Regional Innovation and Economic Development Through Collaboration: Optimal CEO Moderates MPact 2026 Panel

Events

Date: February 25, 2026

Optimal’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Mark Turner, has been invited to participate as a featured speaker at the 2026 MPact Conference, hosted by the University of Maryland. The conference, titled “Understanding Regional Opportunities and Partnerships to Drive American Competitiveness,” will take place March 25–27, 2026, at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center in College Park, Maryland.

Dr. Turner will serve as moderator for the conference session:

“Building Regional Collaborations to Accelerate Innovation and Economic Development” | Wednesday, March 25, 2026

11:15 AM – 12:15 PM | Location: Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center, 7801 Alumni Drive, College Park, MD 20742

A labor economist with more than 30 years of experience, Dr. Turner leads Optimal Solutions Group’s work at the intersection of data analytics, policy research, program evaluation, and technology implementation. Under his leadership, Optimal has designed and implemented large-scale data collection and evaluation systems for federal agencies including the U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, with projects spanning 25 countries.

In addition to leading Optimal Solutions Group, Dr. Turner is the Co-Founder of Revelo Software, a spin-off company delivering modular SaaS solutions for the public sector. At Revelo, he leads development of eReviewer, a next-generation peer review management platform that integrates agentic AI and human oversight to modernize grant review processes, as well as the Economic Impact Analysis SaaS, which provides real-time, credible insights into the economic and social value of public investments.

Dr. Turner’s work aligns closely with the MPact Conference’s focus on building regional partnerships, strengthening innovation ecosystems, and improving how public investments and research initiatives are designed, evaluated, and scaled.

Dr. Turner previously served on the AI Upskilling Working Group of the Maryland Governor’s Workforce Development Board, contributing to statewide strategies for workforce development and AI readiness. He currently serves on the Education & Workforce Committee of the National Data Science Alliance, supporting national efforts to advance data science education and responsible AI adoption.

The MPact conference will bring together representatives from academia, government, industry, and nonprofit organizations to examine how regional partnerships and cross-sector collaboration can strengthen innovation capacity and economic development. Conference themes include:

  • Optimizing and assessing the impact of community-engaged research on policy, practice, and economic development
  • Developing trustworthy and human-centered artificial intelligence applications
  • Addressing grand challenges through partnerships
  • Exploring the future of funding for public impact research
  • Building best practices and ecosystems to support social innovation

Conference registration is available at:
https://mpact2026.umd.edu/register/

About Optimal Solutions Group

Optimal Solutions Group is a research and technology firm specializing in program evaluation, data analytics, data science, and software solution implementation for public-sector and mission-driven organizations. Based in the University of Maryland’s Discovery District, Optimal works with federal, state, and local agencies to design and evaluate programs, develop data-driven decision tools, and implement scalable software solutions that improve performance, compliance, and outcomes.