Panel Session Speakers
Excited to Announce the Main Session Lineup for FACON26
We will be adding to this page as panels and speakers are confirmed. Speakers/Panels are subject to change.
Opening Fireside Chat: “Our Legacy, Our Future”
Date & Time: Friday, October 23rd, 2026 | 5:15 PM - 5:45 PM EST
Keynote Speaker
Joon Silverstein
Chief Marketing Officer, Coach
Joon Silverstein is the Chief Marketing Officer at Coach, where she leads growth strategies and brand-building centered on self-expression. Since joining Coach in 2014 across customer experience, global ecommerce, and sustainability, she has challenged traditional luxury paradigms through purpose-led storytelling and consumer co-creation. In 2023, she founded Coachtopia, a sub-brand pioneering circular fashion that earned the 2024 CFDA Innovation Award and recognition on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list. A former Fulbright Fellow and cultural anthropologist with a BA from Columbia University and an HBS MBA, her early fieldwork in identity and culture informed her subsequent leadership driving consumer-centric transformation at BCG, Victoria’s Secret, and Louis Vuitton.
STEM Innovation & Impact
Date & Time: Saturday, October 24th, 2026 | 4:30 PM - 5:45 PM EST
This panel discussion highlights the extraordinary bridges built from the Fulbright Program to real-world impacts on the everyday lives of global and domestic citizens, featuring a roster of esteemed alumni spanning diverse backgrounds across engineering, medicine, biomedical technology, public health, pharma, rehabilitation and academia. The speakers will individually discuss their cutting-edge research, professional journeys and the direct applications of their work to solving global challenges through STEM and the impact Fulbright has made to their careers. The session will conclude with short panel Q&A from the audience.
Moderator
Dr. Michael J. Malinowski, MD, MEHP, FACS
Vascular Surgeon & Fulbright Association Vice Chair
A vascular surgeon and surgical educator at the Medical College of Wisconsin whose Fulbright Grant work took him to Uruguay to help shape the national medical education curriculum, alongside global health missions across South America, the Dominican Republic, and Asia.
Speakers
Dr. Oscar Barton, Jr., PhD, PE, FASME
Dean, Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr., School of Engineering at Morgan State University
An ASME Fellow whose research focuses on composite structures and dynamic systems analysis. Leveraging a solid foundation of engineering education gained during his 22 years at the US. Naval Academy, he established the Department of Mechanical Engineering at George Mason University and launched innovative programs such as Mechatronics Engineering as Dean at Morgan State University.
Dr. Ellen Roche, MSc, PhD, BMedSci
Professor Mechanical Engineering and IMES, Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor at MIT | Director of the Therapeutic Technology Design and Developmental Lab at MIT
A former Fulbright International Science and Technology Scholar who directs the TTDD Lab at MIT. Blending medical device design experience from companies like Medtronic and Abbott Vascular with soft robotics, her pioneering research builds organosynthetic hybrid heart models that combine organic tissue with synthetic soft robotic matrices to revolutionize tissue repair and organ assist strategies.
Dr. Anand Reddi, MD, MSc
Global Head of Direct-to-Customer Innovation and Digital Health at BeOne Medicine | Physician, public health researcher and biopharma executive
A global health policy expert and former J. William Fulbright Scholar in South Africa whose implementation science research validated global HIV treatment scale-ups. An executive leader in biopharma innovation, he has been instrumental in public-private global health partnerships and launching 12 blockbuster medicines benefiting over 25 million patients internationally.
Dr. Albert Manero, PhD
Executive Director of Limbitless Solutions, University of Central Florida | Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
A researcher and the Executive Director of the non-profit research facility Limbitless Solutions at the University of Central Florida. He leads engineering and clinical translation for initiatives for pediatric bionic arms and hands-free wheelchair controls.