Students attending the 2024 thinkBIG! Summit will participate in our attendee favorite mini-maker hackathon led by the staff at Upcycle Parts Shop. After the keynote presentation, each table of students work as teams to craft physical representations of innovative ideas made from recycled materials and create a short 60-second pitch to describe the concept. Prototypes are brought to the front of the room for judging. Four finalist teams are chosen to pitch their ideas to audience members and panel of judges. Students from the winning team are awarded prizes.

Matthew will serve as a judge for thinkBIG! Challenge and Mini-Maker Hackathon pitches.
With over thirty years of experience in sales, marketing, entrepreneurship, and executive leadership, Matthew Stalder is a ‘go-to-market’ innovator. He possesses extensive expertise in building and transforming teams and business models, having served as Vice President of Sales, Support, and Marketing, and held various board positions for non-profit organizations. Stalder has led technology companies in early growth stages, and managed sales organizations in large, complex multi-national corporations, with experience in both SaaS-based and enterprise, licensed software and service business models.
Currently, Stalder serves as a Partner and Mentor to Youth Bee Works, a non-profit charity focused on educating, training, and raising awareness about the importance of honey bees, especially among the youth. Via the University of Pittsburgh Innovation Institute, he has helped a number of startup companies create and execute on business models developed for marketplace positioning. In 2006, he founded DocsCorp LLC/MGS Group, establishing a unique business model in the Americas for the Australian parent company, growing it from concept to an integral part of a $100M company with over 110 employees worldwide.
Prior to DocsCorp, Stalder was promoted to Director at Opentext Corporation, where he built and grew the North American Legal Sales Team, contributing to a business unit generating $20M in annual revenue. His career began at EY as an Auditor and Tax Accountant after graduating from the Pennsylvania State University, providing a solid financial foundation for his subsequent successes.
Beyond his professional achievements, Stalder holds and has held board positions with various organizations, including Crossroads Foundation, Aquinas Academy of Pittsburgh, St. Aidan Parish, North Allegheny Soccer Club, and Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. He is also a member of various social and golf clubs, pursuing hobbies such as playing soccer, golf, mountain biking, photography, and beekeeping.

Lexie St. Denis will help facilitate the Mini-Maker Hackathon.

Lexie has been working on local food systems for the past seven years. During her time abroad in Vietnam, Indonesia and Nepal, she became familiar with social enterprises and the importance they can play when addressing food security issues. Lexie has spent time working on multiple regenerative farms where she learned the nuances in our food systems and the challenges small growers face. Additionally, she has worked in Food as Medicine Clinics navigating problem solving approaches to food insecurity within the United States. Lexie takes a multidisciplinary approach to food systems work and believes heavily in the power of stakeholder collaboration. Currently, Lexie is the Local Food Coordinator for Great Lakes Brewing Company, Farm Associate at Frayed Knot Farm, and Bee Keeper at Youth Bee Works. She is also a member of the Cleveland Cuyahoga Food Policy Council.