Kari-Ann Melendez, President & Founder (https://adapt-ablefoundation.org/board)
Adapt-Able Scuba (https://adapt-ablefoundation.org) is a 100% volunteer 501(c)(3) organization focused on making scuba accessible to people with physical, emotional, developmental, and cognitive challenges. They provide adaptive scuba experiences and travel and also train adaptive divers, adaptive buddy divers, and professional/instructor buddy divers. A big part of what they do is bring the adaptive and able-bodied communities together rather than treating adaptive diving as something completely separate.
Kari-Ann served in the US Navy and retired from Civil Service with the Federal Aviation Administration in an Air Traffic Control Executive management position in 2014. During her career, while raising her family, she earned her BS from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Professional Aeronautics and her Private Pilot License. Utilizing her management skills she co-founded an Aviation Explorer Post for youth age 14-20; helped to create and teach an Aviation Science Course for the local Lakota Sioux Reservation, and served as a mentor to youth in several Inner City Science/Technology Career Development Programs throughout the central US.
After her retirement, Kari-Ann had a chance to live out a childhood dream of learning to Scuba dive. She earned her first certification in 2017, and is now a Master Scuba Diver and Divemaster. Her continued desire to serve led her to pursue advanced training in Adaptive Scuba and start assisting others to experience the wonders of Scuba and the excitement of doing what they might not ever had thought possible! She earned her Diveheart Advanced Adaptive Dive Buddy, Handicapped Scuba Association Professional Buddy, and PADI Adaptive Techniques Specialty to support her desire to serve others.
Valerie Yanaros is a partner at Fulton Jeang PLLC (https://www.fultonjeang.com/valerie-yanaros/) and a seasoned intellectual property and commercial litigation attorney. She focuses on patent, trademark, and complex business litigation, representing founders, creators, technology companies, and emerging brands across the United States and internationally. Valerie has more than a decade of experience advising clients on brand protection, IP strategy, and litigation risk, and has secured substantial results for her clients, including multiple seven-figure judgments. Prior to joining Fulton Jeang, Valerie founded and managed her own IP litigation practice for over a decade and is admitted before multiple federal and appellate courts, including the Fifth Circuit, Tenth Circuit, Northern District of Texas, and the United States Supreme Court. Her practice blends strategic litigation experience with business-minded guidance to help clients protect, enforce, and grow their brands and intellectual assets.
Suzy Fulton, Co-Founder, Fulton Jeang PLLC
https://www.fultonjeang.com/suzy-fulton
Suzy Fulton is a co-founder and co-manager of Fulton Jeang PLLC. She was previously a co-founder of Grable Martin Fulton PLLC. She served in the role of VP, Operations and General Counsel for Appspace, Inc., an international enterprise business communication technology company, and General Counsel for SoftLayer Technologies, Inc., which at the time was the largest private hosting company in the world until it was purchased by IBM in 2013 (after her departure from SoftLayer). Suzy is widely recognized for her expertise in XaaS, technology contracts, data privacy, and intellectual property.
Fulton Jeang PLLC ( http://www.fultonjeang.com) is a full-service business law firm based in Texas. Its lawyers have many decades of experience helping clients navigate challenging legal issues. The firm was founded by Suzy Fulton and Wei Wei Jeang, whose friendship spans three decades. Now 30 lawyers strong, the firm’s mission is to create an innovative and prosperous legal services platform by prioritizing the happiness and satisfaction of the lawyers that ultimately leads to exceptional client experiences and outcomes. It is their belief that happy lawyers who feel fulfilled are the cornerstone of providing top-notch legal services and building strong, productive, and lasting relationships with their clients.
Rockstar Launcher is a podcast that explores the intersection of business and law, shining a spotlight on the firm's Rockstar Clients and the Rockstar Fulton Jeang lawyers who support them. Each episode is hosted by one of the firm’s Co-Founders, Suzy Fulton or Wei Wei Jeang, and features a firm client alongside the FJ attorney who works with them. Each episode dives into the client's business and passions — how it started, how it has evolved, and what goals lie ahead. Clients are asked for insights and advice they’d share with fellow business owners and entrepreneurs.
