Blockchain, a System of Trusted Sharing

A production of ConsenSys Social Impact, in partnership with the Yale Alumni Nonprofit Alliance (YANA) and Accelerate Yale

Date: April 30th

Location: Microsoft | 11 Times Square, New York

Time: 6:30 Reception | 7:00 PM Panel

Speakers:

Phil Komarny – VP of Innovation, Salesforce

Zunaira Arshad – Product Lead, ConsenSys

Matt Coolidge – Co-founder, Civil

Ben Siegel – ConsenSys Social Impact, Moderator

This event will explore the capabilities of blockchain across a variety of sectors -- from corporate to healthcare to media.

Accelerate Yale

Accelerate Yale is a global community of alumni and friends of Yale who are engaged in innovation, tech, and entrepreneurship. Our mission is to cultivate an active and thoughtful ecosystem that promotes meaningful connections and collaborations -- while also serving as a bridge between alumni and current Yale students.

Yale Alumni Nonprofit Alliance (YANA)

The Yale Alumni Nonprofit Alliance (YANA) envisions a global community that engages all alumni and friends of Yale in advancing social change. A five-time winner of the Yale Board of Governors Award since our founding in 2011, we have grown into a network of over 3,000 - with 8 chapters on 3 continents. Working together, giving back, changing lives.

ConsenSys Social Impact

The Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition (BSIC) is a community of impact-focused entrepreneurs, investors, and humanitarians who convene to share resources, knowledge and cutting-edge blockchain technology in order to address global social and environmental issues.

Speakers:

Phil Komarny, VP of Innovation, Salesforce

Highly social, entrepreneurial, an award-winning senior executive with a 25-plus year track record of delivering innovative, high-value solutions by aligning existing problems with emerging technologies. Experienced as a C-level executive within higher education that has leveraged entrepreneurial instincts, a broad technical skill set, and a very strong reputation for developing and motivating teams at all levels to integrate new technologies that create value for the organization. Experienced and comfortable serving as the voice of the business and building a strong rapport with management, colleagues, vendors, stakeholders and technical specialists.

Zunaira Arshad, Product Lead, ConsenSys

Zunaira Arshad works on product for the Consensys owned spoke, Linnia -- leading the charge to develop a protocol that will allow individuals to own and interact with their data outside of the siloed Web 2.0 sphere.

After spending time working in the international political sphere, including an internship at the UK Parliament, Zunaira discovered her passion for Global Development and Global Public Health. In 2016, she worked as a fellow on the ABC News’ Specialized Units, where she wrote, edited, and produced health and medical news for national broadcasts including Good Morning America and World News Tonight. She has traveled to the border of Syria on the Turkish side to report on the needs of asylum seekers in makeshift hospitals and refugee clinics through Kilis and Reyhanlı, Turkey. At Yale she studied Global Affairs with a development focus and completed the Global Health Fellowship. A recent graduate, she received her B.S. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology in May of 2017. Upon graduation, she worked as a ghostwriter for a book about the Opioid epidemic. Enthralled with blockchain’s potential as a tool for social change, Zunaira joined ConsenSys, where she is writing a ‘Beyond Blockchain 101’ book in addition to her product work with Linnia.

Matt Coolidge, Co-founder, Civil

With more than a decade of experience spanning both the tech and federal sectors, Matt leads content and communications efforts at Civil. He drives brand strategy across Civil's ecosystem and works closely with Civil Newsmakers on audience development. Prior to Civil, Matt was a vice president at Bateman Group, an award-winning public relations firm, where he helped lead the agency's financial and developer tech practices out of its New York office. Previously, he was a public relations consultant at LEWIS PR working with enterprise tech companies in Silicon Valley. He began his career at a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm working with non-profit science and technology organizations. He holds a B.A. from George Washington University.