Jeff Westphal

Chair and Co-Owner
Jeff Westphal is the Chairman and co-owner of Vertex Inc., the global leader in corporate tax performance management solutions. Jeff retired from Vertex in 2016 after 20 years as CEO. During his 28 year tenure, Vertex grew from a small entrepreneurial business into the global leader for enterprise tax process management solutions, now employing over 1000 professionals throughout the US, EU and Asia. Vertex is a top tier partner of Oracle, SAP, Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG and Accenture. Westphal is a frequent speaker to business, education, and government audiences on corporate culture, team based collaboration, family business, the meaning of business and self-directed education. Westphal serves a Board Advisor to Open Connections and Natural Creativity Inc., leaders in the emerging self directed education (SDE) movement. Together with his wife, Jenifer, Jeff Westphal co-founded Kyle's Treehouse, a web-based resource for families seeking hope and guidance for the treatment of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Through Jenifer’s film company, Wavelength Productions, the Westphals plan to release a feature documentary in 2019 about their family journey with autism. The Westphal’s are also producing a feature length documentary on Self Directed Education scheduled for release in 2019. The Westphals are founders of the Majik Foundation, a philanthropic organization grounded in the power of intrinsic motivation and collaborative self determination. Grant recipients demonstrate promise to transform major institutions in order to better enable human developmental potential.

Ralph Simon

Founder/CEO
Ralph Simon has enjoyed a spectacular 30+ year career in a variety of prominent fields including mobile phone technology & content, the entertainment & music industry, exponential medicine & health, and executive talent development. His extensive career includes leading Capitol Records and Blue Note Records, with a focus on emerging new media. In 1997, Simon correctly predicted that mobile phones would become the indispensable voice/social networking-and-music companion for consumers and their increasingly mobile lifestyles, and today he is popularly known as the ‘Father of the Ring Tone.’ Simon helped establish the integration of mobile technology in global television and major global event broadcasting and is internationally known as a highly impactful and popular speaker and moderator on all aspects of mobile, creative, and digital industries. Currently, Simon heads the London-based Mobilium Global Group, which provides high-level strategic counsel and guidance to a range of brands, media and healthcare companies, networks, studios, artists, agencies, platforms and professional organizations around the world. Simon founded Africa’s first mobile health delivery network, Mobilium Africa, part of a larger initiative combining mobile health, wallet technology, payment systems, gamification, social messaging, social music & social lifestyle research, aimed at improving the lives of digital citizens around the world. Highly respected in the USA, UK, India, the Nordics & internationally, Simon has consistently found innovation in mobile learning, digital health & exponential medicine, mobile social media, across multiple industries - while engaging with a variety of business leaders, creatives and innovators across cultures around the world. An 'international cool hunter,’ Simon is motivated by a relentless curiosity that fuels his global search for the world’s smartest and most creative new digital and mobile technologies, including VR and other innovations that grow engagement in multi-cultural communities world-wide. He has always believed that the future belongs to “Screenagers” world-wide and consistently understands what’s coming next. Simon serves on the boards of several companies, including Hungama Digital Media Entertainment. He is an Executive Board Member & Global Juror for the UN affiliated World Summit Awards and World Youth Summit Awards. Simon is a board advisor to the Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance and is Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the influential Mobile Entertainment Forum - Americas. He serves on the Global Business Council for Education, and is special advisor to the GSM Association, which is responsible for curating and programming some of the world’s most important start-up & future tech gatherings. Simon is a faculty member of Singularity University’s Exponential Health Division and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) in the UK & the National Academy of Recorded Arts & Sciences in the USA.

Charles Prober, M.D.

Sr. Assoc. Vice Provost for Health Education

Charles Prober, MD is the Senior Associate Vice Provost for Health Education at the Stanford School of Medicine, Founding Executive Director of the Stanford Center for Health Education, and Professor of Pediatrics, Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford University. He is an expert in pediatric infectious diseases with an academic career focused on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, prevention, and treatment of infections in children. Dr. Prober has been involved in medical education throughout his career. He has directed a number of undergraduate and graduate student courses in the classroom and at the bedside, served as Associate Chair for Education for the Department of Pediatrics, and lectured locally, nationally, and internationally on infectious diseases and medical education. As Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education at Stanford from 2007-2017, Dr. Prober worked diligently to create a more diverse and supportive educational environment for Stanford students and graduate medical trainees. Some of the initiatives developed under his leadership included: the highly successful Educators-4-CARE (E4C) program, the Office of Medical Student Wellness, expansion of combined degree programs, the creation of the Stanford Society for Physician Scholars for residents and fellows, the use of Multi-Mini Interviews as part of the Stanford Medical School admissions process, and the creation of the Stanford Teaching and Mentoring Academy.  Dr. Prober currently leads the Digital Education International Collaborative (DigitalMEdic) program at Stanford, which aims to improve global health outcomes by increasing access to medical education and building human capacity. DigitalMEdic creates collaborative, high quality, accessible, and customized healthcare learning experiences that are openly available online to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Dr. Prober has published extensively in peer-reviewed medical journals and is editor of Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, one of the major textbooks in the field of pediatric infectious diseases. He is the recipient of multiple teaching awards, including the 2016 Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Award for Outstanding and Innovative Contributions to Medical Education.

Amit Hooda

Founder/CEO

Amit Hooda is social entrepreneur seeking to eliminate poverty through regenerative business and education. Hooda works in rural/conflicted parts of South America, Asia and Africa on various socially responsible projects (for and non profit both). Hooda has been partner or founder in bodycare, retail estate and technology companies. He is the CEO of and founder of Heavenly Organics and Secteur 6. Heavenly Organics’ (2005) unique business model eliminates conflict by creating ethical jobs in conflict areas that help sustain the economic and cultural survival of local communities. Today Heavenly Organics supports over 650 families in the Central and Kashmir regions of India, training them in bee-friendly sustainable methods of extracting honey in untouched forests, so the honey is free of pesticides, pollutants, GMOs, and antibiotics. Heavenly Organics products are sold in 4 different countries and over 8000 stores worldwide, and the company is in the process of expanding its work to Africa and Afghanistan. Secteur 6 is a new luxury

Kim Diorio

GME Chief Operations Officer

Kim Diorio, is a progressive educator with over 20 years leadership experience working in PK-12 public education, dedicated to equity, innovation and reimagining the education system so all learners thrive. During her 11 year tenure at Palo Alto High, Diorio developed strategic partnerships and opportunities that encouraged open communication and collaboration between teachers, students, parents and the community. She supported the growth of innovative student learning communities such as the Media Arts pathway, championed over $150 million in major building projects and joined with Esther Wojcicki in raising $30 million in support of the Media Arts Center. Kim Diorio is currently completing her doctorate in Educational Leadership & Change at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, CA.  Diorio is Founder and Board President for Rise Together Education, a non-profit which serves low income, high achieving students at Palo Alto High School.

Karina Alexanyan

GME Chief Strategy Officer

Dr. Karina Alexanyan, is a social scientist and non-profit executive with over 20 years of experience directing international programs and managing research projects at the intersection of education, technological innovation and social science. Dr. Alexanyan’s diverse career is united by a focus on international education, the impact of technological change on society, and global citizenship. She began her work in media as a journalism student with Esther Wojcicki at Palo Alto High School. Dr. Alexanyan’s professional experience includes managing an international service learning program and co-directing a pioneering international educational website. Her social science work includes international research and analysis with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, as well as helping develop industry/academia partnerships at the Human Sciences and Technologies Advanced Research Institute (HSTAR) at Stanford University. Dr. Alexanyan has taught courses in communication and media studies at NYU and with Stanford Continuing Studies. Her research on global social media networks has been published in a number of international journals. She holds a PhD in Communication from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Esther Wojcicki

Founder & CEO

Esther Wojcicki, is a journalist and award-winning educator, a pioneer in the integration of technology into the classroom, and a world renown advocate for students and teachers. Dr. Wojcicki founded the Palo Alto High Media Arts Program, one of America’s largest, most dynamic and successful high school media studies programs, and a model of how to teach 21st century skills. She regularly presents on her work and methods to global audiences of educators, policy makers and business leaders. Dr. Wojcicki is the recipient of a number of teaching awards and sits on the Board of leading educational organizations, including PBS Learning Forum and Creative Commons. She serves an advisor for edtech companies, non-profits, foundations, and the U.S. Department of Education. She is the founder of the Journalistic Learning Initiative at the University of Oregon (2016) and holds honorary doctorates from Palo Alto University (2013), Rhode Island School of Design (2016) and the University of Central Brazilia (2018). Esther has been intimately involved with GoogleEdu and the Google Teacher Academy since its inception and remains a guiding force. She is the author of Moonshots in Education (2014) and How to Raise Successful People (May, 2019). She is the mother of Susan Wojcicki (CEO of YouTube), Janet Wojcicki (Professor of Pediatrics at UCSF) and Anne Wojcicki (Founder and CEO of 23andMe) and the grandmother of nine.