#ETE16 by STEM4US!

Join STEM4US! for the third annual Energy, Tech, and Education Festival, #ETE16.  This event is set for Tuesday-Wednesday, September 13-14, 2016 at the Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place Northwest, Washington, DC 20001.  The theme for the #ETE16 Festival is “Mission Critical: Training the Cybersecurity Workforce of Today, Tomorrow.”  

#ETE16 is a space for executives and professionals in the energy, technology, and venture capital sectors to engage government, academic, and nonprofit leaders. Thus, look at #ETE16 as a pop-up incubator for innovative business ideas and public policy initiatives.  Guests can expect to enjoy interactive workshops, networking, and receptions.  

Check out our #ETE16 Festival Overview below and RSVP today! Space is limited and given the high profile business and tech executives plus venture capital and policy leaders we've invited to participate, tickets are likely to sell out quickly.  For video and pics from last year's Festival click: http://stem4us.org/stem4us-historic-cbc-week-tech-stem-fest-a-hit-see-for-yourself/.  

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What: 2016 Energy, Technology & Education Festival (#ETE16) Sponsored by Pepco

When: Tuesday, September 13 - Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Tentative Location: Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC

Preliminary Schedule

Day 1: Tuesday, September 13, 2016

9:00 AM: Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 AM - 7:00 PM: Cyber Security Job Fair & STEM Education Exhibition Lab: Network with leading businesses, governments, and academic institutions seeking talented professionals and students to diversify their workforce.  This event is also designed to provide parents, teachers and students to get information about STEM programs at colleges, K-­12 schools, as well as STEM related after­school programs.9:00 AM - 9:30 AM: Energy, Tech & Education Leaders Press Conference About $400 Million Cyber Security Initiative: STEM4US!, plans to announce a partnership with energy, technology, and education leaders, a plan to create a network of cybersecurity incubators at Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) and other higher education institutions serving people of color and women, The initiative’s goal is to help increase the quality, quantity, and diversity of our nation's cyber workforce over the next 10 years.

9:30 AM - 2:00 PM: Hackathon: This event is open to participants of all ages. During this workshop, participants will work in teams to create an idea for a mobile phone app or social media campaign aimed at stopping police brutality and/or racial discrimination. Participants will form teams, develop concepts and build models of apps or social media campaigns.  Teams are expected to present their innovations to a panel of judges representing various #ETE16 partnering companies. Youth and adults can expect to be matched together in teams. No technical experience is necessary. Participants should bring a laptop or tablet and their ideas.

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM: From Social Media to Social Justice: Creating New Social Innovation Ventures to Hack Racism, STEM Diversity: This session features a conversation between leading social justice and social media innovators to discuss collaborations designed to cure the social disease of racism and expand diversity in the STEM fields.  

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM: Protecting and Promoting Innovations in the Nation’s Power Grid: A panel of experts discuss challenges (tech, financial, and regulatory) to our nation’s power supply.  Participants can also expect to learn about current and future innovations that seek to protect access to electricity by businesses, governments, and individual consumers.

4:30 PM- 5:30 PM: Tech App Hackathon Presentations: Listen to presentations of teams of youth and adults who participated in the hackathon to developed innovative mobile phone apps and social media campaigns designed to address racial discrimination and police brutality. Winners can expect prizes such as tickets to attend the CBCF Phoenix Awards Dinner, where past speakers have included President Obama.  

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Energy, Tech, Ed Presidential Advisors Debate & Reception:  In the days leading up to the November elections, come listen to a policy driven conversation between representatives of Presidential campaigns from the Democratic, Green, Independent, and Republican parties.  Participants also have an opportunity to enjoy refreshments during the conversation.  To expand the audience, the event is expected to be live streamed and presented as a Google Hangout and Live Twitter Chat.  Following a moderated discussion, members of the audience have the opportunity to pose questions to the panelists.

Day 2: Wednesday, September 14, 2016

8:00 AM: Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 AM - 10:15 AM: CEOs Forum: Protecting Confidential Email & Data; C-Suites Top Priority: A panel of CEOs and senior executives from energy, technology, and telecom companies discuss the importance of cybersecurity to their bottom line and the need for increasing the ranks and diversity of the Cyber workforce.

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM: Financial Services & Cybersecurity: Protecting Bitcoins, Equity Trading, and Peer to Peer Transfers from Cyber Attacks: The importance of cyber security is undeniable in a world where more and more private information is being stored in online databases. This panel presentation will discuss the growing need for increased cyber security in the financial services sector and how cyber security initiatives will keep our information safe.

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM: STEM Power Lunch: Regulators Cyber Security Roundtable:  This event is designed as a virtual and in-person town hall discussion with Members of Congress, federal, and state regulators involved with oversight of energy, technology, and telecom infrastructure and cyber security needs.  To expand the audience, the event is expected to be live streamed and presented as a Google Hangout and Live Twitter Chat. Following a moderated discussion, members of the audience have the opportunity to pose questions to the panelists.

2:00 PM- 3:00 PM: Black, Brown, Female Venture Capital Matters:  Venture capital investment in businesses led by people of color and women are below 5% combined, even though these groups make up a majority in the US.  This panel seeks to bring together women and venture capitalists of color to discuss strategies for democratizing capital and ensuring that it flows equitably into the hands of all people in our nation.  Through this conversation, we hope to explore what is required to enable African American, Latino, and women innovators to access the capital they deserve and make #AllLivesMatter more than a slogan.

3:15 PM - 4:30 PM: Cyber Issues Confronting Air, Road, and Rail Transport Systems: Recently, a driver of a Tesla, autonomous vehicle, was killed while using the hands-free driving feature.  With cyber attacks of both government and private panel on the rise, this discussion will explore the variety of cyber resources being researched and employed by transportation industry leaders to protect themselves and the customers they serve.

4:45 - 6:00: Education & Training Leaders Forum: Tools for Developing a Cyber Security Incubator at Your School, in Your Community:  This forum is designed to further emphasize the importance of increasing the ranks of cyber security workers.  Education and corporate leaders working on developing cyber security incubators are invited to discuss their efforts.  We intend to identify best practices as well as obstacles for creating these vehicles for boosting the cyber workforce.

6:30 PM - 10:00 PM: Energy, Tech, & Education Leaders Soiree and Hackathon Awards Program: Networking event with executives and senior government leaders in energy, technology, and education to celebrate the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Annual Legislative Conferences.  Awards will be presented to winners of the hackathon set for day one of the Festival.

Purpose:  #ETE16 provides a unique opportunity for executives and professionals in the energy, technology, and venture capital sectors to network with government, academic, and nonprofit leaders.  #ETE16 seeks to incubate innovative business and public policy initiatives by creating a space for exchanging information, debating ideas, and forging key relationships.  Guests can expect to enjoy interactive workshops, networking, and receptions.  

History: STEM4US! held its first #ETE festival in 2014 and featured a host of speakers, companies, and institutions including Congressman Bobby Scott (VA) and David Owens, Executive Vice President with the Edison Electric Institute.  Like in past years, #ETE16 coincides with both the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 46th Annual Legislative Conference (Sept. 14-17) and the Congressional Hispanic Institute’s Annual Conference (Sept. 12-13). These two large conferences attract over 10,000 of the top executives, policy makers, and academic leaders. Over the years, the festival has become known as the nation’s top forum on innovation and STEM diversity.  A video from last year’s festival, #ETE15, can be found at: http://stem4us.org/stem4us-historic-cbc-week-tech-stem-fest-a-hit-see-for-yourself/.

Target Audience: 300-500 energy, tech, and other STEM industry executives along with Members of Congress and other senior federal government officials, venture capitalists, academic leaders, professionals at large, parents and students.  

About STEM4US!: Launched in 2013, STEM4US! is a non-profit advocacy organization formed to increase investments in colleges, schools and nonprofit organizations to expand the quantity and diversity of people trained for careers in energy, technology, and other STEM professions.