Utah Ignite Steering Group

The Steering Group is the term used for the managing board for Utah Ignite under the US Ignite program

Glenn Ricart brings experience in innovation from academia, federal agencies, and large and small corporate experiences. Glenn is an Internet pioneer who implemented the first Inter-net interconnection point (the FIX in College Park, Maryland) and was recognized for this achievement by being inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in August 2013. In one of his previous roles where he was academic CIO at the University of Maryland, his campus implemented the first institution-wide TCP/IP (Internet) network in 1983 using low-cost PDP-11 routers (“Fuzballs”) with software devised at the University of Maryland. Glenn was the principal investigator of SURAnet, the first regional TCP/IP (Internet) network of academic and commercial institutions. Dr. Ricart has also held other senior management positions including Executive Vice President and CTO for Novell in the 1990s, Managing Director of PricewaterhouseCoopers, and CEO and President of National LambdaRail. Dr. Ricart is also the founder or co-founder of five startups; the one previous to US Ignite, CenterBeam, was sold to Earthlink in 2013 after 14 years of independent operation. Glenn’s formal education includes degrees from Case Institute of Technology and Case Western Reserve University, and his Ph.D. in Computer Science is from the University of Maryland, College Park. His inventions have resulted in more than a dozen patents. Dr. Ricart has served on the boards of three public companies, CACI, the SCO Organization, and First USA Financial Services, in addition to numerous non-profits.

Mark Welcker has lived most of his life in Utah in the North Utah County area (Lehi, American Fork, and Highland). He is a graduate of Utah Valley University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and later from The US Chamber of Commerce Foundation with a certificate in Nonprofit Organization Management. He has 23 years’ professional experience in the field of business. This background includes Nonprofit Organization Management, Sales, Marketing, Finance, Product Development and Real Estate Development. He has served on various Boards and committees such as Chair of the Utah State Chamber of Commerce, Lehi City Economic Development Committee, Mountainland Association of Governments, and the Regional Advisory Council. Mark has a strong sense of civic duty. He was the co-founder of the Highland City Youth Council, served on the American Fork City Beautification Committee, Utah State Delegate, Utah County Delegate, Utah Best of State judge, and a volunteer for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics. Under Mark’s guidance as President & CEO of the Point of the Mountain Chamber of Commerce, the chamber has experienced tremendous growth, won several Utah State Chamber awards in recent years including Best Member Benefit, Best Community Partnership, Fastest Growing Chamber, and Best Weekly Communication, and has become well known and respected across the state of Utah. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, being outdoors, traveling, going to the movies, and socializing with good friends.

​Chase was born and raised in the Alpine area. He now resides in Saratoga Springs with his wife Brittany and their little boy.  He has been with Utah Community Credit Union since 2011 and is currently the Branch Manager for the Financial Center in Lehi. As a manager, he specializes in Home Equity Loans, Consumer Loans, and Personal Account Services. Chase loves living and working in the area of the chamber he serves and sees the opportunity to serve as treasurer as a way to give back to a great community he enjoys so much.

Andrew Buffmire

University of Utah

Phil Windley

Brigham Young University