Caitríona Palmer is the author of two bestselling books, the memoir, An Affair with my Mother: A Story of Adoption, Secrecy and Love (Penguin, 2016) and Climate Justice (Bloomsbury, 2018), co-written with former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson. A human rights investigator, advocate, journalist, and author, Caitríona has drawn attention to the plight of people overlooked and marginalized through her work with survivors of the Srebrenica massacre, survivors of historical abuse in Ireland and in documenting the effects of climate change. An adoptee, Caitríona is a frequent commentator on national and international media on the legacy of secrecy and shame generated by Ireland’s closed adoption system. Caitríona is currently a Senior Consultant on Climate at the World Bank and formerly Deputy-Director, Physicians for Human Rights (USA, Bosnia); Special Assistant, Office of Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and a correspondent for the Irish Times (Iran) and the Irish Independent (USA).A native of Dublin, Caitríona graduated from University College Dublin with a BA in History and Politics ‘93 and holds an MA in International Relations from Boston College ’97. She is the recipient of a Fulbright award, a KPMG John F. Kennedy Scholar award and was the 2017 Ireland Fund Writer in Residence at the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband, Dan, and three children.
Liam Madden is executive vice president and General Manager of the Wired and Wireless Group at Xilinx, currently focused on 5G products. He leads a world-wide organization of engineering, sales and marketing professionals, including teams in Dublin and Cork. Mr. Madden has spent more than 35 years in the US semiconductor industry where he has contributed to a range of industry leading products and technologies. Based in Silicon Valley, he has worked with established companies and start-ups, including a leadership role in a successful IPO. Mr. Madden has extensive experience incubating novel technologies, including commercializing the industry’s first 3-D stacked computer chip for which he received the 2103 Semi Award. He holds five patents in semiconductor technology and is a regular keynote speaker at international conferences. Liam Madden graduated with a BE from UCD, an M.Eng. from Cornell University, is a Board member of Science Foundation Ireland, a Fellow of the IEI and an Adjunct Professor at UCD.
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Ann O’Dea is CEO and Co-founder of Silicon Republic, one of Europe’s leading technology and innovation news services, reporting online since 2001. Ann was also the founder of the award-winning international event, Inspirefest, which celebrated its fifth year in 2019. In October 2020, the event took place in a new Hybrid format and under its new name, Future Human, showcasing the people and enterprises shaping the next phase of human existence.
Ann is a fellow of the Institute of Art, Technology and Design, a fellow of the Irish Computer Society, and has been named ‘Media Woman of the Year’ at the Irish Tatler Women of the Year Awards. In 2015, she was the first and only woman to be inducted into the Irish Internet Association’s Hall of Fame. In March 2013 she launched the Women Invent initiative on Silicon Republic, which has seen a remarkable woman in STEM profiled on the site every week for the past eight years.
In 2018 she won the Outstanding Contribution to the Digital Sector award from ITAG. Ann sits on the Advisory Board of Teen Turn which empowers underrepresented young women through internships in major tech companies. Ann is a former board member of the IIBN (Irish International Business Network), the Digital Youth Council and of the Royal Irish Academy’s Scientific and Mathematics Council. A long career in journalism saw her interview luminaries from Steve Wozniak (co-founder, Apple) to Richard Branson, from Mark Benioff to Gary Hamel.
A long-time champion of women and minorities in STEM, Ann is in high demand as an international speaker on Innovation, Future of Work and Inclusion, completing speaking tours of US, Asia, and Brazil where she addressed the UN’s Global Forum on Innovation & Technology for Sustainability, on the financial and economic imperative of diversity and inclusion.