Houston Tech Rodeo@HCC

My full name is Abiatou Sidibe Samira, I came from Ivory Coast located in the West part of Africa. In addition of being an International Student Ambassador, I am also an honors student, and a Central Campus Student Government Association Parlementarian. My goal after the completion of my Associate of Art in Business, is to obtain my Bachelor’s degree in Accounting.

Aruna is a unique combination of a tech startup and SMB COO delivering growth with fiscal responsibility and a successful VC/PE and angel-investor, having managed over 150 investments across various portfolios. Throughout her career, she has led and developed companies to peak performing organizations with limited resources by creating and optimizing processes in technology and software development, customer-centric delivery, sales and marketing, and finance in sectors including cloud infrastructure and data-centers, SaaS and PaaS based Artificial Intelligence solutions, education, commercial real estate and consumer products.

A lifetime Houstonian, Aruna is a recognized member of the community who continues to give back by serving as a Board Member and Advisor to investment vehicles, educational institutions, non-profits and startups. She has an MBA from Rice University and BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

April Felton is Director of Entrepreneurial Initiatives for the MBDA Pandemic Recovery Center, a collaborative initiative operated by HCC’s Office of Entrepreneurial Initiatives and funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), where she develops program initiatives to build and sustain Houston’s minority business community. In this role, she provides the strategic and organizational program direction in assisting the minority business community in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. April’s dedication to entrepreneurship, higher education and public service has led to her current roles as founder of Immaculate Concepts, a lifestyle management and concierge brand, business adjunct instructor and as a licensed Texas real estate agent. She holds a Master of Business Administration from Texas Southern University, a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Houston, and a Certificate in Women’s Entrepreneurship from Cornell University.

Sevanthinathan served public, private, and state universities before joining HCCS. He engages organizations of all types on academic and workforce situations in different regions of the world on academic and workforce solutions in different regions of the world.

Sevanthinathan was featured in international publications such as USA Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education, India Times, Voice of America, Business Officer-NACUBO, and The Hindu. He is a member of CCID and was a member of the NAFSA International Education Leadership Knowledge Community. Recently he was a panel speaker for the first U.S.-India Summit hosted by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and a guest for the first U.S.-Indonesia Summit hosted by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Nithy created an experiment lab for exploring interactive educational expedition around the world. He designed and led bicycle expeditions across five regions of the world - South East Asia, Europe, South and Central America, Mexico, the United States and Africa. He shared the human exchange through a cyber space classroom, media outlets and bridging the exploration to K-12 students around the world. Now, journeying parenting with his twin boys-Eshan and Siddharth.

Pamela Singh is CEO and Co-founder of CaseCTRL, an AI platform that streamlines surgery coordination for improved efficiency and patient care. Pamela is a seasoned technical manager in both the IT and healthcare settings. She studied Systems Engineering & Operations at George Mason University and Systems Engineering & Technical Management at Johns Hopkins University. Her current focus is currently applying her expertise to modernize the delivery of personalized surgical care! 

Pearl Cajoles leads OBO’s External Affairs division, which operates the OBO Solutions Center and OBO’s business development and workforce development programming. She also serves as OBO’s Public Information Officer. Prior to joining the City of Houston, Pearl served as marketing manager at the University of Houston’s Hilton College for Global Hospitality Leadership. She also served as writer and editor at the Houston Chronicle, and has worked in global operations management.

​Rara Ranjiwa is an international student from Indonesia studying Animation and Special Effects at Houston Community College. She previously worked as a lead illustrator at Ruangguru.Ltd, South East Asia's largest education technology company. 

Currently, Rara is collaborating with the Director of Education in the City of Houston on an educational children's book about Indonesia and working on her community impact project an infographic campaign related to child safety.

Dr. Risa Myers is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Computer Science department at Rice University, where she teaches students about databases and data science. She is also the Director of the Rice Computer and Data Science summer Research Experience for Undergraduates. She holds degrees from MIT, Stanford, and Rice University. Her interests include applications of data science in healthcare and exploring and innovating in data science pedagogy. 

I am Sahar El Hoderi, originally from Libya and have lived in Istanbul, Turkey for almost six years. As a passionate international student at HCC, I am eager to make the most of my time in the USA. I have a passion for hosting events and making a positive impact on those around me. I have a personal goal to continuously improve and better myself, which led me to become involved in student organizations at HCC. Since joining, many opportunities have arisen for me. Currently, I hold the position of President of the United Student Council, where I represent the entire student body of HCC. Additionally, I am the Vice President of Membership for the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.

Sandra Louvier, Director, Glenda & David Regenbaum Center for Entrepreneurship – Northwest, Houston Community College, Ms. Louvier has 17 years of experience in economic feasibility analysis and appraisal in the hospitality industry at PKF Consulting, Marriott International, and as President of her own consulting practice, Louvier & Associates.  She also served for nine years as U.S. Real Estate Director for the franchisor, Haagen-Dazs Shoppe Company, Inc.  Sandra joined HCC NW in 2009 to launch HCC’s first Center for Entrepreneurship at HCC Northwest and to grow the center’s programs.  She develops and holds entrepreneurial summits, workshops, seminars, classes, and programs, including three signature programs: the annual HCC Business Plan Competition, the Small Business Success Series by HCC^© and the HCC Mattress Mack School of Selling^©. 

Willy was born in Belgium. He has been CEO of 6 Billion dollar International Industrial Manufacturing Technology companies and 4 Technology (non IT) startups in ten different industries. He has five Masters (Master in Electronics and Semiconductors, Master in Nuclear Science Technology and Radioprotection, Master in Finances, Business and Administration, Master in International Sales, Marketing and Business Development, and a Master in Industrial Manufacturing Process Optimization). He has spoken 8.5 languages during his career, lived in five countries, and worked for twenty thousand people as a servant leader and has had manufacturing plants and service centers in over 186 countries around the world. His nickname is Mr. International.

He created more than $ 100 Million dollars of shareholder value per year for every large organization he has run as a leader. He has been the chairman of the Belgian Chamber of Commerce of Texas and the Southwest, the Chairman of the Mayor of Houston International Trade and Development Council, a founding member of the World Chamber of Commerce of Texas and the Chairman of SCORE. He has been married for 45 year, and they live in the USA for more than 30 years and in Houston for 20 years They have 3 children and 9 grandchildren. He is now a CSO or Chief Spoiling Officer.