The Connect Current is your inside look at the people and ideas shaping San Diego’s innovation ecosystem.
Produced by Connect, a nonprofit supporting founders and investors for over 40 years, the podcast builds on a legacy of helping high growth companies, including alumni like Cloudbeds, Inhibrx, and NanoCellect Biomedical, grow and scale from San Diego to the global stage.
Each episode features relaxed, thoughtful conversations with founders, investors, and community leaders across life science, tech, climate, defense, AI, and more, sharing the stories shaping San Diego innovation.
If you’re building, investing, learning, or simply curious about the future of San Diego’s innovation economy, this is your place to stay connected to what’s happening now and what’s next.

The Connect Current is your inside look at the people and ideas shaping San Diego’s innovation ecosystem.
Produced by Connect, a nonprofit supporting founders and investors for over 40 years, the podcast builds on a legacy of helping high growth companies, including alumni like Cloudbeds, Inhibrx, and NanoCellect Biomedical, grow and scale from San Diego to the global stage.
Each episode features relaxed, thoughtful conversations with founders, investors, and community leaders across life science, tech, climate, defense, AI, and more, sharing the stories shaping San Diego innovation.
If you’re building, investing, learning, or simply curious about the future of San Diego’s innovation economy, this is your place to stay connected to what’s happening now and what’s next.
In this episode of The Connect Current, we sit down with Holly Smithson, CEO of Athena, to explore how leaders are navigating one of the largest workforce transformations in decades. As AI rapidly reshapes how work gets done, Holly shares what it takes to upskill teams, stay competitive, and lead responsibly through change. The conversation dives into where organizations are falling behind, what effective AI adoption actually looks like, and the growing responsibility leaders have to develop talent while protecting long term value. This episode offers a clear, practical lens on leadership in an AI driven world.
