KEN BOONE
Ken Boone is a Community Planner and Vice President at Olsson Studio, a community planning, landscape architecture, and urban design studio at Olsson. He has a degree in Landscape Architecture from Kansas State University. His professional work has been focused around the nexus of community planning, landscape architecture, and urban design. He loves to work with communities to help them uncover their aspirations and tackle their challenges though planning, community engagement, and facilitation. He is the proud dad to four sons. He was born and raised in Independence, Missouri, where he lives with his wife Brooke, his mom, and two dogs. There are also three cats that are indifferent to his existence.
DAN JENKINS
Dan Jenkins, originally from Tacoma, Washington, and a graduate of Seattle Pacific University, brings over three decades of experience in commercial real estate development to Dallas-Fort Worth. As a businessman and entrepreneur, he’s been the driving force behind numerous successful ventures. From managing extensive real estate portfolios at Weiss-Jenkins Properties, LLC to commercial and multifamily projects at New Core Development, LLC, Dan has contributed to the growth and vitality of the Seattle area community. Dan’s pickleball journey began in the 1980s at a summer camp, sparking his passion for the sport. Over the years, he honed his skills, participating in annual tournaments at family camp and winning the men’s singles championship in 1999, earning the prestigious title of “Champion of the Millennium.” Beyond the game, Dan values pickleball for its ability to foster a sense of community, enriching both social connections and physical well-being, on and off the court. Not only does he actively participate in the sport but he has partnered with Pickleball Kingdom as the Master Franchisee for North Texas, where he dedicates his time to fostering the growth of 20 new pickleball clubs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
ALEX LEE
Prior to joining Doosan Robotics, Alex built over 20-years of successful career at Andersen Consulting, Schneider Electric, Yaskawa and numerous start-ups including Touch Automation (creator of “REDBOX”) being a co-founder himself. As a seasoned business development expert, Alex will lead the corporation in a way to make tremendous growth in new and existing markets leveraging his experiences in negotiation, engineering, strategic planning, business development, and sales management. As president of Doosan Robotics Americas, Alex established the US HQ in Plano TX. Alex helps clients in various sectors to optimize their processes and performance, Alex enjoys developing and bringing cutting-edge solutions to the market empowering businesses and industries with the best automation tools and technologies that enhance their productivity and competitiveness.
MAYA PIATA
Maya Piata blends the soulful flavors of New Orleans with the cultural richness of her Indigenous New Zealand heritage, creating a vibrant musical force. Though Google initially listed her as a Folk artist, she self-proclaimed her alt-genre as “Sunshine Soul” while interviewing on her tribe’s radio station, Tuwharetoa FM Radio (2018). Maya is impacting the music scene now by partnering with numerous local non-profit organizations and enamoring audiences at esteemed venues across DFW, the U.S., and all around the world. Embraced for her radiant and positive aura, Maya’s stage presence and sultry voice has been widely recognized by the media internationally and was recently nominated for “Best Soul Vocalist” and “Best Pop Act” by Dallas Entertainment Awards 2023.
SHALINI PRASAD
Shalini Prasad is a Professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering graduate program at The University of Texas at Dallas since 2011. She also holds an adjunct appointment in the department of Physics at Portland State University. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the University of Madras, India in 2001 and obtained her Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from University of California, Riverside in 2004. Among many other honors, she was awarded with Bomhoff Distinguished Professor and Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor endowment in Bioengineering and Systems Biology. Dr. Prasad is currently the Director of Biomedical Microdevices and Nanotechnology Laboratory, which primarily focuses on point-of-care diagnostic devices and near-future therapeutic platforms, addressing the public health challenges of rapid and cost-effective medical care. She is also the co-founder of EnLiSense.
DAYMOND SANDS
Daymond Sands is the Program Director for the North Texas Performing Arts Deaf Theatre. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Daymond began performing at the young age of 5. He earned a college degree in Psychology, and continued his college education completing acting courses at Tyler Junior College. Pursuing his dream of being able to perform on stage, sign sing, direct, and create his own show, he became a professional performing artist and an ASL consultant for theatre in 2016. He has spent many years working as a mentor for interpreters and supporting theatres as an ASL consultant. In his spare time, Daymond also works as a freelance photographer and creator and producer of the YouTube show “Click Click Crop,” a photography competition for the Deaf and Hard of hearing.
MICHAEL THOMAS
Michael serves as the CEO and Founder of ConnectIDD, LLC, an agency focused on supporting children and adults with disabilities by empowering the organizations and cities which support them. ConnectIDD serves as a growth agent for disability organizations, supporting their needs in organizational structure, strategic planning, finance structure, development strategy, innovation, and staff training, among other support areas. From 2010 to 2023, Michael served in the capacity of Executive Director of My Possibilities and was responsible for the overall function and performance of the organization and its partner/subsidiary businesses. Since 2006, his entire career has been spent serving in the non-profit industry, specifically supporting children and adults with disabilities. His organizational experience includes the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Opportunity Village in Las Vegas, Nevada, and My Possibilities. Michael has served on the Community Relations and Planning & Zoning Commissions for the City of Plano as well as state boards supporting the disabilities community, including the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities System Redesign Advisory Committee (IDD-SRAC). Additionally, he speaks regularly on the non-profit/social impact space, serving as a voice for other executives striving to do things in a new way that better equips each organization to serve and hopefully complete its mission.