Opening Session with Keynote by Deborah Westphal

615 Hamilton Drive,Wilmington NC 28403

02 November, 2021

Description

Featuring Internationally renowned futurist Deborah Westphal, author of “Convergence: Technology, Business and the Human-Centric Future” All Blue Week formally kicks-off with opening remarks by (invited) UNCW Chancellor Jose V. Sartarelli and an introduction to (invited) Senator Michael Lee. Next up: a presentation by special guest and Wilmington native, Rear Admiral Laura M. Dickey, operational commander for all U.S. Coast Guard missions from the North Carolina/South Carolina border to New Jersey. She will present an insightful update on the U.S. Coast Guard’s current activities and future plans and how they will impact coastal North Carolina. Internationally renowned futurist Deborah Westphal, author of “Convergence: Technology, Business and the Human-Centric Future” will deliver the special keynote address. Ms. Westphal will offer keen insights on the themes of sustainability and human-centric convergence and how they resonate with and are embedded in the Blue Economy. Closing out the opening session is John Waterston who joins us from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense. He will speak about accelerating trends in the collection, communication, and analysis of ocean, security, and weather information and how actionable data is changing marine science, coastal resiliency and defense protocols. At the conclusion on the session, in-person attendees are invited to meet Deborah Westphal and receive a complimentary signed copy of her book “Convergence: Technology, Business and the Human-Centric Future”. Networking and light breakfast fare starts at 8 a.m. with the presentation beginning at 8:30 a.m.