Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Awards Series: Pioneers of Innovation

2024 Recipient of the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Community Public Service Award

David Heyman is co-founder and CEO of Smart City Works, a venture accelerator focused on developing and scaling technologies that improve urban infrastructure, resilience, and quality of life. A nationally recognized leader in national security, technology innovation, and international affairs, he brings more than 30 years of experience spanning government, business, and entrepreneurship.

Heyman has served in senior leadership roles at the White House and the U.S. Departments of Energy and Homeland Security, where his work focused on some of the most complex challenges at the intersection of security, technology, and public policy. He has also founded and advised technology ventures and serves in leadership roles on municipal, corporate, and international boards.

His expertise and commentary have been featured by major national and international media outlets, including the BBC, CNN, NPR, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. Heyman earned his degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and received the Johns Hopkins Public Service Award in 2024.

2022 Recipient of the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Outstanding Recent Graduate Award

Dr. Kenneth F. Harris II is an aerospace engineer and Senior Project Manager at The Aerospace Corporation, where his work supports Department of Defense and NASA missions and focuses on protecting satellites from physical and cyber threats. Recognized by Forbes among influential young leaders in science, Harris has built his career around some of the nation’s most complex aerospace programs.

Previously, Harris served as Deputy Lead Integration Engineer for the James Webb Space Telescope’s Integrated Science Instrument Module electronic components, leading a team responsible for integrating critical scientific hardware with the telescope. He began his NASA career as an intern in 2008 and went on to hold increasingly senior engineering and leadership roles.

Beyond aerospace, Harris is an advocate for STEM education and has served on the Prince George’s County Board of Education. He earned his master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University, a bachelor’s degree from UMBC, and a Doctor of Engineering degree from George Washington University. He received the Johns Hopkins Outstanding Recent Graduate Award in 2022.

2022 Recipient of the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Distinguished Alumna Award

Dr. Nicole Gaudelli is a life sciences entrepreneur in residence at GV, where she focuses on the intersection of chemistry and biology and the development of precision genetic medicines. She joined GV in 2024 after serving as Vice President of Gene Editing at Beam Therapeutics, where she led teams advancing and engineering next-generation gene-editing technologies.

Gaudelli is best known for inventing the first adenine base editor, a breakthrough that expanded the possibilities of precision gene editing. She developed the technology during her postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and her foundational patent was later licensed by Beam Therapeutics and Verve Therapeutics.

Gaudelli earned her PhD in chemistry from Johns Hopkins University, where she studied antibiotic biosynthesis. Her work has been recognized by MIT Technology Review, Fortune, STAT, the American Chemical Society, and other leading scientific and business organizations. She received the Johns Hopkins Distinguished Alumna Award in 2022.

2022 Recipient of the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Distinguished Alumnus Award

Shelly Blake-Plock is CEO and co-founder of Yet Analytics and President of I2IDL. For nearly 25 years, he has worked at the intersection of learning, technology, and data, beginning as a classroom teacher at one of the earliest U.S. schools to adopt one-to-one computing and later designing and teaching the first graduate courses on participatory media in education at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education. He currently serves on the School of Education’s National Advisory Council.

Since co-founding Yet Analytics in 2014, Blake-Plock has led work focused on data interoperability, learning engineering, and emerging technologies for education and workforce training. He has contributed to more than 50 research papers and presentations on topics including artificial intelligence, learning analytics, data architecture, and ethical technology design.

A Senior Member of IEEE, Blake-Plock has held numerous leadership roles within its Learning Technology Standards Committee. He received the Johns Hopkins University Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2022.

Robert Lord, MD, is Senior Vice President of Data & Digital Research & Development at Vizient, where he focuses on defining Vizient’s future markets, AI strategy and its approach to tackling some of healthcare’s toughest challenges for its clients. Prior to joining Vizient, he was a Partner at LionBird Ventures, where he led early-stage digital health investments. He also co-founded and served as President and Chairman of Protenus, the nation’s leading healthcare compliance analytics platform, and trained in emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins.

Lord serves on several healthcare technology boards and advises global organizations on digital health, AI, and cybersecurity strategies. He is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and a Fellow at New America, where he contributes to healthcare cybersecurity research.

Earlier in his career, Lord worked at Bridgewater Associates as an Investment Associate, designing AI systems for the world’s largest hedge fund. He earned his AB from Harvard College, magna cum laude, and his MD from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.