Smart Home Expo: Empowering Independence Through Technology

Brian Hart is the CEO of Heylo Technology. He has made it his mission to push the boundaries of what options exist for adults with disabilities.  He is never satisfied and believes there is always a better way to increase the independence of others and break down the systemic barriers that hold them back. He has been at the forefront of expanding services through the use of technology enabled supports and community clusters of services. Through his work, Brian has been able to assist agencies across the country to implement technology first and remote support to increase the number of individuals they support. Brian believes that technology enabled support is the solution to the problems facing I/DD and Mental Health support agencies, and he is excited to be at the forefront of assisting agencies in this change.

Adam Klein, LPC, is Vice President of Growth & Sales at MapHabit and a Licensed Professional Counselor with more than 20 years of leadership experience across behavioral health, managed care, quality improvement, case management, and program innovation. Beginning his career working directly with children and families in therapeutic foster care, Adam has remained passionate about designing and implementing programs that improve outcomes for individuals with complex behavioral, cognitive, and developmental needs.

Today, Adam works with health plans, provider organizations, schools, and state agencies to expand the use of assistive technology that promotes independence, reduces caregiver burden, and supports better health outcomes. He is especially passionate about helping organizations translate innovative technology into sustainable, person-centered care models. He is also passionate about helping organizations responsibly leverage technology and artificial intelligence to improve care delivery while keeping individuals and families at the center of every solution.

What Adam enjoys most is spending time in the community with providers, caregivers, and families and hearing firsthand how technology is making a meaningful difference in people’s daily lives. He is incredibly proud to be part of the MapHabit team and the organization’s mission to empower individuals through practical, evidence-based innovation.

Outside of work, Adam enjoys spending time with his family, cheering on his son at sporting events (and occasionally teaming up for video games), and exploring new restaurants and TV series with his wife. 

Jim co-built a nationwide enterprise, maximizing quality of patient care and reduced costs in hospitals, that was acquired by a Fortune 500 healthcare company. Following this successful endeavor, he made his most consequential, long-term career change. The human services organization supporting people with IDD in community-based settings—where he sat on the Board of Directors—asked Jim to step up as their CEO. He decided to immediately and simultaneously tackle the most pressing challenges, which he came to understand as largely endemic to the industry overall: the poor nutrition/health of people supported along with haphazard compliance regarding person-centered choice; inexperienced, high turnover staff; and budget-strapped operations. Jim noted that these various needles hadn’t moved much—and certainly never in tandem—despite attempts over many years by a host of status quo “solutions.”

Jim quickly concluded that little in a group home day occupies as much time, passion, cost, and safety concern as does food. So a key priority centered on mealtime and its associated linkages. Within 18 months of Jim’s tenure, the organization received one of the first-ever, 4-year CQL accreditations and was financially robust for the first time in over a decade, with much healthier consumers. This transformation and its possibilities planted the seed for Mainstay, Inc. and its My25 brand . . . a holistic, integrated approach to Food as Medicine, tailored for people with specialized needs on a person-centered basis via digital supports.

Building strategic partnerships and collaborations with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), professionals from the Feinberg School of Medicine, Walmart, SNAP officials, and legislators, Jim pioneered My25’s launch and growth. The company now spans 37 states, with a suite of digital Food as Medicine products, as a for-profit commercial enterprise among the nation’s leading human services/healthcare organizations for tens of thousands of people in waiver, ICF, and supported/independent living settings.

Fueled by Mainstay’s highly-respected team, proprietary software—and now A.I. integration—Jim is focused on forging a broader base of partners to positively impact more individuals, stakeholders and funders. He recognizes amplified, broad-based need for simultaneous outcomes regarding clinical health, social health, engagement, education, operational efficiency, food (and additional) cost reduction, and Medicaid savings contribution. Jim often credits My25’s overarching success to the actionable data Mainstay tracks and trends in real time and “. . . figuring out how to stem the leakages long getting in the way of sustainable, affordable nutrition/preventive health on a person-centered basis for this vital population—not just the 5% most unwell, but a majority.”

Jim is a graduate of both Davidson College where he received his BA in Economics and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management where he received his MBA. Jim lives in the Chicago area with his wife, who helps catapult Mainstay forward as its COO and co-founder. Three adult children each live a stone’s throw away; they often meet up with Jim on the golf course, but are honor bound to promise no snickering at his short game.  

Paul Carpenter is the co-founder and head of product and technology for BoundaryCare, a platform that uses real-time data and thoughtful design to help individuals gain and maintain independence while relieving stress from their caregivers. Paul spent over ten years working as an engineer at top technology companies until his own family’s experiences pushed him and his father Scott – a college professor and former technology entrepreneur – to tackle the challenges of caregiving head-on. At BoundaryCare, he applies methodologies for continuous improvement drawn from his technology background to power his vision for making BoundaryCare the most inclusive and comprehensive solution for individuals, families, and providers.

Thomas Alflen is the founder of Oddity.ai, an AI company built on years of applied computer vision research and now dedicated to helping human service organizations protect vulnerable people in care environments. Long before AI became a mainstream topic, he was working at the forefront of applied computer vision, building systems that recognize high-intensity human behavior in real-world settings.

Today, he focuses on helping providers supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities understand and responsibly adopt AI. Through Oddity.ai, he works with organizations to layer real-time behavioral alerts onto existing camera systems, helping staff identify moments such as aggression, self-injurious behavior, and restraints sooner.

Thomas regularly speaks about how vision AI works, how algorithms are trained, and how these technologies can be deployed with privacy by design. His mission is to make AI practical, understandable, and trustworthy for organizations working to create safer, more independent lives for the people they support.

Laura is a co-founder and CEO of GrandCare Systems, a touchscreen and sensor-based technology platform designed to improve independence and enhance remote supports for individuals living with disabilities and older adults. She has over 20 years of experience in the remote monitoring and connected health industry. In 2015, she founded LMC, a boutique marketing and consulting agency with a technology and senior housing niche. Laura has been featured in Forbes magazine for social media, was a 2012 “Top 40 under 40”, Top 100 Women in M2M in Connected World, and a recipient of the ‘Flame Award for Innovation and Leadership’ in 2011. She was a 2020 Rotarian of the Year, WI Innovation Awards finalist, and a 2022 Women in Consumer Technology Legacy recipient. She frequently volunteers with the Carlsbad Rotary and Cal State San Marcos business program. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two boys, and three dogs.

Joseph Donnelly is Vice President of Client Transformation at GrandCare Systems, where he leads growth, strategic partnerships, and market expansion for person-centered assistive technology and remote support solutions. A longtime healthcare technology executive, Joe has held leadership roles with organizations including Current Health, Kyruus, and athenahealth, helping healthcare and provider organizations adopt innovative technologies that improve care delivery and outcomes. Today, his work is focused on helping organizations use technology to expand independence, strengthen person-centered supports, and address the growing workforce challenges facing disability services.

With nearly a decade of experience in project management and operational leadership, Hannah is dedicated to driving innovation in service delivery for adults with disabilities.