Council of Luminaries
“The caliber of people you surround yourself with will
have a huge impact on where you end up in life.”
Are you making plans for your next startup?
Turning brilliant ideas into workable plans and forging new businesses is hard work. Every startup requires a different formula and even the best and brightest are often reduced to feeling like amateurs when a seemingly well-executed plan comes apart at the seams.
It is moments like these when you need help. But not just any help. You need people who clearly understand what you're going through and are able to offer you sound advice.
At the DaVinci Institute, we recognize the tremendous value of surrounding yourself with remarkable people. We also know how important it is to have quick access to the right talent at the right moments in your life.
For this reason we have assembled a team that consists of some of the world's most talented visionaries and seasoned entrepreneurs. For those who are members of the DaVinci Vault, these people represent a deep pool of talent known at the Council of Luminaries.
Here's how it works.
Council Members have each agreed to spend up to 3 hours per month with people in the DaVinci Vault. Depending on your particular situation, you can either search their bios or we can recommend someone who can help.
Once you have determined which Council Member is most appropriate, we will send you the contact information to arrange a conference call or meeting.
It's that simple.
If you wish to meet with more than one Council Member per month, not a problem. Our goal is to create an efficient mentoring network with answers to questions as quickly as possible.
Here are the elite thinkers who have agreed to serve on the DaVinci Institute's Council of Luminaries:
 |
Kevin Anderson | Bestselling Author |
 |
Brian Baker | Principal, The First User |
 |
Steve Baker | Senior Fellow, Business Advisor and Author |
 |
Paul Bauer | Senior Fellow for the DaVinci Institute – Clinical Professor of Information Technologies |
 |
Gene Branch | Patent Attorney and Partner with the firm of Perkins Coie |
 |
Judith Briles | Speaker, Publisher, Publishing and Speaking Coach, best-selling Author, and Founder of Author U |
 |
Dennis Bushnell | Chief Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center |
 |
Lisa Calkins | CEO of Amadeus Consulting |
 |
Mike Cote | Editor of ColoradoBiz Magazine |
 |
Dane Coyer | Former VP of IBM, President and Chief Operating Officer, Wavestate Inc. |
 |
Michael Cushman | President of Key Change Institute and a Senior Fellow at the DaVinci Institute |
 |
Dixie Daly | Inventor/Product Developer/Author |
 |
Rennie Davis | Former Member of the Chicago Seven – Chairman of Great Turning Solutions |
 |
Louis Foreman | Founder and Chief Executive of Eventys and CEO of Edison Nation |
 |
Thomas Franklin | Intellectual Property Attorney – Kilpatrick Townsend |
 |
Mike Gionfriddo | CTO and Acting President at Evergreen Energy |
 |
Susan Grafton | Economic Development Manager |
 |
Enrique Gutierrez | US and International Technology Sales & Business Development Executive |
 |
Janice Jensen | Television Producer and Media Consultant |
 |
Dave Jilk | Serial Entrepreneur and Founder of eCortex, Inc. |
 |
Charles Johnson | Former President of Cessna, Chief Operations Officer of Bye Aerospace |
 |
Robert Kistner | President and CEO of Energy Planning Consultants Inc. |
 |
Windham Loopesko | CEO and President W. E. Loopesko & Associates, Inc. |
 |
Yvonne Lynott | Co-founder and Partner in Lynott & Associates |
 |
Christine Mahoney | Former TV News Anchor, Producer, Media Coach – Owner of Honk! Media |
 |
David McCloskey | Founder and creator of Superstructs |
 |
Peter McLaughlin | Director of Mirth™ and Innovation, Author, Professional Speaker |
 |
Michael Miller | VP, COO of Engage Communication Group |
 |
Amanda Morris Johnson | Screenwriter and Co-founder of The Shoot Out |
 |
Robin Peng | Founder and Principle of Design Engine |
 |
Melanie Romero | Founder of She-Edison and the Inventor of the SnapBagger |
 |
Patricia Ross | Co-founder of Hugo House Publishers |
 |
Mike Schmidt | CEO at Ensemble Ventures, LLC, Director at Velocity Innovation Partners, LLC and Council Member at CIO Colorado |
 |
Bill Shirley | Executive Leadership Coach |
 |
Michael Sitarzewski | Senior Fellow at the DaVinci Institute – President HyperSites – CEO Callisto.fm |
 |
Mark Soane | Managing Director Appian Ventures |
 |
Rod Stambaugh | Mobile Payment Visionary, Founder of Mocapay |
 |
Dave Taylor | Senior Fellow at the DaVinci Institute; Blogger, Speaker, Workshop Facilitator and Radio Host |
 |
Bert Vermeulen | Senior Fellow at the DaVinci Institute, and the Founder of Corp21 |
 |
Christie Ward | Principal of The Impact Institute |
 |
Kevin Warwick | Professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading, England |
