 years’ experience designing and testing Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems. In 2013 he founded Odyssey Consulting, an engineering consulting firm serving the aerospace and defense industry. In 2021 he expanded the scope of that company to also serve the energy, healthcare, and IT sectors, rebranding the company as Gentry Professional Services. Its mission is to help clients across all sectors to preserve the institutional knowledge that is often lost in our evolving workforce.

Brad currently serves on the Leadership Council of the National Small Business Association and the University of Arkansas College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council. He is the Arkansas Section Vice Chair of IEEE and the President of the Arkansas Academy of Electrical Engineering.