AI SOLUTION SESSIONS

A professional business meeting in a modern office with diverse people collaborating around whiteboards with diagrams and notes, some working on laptops, in a high-rise building with city views.

Running a business right now means you're probably carrying more manual work, legacy processes, and operational drag than you should be. AI can fix a lot of that. But most of it never gets applied because no one has time to sit down and actually figure it out.

That's what this event is for.

AI Solution Sessions is a one-day workshop. You bring a real challenge from your business. We put you in a small group with other Clark County leaders facing similar problems, and a working AI developer who knows what's actually possible. You spend the day working on it to a clear next step.

You'll leave knowing where AI fits in your business, what's safe to do with your data, and what to do about it Monday morning.

Not consultants. Not pitch decks. People who build with AI, sitting in the room working on your problem with you.

Thursday, July 23rd
9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

$130 per Company (includes 2 attendees)
$35 for each additional attendee. Max 4 attendees.

More details

This link goes to a short application form, and from there, we'll reach out to discuss any questions you have about the program.

Three people working together at a table in a modern office, with whiteboards filled with notes and diagrams in the background.

Don't think of it like a workshop.
Think of it like a workday with the bots.

Most business events give you frameworks and send you home to figure out the rest on your own. This is different. You bring a real challenge, something that's actually costing you time, money, or opportunity. We put you in a room with people who've built real things and work through it together.

We're not here to talk at you. We're here to talk with you. Building real AI solutions means getting clear on exactly what you're dealing with: your constraints, your strengths, the stuff that's harder than it looks. That takes the right conversation and the right people in the room. We bring practitioners who know what's actually possible right now.

Group of professionals at an AI innovation workshop, engaging in discussions near whiteboards filled with diagrams and notes on machine learning and NLP applications, in a modern office space with large windows and city skyline views.

THE DAY

9:30 am — Doors open Coffee, introductions. Get oriented. Meet the people you'll be working with.

10:00 am — Level set A grounded look at how AI actually works: security, platforms, models, and data. No hype. Just what you need to have a clear-eyed conversation about your business.

10:45 am — Breakout sessions begin Small groups organized by challenge type — built from your application before the day starts. Floating facilitators come to you. Real work happens here.

12:30 pm — Lunch Provided. The conversations don't stop — they just move to a table with food.

1:30 pm — Afternoon sessions Deeper work. Refine the plan. Answer the hard questions. Figure out what the first real step actually is.

4:30 pm — Wrap Each group shares what they're taking home. You leave with something written down — not just a feeling.

Three men at a desk collaborating on a project, with a whiteboard filled with notes and diagrams behind them, and laptops and coffee cups on the table.
People at a tech conference discussing AI and machine learning, with whiteboards covered in notes and diagrams, large windows with a city skyline in the background.

IF YOU'VE GOT A REAL PROBLEM. BRING IT!

This isn't for people who want to learn about AI in the abstract. It's for business owners and senior leaders in Clark County who are sitting on a problem they haven't been able to solve — and who are ready to actually do something about it. We'll follow up with everyone who applies. Not to screen you out. To make sure we set you up right. Good fit:

  • Business owner or senior leader based in Clark County

  • Something specific is costing you time, money, or opportunity

  • You can bring 2–3 people, including at least one decision-maker

  • You want to actually work, not just hear about AI

  • You're open to honest answers, even if they're not what you expected

Probably not the right fit:

  • Looking for a general AI overview or intro course

  • Hoping to be pitched a product or platform

  • No specific challenge to work through

THE FACILITATORS ARE PEOPLE WHO'VE ACTUALLY BUILT THINGS.
Our facilitators aren't here to consult or pitch. They rotate into your group when you need them — asking better questions, helping your team move through the hard parts, connecting what you're dealing with to what's actually possible. They've shipped products, run engineering teams, and applied AI to real business problems. That's the difference you'll feel in the room.

A smiling man in a suit and tie with glasses, posing against a plain background.

Santi Adavani
Co-Founder, S2 Labs

Co-founded S2 Labs to help companies build AI that actually works. PhD in computational science from Penn. Career spent at the intersection of high-performance computing, scientific machine learning, and large-scale data. Was at AWS before going out on his own. Knows the difference between what AI can really do and what it's just been sold as. In the room, he keeps groups honest about where AI lifts and where it lies.

A woman with long black hair sitting by a window, wearing a black top and looking at the camera.

Shanti Adavani
Co-Founder, S2 Labs

Co-founded S2 Labs after 14 years at Intel, where she served as Chief of Staff and led technical program management inside a large engineering organization. Master's in computer science from Iowa. Brings the operational fluency that matters when AI hits the realities of an existing business: budgets, teams, legacy systems, the gap between what's promised and what ships. In the room, she helps groups make that gap navigable.

A middle-aged man with gray hair, glasses, and a light beard, smiling at the camera on a city street with buildings and streetlights in the background.

Sam Keen
Founder Altered Craft

Spent 25+ years building software at Nike, Lululemon, AWS, and startups. Led the GenAI Innovation Lab at AWS, helping teams sort real signal from AI noise. Author of Clean Architecture with Python. Co-founded Portland AI Engineers, a 1,100-member practitioner community. Now researches how AI actually changes the way teams write software and ship products. He's seen the work from every side: building it, leading it, teaching it.

A smiling man with a beard and short, slicked-back hair dressed in a dark suit and white shirt, standing indoors with blurred windows and a neutral background.

Reggie Willbanks Principal Software Engineer, PacifiCorp

Principal engineer at PacifiCorp, one of the region's largest utilities. Previously VP of Engineering at Thetus, with earlier stops at Geonorth and Energy Trust of Oregon. Knows what it takes to run AI and data systems inside a complex, regulated organization: security posture, data architecture, and code that actually has to work in production. In the room, he helps groups think clearly about the constraints most consultants won't name.

A man speaking during a meeting or discussion in a classroom or conference room, with a laptop open in front of him, surrounded by other people.

Dave Barcos
Founder, North Bank Innovations

Founder and Executive Director of North Bank Innovations. Has spent his career building the conditions for SW Washington startups to survive, grow, and stay solvent. Works alongside founders across industries to sharpen their thinking, find the right people, and move from idea to traction. At AI Solution Sessions, he brings the connector's view: less about the technology, more about what it takes to actually put it to work inside a real business.

FAST, PERSONAL, ON PURPOSE.

We review every application and follow up personally before confirming a spot. It keeps the groups tight and makes the day work better for everyone.

  1. Apply
    Five minutes. Tell us what your company does, who you'd bring, and what you're actually dealing with right now. Don't worry about framing it as an AI problem.

  2. Short call
    We'll reach out for a 15-minute conversation. Not an interview — just enough context to set you up right and confirm the fit

  3. Confirmed spot
    We'll place you in the right breakout group before the day starts and send you a brief so you arrive ready to work

  4. Show up
    Bring your team. Bring the problem. Leave with a plan.

Group of people at a conference discussing AI and machine learning projects. A woman is explaining to three men near whiteboards filled with technical notes and diagrams. Other attendees are in the background, some looking at posters or working on laptops.
Learn more

SPONSORS

Green background with white text that says 'The VIC' in a stylized font.
Logo for New Blueprint Partners, an industrial real estate investment company.
Logo for CREDC, featuring stylized flowing lines and the words 'CREDC' and 'Economic Development'

LET’S TACKLE THE HARD STUFF!

Thursday, July 23rd. 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. The VIC, Vancouver WA. Lunch included. Space for 12 organizations. We'll follow up personally after you apply.

Presented by North Bank Innovations in partnership with CREDC.

Thursday, July 23rd
9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

$130 per Company (includes 2 attendees)
$35 for each additional attendee. Max 4 attendees.

More details