Event & Corporate Sponsorship provided by:
Presents
AV Summit 2018
AUVSI New England is proud to present the Autonomous Vehicle Summit 2017, an annual summit that bring together autonomous vehicle stakeholders and robotic systems companies to explore current and future models for AV integration into our public roadways.
Topics include
Current Policy Landscape for Autonomous and Region Issues
Integrating Autonomous Driving into the New Automotive Reality
Autonomy on the streets of Boston
Be sure to register early as seating is limited for this venue.
Panelists & Speakers
Jane Lappin is Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs for Toyota Research Institute (TRI). TRI was created in January as an independent subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation, charged with using artificial intelligence to develop automated vehicles, assistive indoor robotics, and materials discovery.
Ms. Lappin's responsibilities include working with elected and appointed officials, state and local transportation authorities, and the transportation community to address shared policy issues related to the future of highly automated vehicles.
Chris Bessette has a B.S. and an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. Early in his career, he developed navigation filters for various military and space applications.
After that, Chris served as the Program Manager for Draper’s Airdrop programs, overseeing programs in guided and unguided Airdrop, as well development of tools to aid personnel jumpers in achieving their drop zones.
Currently Chris serves as the PM for Draper’s support of various Automotive OEMs and Tier 1’s.
Alison Sander has served as the Director of BCG’s Center for Sensing & Mining the Future since 2005 and brings more than 20 years’ experience working with senior teams on complex global challenges. Alison has designed significant growth strategies for CEOs and Boards of Directors across many sectors and has used Megatrends to help clients form long term visions and to find the next billion dollars of growth. Alison joined BCG in 1997 serving as Globalization Topic Advisor—a job that allowed her to see shifts across many countries.
Alison has an MBA from Harvard Business School, a JD from Harvard Law School, and a BA in political science with high honors from the University of Chicago. Alison is a member of the Asia Society, the Council on Foreign Relations (www.cfr.org), the Association of Professional Futurists, a former overseer at the Museum of Science (www.mos.org), and a former Board Member of WRI (www.wri.org) a leading global environmental think tank. Alison is the founder of AltWheels (www.altwheels.org) an award winning non-profit focused on bringing smarter transportation solutions to New England. Alison has worked in or traveled to more than 91 countries. Alison is a noted speaker on future trends and brings creative and innovative perspectives to many senior Boards and executive teams.
Kate Fichter is the Assistant Secretary for Policy Coordination at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, where she has served in various capacities since 2004. Kate is a graduate of the University of Chicago and MIT, and has professional expertise in transportation planning and policy. Prior to her current role, Kate served as the Project Manager for the extension of the MBTA Green Line to Somerville and Medford (2007-2010) and the expansion of Boston South Station (2012-2014).
Kate is now responsible for overseeing multiple policy initiatives, and insuring that MassDOT policy priorities are implemented through investments and projects.
Christopher Tassone leads the Shared Services & Consulting Team at Liberty Mutual and manages the company’s autonomous vehicles partnership strategy. His group works with automakers, transportation disruptors, and governments to understand customer demand and minimize risk while bringing new mobility products to market. He has extensive experience helping established companies compete in new markets using scenario planning and a customer-centric product design process. Previously, Chris worked on State Farm’s Innovation Team and in Marketing at Zipcar.
James Sproul is AUVSI-New England’s Autonomous Vehicle Summit 2017 Program Chair and CRO of The Sproul Company headquartered in Boston’s North End.
As Founder of The Sproul Company (TSC) in 1999, Jim has a rich history of Rainmaking for engineering companies by networking, identifying and closing new business opportunities.
An active volunteer & member of AUVSI-New England, Sproul is the 2017 Autonomous Vehicle Summit Program Chair and prior to this was AUVSI-New England’s Robotica 2016 Session & Speaker Chair. For this event, Jim spearheaded the efforts to bring over 90 recognized industry leaders to speak during 27 sessions over a three-day conference. See https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimsproul for a complete work & volunteer history.
A dual resident of the North End and Cape Cod and graduate of the University of Connecticut, Jim enjoys family life with his wife Molly, three children and five grandchildren.
Event & Chapter Sponsorship Information
For sponsorship or to exhibit at any of our events, please contact info@AUVSINewEngland.org
