

Mission Briefings #04: Defense Tech Matchmaking
Mission Briefings are curated, small-group conversations designed to give defense and dual-use startups access to the experts that can help them scale.
The fourth session provides 25 startups with direct access via 1:1 matchmaking to 25 experts from the Department of War, primes, venture capital firms, accelerators, and service providers.
Each startup will have several matchmaking sessions with pairings driven by a preference-based process that connects founders with the experts most relevant to their technology and stage. Before and after the sessions, startups can connect with fellow founders and additional experts on-site.
Space is limited due to the matchmaking format.
EXPERTS
Army FUZE
Jessica Dyroff, Private Capital, Business Analyst
AWS
Ryan Ricer, Lead - Mission Tech
Beacon Global Strategies
Kaly McKenna, Vice President
Chugach Alaska Corporation
Nicholas Hurst, Director of Corporate Development
CSC Leasing
Jonathan Price, Managing Director, Originations
Energy Innovation Capital/EIC Virtus
Andrew Lackner, Managing Director
FedTech
Sevan Araz, Program Manager, Defense and Commercial Innovation
Fuse Ventures
Garrett Custons, Federal Programs & Strategy Lead
Knobbe Martens
Lincoln Essig, Partner
Leonid Capital
Samuel McGregor, Vice President
Lockheed Martin Ventures
John Richmond, Sr. Investment Manager
Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division
Announcing Soon
Noblis Ventures
Bill Collier, Principal
Nooks
Northeastern University/Kostas Research Institute
Jamie Jones Miller, Dean and CEO
Northrop Grumman
Announcing Soon
Pillsbury
Steve Ryan, Partner, ECVC Practice Group Leader
SAIC
Announcing Soon
SpaceWERX
Cody Retherford, Acquisition Program Manager
VC in DC
Matt Gittleman, Early Stage VC
Veteran Ventures Capital
Derren Burrell, Founder and Managing Partner
Virginia Tech National Security Institute
Kelli Esser, Chief Strategy Officer
AGENDA
8:15-8:50 - Registration + Networking
8:50-9:00 - Welcome + Directions
9:00-11:00 - Matchmaking Sessions
THE HOSTS
An innovation district in National Landing (Arlington and Alexandria) that brings together leaders in academia, entrepreneurship, government, and industry to solve the most pressing challenges at the intersection of national competitiveness and technology.
The Virtus Innovation Center is a state-of-the-art physical hub in National Landing, the nexus of defense and technology, purpose-built for founders advancing dual-use technologies at the intersection of defense and global industry. Combining workspace, community, commercialization, and capital, Virtus is the new epicenter where critical technology startups go to scale.
JBG SMITH owns, operates, and develops mixed-use properties concentrated in amenity-rich, Metro-served submarkets in and around Washington, DC, most notably National Landing, where through our focus on placemaking, we cultivate vibrant, highly amenitized, walkable neighborhoods. JBG SMITH's portfolio comprises 12.0 million square feet at share of multifamily, office, and retail assets, and a 3.6 million square-foot development pipeline.
Arlington Economic Development
Arlington Economic Development (AED) is committed to helping Arlington thrive as an economically vital, competitive and sustainable community by providing leadership and services to Arlington’s business, real estate, tourism, and cultural affairs sectors.