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Presenting
John Alex, M.D.
Emergency Physician, Medical Director, Riverside Simulation Training Lab at Riverside Medical Center
Dr. John E. Alex is an Emergency Physician, Healthcare Simulation Educator, and Medical Director for the Riverside Simulation Training Lab at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News, VA. He also serves as the Chief Medical Officer at Riverside Mental Health and Recovery Center. Prior to joining Riverside, Dr. Alex led a decorated career in the U.S. Navy and retired after 20 years of military service. His military decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (2 awards), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (2 awards), Joint Service Achievement Medal, and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. Among other roles, he served as a Cryptologist and was assigned to the National Security Agency where he served as a Division Officer, Operational Watch Officer and Senior Intelligence Analyst. He is also a designated Naval Flight Surgeon and a qualified Fleet Marine Force Warfare Officer. Dr. Alex has held several positions at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP), including a post as the first Deputy Director of the Healthcare Simulation and Bioskills Training Center where he led a staff of simulation specialists in efforts to provide essential medical training to hospital personnel, trainees, and local operational forces, and also a post as the first Director of Expeditionary Medicine.
Opening Statements
Dan Arczynski
President & CEO, Index AR Solutions
Dan co-founded Index AR Solutions in 2015 and the company has grown to become a premier workforce development partner for large US clients. For nineteen years prior to Index, Dan held a series of executive positions in the shipbuilding industry. He served as Corporate Vice President of Business Development and Strategy at Huntington Ingalls Industries as well as Sector Vice President of Strategy at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. Dan also served on the Board of Directors for Continental Maritime of San Diego, AREVA Newport News and Savannah River Nuclear Solutions. Prior to shipbuilding, Dan was Vice President of Strategy and Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions for Shawmut, a large New England regional bank. He was also a consultant for Marakon Associates, a firm focused on creating shareholder value for its clients. A U.S. Army veteran, Dan served for twelve years attaining the rank of Major. During this time, he led five platoon-size units and commanded a light infantry company. He also taught economics, finance and investments at West Point. Dan is a 1978 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy where he was on the Dean’s List, Commandant’s List and Superintendent’s List. He is a 1986 graduate of the Harvard Business School where he graduated with Highest Distinction and was elected Baker Scholar.
Presenting
Doug Barber
Director, Nuclear Maintenance & Technical and Energy Supply Training at Xcel Energy
Doug Barber is Director of Nuclear Maintenance & Technical and Energy Supply Training at Xcel Energy, where he helps lead workforce development and technical training initiatives across the company’s energy operations. His work supports Xcel Energy’s efforts to strengthen craft skills, improve equipment reliability, advance strategic training initiatives and share resources across nuclear and non-nuclear teams. He has also contributed industry perspective on effective plant maintenance training and the value of unified learning organizations in improving technician effectiveness, business efficiency and plant performance.
Presenting
Jack Cronin
Managing Director, Acumen Aerospace & Defense Advisers
Jack Cronin is Managing Director of Acumen Aerospace & Defense Advisers, where he works with organizations across the aerospace, defense and government services markets. Prior to founding Acumen, he served as Chief Strategy Officer at Textron Systems and held a similar role with Aurora Flight Sciences. He has led major defense business development and capture efforts across shipbuilding, unmanned aircraft systems, combat vehicles, weapons and related technology markets.
Presenting
Barry DuVal
President & CEO, ITA Growth Partners
Barry DuVal is President and CEO of ITA Growth Partners, a division of ITA International that focuses on supporting and growing veteran-owned businesses. Before joining ITA, he served for nearly 15 years as President and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, helping transform it into Virginia’s largest business advocacy organization. During his leadership, Chamber membership grew from about 1,000 members to more than 33,000. He also helped establish the Virginia Chamber Foundation, which launched HIRE VETS NOW, a nationally recognized program that assists transitioning service members in finding employment. DuVal oversaw the development of the WiseChoice Healthcare Alliance, which provides healthcare coverage to thousands of Virginians employed by small businesses. His public service career began in 1988 on the Newport News City Council, and he later served as Mayor of Newport News from 1990 to 1996. He then became President and CEO of the Hampton Roads Partnership, a regional economic development organization. From 1998 to 2002, he served as Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade, helping attract 1,500 economic development projects, nearly 157,000 jobs, and $13.7 billion in private investment. Throughout his career, he has served on numerous boards, including those of Christopher Newport University, James Madison University, and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. In recognition of his contributions, he has been honored by the Virginia General Assembly, recognized in the Congressional Record by the U.S. Senate, and named among Virginia Business Magazine’s Top 50 Most Influential People in Virginia for six consecutive years.
Presenting
Anthony W. Gagliardo, Ed.D.
Principal Director, Accenture
Dr. Anthony W. Gagliardo, Principal Director at Accenture, is a nationally recognized leader in operational excellence and workforce development, known for transforming global organizations through innovative training strategies, cost optimization, and talent development. Previously, he served as Vice President of Nuclear, Technical & Enterprise Learning at Xcel Energy, overseeing multimillion-dollar training operations and redefining global learning efforts through his work with the World Association of Nuclear Operators and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. His earlier role at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory included leading the Future Workforce Destination 2025 initiative, which helped the organization earn recognition as one of the top public-sector learning and development organizations. Dr. Gagliardo’s impact spans the private, public, and government sectors, including leadership roles at the FAA, where he transformed air traffic control operations and spearheaded national training programs.
Seeing the Spaces: Lessons from the Beautiful Game
James Golden, Ph.D.
Brigadier General, U.S. Army (Ret.), Senior Counselor to the President, William & Mary
Jim Golden is the author of Seeing the Spaces: Lessons from the Beautiful Game, which explores the importance of seeing emerging spaces on the soccer field, in education, the military, the corporation and other sports. He started playing soccer in the fifth grade, where he learned to avoid Chucky Hogenkamp’s boots. At West Point he was a starting midfielder and his team went to the NCAA final four his last two years. He later joined the faculty there, volunteered as an assistant coach with the men’s team for 20 years and coached a youth traveling team. He’s applied the idea of seeing the spaces in many settings: as an army officer in combat; as head of an academic department at West Point; as a senior staff economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers; as a Fulbright Professor in Germany; as executive director of technology and innovation in the Tenneco corporate headquarters; as a university vice president of strategic initiatives at William & Mary; and as chair of the board of several non-profit organizations. He retired from the Army as a Brigadier General, authored several books on economics and national security, and has a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard. He continues to volunteer as a senior consultant in the president’s office at William & Mary and, more importantly, as a mentor to Dan Arczynski!
PRESENTING
Carrie Laird
Vice President of Wildfire Mitigation and Emergency Operations, PacifiCorp
Carrie Laird is the Vice President of Wildfire Mitigation and Emergency Operations for PacifiCorp. Carrie has been in the electric utility industry for almost 30 years, with experience focused on transmission and distribution operations, capital planning, emergency management, and wildfire mitigation. Carrie holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics. When not working, she enjoys spending time with her children, and is also is bit of a foodie and avid concert goer.
Presenting
James Merlo, Ph.D.
CEO, North American Generator Forum
Dr. James Merlo, Chief Executive Officer of the North American Generator Forum (NAGF), is a seasoned human factors engineer with extensive experience in organizational leadership spanning from military service to executive management. As CEO, he oversees daily operations and strategic initiatives aligned with the NAGF Business Plan. Before joining NAGF, he was Vice President at KnowledgeVine, a leader in Human Performance Implementation, and previously held a key role at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), where he led efforts to evaluate industry vulnerabilities and human performance impacts on the Bulk Electric System. A U.S. Army veteran with over 22 years of service, James held several leadership roles, including Deputy Brigade Commander in Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Assistant Professor at West Point. Academically accomplished, he holds a B.S. in Human Factors Psychology from West Point, an M.S. in Engineering Psychology from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. in Applied Experimental and Human Factors Psychology from the University of Central Florida. He has authored over 50 publications and enjoys snowboarding, wake surfing, and spending time outdoors when not working.
PANELIST
Nathaniel Minnick, DO
Director of Graduate Medical Education for Riverside Health
Dr. Nate Minnick is the Director of Graduate Medical Education for Riverside Health. He started his career as an emergency physician with Riverside with an interest in medical education. Prior to medical school, he studied themed spaces – the psychology of structure and the implementation of user experience through space making. In 2014, he became the program director of Riverside’s Transitional Year Residency. During this time, he became a certified patient experience professional to explore the intersection of medicine, education, and themed spaces. Additional current roles include serving as the Chair of Riverside’s medical staff Innovations and Privileges Committee. The committee reviews requests for new clinical technology, provider privileging requests, and other innovations within Riverside Health. He also leads a course for Riverside medical residents on behavioral economics, game theory, and leadership principles used by the creative industry. Dr. Minnick is an open-format DJ who performs at Riverside Foundation events. Some of his aspirations at Riverside would be to fulfill a role as a semiotics guru or lead a team who focuses on healthcare as a themed space influencing all human experiences in the health system.
Presenting
Doug Schmidt, Ph.D.
Dean, School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics, William & Mary
Dr. Douglas C. Schmidt is the inaugural Dean of William & Mary’s School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics. He recently served as the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, which is a President-appointed Senate-confirmed position that advises the Secretary of Defense on operational and live fire test and evaluation of Department of Defense weapon and information systems. Prior to DOT&E, Dr. Schmidt served as the Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Engineering in Computer Science, the Associate Provost for Research, Co-Director of the Data Science Institute, the Associate Chair of Computer Science, and a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Software Integrated Systems, all at Vanderbilt University. He’s also been affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute in various research-oriented positions for 20 years.
Dr. Schmidt’s research over the past four decades covers a range of software-related topics, including patterns, optimization techniques, and quality assurance of frameworks and model-driven engineering tools that facilitate the development of mission-critical middleware for cyber-physical systems and intelligent mobile cloud computing applications. His recent research focuses on prompt engineering techniques and patterns that enhance the accuracy and expressiveness of large language models and generative AI platforms. Dr. Schmidt received Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in Sociology from William & Mary and Master of Science and Doctorate degrees in Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine.
Closing Remarks
Scott Sommers
Senior Vice President, Index AR Solutions
Scott Sommers is Senior Vice President at Index AR Solutions, responsible for the company’s Marketing initiatives, as well as Client and Corporate Development. Prior to Index AR Solutions, Scott Sommers was SVP, Finance and Corporate Development at SureWest Communications. He was instrumental in setting the Company’s strategic direction, leading the sale of the directories, wireless and tower assets as well as the acquisition of the Kansas City properties. He also lead the restructuring of the corporate compensation plans, freezing the defined benefit plan and outsourcing of non-core functions.
KEYNOTE
Phil Ulrich
Executive Vice President and CHRO, American Electric Power
Phil Ulrich is Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at American Electric Power. Ulrich is responsible for aligning human resources functions, processes, and company culture to support AEP’s overall business strategy including oversight of labor and employee relations, leadership and organizational development, benefits and compensation, culture and well-being for AEP’s employees. He also is responsible for the company’s communications and marketing, safety and health and corporate sustainability organizations.
Prior to his role with AEP, Ulrich was the chief human resources officer at Flex, LTD, a global manufacturing company with more than 170,000 employees in 30 countries.
Prior to joining Flex in 2019, he was senior vice president, Human Resources, Electrical Sector for Eaton, a global power management company, and responsible for leading talent management and development, building functional capability in the sector and driving standardized processes to support growth. In 2012, Ulrich joined Eaton as part of the Cooper Industries acquisition and was later named the human resources leader for the integration team. Prior to Eaton, he held a series of leadership positions at Cooper Industries and Honeywell International. Ulrich holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Presbyterian College and a master’s degree in industrial/organization psychology from Clemson University.
Reserve Your Seat!
Index AR Solutions 2026 Fall Conference
October 26-27, 2026
Invitation Only
The 2026 theme, “Accelerating Workforce Development,” highlights the urgency of recruiting, training, and retaining talent in rapidly evolving industries. Hosted by Index AR Solutions, the conference will feature presentations, networking, and hands-on demos of mobile apps and eBooks, giving attendees the opportunity to explore real-world solutions and connect with peers—all within a schedule that allows arrival on October 26 and departure by the evening of October 27.
Click to Register Book Your Room