Mike has spent his entire career building software companies. He started his first software company out of his parents basement in college, and since that time has helped found, grow, and sell 6 SaaS companies.

During his years building businesses, Mike has personally worked on each aspect of building a software company - marketing, sales (yes including cold calling), product architecture and development, and operations management, fund raising, and everything in between.

Mike earned a BS in Computer Science & Information Security from Dakota State University in Madison, SD. Mike is based in Brandon, SD with his wonderful wife and four children. Mike loves overlanding and backpacking with his kids in the most remote places. This is probably because Mike was born in Canada where wilderness is everywhere.

Ms. Lorie Vega is the Deputy for the 28th Mission Support Group at Ellsworth AFB. In this role, she provides oversight to six squadrons which are responsible for security, communications, acquisition, construction and infrastructure, fire operations, acquisitions, supply chain and logistics, hospitality, leisure and recreation, child and youth services, human resources, and much more. She is also Ellsworth’s Innovation and Community Partnership Program lead.

Ms. Vega has served as a federal employee for the Air Force for 41 years. She began her career as the first Air Force Child Development Center Director Intern. Since then, she worked at seven locations overseas and in the continental US, holding a variety of positions of increasing responsibility at the installation and Major Command levels. She has a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Cornell University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Trinity College.

Ms. Vega is very involved in the local community as a member of the Board of Directors for the Box Elder Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors for Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Black Hills Energy Citizens Advisory Committee, Black Hills Children’s Museum, and a member of the Black Hills Military Advisory Coalition serving on multiple pillars.

Originally from Durban, South Africa, Garth came to the United States after being recruited by the South Dakota State University Swim Team. He earned his bachelor’s degree in geography and GIS from SDSU and then a master’s in city planning from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. As Elevate Rapid City’s Senior Public Policy Director, Garth works with community stakeholders to plan for strategic growth and quality of life in the region.

When he is not helping businesses with permitting and programs, Garth enjoys rock climbing, swimming in Pactola, or enjoying other outdoor activities with his wife Kelli, daughter Lucy, and their two rescue dogs, June and Emma.

Bert Adam is a strong proponent for venture capital in Wyoming, known for supporting innovation and driving results for both founders and funders. With a diverse career in engineering, digital marketing, UX, and leading development teams, Bert has helped the WYVC team back many companies across Wyoming in sectors including fintech, healthtech, energy, CPG, and enterprise SaaS.

As one of the Managing Directors at WYVC, Bert brings a unique blend of analytical rigor and entrepreneurial empathy to the table, bridging the gap between visionary ideas and realistic growth. As the board observer for part of the WYVC portfolio, he gets to live his purpose of "always be learning".

Bert lives in Cheyenne with his wife Sandy and two sons. He spends his time mountain biking and championing every project at school, at home, or otherwise. Bert spent a couple of semesters at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, is a graduate of Montana State University, and holds certifications from Harvard and UC Berkeley.

Leads Fast Forward’s mission to transform utility inspections through innovative technology and actionable data. Dusty has built Fast Forward into a trusted partner for electric utilities nationwide, improving safety, efficiency, and reliability.

With multiple successful startups under his belt, Dusty is recognized as a subject matter expert for bringing innovative thinking to the utility industry, combining advanced technology with practical operational insight. His work focuses on modernizing how utilities leverage data and decision-making at scale.

Trevor Arnold is a senior software developer at FTI Defense, co-founder at Plenty of Hires (hiring platform for construction and the skilled trades), and founder of Arnold Technologies (fractional CTO and technology advisor services). He has been in the software space for over a decade in positions ranging from sales, management, data, and software development. Trevor's focus is on building software that truly provides value to people, deliberate organization, and effective communication. His combination of business and technical experience helps bridge the gap between code and the board room.

Corinne Perkins is the Founder and CEO of Plenty of Hires, a hiring platform for construction and the skilled trades that replaces resumes and job postings with structured fit-based matching. She spent 14 years in recruiting, marketing, and business development, including five years with Adecco Staffing, where she worked her way up from Staffing Specialist to Executive Recruiter and eventually Branch Manager. Most recently, Corinne spent two years building out the workforce development programs for the local Black Hills Home Builders Association. Her specialties are product strategy, go-to-market, sales, and business development. She completed the NSF I-Corps program, graduated from WildFire Labs in 2025, and launched Plenty of Hires into beta in February 2026, converting early users into paying customers.

Sean Wilkerson is serving as the Acting Community Engagement Office Director of Northwest Frontier Community Engagement Office in Bozeman, MT, for the Office of Public Engagement at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In this role he works closely with USPTO colleagues and leadership, federal agency partners, national organizations, and industry to design and implement programs and initiatives that bring innovation resources to independent inventors, small businesses, entrepreneurs, makers, innovator communities, and universities.

Wilkerson uses his experience working across multiple areas of USPTO outreach to consistently contribute to a variety of initiatives across the agency by developing, implementing and collaborating on outreach programming.

Wilkerson joined the USPTO in October of 2008, initially serving in the Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA) as an education program specialist for international programing and outreach. There, he managed international training programs focused on enforcement of patents, trademarks, and copyrights and the U.S. patent and trademark system, working with USPTO attaches, U.S. embassies, federal agencies, and foreign governments to develop the programs.

From 2012-2014, Wilkerson served as program manager for the inaugural Select USA Summit, developing the structure and outreach efforts for this U.S. government-wide program housed in the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. He was responsible for creating the approved funding method, operations, and outline to launch and support the program, which still operates today.

Wilkerson worked with the New York engagement team to manage and develop the 2015 Future of Urban Innovation Startups Summit in coordination with Columbia University and the USPTO. He later served in the Office of the Undersecretary as an acting Regional Outreach Officer for the Texas Regional Office to help coordinate the office’s opening and to develop stakeholder connections in the region. He also assisted with the stakeholder activities for the opening of the Silicon Valley Regional Office.

Prior to joining USPTO, Wilkerson served as the Director of Events for the National Association of Homebuilders in Washington, D.C. and as the Ideas Exchange manager for Accenture in Reston, Virginia, where he focused on providing government and military clients with solution-based planning modules to implement changes in operations.