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The SBA Innovation Ecosystem Summit is curated to connect organizations across sectors to learn from one another as we work together to build a thriving national innovation ecosystem that promotes equitable access to capital and resources for innovators nationwide.
What to Expect:
Representatives from programs that support innovators, including:
Hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration
Created in 1953, the U.S. Small Business Administration continues to help small business owners and entrepreneurs pursue the American dream. SBA is the only cabinet-level federal agency fully dedicated to small business and provides counseling, capital, and contracting expertise as the nation's go-to resource and voice for small businesses.
SBA’s participation in this activity is not an endorsement of the views, opinions, products or services of any other person or entity. All SBA programs and services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.
Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance of this event. Contact Sharon.Hoffmeyer@sba.gov.
For general questions about the Summit and program, contact ecosystem@sba.gov.
Serial entrepreneur and ecosystem builder, Julie Lenzer, is the Chief Innovation Officer at the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI). Part of the Manufacturing USA network, ARMI is a member-based nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the bioeconomy of the U.S. Julie is charged with building the ecosystem and resources for startups with cell-, tissue-, and organ- based therapies as well as enabling technologies across the supply chain. Through the City of Manchester’s winning $44M EDA’s Build Back Better grant, she helped launch the BioFab Startup Lab and is the Regional Innovation Officer of the ReGen Valley Tech Hub, which was recently funded an additional $44M by US Economic Development Administration. Prior to joining ARMI, Julie served as Chief Innovation Officer at the University of Maryland (UMD) where she was responsible for the technology transfer office, Small Business Development Center, and was Founding Director of the Quantum Startup Foundry. She helped launch the Innovation Extension University Center and was on the investment committees for the Maryland Momentum and Discovery funds. In 2014, Julie was appointed Director of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE) within the U.S. Department of Commerce. There, she drove programs and policies that support innovative economic development such as innovation-based entrepreneurship and regional innovation clusters. As a Senior Advisor to the Secretary, she led the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE) and was tapped to represent the U.S. as the innovation lead at the G20 in China. She also served as Executive Director of the Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship, the co-chair of Startup Maryland and co-founder of the Path Forward Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a nonprofit helping women launch tech-based businesses where she leveraged her experiencing building a manufacturing Julie was appointed by the SBA Administrator Isabelle Guzman as the Vice Chair of the Invention, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Advisory Committee and was a founding board member of the Center for American Entrepreneurship. Ms. Lenzer holds a B.S. in computer science from Texas A&M, a Certificate in Machine Learning from Stanford, and her Masters in Machine Learning from UMD. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julielenzer/
Arjun Gupta is the Founder and Chief Believer of TeleSoft Partners, a venture capital firm which he founded in 1996. TeleSoft was licensed by SBA for two SBICs covering 1997-2012. Arjun invests directly in portfolio companies and fund-of-funds investments. Over the last 25 years, he has invested directly or indirectly in over 250+ private technology companies, resulting in 150+ acquisitions and IPOs (including 60+ unicorns). Over this period, Arjun raised cumulative capital commitments of over $1+ billion. He was on the Forbes Midas List of the Top 100 Venture Capital Investors in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. Earlier in his career, Arjun was a strategy consultant for high-tech clients with McKinsey & Company and a software engineer and product specialist for Tektronix, Inc. In 2001, Arjun launched a family foundation. The foundation or Arjun personally has supported numerous non-profit projects. Arjun is a passionate outdoorsman. He was a Liaison Officer with the Indian Mountaineering Foundation and has climbed with 6 Himalayan expeditions to peaks over ~20,000 feet. He was a member of the 100th Anniversary Ski Expeditions to the North Pole and to the South Pole. Arjun was elected a Fellow of the Explorer’s Club (USA); a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society (UK), and FAO of the UN appointed Arjun a Mountain Partnership Goodwill Ambassador. Arjun received his MBA from Stanford University, MS and BS (Phi Beta Kappa) in Computer Science from Washington State University, and BA (Honors) in Economics from St. Stephen’s College (India). Arjun is an Advanced Leadership Fellow (ALI) from Harvard University and a Henry Crown Fellow and Trustee of the Aspen Institute. He is a co-founder and former co-chair of YPO Aspen. Arjun is a naturalized US citizen and lives in Colorado. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjungupta/
Cecilia Wessinger is the Director for Global Community at the Global Entrepreneurship Network. She serves as the primary interface between GEN and its leadership teams in nations around the world. Prior to joining GEN, Cecilia was a consultant with the Kauffman Foundation and has led small group mastermind workshops and cohorts around the world. She has extensive experience mentoring and advising startup founders, ecosystem builders and organizations. As a certified Cultural Competency and Unconscious Bias facilitator, she moves conversations beyond diversity and inclusion to connecting, engaging, and belonging. Cecilia has served as a speaker, facilitator and panelist at innovation and entrepreneurship focused events such as OECD, Inventures, and ESHIP Summit. She has judged and supported pitch competitions for SXSW, U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of State's Global Innovation through Science and Technology program. She currently serves on the board(s) of the Ecosystem Builders Leadership Network and Institute for Work and the Economy, and has served on over a dozen non-profit boards in her local community ranging from the arts to education and entrepreneurship. She is a former travel industry professional who has lived, worked, and traveled throughout the world. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceciliawessinger/