Catholic University of America

Director of AI & Venture Ecosystems in Microsoft’s Office of the CTO, where he designs and leads cross-company initiatives integrating innovation, product development, and community engagement. With over twenty years of experience launching and scaling ventures across enterprise, deep tech, and social impact ecosystems, he brings a multidisciplinary background as a developer, educator, lawyer, entrepreneur, and venture builder. Taylor also helps shape the Catholic University of America’s Leonum Institute, dedicated to exploring the intersection of AI, innovation, and authentic human flourishing.

Senior Vice Provost for Research at The Catholic University of America. Dr. Yost brings over 30 years of teaching and research experience, previously holding the Richard L. Stimson presidential endowed chair and serving as vice chairman for basic science research in pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine. His research focuses on the intersection between model organism embryology, genetics, and the discovery of novel disease-causing mutations in human genomes, particularly congenital heart disease and pediatric rare diseases. He is an elected Fellow of AAAS, an inaugural member of the Society for Developmental Biology Academy, and a Fellow of the American Association for Anatomy.