2025 Best Ideas Summit
Speaker Bios
Dawn Norris Doak
Retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent, Behavioral Analyst & Harvard Fellow
Dawn Norris Doak is a retired Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI’s National Security Division, Behavioral Analysis Unit. She is an authority in behavioral assessments for matters involving threats to US national security.
For the past two decades, Dawn consulted worldwide on counterintelligence matters for the FBI and their foreign partners. She’s recognized by the US intelligence community as an expert in non-verbal evaluations, statement analysis, personality assessment, and elicitation techniques. Her work included investigations into malign foreign influence, economic espionage, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and state sponsored hostile actions. Dawn is the recipient of numerous intelligence community awards, including the prestigious Office of the Director of National Intelligence Award.
Currently, Dawn is a Fellow at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, focusing on the intersection of behavior and disinformation. Dawn is also an Adjunct Faculty member of the FBI Academy and routinely lectures at Columbia and New York University on topics related to behavioral analysis.
Additionally, Dawn spent many years working undercover and currently holds the distinction of being the most prolific female undercover agent in FBI history. During her career, she successfully infiltrated organized crime syndicates, drug cartels, financial fraud schemes, spy rings, and terrorist groups, resulting in countless arrests, convictions, and threat neutralizations.
Dawn holds a Bachelor of Arts from Johns Hopkins University and a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School.
David Lohrey
Executive Director | AQR
David Lohrey is an Executive Director in the US Wealth Group at AQR Capital Management, where he oversees the Western region. In this role, he consults with and educates financial advisors on AQR’s investment strategies as well as the intersection with tax and estate planning.
Prior to AQR, David was a financial advisor and served as the director of business development at Grassi Investment Management. David earned his B.S. in civil engineering & economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his M.B.A. from the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business.
Dan Haroun
Co-Founder & Partner | Catalyst Investment Partners
Dan Haroun is a Co-Founder and Partner at Catalyst Investment Partners overseeing all investments. Prior to founding Catalyst, Mr. Haroun was responsible for acquisitions and asset management at Meadow Partners, a New York City-based real estate private equity firm. While at Meadow Partners, Mr. Haroun was involved with the acquisition or development of over $1.0 billion of real estate across New York City and Washington D.C. Mr. Haroun led the launch of Meadow Partners’ fleet parking & industrial outdoor storage platform focused on acquisitions across the New York City Metropolitan Area. Prior to joining Meadow Partners, Mr. Haroun evaluated equity and debt investments as part of the acquisitions team at SL Green Realty Corp., closing $4.0 billion in transactions. Mr. Haroun received a B.S.E. in Systems Science & Engineering Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in Financial Systems.
Adam Woodard
Managing Partner & Co-Founder | Delta Leasing
Adam is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Delta Financial Group, leveraging over 19 years of experience in commercial lending and alternative investing. He is also an investor and Co-Founder of Quantum Leasing starting in 2016, a private credit equipment lender focused in middle market Mexico (out of Mexico City). Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, he was with Vesta Equity, a single-family office with a global opportunistic mandate in direct alternative investments. He started his career working for a distressed commercial debt fund through 2009 and as an intern at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Adam received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, his MBA with a focus in finance from the University of South Florida, and holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Associate (CAIA) designation.
Jamie Potts
Co-Founder | Hakluyt Capital
Jamie joined Hakluyt in 2018, leads their West Coast business and co-founded Hakluyt Capital.
Prior to Hakluyt, he spent ten years in the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, where he worked in Syria, China and the US, ultimately serving as senior strategy adviser to the British ambassador to the UN.
Jamie previously worked for Goldman Sachs in Paris and is a graduate of the University of Cambridge.