Tech Forward NJ

Joti Balani is Founder and CEO of Freshriver.ai, deploying Sovereign Intelligence for regulated organizations at the mission-critical workflow level, governed by senior leaders, formerly C-suite and MD-level executives at Fortune 500 institutions.

Freshriver starts where most AI programs end: with education and the precise financial outcome the organization actually needs. With a Full Human-AI Stack focused on outcome first, that inversion is the foundation of Freshriver’s Strategic Assessment methodology, built across twenty-five years leading emerging technology focused transformation inside Fortune 500 telecom, financial services, healthcare, and government institutions and exclusively in AI since 2018.

Freshriver’s Precision AI platform guarantees speed and accuracy contractually, gives clients permanent ownership of their AI, data, and intellectual property, and pre-calculates economic impact before any contract is signed. The same outcome-first discipline is deployed across industry, government, and PE/VC-backed companies globally.

Since 2024, Joti has collaborated with Ed Hoffman, former NASA Chief Knowledge Officer, embedding Freshriver’s methodology into Columbia University’s Masters in Information and Knowledge Strategy curriculum. She founded AI:ME (Mission Education), a global consortium convening executive leaders across twelve countries moving the global AI narrative from fear to agency through practitioner-led re-education with an outcome-focused AI curriculum architecture from the Boardroom to the Classroom.

Since 2020, the Freshriver Apprentice and Mentorship (FAM) program has trained professionals with both STEM and non-STEM backgrounds across three continents into deployment-ready AI roles, deployed globally — with students from Rutgers, NJIT, NYU, Yale, Carnegie Mellon, UPenn, and George Washington applying through inbound demand alone.

Columbia University SPS AI Advisor · INNOVATE100 NJ 2025 · WBENC Certified · Headquartered and Built in New Jersey · Deploying Governed Outcomes Globally.

Dave Cole has served as New Jersey’s Chief Innovation Officer and a member of the Governor’s Cabinet since 2024, leading efforts to strengthen innovation across state government and the broader economy. He oversees initiatives that use data, collective intelligence, agile technology, and emerging tools like AI to improve services and support agencies through the New Jersey Innovation Authority.

He first joined state government in 2020 to support the COVID‑19 response, serving as a technology co‑lead for the vaccination program and co‑founding the Resident Experience Initiative, which helped agencies design and launch digital services tied to new policies.

Previously, Dave was Vice President of Strategy and Operations at an AI‑driven startup, guiding its growth from 20 to more than 500 employees across four countries. He also held federal roles during the Obama administration, advancing open‑source technology and building digital platforms at 18F. A New Jersey native, Dave is a Rutgers graduate.

Christopher DePhillips is an Attorney and a Member of the New Jersey State Legislature.

Chris has been an Attorney for 33 years. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and Seton Hall University School of Law. During his career, he has served in various roles as outside counsel and in-house counsel. Most recently, he served as General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer of Porzio Life Sciences, an RLDatix Company. On April 15, 2024, he became a Partner at the law firm of Bernstein DePhillips & Kalosieh in Bergen County.

In his public life, Chris was elected to the State Assembly in 2017. He serves as the Conference Leader of the Assembly Republican Caucus. He also serves as a Member of the Assembly Transportation Committee and the Science, Innovation & Technology Committee. He was previously Mayor of Wyckoff where he also served on the Township Committee for 3 years. Additionally, he served for 6 years as a Commissioner of the Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority.

Chris resides in Wyckoff with his wife, Patti, and they have 4 children.

Roopak Gupta helps mid-market leaders cut through the noise around AI and technology. Founder & CEO of Hureka Technologies and creator of the mTap SaaS platform, he brings 18 years at Johnson & Johnson and a Columbia Business School MBA — translating enterprise-grade thinking into practical playbooks for growing businesses.

As Integris’ chief transformation officer, Kris Laskarzewski is reimagining how Integris delivers value through technology, operations, and client experience. His mission is to ensure Integris remains agile, innovative, and aligned with the future of managed IT services.
Laskarzewski brings over a decade of leadership within Integris, having risen through the ranks since the company’s early days as Domain Computer Services. From his start as a systems engineer to leading one of Integris’s largest markets in New Jersey and New York, and later overseeing product development and customer experience, his career has been defined by transformation at every level.
Now, as chief transformation officer of Integris, Laskarzewski is focused on scaling Integris’s capabilities and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. He is deeply committed to seeking valuable operational insight and enabling clients to thrive in a rapidly changing digital world.

Jack Ramirez is a government affairs professional specializing in technology, artificial intelligence, and innovation policy in New Jersey. A graduate of Rutgers University Class of 2025 with a degree in political science, he has previously interned with the United States House of Representatives, Johnson & Johnson, and the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. In his current role at NJBIA, he works with lawmakers, industry leaders, and stakeholders on issues related to emerging technologies, economic competitiveness, and business advocacy, with a focus on advancing balanced policies that support responsible innovation and strengthen New Jersey’s growing tech economy.

Kate collaborates with clients to protect, develop, and enforce their intellectual property (IP) rights and data.  Serving as both a savvy business counselor and a strategic litigator, Kate represents companies of all sizes across major industries, including computer technology, automotive, biotechnology, entertainment, sports, fashion, and food and beverage.

With deep experience in commercial contracting, Kate drafts and negotiates a wide range of IP and technology-focused agreements, including master services agreements, software licensing and SaaS agreements, AI development and model-training agreements, data-use and data-sharing agreements, social media influencer agreements, name and likeness releases, publishing agreements, and other technology, media, and data-driven contracts. She has a strong understanding of AI models and the legal risks inherent in their development and deployment and regularly helps clients navigate these issues.

Michele N. Siekerka, Esq., President and CEO of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, leads the nation’s largest, most influential employers’ organization, advocating on behalf of New Jersey’s large and small businesses for policies that will make New Jersey more affordable and regionally competitive.

Being known as a collaborative leader, Siekerka is leading an NJBIA established coalition (New Jersey Business Coalition) comprised of more than 100 business and nonprofit associations across the state to tackle the tough economic and business challenges our state is facing during COVID 19.

Well versed on the ‘boots on the ground” issues affecting our state’s business community, Michele is often the “go to” resource for media and is sought after to share her expertise in public forums across the state.

Michael is the Vice President for Strategic Partnerships & Entrepreneurship. Prior to NJII, he was the Vice President of Innovation at the Council on Competitiveness – a Washington, DC science and technology think-tank. There he worked side-by-side with leaders from industry, technology startups, and university presidents to educate elected officials on the U.S. science, technology, and innovation ecosystem and how public policies can support innovation as a source of economic growth and prosperity. These successes are underpinned by almost a decade of private sector technical experience, performing engineering services for Fortune 500 companies.

Brian Chol Soo Standen is an experienced digital technology and innovation leader operating at the intersection of artificial intelligence, advanced computing, and enterprise-scale transformation. He brings deep expertise in building and governing venture-style innovation portfolios, translating emerging technologies into commercial and operational value, and connecting startups, research institutions, and large enterprises through high-impact collaboration frameworks.

Brian’s background spans AI/ML, quantum computing, advanced analytics, robotics, digital platforms, and next-generation R&D systems. He is known for designing investor-style governance models, overseeing multi-million-dollar innovation portfolios, and fostering trusted partnerships that accelerate applied research and scalable deployment. His leadership approach emphasizes ecosystem thinking—combining technical depth, commercial discipline, and execution rigor to move technologies from exploration to measurable real-world impact.

Brian holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and English from the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he graduated magna cum laude in Anthropology. His work includes patented innovation in advanced computing and published contributions in quantum computing, reflecting a career that bridges deep technical exploration with real-world application.

Rajiv (Raj) Tiwari is a globally recognized AI and innovation visionary and futurist. For the last three decades, he has shared his expertise in AI and technology across five continents, impacting the lives of billions every day.

A Forbes Technology Council member and former Co-Chair of IEEE’s Future Directions Committee — the world’s largest technical professional organization — Raj has also contributed to MIT Inclusive Innovation Championship, Harvard Innovation Lab, and University College Dublin Innovation Hub.

His Raj’s 3R Strategy (3R: Rewire, Reimagine & Redefine) is gaining popularity across industries. He is the author of Indispensable and his upcoming book The Biggest Gift AI — Your Genie focuses on how AI can help you achieve your dream life.

A recipient of several prestigious awards, including India’s highest non-resident Indian honor — the Hind Rattan (Jewel of India) — he was recently conferred the Icons of Impact Honor.

He is known as “The Redefiner” and famously said: “The future belongs to those who embrace AI instead of fearing it. I don’t fear the future — I redefine it.”

As CEO of Spheros, Derrick is redefining how businesses exchange and protect data through secure data wallets, placing privacy, security, and organizational control at the heart of the modern data economy. Drawing on 18 years in the payments industry, including his role as Head of Emerging Payments and Innovation at Bank of America’s Global Treasury Services, and 15+ years leading international teams, he brings a rare combination of fintech expertise and global perspective to building infrastructure that enables secure, trusted data exchange at scale. A United States Naval Academy graduate and Washington D.C. native, Derrick is based in NJ.

Senator Andrew Zwicker is a physicist and a member of the New Jersey Senate representing Central NJ’s 16th Legislative District. He serves on the Budget and Appropriations, Higher Education, Labor, and Military and Veterans’ Affairs committees. Additionally, he is a member of the Manufacturing Caucus, the Disability Caucus, the NJ Commission on Science, Innovation, and Technology, and was Vice-Chair of the NJ Biotechnology Task Force. He served in the NJ General Assembly from 2016 – 2021 where he was the Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee. His legislative focus includes the role of R&D as an economic driver, addressing global warming, and voting rights, among others.

A lifelong New Jersey resident, Andrew is head of Communications and Public Outreach at Princeton University’s Plasma Physics Laboratory, a world leader in developing an advanced form of energy known as fusion.

He has taught classes in bioethics and writing, and led plasma physics workshops for faculty and students. The American Association of Physics Teachers named him as one of the 75 leading contributors to physics education in the US.

Andrew was raised in Englewood, NJ where his love of learning and passion for science came from his mother, a public school English teacher, and father, a chemical engineer. Andrew earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Bard College and a master’s and Ph.D. in physics from Johns Hopkins University.

Andrew and his wife Barbara, an elementary school educator, raised three children and one pitbull-boxer mix named Rocky.

Please visit https://andrewzwicker.com, for more information.