Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • November 2, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 19 Celebrating 11 Years on the Air! Since welcoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the first guest in 2009, to our 11th anniversary show guest, Dr. Anthony Fauci, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter have interviewed the top national and global health care influencers weekly. Now playing on iTunes and your favorite podcast platform. Or ask Alexa to "play the program Conversations on Health Care". www.chcradio.com as an investor in the 1980s. While recruiting investors for companies that turned the methane produced by landfills into renewable energy, he was struck by the devastating im- pacts of greenhouse gas emissions. "I spent a decade in the landfill gas business where I learned a lot not just about alternative energies but also about climate change," Zahren said. "I became very passionate about doing things to improve the climate for my grandkids and all the genera- tions that have yet to be even born." The passion extends to matching donations from investors to organi- zations like the Union of Concerned Scientists and Sierra Club Con- necticut. Zahren Financial donated $11,000 to the two groups in 2018. Zahren also believes in sustain- ability closer to home, helping to design an award-winning remodel of his Avon Mountain residence that features geothermal heat and cooling and solar hot water. "You have to start with your own carbon footprint and your own goals," Zahren said. "You've got to move up the ladder." agnosed with autism and he linked his work with research showing the effectiveness of robot instruc- tion for children on the spectrum. Bolat joined the company in 2018, inspired both by Gifford's vision and the experiences of his own old- est son, 17 at the time, who is on the spectrum. He researched the topic himself and was impressed by stud- ies that show real learning gains for autistic kids who work with robots. "It's been proven to work and work really, really well," Bolat said. After spending three months at Movia as a consultant, Bolat was asked to become CEO. The com- pany converted from an LLC to a C-corporation in Jan. 2019, and took its robots to the marketplace. School systems including Bristol, Suffield and Wallingford were initial custom- ers, followed by the DOD. With the ongoing shutdown of schools during the pandemic, Mo- via has looked beyond its hub of school systems to individual consumers. "It comes at a great time," Bolat said of the Clean Feet investment. "Although we could grow organically through sales, this invest- ment gives us the ability to increase our efforts in mar- keting, public relations and awareness." Movia cur- rently offers a range of robots, from the moon- faced Kebbi, which has a variety of anime-like facial expressions and offers lots of positive feedback, to the 3-foot-tall iPal, designed to move around a classroom on a motorized base. All robots operate using Movia's proprietary WOZ Teacher's Aide System and offer fundamental skills training using evidence- based techniques. The software supports interac- tions and engagement with kids with special needs, particularly autism, the company said. Movia offers additional support for upgrade and curriculum design. "The neatest thing as a parent is to see the kids light up and how they can learn something that they couldn't learn before," Bolat said. "It opens these doors to a new world for these kids. That's just so gratifying to see." • Eastern is the top-ranked public regional university in New England (U.S. News and World Report, 2020) • Eastern graduates have the ethics, problem- solving and communication skills, and ability to work in teams that you need in your organization. • 41 majors — including Accounting, Data Science, Economics, Business Information Systems, Finance, Health Sciences and more. Eastern Grads . . . www.easternct.edu Job Ready! HBJ Ad 20.indd 1 HBJ Ad 20.indd 1 10/13/20 2:47 PM 10/13/20 2:47 PM Movia's robots range from a desktop model to a larger robot designed to stand in front of a classroom. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

• Cover