About

Hello, world! My name is Ken.

TLDR: I am reasonably bright, infinitely curious, and a bit predisposed to boredom. I have a wide variety of interests including philosophy, sociotechnical theory, and semiotics; video games; hardcore punk and math rock; generative music and sound experiences; woodworking and furniture building; biking (gravel, distance), hiking, and camping (the more remote, the better); healthcare and HealthTech; and Jewish ritual and culture; among others. With that, if you want to learn more, here you go…

Research-wise, my current focus is on how material choices in the built environment (virtual and IRL) serve to mediate the transfer of meaning between architects / designers / sponsors and participant-explorers in the space. I am actively trying to figure out what my next steps are in this space, so stay tuned….

Work-wise, I lead service design for Wider Circle, a neighborhood-based health organization that empowers members of the same community to live happier, healthier lives. I came to Wider Circle by way of acquisition, with their 2022 purchase of Saeidan (Techstars ‘21), which my partner, Riaz Ali, and I formed in 2019. I am also President of Ask Claire, a Medicare brokerage and division of Wider Circle, which is focused on addressing the plan-selection needs of underserved populations, including dually eligible (Medicare-Medicaid) beneficiaries and those for whom English is not a primary language.

I lead a couple of consulting companies, Watershed and wtrxd (also pronounced “watershed”), which help early-stage companies accelerate finding product-market fit and scaling their businesses, with a focus on healthcare and the life sciences.

I am heavily involved at Georgetown University, one of my almae matres, where I am a Professor at in the Communications, Culture & Technology graduate program (of which I am also a graduate), teaching tech entrepreneurship; a Research Associate working on the history and philosophy of computing, sociotechnical theory, and semiotics; and an Entrepreneur in Residence for Georgetown Entrepreneurship in the McDonough School of Business.

I am a startup mentor for both Georgetown Entrepreneurship and Techstars, the largest pre-seed investor in the world. For Techstars, I have mentored in several programs across multiple cities and states, including Techstars Washington DC Powered by J.P. Morgan, Techstars Economic Mobility Powered by Samvid Ventures, the Techstars Equitech Accelerator, and Techstars Future of Longevity, run in partnership with Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda French Gates company, the latter of which Saeidan was a participant before its acquisition. #givefirst

I also serve as Senior Advisor and Editorial Lead at GenMAV, a healthcare consulting company working with the world’s largest biopharmaceutical and medical device companies with a focus on curating, aggregating, and facilitating the most innovative solutions to the challenge of bringing breakthrough treatments to patients worldwide.

I founded a video game studio, Lovelace Games, in 2023 to explore development of an RPG inspired by the Sierra Games classics, such as Quest for Glory and Kings Quest. More to come on this later…

Finally, I am an At-Large Member of the Board at Temple Rodef Shalom, the sixth largest Reform synagogue in the United States. Here, I also serve on the Adult Education committee, lead the bicycling group, and participate in many other ad hoc and long-term strategic priorities and committees.

Previously, I was Managing Director at Avalere (acquired by Inovalon, which was subsequently bought by a consortium led by Nordic Capital, who then sold it to Fishawack (now Avalere Health)), where I led commercialization, managed markets, market access, and customer engagement strategies for most of the world’s largest life sciences and medical device companies, health systems, and patient and provider groups. Prior to Avalere, I founded and led my own strategy, design, and development boutique, kwake, which was acquired by Saeidan when Riaz and I joined forces.

I was also Editor-in-Chief of gnovis, Georgetown’s peer-reviewed “interdisciplinary platform for scholars to explore the relationships among technology, culture, media, politics, and the arts.” (If you are interested, you can check out my somewhat odd and highly varied career on LinkedIn.)

I studied philosophy as an undergrad at New College of Florida and the Honors College of the University of South Florida. My first graduate degree, from Georgetown University, was in communication, culture, & technology with a focus on innovation, semiotics, and sociotechnical theory. I completed my MBA at Lady Margaret Hall, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, where I concentrated on technology, innovation, and general management. I also hold a graduate certificate in plant-based nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies at Cornell University.

(I also intend on finishing out my PhD in philosophy at some point. I’ll update this bit when I get that figured out.)

In whatever remaining free time I have left over, I am a keen but keenly out of shape bicyclist, so I can often be found on the road, on a trail, or on my trainer in a brutal Zwift session. I also read (seriously) a lot of books, cook a lot of noodles, do some better-than-average woodworking, build analog electronic instruments. I have also exhibited a variety of media, including photography, sculpture, and, most recently, interactive, electronic musical installations (winning best in show at DC Web Fest) and woodworking.

Currently, I reside in a Japanese style farm house in the middle of a suburb in Northern Virginia with my sincerely incredible partner Cecili, and the younger of our two amazing and amazingly brilliant daughters, Emerson, and our four dogs, Joey, Tone (toe-nah), Blue, and Ollie. Our elder daughter, Piper, is rocking it at Dickinson College, where she is focused on ethics.

Ken W.

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