Alyssa Grooms
Member at Large
Alyssa is an intellectual property attorney at Dunlap Codding, a founding partner of IgniteOKC. She focuses her practice on patent drafting and prosecution, licensing, prior art searches, and patentability analysis; as well licensing and other IP-related transactions.
Alyssa was born and raised in the southwest Chicago suburbs. Alyssa attended college at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois, where she studied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. Upon graduating and finding herself wanting to be closer to her parents (who had since moved out of Illinois) and farther from harsh winters, Alyssa made her way to Oklahoma City as a law student at Oklahoma City University School of Law. Alyssa graduated in the top 10% of her class and was involved in various school organizations, including serving as a Student Instructor and a member of Law Review.
Apart from IgniteOKC, Alyssa enjoys staying active in the Oklahoma City community through volunteering and participating in athletic leagues. Growing up in a family of college athletes, athletics have always been a huge part of Alyssa’s life. In her spare time, you can find Alyssa working on her golf game with her husband, Keegan, or hiking with their two dogs, Claude and Carl.
Patrick Fuller
Member at Large
Patrick is the Vice President and General Manager of ALM Legal Intelligence. He has spent the last 20 years of this career in the legal industry, holding a variety of business development, consulting, and senior leadership roles. Prior to joining ALM, he served as the VP of Business Development for AI start-up Neota Logic, and previous to that was the Director of Legal Analytics for Wolters Kluwer’s ELM Solutions, working with legal departments to define, measure, and take action on key performance indicators for legal departments and operations.
His career also includes stints with Martindale-Hubbell, Thomson Reuters, Hildebrandt Consulting, and LawVision Group. He is a frequent author and speaker, with over 200 speaking and authorship credits within the legal industry.
Patrick also serves on the Board of Directors for IgniteOKC, is an advisory board member of two LegalTech start-ups, and is a Fellow in The College of Law Practice Management.
Matt Goodwin
Chairman
Matt Goodwin applies his diverse leadership experiences in communications, nonprofits, and animal welfare as Chief Operations Officer for the Central Oklahoma Humane Society, the largest animal welfare organization in the state of Oklahoma. This unique position allows him the true privilege of advocating for the voiceless animals in our midst. His former roles as Executive Director at the Bella Foundation SPCA , Executive Director at Free To Live Animal Sanctuary, and Pastor of Oakland Nazarene Church and Compassionate Ministry Center inform his current work: to foster a culture of compassion, creativity, and excellence within the organization, to proclaim the euthanization of healthy, adoptable animals is not acceptable, and to assist in educating the public on the incredible power of the human-animal bond to enrich the entire community.
In February 2019 Matt was elected to his first term as city councilman for Ward 2 in the City of Bethany. His two daughters were his main inspiration for running and fuel his desire to improve the quality of life and to make a difference for residents from all walks and seasons of life.
After giving an IgniteOKC talk in 2014, Matt was immediately taken by the incredible people, ideas, and conversations that were being sparked by this community and joined the leadership crew in early 2015. He has since filled various roles and is the current board chair for IgniteOKC.
His free time is filled walking their two rescue dogs, playing guitar, coaching his daughter’s sports teams, and cheering on his wife in her PhD studies at Baylor University.
Dan Sloat
Member at Large
Dan Sloat is a JD/MBA and Master of Economics with a strong passion for community service. He was a member of LOYAL Class XIII, Oklahoma City’s premier civic leadership development program, and currently serves as Honors Fellow to the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts in support of the Arts Incubation Lab which provides fundamental business consulting to artists across the country. His experience in business consulting has been applied to health sciences as well through the Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth.
As an Interdisciplinary Analyst, Dan advised on the ideal commercialization strategy for high resolution nuclear imaging technology to improve cancer therapy treatment and as a Team Leader, he oversaw research and drafting of a market expansion plan for a nutraceuticals company. Dan has been active in the legal community through the Center for International Business & Human Rights.
Originally from Kansas, Dan has been a proud Okie since arriving on military orders in 2010. Captain Sloat served 6 years in the US Air Force with 3 deployments abroad directing drone operations over Afghanistan, executing counter-narcotics surveillance throughout Latin America, and coordinating humanitarian aid within Syria.
Dan exercises his entrepreneurial spirit as founder of Kozorazzi Technologies, a startup that helps travelers get back to enjoying the moment, and as founder of Photography 1907, a photo services brand that promotes local businesses and nonprofits. His framed work has been featured at ARTini, the state’s foremost charity art auction. Dan is a licensed pilot, licensed sailor, licensed scuba diver, licensed motorcycle rider, and skilled horse wrangler to boot. He loves storytelling and is thrilled to be part of the team at IgniteOKC!
Clint Williams
Speaker Chair
Clint is a co-founder of Clover Partners and lives with his wife and two children in the urban core of Oklahoma City.
Clint holds a degree in Organizational Leadership from Southern Nazarene University and serves on committees at the Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools and Oklahoma Contemporary. As a business owner, his focus on developing relationships (both personally and professionally) have led to an ever-growing passion for Oklahoma City.
Those passions include his children, arts and education, reading, coffee, and the occasional non-plumbing related project at his 79 year-old home.
Riley Ross
Communications Chair
Riley is a Project Manager with the US Department of Veterans Affairs based in Washington D.C. His main focus is in the area of Virtual Project Management coordinating a transcontinental team of contractors and subject matter experts through corporate technology upgrades to ensure that Veterans receive their maximum benefits in a timely manner. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, where he earned a BA in Economics and he holds a Master of Business Administration from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Riley is a current member of Leadership OKC’s LOYAL program and a former Ignite speaker. Riley is also a public speaker and produces the “Y’all OK Podcast” which is a podcast about the State of Oklahoma and the people connected to it where he speaks to creatives, politicians, and entrepreneurs about their Oklahoma experience. Riley loves hiking with his wife Carmen and their two sons.
Genni Ellis
Secretary
Genni is an intellectual property attorney at Dunlap Codding and a board member of IgniteOKC. She focuses her practice in the areas of patent drafting and prosecution, licensing, prior art searches, patentability analysis, litigation, trademark, copyright, and e-commerce representation.
Genni was raised between Oklahoma and Alaska, bringing a unique perspective to OKC. She received both her undergraduate education and law degree from the University of Oklahoma. While at OU Law, Genni was awarded the McAfee and Taft Outstanding Trial Advocate Award, was an invited speaker for the ABA Intellectual Property Law Design Committee, a member of the National Trial Team, on the Board of Advocates, Sooner Invitational Undergraduate Mock Trial Director, and on the Dean’s Honor Roll.
Other than IgniteOKC, Genni is involved in the Oklahoma City community as a member of the Luther Bohanon Inn of Court and her son, Cooper’s various activities.
Merideth Van Sant
Events Chair
Merideth has led teams that support various federal agencies in Washington DC. Through this work, she created and managed the rollout of national programs that still continue to enhance the safety, efficiency, and expansion of transportation and aviation travel nationwide. This work awarded her the 2014 National Senior Consultant of the Year Award. Since then, she has built and sustained a multi-branch power yoga company. With over 150 teammates nationwide and top spots in local and national rankings for service to community, her studio system was awarded MBO’s Visionary Award as the 2018 Top Revenue Producing Company in the industry. She has been featured on iTunes’ top business and entrepreneurship podcast and served as keynote speaker in national speaker series. Merideth has represented the U.S. State Department and Presidential Advisor Ivanka Trump at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad, India. She is the co-founder of True U, a national social enterprise company that brings yoga + mindfulness + leadership to under-resourced teens through the United Nations, National Girl Summits, Girls Inc., and local chapters across the country.
Merideth holds a Masters of Science degree in human development from Oklahoma State University, a Bachelors of Science in human environmental science from the University of Central Oklahoma, and is currently finishing her Executive MBA from New York University. Merideth is a member of Leadership OKC Class 37 and serves on several OKC boards and committees that promote accessibility and community connection. She lives, works, and plays in her home state of Oklahoma.
Travis Brown
Chairman Elect
Travis is a complex commercial litigation attorney at Edinger Leonard & Blakley in Oklahoma City. His practice primarily focuses on general corporate litigation, oil and gas, and environmental law. Born an Oklahoma native, Travis attended college at Oklahoma State University majoring in Health Education and Promotion. After graduating, he attended and graduated from Oklahoma City University School of Law.
Besides work and IgniteOKC, Travis spends his time attending various concerts, music festivals, enjoying outdoors, hiking, frisbee, learning about various topics,. listening to podcasts, and spending time with his girlfriend and daughter.
Grant T. Gile
Programming
Grant is an Oklahoma Native, born in Oklahoma City, raised in Edmond, and has lived in Norman for the past 14 years. After graduating from Edmond Memorial High School, Grant spent two years attending the University of Central Oklahoma, where he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity.
Following the September 11th terrorist attack, Grant felt a strong desire to serve his country, so he decided to join the United States Army Reserves Corps. of Engineers. After completing Basic Training in Fort Leonardwood, MO., Grant would be attached to the 353rd Engineer Group out of Oklahoma City. Shortly after joining the 353rd Engineer Group, the unit would be deployed to Baghdad, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 353rd was a crucial element to the rebuilding of Iraq; the Group worked to rebuild the Iraq’s infrastructure, including the country’s water treatment facilities, power grid, and recreational facilities.
Upon his return from this first deployment, Grant transferred to the University of Oklahoma to pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Grant was an active member of the Sooner Off-road team, a collegiate competitive team that placed 8th overall in the 2012 Baja SAE competition. During this time, he also transferred to the Oklahoma National Guard in order to become an Army Aviator, learning to fly the CH-47 helicopter. After graduation, he would once again travel overseas to spend a year in Afghanistan on a second deployment. Grant flew over 500 combat hours to support the 10th Mountain Infantry Division secure Regional Command East.
Upon returning from Afghanistan, Grant began working at The Boeing Company just outside of Tinker Airforce Base as a Materials and Process engineer. While at Boeing, Grant would work on projects that involved the KC-46 Pegasus, the B-52 Stratofortress, the B-1 Lancer, and the VC-25 Air Force One. Deciding to achieve a life-long goal, Grant returned to the University of Oklahoma College of Law to earn a Juris Doctorate. Upon graduating from law school, and passing the Oklahoma Bar Exam, he has been working at Dunlap Codding to help others ensure their ideas and inventions are protected.
Grant enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife Kristen, his energetic son Griffin, and lazy English bulldog Forrest. The family enjoys traveling to new places, exploring different cultures, and meeting new people.
Matt Farley
Sponsorship
Matt’s an OU grad with a Bachelors in Political Science and a Masters in Business Administration, and he has always loved and focused on entrepreneurship-and Matt doesn’t back down from a challenge. In fact, he once lived in his backyard for 3 months, just because his parents said he couldn’t do it. (We hope he went in to shower!)
But Matt’s not ALL business. When he ditches the tie, he trades it for hanging out with his pets (Penny, Roo and President Bill Kitten) and his wonderful wife, Samantha.