Brian Forde has spent more than a decade at the nexus of technology, entrepreneurship, and public policy. He is currently a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and co-founded the Digital Currency Initiative, an academic research group on cryptocurrencies, at the world-renown MIT Media Lab to research and incubate high-impact applications of this technology. Previously he was Senior Advisor for Mobile and Data Innovation at the White House where he spearheaded efforts to leverage emerging technologies to address the President’s most critical national priorities. Prior to his work at the White House, Brian founded one of the largest phone companies in Nicaragua after serving as a business and technology volunteer in the Peace Corps. In recognition of his work, Brian was named one of the "Most Influential People in Bitcoin and Blockchain" and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Brian received a B.A. at the University of California at Los Angeles and an M.B.A. at the London Business School.