Join the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce for our upcoming Technology Symposium - The Role of Technology in Growing Small Business. The speakers will cover a range of topics including Bitcoins and Cryptocurrency, Mobile/Cloud Technology, technology resources for businesses and more.

About the Speakers
Linda Goetze
Having become an early adopter of Bitcoin and blockchain technology over 5 years ago, Linda Goetze has gone on to research, and personally invest in, over 30 functional crypto coins and tokens with long-term growth potential.  

Because of her desire to see mass adoption and responsible application of blockchain technology, Linda began working with the Blockchain Chamber of Commerce during its formative stages. She has been instrumental in bringing together members of the Atlanta blockchain and Bitcoin communities in collaborative efforts to benefit the whole community. Having initially served as the CIO, Linda was subsequently offered the position of President of the Blockchain Chamber of Commerce headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.  She also serves as an ex officio member of the board of the Blockchain Association, a 501c3 sister organization.  

Keith Drew
Keith Drew is Communications Consultant for Vertical Communications, a provider of business communications solutions, with an emphasis on business phones and their integration with email, instant messaging, web collaboration, social networking, and much, much, more.  Specializing in Mitel phone systems, as well as manufacturing their own Vertical Wave solution, Vertical Communications provides solutions from micro-to-magnificent.  As a representative for most carriers, as well as having data specific expertise, Vertical can provide a customer with support in just about every aspect of connectivity, from phones to the internet.

Keith is a specialist in Contact Centers and the integration of various solutions.  His customers cover a wide spectrum; from banks, to doctors’ offices, to lawyers, to the Georgia World Congress Center and Arby’s.  Keith believes in finding ways to help companies become more effective, more efficient, and thereby more profitable, by using technology designed for the modern world.

Stephen Newton
Growing up on a farm in rural south Georgia, I learned early in life the importance of responsibility and hard work. The entrepreneurial spirit is instilled early in those experiences. In High School I learned the hard lessons and risks associated with agricultural business and the importance of managing cash flow through the seasons of preparing, planting, managing, and harvest. In college I pursued degrees in economics and finance and after graduation applied my education in both public policy and private enterprise. As an ACE Hardware store owner for nearly a decade during one of the toughest economic cycles in our lifetime I learned first hand the many challenges start up businesses contend with. After closing that business in January 2016 I was offered the opportunity to work with the UGA SBDC in Dekalb and hope to use both my education and experience as a business owner to help other entrepreneurs achieve their goals.

Ruby Riesinger
Ruby Riesinger is one of our newest Business Consultants for The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center in DeKalb. New to the Atlanta area, but not new to our organization, Ruby recently returned to the UGA SBDC in April of 2018 from a four year stint as the Sales Director of Black Crow Media in Valdosta. Prior to that, Ruby served as the Area Director of the UGA SBDC at Valdosta State University and was named the UGA SBDC Consultant of the Year in 2013. She is a graduate of both Leadership Lowndes and The Georgia Academy for Economic Development, and she also served as a Board Member for the Greater Valdosta United Way and the Valdosta Chapter of the American Red Cross. Her primary interests lie in marketing, advertising, sales, customer service, and social media. In 2011, Ruby co-founded the strategic partnership between UGA SBDC and Guardian Bank of Valdosta, which, to date, has yielded more than 27 continuing education programs and approximately $130,000 in sponsorships to UGA SBDC for the education and growth of businesses in South Georgia. She has presented national and regional programs for the Association of Small Business Development Centers and throughout Georgia.