Keynote and General Session Speakers
Yvonne Hao
Secretary of Economic Development
Yvonne Hao is the Secretary of the Executive Office of Economic Development. She has had more than 25 years of executive business experience as a senior executive, including as Co-founder, Advisor, and Managing Director at investment firm Cove Hill Partners and as an Operating Partner at Pillar Ventures. Previously, she was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of PillPack, an online pharmacy that was acquired by Amazon in 2018. She is also a former Operating Partner at Bain Capital. In addition, Hao has been a Board Director of companies such as CarGurus, Flywire, Gentherm, ZipRecruiter, and Bose. She also has been involved in the community, is the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Beth Israel Lahey Health, and a Trustee Emeriti of her alma mater, Williams College. She lives in Williamstown and Cambridge, and is a graduate of Williams College and the University of Cambridge.
Josh Cutler
Undersecretary, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development
Josh Cutler serves in the Healey-Driscoll Administration as Undersecretary in the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. He served six terms in the state legislature and is the former House Chair of the Labor and Workforce Development Committee. He also co-chaired the Future of Work Commission, the Coastal Caucus and the WorkAbility Subcommittee on disability employment. In the House, Cutler was a champion for workforce development, vocational education, and career center funding. He was lead sponsor of the wage transparency act, disability hiring tax credit, and apprenticeship standards and re-entry works legislation. Cutler was a recipient of the Thomas M. Menino Public Service Award for his work on disability employment policy. He has also been recognized as Legislator of the Year by the Mass. Developmental Disabilities Council, the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers, the Mass. Mental Health Counselors Association, and the Plymouth-Bristol Central Labor Council. Cutler holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and a Juris Doctor from Suffolk Law School. He is an attorney and the author of two books on local history.
Timothy M. O’Neil
Innovator
Timothy M. O’Neil is a distinguished innovator and strategic leader with over 35 years of experience in market disruption and innovation strategy. A proud 5-year US Navy Engineering combat veteran, he has spent more than 25 years in manufacturing. A patented inventor, Tim O’. has developed cutting-edge internet-based visual collaboration products and services, earning prestigious awards from the Smithsonian Institute and the Telecommunications Industry for disruptive innovation and leadership. Recently named the 2023 Massachusetts Manufacturer of The Year, he is also a 2024 Massachusetts Manufacturing Accelerate Program (MMAP) Grant recipient and holds several degrees. He has completed graduate work at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Business. Tim O’ and his wife of 25 years Dina America O’Neil founded Wellness Croft, Inc. in 2019, aimed at revolutionizing northeast economic development through sustainable agriculture and aquaculture strategies/objectives. A visionary in regional sustainable economic development, Tim O’. focuses on integrating AI and robotics into manufacturing processes, driving the future of the industry. He is always looking out for new opportunities, investors, and partnerships to support ongoing innovative ventures.
Glen Gawarkiewicz
Oceanographer
Glen Gawarkiewicz is a physical oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. His research focuses on processes occurring over the continental shelf and slope. He studies ocean currents as well as salinity and temperature fields. He has worked on problems relating to ocean warming and the associated impacts to the commercial fishing industry to the northeast. In addition, he has an excessive interest in sea monsters and antique maps.
Breakouts and Panels
Public Policy Roundtable
Breakout Panel: Workforce Development
Panel: Marine Technology
Theme: Offshore ROV and OAV projects
Panel: Aquaculture and Fisheries
Panel: Climate Resilience
