As a founding partner, David Carstens brings a diverse technical, business, and legal background to develop effective strategies for clients.

David earned two technical degrees, a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Dallas and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University. He holds a law degree and MBA from Southern Methodist University.

His experience supports a deep understanding of state of the art technologies, particularly in the energy production space.

Kyle Wiley is a Founding Partner of Connector Labs with extensive experience cultivating relationships and collaborating with stakeholders across various industries.

Previously, Kyle served as an Appointee in the U.S. Department of Energy under two Secretaries in the Office of the Chief Commercialization Officer / Technology Transitions.

While Senior Advisor he negotiated international bilateral agreements, contributed to launching a Covid technical assistance program, and engaged various offices around the complex and Administration to encourage tech transfer and commercialization activities from the 17 DOE National Labs.

Before his Presidential Appointment, Kyle was a Federal Relations Advisor for the AmLaw 100 firm, Barnes & Thornburg, LLP. His work included lobbying executive branch departments, congressional offices, and committees on behalf of clients.

Previously, Kyle served as Assistant to two Presidents of the Heritage Foundation, where he was responsible for the organization’s major donor fundraising and external relations in the Southwest, realizing gifts in excess of $3.1M.

Before joining the Heritage Foundation, Kyle was a Koch Associate at the Charles Koch Institute. During his time as a Koch Associate, he assisted with fundraising efforts at Americans for Prosperity and collaborated with Stand Together. Throughout the duration of the program he studied classical liberalism, economics, and further developed leadership skills.

Kyle holds a B.A. in Political Science from The University of Georgia. During his undergraduate education he interned for former Congressman Paul Broun (GA-10). In 2017 he completed his Masters in Management from Avila University in Kansas City, MO along with a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Fundraising.

During his free time, he enjoys spending time outdoors, biking, fishing, and supporting his hometown sports teams, the Atlanta Braves and Georgia Bulldogs.

J. Andrew Reed is a born and raised Texan. He attended the University of Texas at Arlington, receiving a Bachelor and Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering.

He then went to law school at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in 2016. He has served with numerous community organizations, including with the UTA Student Chapter of IEEE (Institute of Electric and Electronics Engineers), Eta Kappa Nu, SMU Science and Technology Law Review, SMU Intellectual Property Organization, and the SMU AIPLA Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial Moot Court team where he has served as both competitor and coach. Andrew is also a member of Success North Dallas, where he serves on the board of the Success North Dallas Young Executive.

Andrew’s varied educational and community background allows for a unique view of innovation, strategy, and fundraising. Through his startup Doxile, he has also traveled down the path as an innovator, entrepreneur, and fundraiser. These experiences allow him to look at each project from multiple perspectives and with an eye towards short- and long-term goals.

During his free time, Andrew enjoys spending time with his family, playing and writing music, and spending time outdoors, whether it is hunting, fishing, competing in international Olympic trap, or other clay target sports.

In his role as Chief Strategist, Robert K. Burgess oversees Connector Labs’ developing and diverse portfolio of political clients — which includes a U.S. Presidential campaign and several federal Super PACs. He is principally responsible for the cultivation of strategic agency partnerships and political business development nationwide. Burgess’ distinguished career encompasses nearly 18 years of political and communications experience on races ranging from city council to six U.S. Presidential campaigns. In 2007 he cut his teeth as a grassroots field operative on then-Governor Mitch Daniels’ re-election campaign. Burgess has served in leadership roles for the Indiana Republican Party, the Republican Party of Kentucky, Americans for Prosperity, Vice President Mike Pence’s gubernatorial administration, and the South Dakota Republican Party. Burgess’ experience extends to Capitol Hill, where he is considered an expert on Congressional mass communications (the Franking Privilege). He has served as Communications Director to several Members of Congress, including Reps. Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN) and Mike Garcia (R-CA), and a trusted advisor to numerous others on crisis management, and media and public relations. Burgess is a former Reserve Deputy Sheriff in Clark and Scott Counties (IN). He and his wife, Greta, currently reside in Washington, D.C. and Naples, Florida with their son.

Ryan Parada is Connector Labs Director of Government Affairs, joining the firm in 2023. Before joining Connector Labs, Ryan served as the Senior Manager of Government Affairs and International Policy at the Premium Cigar Association (PCA). His international prowess was evident in directing PCA’s global affairs, lobbying governments worldwide on premium tobacco issues, and establishing the Diplomatic Cigar Corps. Ryan’s extensive network and coalition-building efforts against anti-tobacco legislation havs left a lasting impact on the industry.

Ryan earned his Master’s degree in Government from Johns Hopkins University, with his thesis earning an honors distinction. Ryan holds a Bachelor’s degree in political science from Rutgers University, accompanied by a Certificate of National Security.

Chris J Snook is a multi-exit technology entrepreneur, global business and investment strategist, co-hosts the web3show podcast, and is the international bestselling co-author with Travis Wright of Digital Sense (Wiley 2017) and The Web3 Playbook (coming mid-2023. He is currently a Growth Partner at ClimateAlpha.ai the leading AI-powered platform that predicts property asset values across North America (and soon globally) under multiple climate and market scenarios for each year to 2040. He also advises a handful of deep tech web3 portfolio companies and the SingularityNET Ecosystem as the Managing Partner at 9LEVEL9.

Kyle Scott started his career in academia before spending the past 15 years as an entrepreneur. As an academic he has authored five books and more than 100 articles in areas such as public policy, elections, business ethics, and entrepreneurship. Kyle began his grant work in 2005. He has written grants for academic research and workforce development programs. He has secured funding from NSF, NIH, Texas Workforce Commission, Department of Education, and from several non-profits. In addition to his grant writing he’s worked to create public-private partnerships that have made more than $30 million available for workforce training. Kyle received his undergraduate degree from UT-Austin, PhD in political science from the University of Houston, and MBA from Rice University.