Keynote Speakers

Jean Case is an actively engaged philanthropist and a pioneer in the world of interactive technologies. Her career in the private sector spanned nearly two decades before she and her husband, Steve Case, created the Case Foundation in 1997. A passionate believer in all things digital and the amazing potential of technology to change the world for the better, Jean and her team focus the efforts of the Foundation around many of the same entrepreneurial approaches she and Steve cultivated throughout their business careers. The Case Foundation is recognized for its leadership in leveraging new technologies and applying innovative approaches to increase giving; catalyze civic and business participation; and promote innovation, collaboration and leadership in the nonprofit sector.

Prior to co-founding the Case Foundation, Jean spent her career as a technology executive in the private sector. As a senior executive at America Online, Inc. (AOL), Jean directed the marketing and branding effort that launched the AOL service, directed the communications strategy for taking the company public, and helped establish AOL as a household utility. Before joining AOL, she held strategic marketing positions at GE’s Information Services Division and at The Source, the nation’s first online service.

In addition to her role as CEO of the Case Foundation, Jean has served in two appointed roles leading strategic public-private efforts, including the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation , to which she was appointed as Chair by President George W. Bush, and in her ongoing role as Co-chair of the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership. Jean is also currently leading the Case Foundation in support of the Startup America Partnership, a private sector alliance of major corporations, service providers, mentors, advisors and funders – launched at the White House on January 31^st, 2011 – focused on maximizing the success of American startups and high-growth companies.

Jean serves on the National Geographic Society Board of Trustees, as well as on the boards ofAccelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC2), SnagFilms, BrainScope Company, Inc. and Miraval Resort and Spa. She also serves on the advisory board of the Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative, the National Conference on Citizenship, and the Brain Trust Accelerator Fund, and is a member of the steering committee of Partners for a New Beginning.

Jean and Steve joined The Giving Pledge, started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in 2010, and publicly reaffirmed their commitment to give away the majority of their wealth to fund worthy charitable causes, and in the same year were named to Barron’s “25 Best Givers” list. In 2011, Jean was named the Washington Business Journal ’s Corporate Philanthropist of the Year, and Jean and Steve were honored by NCoC as Citizens of the Year.