The Economic Club of Traverse City

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution”

“Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency”

As a digital financial services product manager at Gemini, Jamie Chapman works to create elegant and secure cryptocurrency trading and investing experiences. She has led numerous teams through Gemini’s rapid growth from small start-up to sophisticated international company, and specializes in building financial products for the mass retail market. She recently launched Gemini Earn, a crypto lending and interest-earning program offering up to 7.4% APY. Her aim is to make complex financial services easy to use and understand. Read More

“The Case Against Economic Nationalism”

Dr. Samuel Gregg is research director at the Acton Institute, Michigan, as well as a Visiting Scholar at the Feulner Institute at the Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C. He has written and spoken extensively on questions of political economy, economic history, ethics in finance, and natural law theory. He has an MA from Melbourne University, Australia, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in moral philosophy and political economy from Oxford University. Read More

Bob O’Hara has been a nonprofit executive for most of his adult life.  His 35-year career with Boys & Girls Clubs has included work at all levels of organizational management, in four Midwest states.  With a great interest in the power of nonprofits and home ownership to benefit the entire community, Bob finds the Home Builders Association to be a natural fit for his talents. Read More

Benjamin Marentette has served as City Clerk for the City of Traverse City since the confirmation of his appointment in September 2011.   In his role as City Clerk, Benjamin essentially functions as Chief Operating Officer for a city government in one of Michigan’s most thriving and engaged communities with annual cash flow in excess of $150 million and assets that nearly equal that amount.  He has oversight and leadership responsibilities in areas of finance, risk management, governance, licensing, elections, policy development and more.  Benjamin believes in providing white glove service and works to inspire excellence in the city’s delivery of services. Read More

SUNEEL GUPTA is the founder of RISE and is on faculty at Harvard University. Using the seven steps inside this book, Suneel went from being the face of failure for the New York Times to being the “New Face of Innovation” for the New York Stock Exchange. His ideas have been backed by firms like Greylock and Google Ventures, and he has invested in startups including Airbnb, Calm, and SpaceX. Suneel also serves as an emissary for Gross National Happiness between the United States and the Kingdom of Bhutan.

Paul Britten grew up in TC and is a TCSF grad, class of 1979. After two years getting toughened up at West Point, he transferred to University of Detroit School of Architecture graduating as an apprentice architect in 1985. Less than a year later, he founded Britten Banners in Washington DC and moved the company to TC in 1992. Darcy is still married to Paul after 35 years and they have 7 children and 5 grandkids so far!

Jennifer Szunko has served as the Executive Director of TCNewTech since January of 2020. She has a passion for entrepreneurs and has worked in a number of industries including hotel, cruise, wine, magazine, and book publishing. As a connector of people, she is constantly flipping through her mental Rolodex looking for ways to bring people together. When she is not hosting TCNewTech pitch events you can find her enjoying the outdoors and dreaming up new ideas. Read More

Josh Rogin is a columnist for the Global Opinions section of the Washington Post and a political analyst with CNN. He is also the author of “Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the 21st Century” released March, 2021 by Houghton Mifflin Harcout.

Previously, Josh has covered foreign policy and national security for Bloomberg View, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, Foreign Policy magazine, Congressional Quarterly, Federal Computer Week magazine, and Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. Read More

Hans Van Sumeren is the Director of the Great Lakes Water Studies Institute at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City, Michigan.  While at NMC he has collaboratively developed several new initiatives in water related research and education including associate degrees in both Freshwater Studies and Marine Technology, a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Technology, Offshore ROV Pilot Training credential, and an associate degree in Surveying.  Hans has also created and numerous other professional development opportunities for the marine industry as part of the Marine Center.  Read More