Shawn Springs is the CEO and Founder of Windpact, a Software and Technology company located in Northern Virginia. The company’s technologies help clients solve difficult manufacturing challenges, enabling brands to embrace a new era of product development. His inspiration behind the founding of Windpact stemmed from 13 seasons playing football in the NFL. Drafted third overall in the 1st round of the 1997 draft by the Seattle Seahawks, he spent 7 years with the team before moving on to play with the Washington Commanders (Redskins) and New England Patriots. Shawn became a Hall of Fame nominee in 2015.

Shawn completed a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from The Ohio State University. As a member of the football team, he was a two-time Academic All-Big Ten Athlete, Big 10 Walter Camp All-American, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 1996, and was elected to the Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.

He is a TEDx presenter, giving a talk entitled “Tackling Helmet Protection Head On.” Shawn has pledged to donate his brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation in support of CTE and Concussion Research. He serves as a Senior Advisor to Novus Intelligence, is an Advisor to Cerebro NeuroTech, and is a Member of the Board of Advisors at Alpha Impact 8.

Born in Williamsburg, VA, Shawn attended high school in Silver Spring, MD and currently resides in Northern Virginia.

Jeffrey L. Brodie, Ph.D. is the Vice President for Museums at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Prior to accepting this new opportunity in February 2024, Jeff served as the Acting Director of the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation where he coordinated the Center’s research, educational, and public programs designed to challenge traditional assumptions about who inventors are, what they look like, and how and where invention takes place. Jeff was the lead Curator of the Center’s new Change YOUR Game / Cambia Tu Juego exhibition project that uses the intersection of invention, technology, and sports to impact how young people regard their own inventive identity. As part of that effort, Jeff established the Center’s Innoskate program to share the history, creativity, and innovation of skateboard culture with diverse audiences. In his 30+ years as a public historian at the Smithsonian, Jeff has especially enjoyed curating and managing exhibition projects requiring the successful integration of many individuals with disparate skills and knowledge such as the Star-Spangled Banner: The Flag that Inspired the National Anthem. Jeff earned a B.A in History and Psychology from the University of California, at Berkeley, an M.A. in History from the University of Connecticut, and a Ph.D. in History from The George Washington University. 

Dr. Joanna Garner is the Executive Director of Old Dominion University’s The Center for Educational Partnerships, which is missioned to support public education and has a particular focus on broadening access to and participation in STEM and related areas. Dr. Garner’s research focuses on the design and evaluation of contexts that enhance youth and adults’ learning and identity exploration. She is a co-founder of the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (DSMRI) and one of two educational researchers supporting the development of the inventive identity components of the Change Your Game/Cambia tu juego exhibition.