General Sessions

2024 UPCEA Annual Conference

March 26 | 1:00 PM

  • Ian Khan

    Ian Khan

    "The Futurist"
    Leading Authority on Emerging Technology Convergence including GenerativeAI, Metaverse, Digital Currency
    Featured on BBC, Fox, CNN, Bloomberg

    Ian Khan, “The Futurist” is a multifaceted leadership expert, storyteller and creative mind. Ian recently founded AIRI™ the AI Readiness Initiative, aimed at helping organizations measure their current state of readiness for an Artificial Intelligence driven world. Ian has also created the Future Readiness Score™, a KPI, to scientifically measure how well an organization is ready to grow through unanticipated change. Ian’s work has been featured on CNN, BBC, Bloomberg, Fast Company and other global media.

    Ian is an authority on emerging technologies including Web3, Metaverse Security and speaks about Digital Transformation, Algorithms, Robotics, Automation with ChatGPT and GenerativeAI as well as decentralization through Blockchain. As a world class storyteller Ian has also produced several critically acclaimed documentaries available on Prime Video, Emirates Airlines and leading streaming platforms. Ian is deeply vested in technology education, future readiness and advocacy for tech for good and other initiatives.

    Ian has two upcoming books, “Undisrupted, The Art and science of future readiness", and “Prompt Engineering Essentials – How to speak”, both with Wiley Publishing. His last book “Metaverse for Dummies” is the most comprehensive reference book to help readers of all levels understand the Metaverse. Khan has also produced a series of compelling technology documentaries available on PrimeVideo, Emirates Airlines, Tubi and other platforms. His new truth-seeking explainer docu series “The Futurist” is an investigative and storytelling series, on Prime Video, to help understand the impact of emerging technologies on our world. 

 

 

March 27 | 11:00 AM

  • Maria Flynn

    Maria Flynn

    CEO, JFF

    Maria Flynn is president and CEO of JFF, a national nonprofit that drives transformation in the American workforce and education systems.

    Maria’s commitment to JFF’s vision of equitable economic advancement for all and her leadership in workforce development have made her a national authority on the future of work, the role of technology in the labor market, career pathways for learners and workers underserved by the education and workforce systems, and employer engagement.

    As CEO, she has strengthened JFF and overseen a period of unprecedented growth as it has evolved into a leading-edge organization.

    Before joining JFF in 2007, she was a member of the federal government’s Senior Executive Service. In the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, she oversaw the development of policies for training programs, supervised the agency’s research and evaluation strategy, and managed the development of its $12 billion annual budget.

    With three decades of experience and a reputation as an expert on workforce development, Maria is frequently invited to speak at national events such as the Milken Institute Global Conference and Fortune, Aspen, and Atlantic events, and is regularly interviewed by major news organizations including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Fast Company. Respected for her policy insights, Maria has testified on workforce system reform before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. She was named to the Forbes 50 Over 50: Impact list for 2022, which features influential women in the business, legal, philanthropic, and nonprofit sectors and beyond.

 

 

March 28 | 11:00 AM

  • Javier Reyes

    Javier Reyes

    Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Amherst

    Javier A. Reyes, Ph.D., became the 31st leader of the University of Massachusetts Amherst on July 1, 2023, following his selection as chancellor of the commonwealth’s flagship campus by the UMass Board of Trustees.

    Reyes is an economist who has devoted his career to the cause of public higher education, holding leadership positions at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), West Virginia University, and the University of Arkansas. He most recently served as interim chancellor of UIC, Chicago’s largest university campus. Born and raised in Mexico, Reyes is the first Hispanic person to serve as chancellor of UMass Amherst.

    Reyes received his bachelor’s degree in economics from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Campus Estado de Mexico, in 1998, and his doctorate in economics from Texas A&M University in 2003. He is actively engaged with the TIAA Diversity Council and the Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA).