Board of Directors

Our CEO and Co-Founder, Edmund Nabrotzky has worked in executive leadership at multiple large public enterprises including Molex and Panasonic, as well as smaller private companies; SST, Woodhead, Omni-ID; with direct functional accountability for Sales, Marketing, Operations and Engineering.

Ed Nabrotzky, brings over 25 years of experience in technology development. A leader in this space, Ed is listed as an inventor on five foundational patents in related technology, he has a valuable blend of technical expertise and broad cross-discipline business acumen. Ed has global experience as an ex-patriot executive, managing companies across Europe, India, Singapore, China and Japan. Mr. Nabrotzky has been a key member of the executive team on four previous successful exits, all by acquisition, each related to industrial communications and software systems.

Ed holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science, MBA, is currently a Doctoral Candidate in Technology Management, and is a graduate of the Center for Creative Leadership with executive post-graduate education in negotiation at Harvard and technical product management at MIT. He is also a former Adjunct Faculty Member at the Simon Business School, University of Rochester, where he taught Entrepreneurship programs for several years.

Phyllis Newhouse is a serial entrepreneur and investor, retired military senior officer and mentor. She is CEO and Co-Founder of Athena Technology Acquisition Corp., Founder and CEO of Xtreme Solutions, Inc. (XSI), and Founder of ShoulderUp.

In 2020, she co-founded Athena Technology Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Athena closed a $250 million IPO in March 2021, making it the only SPAC listed on the NYSE with an African American female CEO. In July 2021, the company announced it was taking concentrated solar power company, Heliogen, public in a $2 billion merger.

Newhouse is also the Founder of ShoulderUp, a nonprofit she founded alongside Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis. Dedicated to connecting and supporting women on their entrepreneurial journeys, ShoulderUp introduced ShoulderUp Ventures, the first women-founded and led influencer fund providing impact and exclusive access to a diverse portfolio of media, technology companies and sports entertainment. In 2019 alone its members and affiliates have invested over $10 million in companies like Lime, Rent the Runway and Airbnb

As a pioneer in cybersecurity and business, she is the first woman to win an Ernst & Young (EY) Entrepreneur Of The Year® award in the technology category. She was admitted into the 2013 class of EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women, and in 2019 was inducted into the Enterprising Women Hall of fame. Additionally, XSI received inclusion in the Inc. 5000 list in 2013 and 2014, and has been recognized as one of Women’s Presidents’ Organization’s (WPO) 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned Companies in the U.S. consecutively for the past six years.

Passionate about women-led businesses, Newhouse teaches aspiring entrepreneurs to recognize and capitalize on their leadership skills and empowers others to operate in greatness. She has been featured in Entrepreneur, Inc., CNBC, Forbes, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar News, Bloomberg and more. She received her degree from John F. Kennedy University and currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr. Sheldon Paul is a Nevada-based physician and entrepreneur with over 25 years of leadership experience in healthcare and business. He is a founding member of Women’s Health Associates of Southern Nevada (WHASN), one of the largest private women’s health groups in the western US, where he helped scale operations to serve thousands across southern Nevada. As a lifelong Nevadan, Dr. Paul is a dedicated Golden Knights Hockey fan.

In parallel with his medical career, Dr. Paul has launched and led multiple successful ventures in sectors including contracting, real estate development, and hospitality. He is the founder of Pope Technologies, an electrical contracting firm and innovator in life safety systems, with major projects including The Sphere and the Las Vegas Convention Center. He also runs a thriving event center in Las Vegas, and leads real estate projects across Nevada and Utah.

Dr. Paul currently serves on the Board of Directors at Valley Bank of Nevada. He brings hands-on entrepreneurial insight and a cross-industry perspective to the board, helping guide Dot Ai’s strategic growth and innovation.

Jeff Saling is a serial entrepreneur, seasoned executive, and prolific investor with over 30 years of experience in launching, scaling, and exiting startups in the SaaS and cloud domains. He is currently the executive director and co-founder of StartUpNV, Nevada’s non-profit statewide startup accelerator, where he leads the vision, strategy, and operations to support and accelerate the growth of Nevada-based startups.

Jeff is also an active angel investor and co-president of Sierra Angels, one of the longest running angel groups in the US, and a general partner of 1864 Fund, a seed-stage venture capital fund that invests in high-potential startups outside of traditional venture enclaves. He is passionate about creating a vibrant and diverse startup ecosystem in Nevada, and he leverages his extensive network, expertise, and resources to connect founders with mentors, customers, talent, and capital.

In addition, Jeff is an adjunct professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he teaches entrepreneurship and innovation courses.

Jeff’s mission is to inspire, empower, and enable the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators in Nevada and beyond. He believes that entrepreneurship is the key to economic development, social impact, and personal fulfillment. He is always looking for new opportunities to collaborate, learn, and contribute to the startup community.

Janice Bryant Howroyd, fondly known as JBH, is the first African American woman to found and build a multi-billion dollar company.

With more than 40 years of experience as a director and executive of not-for-profit and for profit companies. Since September 1978, Ms. Howroyd has served as the founder and chief executive officer of the ActOne Group, an international talent and technology enterprise focusing on employment, talent management and digital solutions. Ms. Howroyd has served as a board member of ShoulderUp Technology Acquisition Gorp., the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, Women’s Business Enterprise National Counsel Global Business Committee, and most recently has joined the global board of directors of United Way.

Ms. Howroyd previously served on the Board of Advisors for the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities during the Obama Administration. Ms. Howroyd also served on the Federal Communications Commission’s Advisory Committee on diversity and digital empowerment to encourage new entrepreneurs to create digital enterprises during the first Trump administration.

Ms. Howroyd attended North Carolina A&T State University from which she received one of several honorary doctorates she holds. Ms. Howroyd is well-qualified to serve on our Board because of her employment and talent management experience, as well as her extensive leadership roles within government entities.

Walter Skowronski has more than 40 years of experience as a senior financial executive of NYSE-listed public companies. From 2003 to his retirement in 2009, Mr. Skowronski served as Senior Vice President of The Boeing Company and President of Boeing Capital Company, a wholly-owned Boeing subsidiary responsible for arranging, structuring and providing financing for Boeing’s commercial airplane and space and defense products and services. While at Boeing, Mr. Skowronski instituted new risk management, customer relations and investor outreach programs. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President of Finance and Treasurer of Boeing from 1999 to 2003. Mr.

Skowronski joined Lockheed Corp. in 1990, where he served as Vice President and Treasurer and Vice President of Investor Relations. Mr. Skowronski became Vice President and Treasurer of Lockheed Martin in March 1999 upon the merger of Lockheed Corp. and Martin Marietta Corp. and developed the new finance and treasury function for the organization.

Mr. Skowronski is a former director of the National Investor Relations Institute, serving as its chairman and chief executive officer in 1989. He previously served on the board of Physicians Insurance Company and was a member of the board of directors of United States Enrichment Corp. (USEC) from 2011 to the company’s emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2014. He was also the Lockheed Martin-designated director on the board of directors of Calcomp Corp. from 1997 to 1999. Mr. Skowronski holds a Bachelor’s of Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University and a Master’s degree in Corporate Finance from Boston University.

Particularly applicable to this appointment, over the last two years he has served on the board of Rain Enhancement Technologies (RAIN), a company that registered on the NASDAQ via SPAC in December of 2024.

David Carlson, DO, MBA is a physician executive who has served in multiple C-suite roles in his leader ship career. He has deep expertise in governance, safety, high reliability, quality and compliance. He has deep knowledge in continuous process improvement and LEAN.

Dr. Carlson has served as the Chief Physician Officer at Multicare Health System, Hospital Sisters Health System and Conemaugh Health System. He is currently a Chief Medical Officer for Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in the greater Seattle area.

He is the past Chair and current member of Physicians Insurance Company serving as the chair of the compensation committee and member of the governance committee. He served on the boards of the Washington Healthcare Alliance, United Way Pierce County and Physicians of Southwest Washington. He also serves as an advisor to Life Singularity, an AI driven platform that improves and predicts medical outcomes.

As a physician executive, he has been a key leader in mergers and acquisitions while in his roles. He has also led operations at hospitals, health systems and medical groups.