Ann Carpenter is dedicated to building and fostering the global Blue Economy. She serves as an advisor to deep-tech entrepreneurs, bringing more than 30 years of experience in strategic planning, marketing, business development, and community outreach as an entrepreneur and in private industry and nonprofit organizations. As Co-Founder and CEO of Braid Theory, Ann is leading the organization’s growth and building strategic and diverse partnerships.

Ann serves on the Boards of Ocean Exchange and Smart Freight Centre to further initiatives addressing global challenges and a more sustainable future. She holds additional advisory positions at Blue Action Lab, Seaworthy Collective, and CSULB for Operations and Supply Chain Management. Ann is also the appointed Chief Innovation Officer of the City of Los Angeles, Council District 15, and Commissioner of the County of Los Angeles Small Business Commission.

In her copious free time, Ann sails, kayaks, and scuba dives. Good thing her garden pretty much grows itself.

Jim Cooper has 25+ years of experience in commercialization and focuses on novel early-stage technology startups in the blue economy and adjacencies. He specializes in market validation, competitive analysis, business modeling, and go-to-market strategy, through the lens of evidence-based entrepreneurship. Educated in both Australia and the US, in economics and molecular biology, Jim has experience in entrepreneurship as well as in both the public and private sectors.

Jim serves as an ambassador and mentor at the CSUF Center for Entrepreneurship and is an industry mentor and advisor at NSF i-Corps. He serves on both the Student Success Network and the CSU system-wide CSUPERB biotech program. For over a decade he has worked as a Principal Advisor at Larta Institute in their DoE, NIH, NOAA, and USDA SBIR CAP programs.

When not advising startups or venture studios, Jim can be found playing soccer, rugby, and Australian football, eating ice cream, and playing the drums in a couple of punk rock bands.