Presenters

Lev A. Sviridov is a Senior Research Associate at City College of New York. Sviridov received a Doctorate in Inorganic Chemistry from Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from CCNY where he majored in chemistry and conducted research in the compositions and origins of aerosols. While at CCNY, Lev served as the student body president of the most diverse college in the United States and served on the Fiscal Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York. In addition to college-related activities, Lev served as the permanent representative of the Glasnost Public Foundation to the United Nations, representing the only human rights NGO from Russia to be recognized by the DPI NGO of the UN.

Seth Reiss is Head Writer at The Onion. A graduate of Boston University’s College of Communication, he has written for Boston’s The Weekly Dig, McSweeney’s, and the former ESPN Classic show Cheap Seats. Seth is also in the sketch comedy group Pangea 3000, which performs regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York, and has also been featured at the New York, San Francisco, Portland, Chicago, Toronto, and Washington D.C. sketch comedy festivals.

Jason Silva is a Futurist, filmmaker and techno-philosopher, Jason Silva has been described as “a digital DJ, a re-vitalizer and remixer of optimism, and above all a curator: of ideas, of inspiration, and of awe…”

From 2005 to 2011, Venezuela-born Silva was a presenter on Current TV, the Emmy-winning cable network started by Al Gore. In 2011 Jason became a fellow at the Hybrid Realities Institute and launched a series of short-form videos exploring our ‘Human/Technology Co-Evolution’, the last of which was described as “Stunning” by TED curator Chris Anderson. Silva’s work has been featured in The Huffington Post, BigThink, Vanity Fair, and Forbes. Silva was also featured as part of the GAP Icons campaign. Silva has spoken at Singularity Summit alongside Peter Thiel and Ray Kurzweil, Yale University, and The Paley Center for Media. His work was most recently showcased at The Economist Ideas Festival in NYC. In January, Jason will also be speaking at DLD Digital Life Design in Munich. Silva recently partnered with Oscar nominated producer Peter Martin to create a 3D doc film on the future of technology.

CEO/Founder of Quirky.com

Ben is the 24-year-old founder and CEO of Quirky. His entrepreneurial journey started during his senior year of high school with a second mortgage on his parent’s house and the founding of an iPod accessory company called mophie. Shortly after mophie won “Best in Show” at MacWorld 2006, Ben discovered his passion for involving people around the world in the development of new consumer products. The rapid growth of the mophie brand led to its acquisition in August of 2007, which allowed Ben to focus his efforts on bringing his idea of ‘social product development’ to the next level.

After two years of research and development on the unique technology platform that became the foundation of his future work, Ben publicly launched Quirky in June of 2009. A passionate and opinionated speaker, Ben talks Quirky, products and design to audiences around the world. His work has landed him in hundreds of newspapers (New York Times, USA Today, New York Observer), magazines (Business Week, Entrepreneur, WIRED) and TV networks (CNBC, FOX Business News, The Today Show). In 2007, Inc Magazine named Ben the top entrepreneur in the country under the age of 30. He was 20 at the time. Other than participating in the development of awesome new products, Ben’s favorite things include his niece Lily, Jay-Z, cool kicks and black t-shirts.

Developer of Park51, the Planned Muslim Cultural Center at Ground Zero

Sharif El‐Gamal is a New York City real estate developer. He is the founder & CEO of Soho Properties, a Manhattan‐based real estate company. Sharif has a broad array of experience in real estate investment and has been involved in the acquisition and disposition of over 20 Manhattan buildings containing in excess of 2 Million square feet of space including the management of multi‐family, office, retail and residential developments. Soho Properties was launched to invest and develop residential and commercial real estate projects and form a Capital Markets Group. Sharif is responsible for overseeing the complete operations of the company, including identification, evaluation and execution of investments and the formulation of polices and strategies for the ongoing asset management and disposition of investments.

Prior to Soho Properties, Sharif built a firm to oversee the asset management of a residential portfolio of mixed use buildings and retail stores in New York City. Additionally, he advised international and institutional investors in the acquisition and sales of office and residential properties in New York City with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $500 Million.

Sharif incorporates a variety of philanthropic activities into his life, including helping non‐profit organizations find and purchase properties in addition to assisting them with investment advice and equity sourcing. He is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY). He was recently honored by NBC and Matt Lauer as one of the People of the Year for 2010.

A charismatic and sought after public speaker, Sharif has appeared in national and international media such as NBC, BBC, CBS, CNN, NPR, MSNBC, NY1 and BBC. He has been quoted in the New York Times, New York Post, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, The Real Deal, Financial Times, ABC This Week, USA Today, BBC News Radio and Associated Press.
Sharif was born in Brooklyn, NY and is of Polish and Egyptian descent. He lives in New York City with his wife and two daughters.