YOUNG INVESTORS GROUP

PRESENTS

Virginia Beach, VA

March 21, 2026 | 9am

Virginia Wesleyan University

Free to attend! Registration is Required

BUILD YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE

What Is InvestaCon?

InvestaCon is a free, hands-on youth and family experience designed to help families have real conversations about money, careers, technology, and economic mobility — together.

Hosted by Young Investors Group, InvestaCon blends financial education, entrepreneurship, FinTech, and artificial intelligence (AI) into interactive, tournament-style learning experiences.

This is not a conference and not a lecture. InvestaCon is a live, immersive environment where youth and families participate, make decisions, and learn by doing.

InvestaCon 2026 will be our third event (2022, 2024, 2026) and the largest to date, as we build toward InvestaCon 2028, marking 10 years of Young Investors Group as a 501(c)(3) organization.

2026 Theme

AI in Everyday Financial & Career Decisions

InvestaCon 2026 includes artificial intelligence education, but InvestaCon is not only about AI. AI is taught as a tool families and youth must learn to understand, question, and use responsibly—especially as it impacts:

Money decisions
Careers and hiring
Entrepreneurship
Digital risk and opportunity

AI is integrated across all activations, not taught in isolation.

How AI Education Is Integrated (Youth + Families)

At InvestaCon, AI is introduced through real-world application, not coding lectures. Participants learn:

How AI influences financial decisions (loans, credit, pricing, marketing)
How AI shows up in careers and business tools
How to think critically about AI — risks, bias, and opportunity
How families can talk about technology and money together

AI becomes part of the conversation — not the entire conversation.

Core InvestaCon Activations

Big Money Big Business Family Hackathon & Pitch Contest
Families build and pitch a real business idea together. AI is used as a tool to build software to solve a community or business problem, while keeping human judgment at the center.
FinTech Olympics (Youth Tournament)
Students compete in gamified financial challenges (mortgage underwriting, sales funnels/CRM, crypto & digital money). AI is introduced as it appears in real financial systems and platforms youth already encounter.
Escape Room Workshops
Small-group, timed workshops where youth “escape” real-world financial traps such as digital scams, credit misuse, and bad contracts — including AI-driven risks.
Pop the Balloon: Find a Career
A gamified career activation where youth engage professionals in real conversations about careers, pathways, and how AI is reshaping industries — without removing human skill or purpose.
Media, Podcast & Fireside Chat + Gaming Panel
Youth-led interviews, gaming discussions, and fireside chats explore money, careers, entrepreneurship, and technology through storytelling and visibility.

Why InvestaCon Matters

Families learn together, not separately
Youth gain exposure to real financial and career systems
AI is taught in context, not fear or hype
Economic mobility is framed as a family conversation
Students leave with confidence, clarity, and awareness
Families are better prepared to navigate money, technology, and opportunity — together

Who Should Attend

Youth (middle school, high school, young adults)
Parents and families
Schools and youth programs
Workforce and career organizations
Community and corporate partners

Register. Participate. Partner.

Schools: Register your students or program
Families: Attend and participate together
Partners & Sponsors: Support an activation or tournament
Volunteers & Mentors: Help guide youth and families

Wealth Management

Real Estate Investments

Intellectual Property

Free to attend! Registration Required

Thank you to our 2024 PRESENTERS!

Christina Calloway is an attorney for Trademarks Customer Outreach with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). She began her career at the USPTO as a trademark examining attorney, where she served on a team dedicated to reviewing sound and motion trademark applications.

Ms. Calloway has collaborated with numerous local and national organizations, educational institutions, and businesses to educate small business owners and creators about intellectual property. Throughout her career, Ms. Calloway has sought to merge her personal passion for the arts and professional pursuits in public service and has been awarded recognition for her service and leadership professionally and personally. She is an executive board member of the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association and serves on the City of Alexandria’s Commission for the Arts.

A proud “army brat,” Ms. Calloway obtained her Juris Doctor degree from Howard University School of Law. She also received both her Master in Public Administration and Bachelor of Arts in English from Georgia Southern University.

Darrell Booker is a dynamic leader at Microsoft's Philanthropy division, renowned for spearheading one of the company's pivotal initiatives: the Nonprofit Tech Acceleration for Black and African American Communities.

With an impressive career spanning 25 years in the tech industry, Darrell has held prominent roles as CIO and CTO, establishing himself as a highly accomplished tech entrepreneur. However, what truly sets him apart is his unwavering commitment to leveraging his extensive knowledge and experience to craft innovative solutions aimed at addressing society's most pressing social impact challenges.

While being best known in Hampton Roads as a wedding DJ, Seko Varner has grown into a role of consulting clients towards growing wealth. Seko is the founder and current lead of the 200+ Men's Hampton Roads Greenbook, an app that spotlights Black Businesses while highlighting Veteran, Women, and Minority owned businesses. Finally, Seko is really crunk about recently releasing a documentary series named Generational Flip which can be found online on www.GenerationalFlip.com.

Marcus Bullock is a husband and father that grew into a tech entrepreneur who wants to reduce recidivism. He leverages his own journey to share a story about resilience and overcoming obstacles, which he hopes will build stronger communities, more diverse companies, and more inclusive colleges & universities.

Marcus is also the CEO of Flikshop, a TED speaker, and most recently launched the Flikshop School of Business, where his team introduces tech and entrepreneurship strategies to returning citizens. He is an inaugural cohort member of Techstars Anywhere and John Legend’s Unlocked Futures business accelerators. He was selected as one of The Root’s 100 Most Influential African Americans in the US and is a member of the Justice Policy Institute’s board of directors, Advisory Board member for Princeton University’s Prison Teaching Initiative, and serves as an advisor to the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business and Aspen Institute’s Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund, and is the current Entrepreneur in Residence at University of Baltimore. He has been featured in Fast Company, New York Times, Black Enterprise, CNN, VICE TV, and Forbes.

Tierra Walker Holloway, known as “Tierra Around Tidewater,” has been a prominent figure in real estate since 2004, serving as Principal Broker-Owner of Walker One Property Group. With her guiding principle of “Start Where You Are, Use What You Have,” she aims to empower her community, particularly addressing disparities in housing needs. Tierra's expertise extends to property management, assisting over 200 families to navigate housing challenges and avoid foreclosure. She focuses on residential & commercial sales, managing over $12 million in assets within the WOPG portfolio.

Tierra's vision includes providing space for small businesses and content creators to collaborate, addressing covert racism in housing needs, particularly for Black individuals. With Year 4 approaching, Tierra and her firm are committed to furthering real estate education, empowerment, and homeownership in Hampton Roads.

Elizabeth Taylor has been with New York Life Insurance Company for 6 years, helping families realize the important of insuring early and how to create generational wealth with insurance products. In the last two years, she’s increased her business to help pre-retires and retired individuals to make sure their money last in retirement.

Hannon Lane has worked with big-name artists like Madonna, Rihanna, Missy Elliot, TIMBALAND & MAGOO, Fall Out Boy, Toni Braxton, Justin Timberlake, TPain, Petey Pablo, and many more. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s in Business. After college, Hannon obtained a major publishing deal with Warner Chappell and a major song deal with Atlantic Records.

Dawn Johns is seasoned senior associate in federal audit. With a Bachelor’s in Accounting and Finance with a minor in Business Analytics from ODU, Dawn actively contributes to the community by teaching financial literacy and volunteering with VITA. Fun fact - Dawn once jumped off the side of a ship into the Mediterranean Sea during her time serving in the Navy.

"Saving on Taxes and Building Passive Income is a Team Sport, Make Sure You have the Right Coach."

That is why, Larry Pendleton’s mission is to help fellow investors achieve financial abundance by increasing their passive income and reducing their taxes with effective tax planning. He has been a CPA and strategist for over a decade with a focus on serving investors. He also worked as a real estate investor for nearly a decade.

Currently, Larry’s financial company oversees over $4M in assets such as mortgage notes, multi & single family rentals, corporate housing, short-term rentals, and new developments. Their focus is to help investors achieve greater returns than their bank or or retirement accounts and secured by real estate. Larry serves on various Boards of non-profits that promote the development of the youth and the community. He also serves on the Planning Commission for the city of Norfolk, VA. Most importantly, Larry is a husband to an extraordinary wife, Whitney, and the proud father of 2 sons, Larry III and Wesley.

M H Scott is the father of three wonderful children, but most notable "Mike Scott" a nine-year NBA veteran. At the age of 7, he knew Mike had a special talent, but the extent was still uncertain. As a retired United States Marine, all he wanted for his children was for them to reach their own personal level of success. That has been accomplished and now it is time to pay it forward. He created the Parents Coaching Parents Network based on the experience he shared with his son. It has blossomed into a book; "You Don't Know, What You Don't Know: The Sports Parents Guide", a podcast, and several opportunities to share their story nationally.

Antwan Gibson

Hometown: Troy, NY

College: Norfolk State University (BEHOLD!!) Graduated in 07’ with Degree in Business with 3.49 GPA

Current City: Chesapeake, VA

Industry Experience: Licensed since 2010, New York Life Insurance Company Since 2013

Current Licenses: Life & Health License, Series 6 & 63 Securities License

Career Highlights: 7x New York Life Council Agent 4x Centurion Award Winner Life All-star winner (2016, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023) Annuity Elite Silver Award Winner (2022) Member of NAIFA (National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors) Member of MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table) Currently on the Norfolk General Office AAC (Agent Advisory Council)