Macathon 2024 Judges

Connor Valenti ’17

Director of Engineering at DOCSI

Since graduating from Macalester in 2017, Connor has worked as a software engineer for a variety of different startups ranging from digital messaging to student loans and fintech. He currently serves as a co-founder and the Director of Engineering at DOCSI, a Twin Cities-based early stage healthcare startup. A two-time Macathon champion himself, he is thrilled to return to Macathon and see the brilliant ideas that students will bring to life.

David Sielaff ’90

Founder at Critical Hit Technologies

David has been working in the tech industry for over 30 years now, with companies ranging in size from very small startups to Cray Research and Microsoft. After his startup was acquired by Microsoft, he led teams in Microsoft Research and Windows to modernize software engineering practices. As a software engineer, his inventions have been awarded multiple patents. He currently splits his time between consulting with Fortune 100 companies on tech acquisitions, as well as building his own startup. He lives in Seattle with my wife, kids, dog, and way too many computers.

Jaime Hasama ’18

Founder The Digital Neko

Jaime is the founder of The Digital Neko, a mission-focused creative agency that helps to authentically connect communities through marketing. Their mission is to amplify the voices of nonprofits and social impact businesses, driving meaningful change through creative, impactful marketing strategies. We partner with purpose-driven brands to help them tell their stories, expand their reach, and maximize their impact, ensuring their messages resonate with the communities they serve and beyond. Jaime studied Biology and Psychology and was active in the Entrepreneurship Department. She captained the Women’s soccer team, created women of color weightlifting classes, and served on the Board of Trustees as the Student Liaison.

Gary Mainor ’72

Independent Consultant

Gary has spent 45 years in business. He has run businesses of various sizes in the technology and the education space. He continues to do consulting work in education and currently works with Pearson, CoSN, Former Chief State School Officers and the Software and Information Industry Association. Recently, Gary started a new company, Education Impact Advisors, with four partners, including a recent Macalester graduate, to improve education outcomes.

Heather Mickman ’96

Chief Information Officer at Gap, Inc.

Heather has been working in tech for 2+ decades across industries and geographies. She is currently the CIO at Gap, Inc. She has a passion for technology, building high performing teams, driving a culture of innovation, and having fun along the way. Heather lives in Minneapolis with her 2 amazing sons, 2 cute dachshunds, and 1 awesome boyfriend!

Clare Jacky ’07

Founder and Principal Consultant at Do-La

Clare is the founder of Do-La, a People and Business Operations consultancy supporting clients through strategic planning, the development of operational rhythm and progressive people practices, change management and cultural innovation, organizational design, and leadership development. In her consultancy, she works with founders and leaders in a variety of industries and stages of growth, including startups, scaling technology companies, agencies, and non-profit organizations. She feels strongly about coffee, effectiveness, and tarot cards.

Kiante Miles ’20

Data Engineer at Hagerty

Working full time as a Data Engineer, Kiante has a passion for developing robust data pipelines to assist downstream analysts. Aside from software development, he has a background in entrepreneurship. He has developed a poetry program for high school students and has also published a book. This year, he combined his passion with his skillset to form his first LLC, Miles of Art. The company’s mission is to expand black and minority presence in the digital realm. During his time at Mac, he was a part of the fighting Scots football team, S.A.C.C., B.L.A.C, and participated in Funkathon, MacStartups, and the Live It Fund.

Lee Wallace ’95

Owner/CEO at Peace Coffee

Lee handles the day-to-day operations of Peace Coffee with her cattle dog, Ruby, by her side. She loves to travel and visit her farmer-partner cooperatives around the globe, and also enjoys spending time at home learning about new ways to make her garden flourish. She leads Peace Coffee with incredible wisdom, foresight, and gives employees the confidence to excel in their roles; all driven by a tenacity to advocate for her farmer partners, their land, and the wellbeing of everyone along the supply chain.

Mark Abbott ’96

Chief Legal Officer/Compliance & Information Security Architect at Atomic Data, LLC

Mark leads the Legal Operations and Security Consulting teams at Atomic Data, a Minneapolis-based enterprise IT services provider with operations around the world, where he also serves on the leadership team. Mark started his first technology company with two friends and a fistful of credit cards in 1995. Since then, Mark has been a leader in, owner, and adviser to multiple technology services and consulting companies. Mark enjoys working with new ideas, mentoring, discovering local music and food, and spending time with his awesome partner, her boys, and their two maniacal dachshunds.

Masami Kawazato ’00

Program Director at Metropolitan Regional Arts Council

Masami is a 1.5-generation immigrant and third-culture kid originally from Japan. She is a Program Director at Metro Regional Arts Council (MRAC) responsible for $4M in arts access grant funding. Previously, she founded and led a boutique consulting firm offering strategic planning services to artists, creatives, and nonprofit organizations.

Paul Cantrell ’98

Computer Science Instructor at Macalester College

After studying computer science, math, music, and religion at Macalester, Paul went into industry, creating software for dozens of companies ranging from tech startups to Fortune 500s to arts nonprofits. Unable to resist Macalester’s siren song, he returned to teach computer science and run the Dev Garden (devgarden.macalester.edu). He leads a secret double life as a composer and pianist, and thinks his family is just the greatest.

Peter Pascale ’94

President, ExceedHQ consulting

Peter describes himself as the world’s greatest generalist who loves building great software products and the teams that make them great. He can speak the languages of both big company and start-up environments. Currently, he is bringing lean product development focus to an EdTech start-up, and consults with a large media organization.