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https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsickler/
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Chelsea Linder is an ecosystem builder with in-depth experience leading and managing venture development and investment programs across the globe. She joined TechPoint in July 2023 as VP of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, where she leads TechPoint’s entrepreneurship and innovation programming and strategy and advises on organizational capital formation. She brings over a decade of experience as a leader working in the tech and entrepreneurship space alongside public, academic, non-profit and private partners. Prior to her current role, Chelsea served as Partner at gener8tor, a nationally-ranked startup accelerator and venture capital firm. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelseaclinder/
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/
He has accomplished various academic and leadership programs at the University of Southern California, University of Tennessee Space Institute, U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, Defense Acquisition University, and the Darden School of Business; and has served in various positions on over 20 non-profit boards. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenakagawa/
Rudloff holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from The Ohio State University, a Masters in Political Management from George Washington University, and a Doctor of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryn-rudloff/
Mr. Bittman holds a Professional Science Master’s degree in Nanotechnology, a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies (Physical, Biomedical, and Behavioral Sciences) from the University of Central Florida. John also received a Graduate Certificate in Technology Ventures from the University of Central Florida and a Certificate in Policy Strategy from the Brookings Institution. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-bittman/
Christie studied business management at Saint Leo University (BA), aeronautical science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (MAS), and aerospace engineering at Old Dominion University (MS). Christie’s earlier-stage NASA career was focused on aeroelasticity, performing wind tunnel testing and analysis of fixed wing subsonic and supersonic aircraft. Prior to her work at NASA, Christie spent 13 years working in the restaurant business, paving the way for networking opportunities that ultimately led to her position at NASA. She grew up in Virginia Beach and resides in Yorktown, VA. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christie-funk-37635768
Leigh-Ann A. Buchanan, Esq., is a founder, investor, and strategic advisor. Her body of work leverages over 15 years of experience as an attorney and social impact executive to explore how tech, innovation and social investment intersect to unlock opportunity and transform communities. Her insights and ideas have been featured in the New York Times, Inc. Magazine, NPR, PBS, Bloomberg, the American Psychological Association, ABA Journal among others. Notably, through a diverse portfolio of initiatives, including Nyah Project, Tech Equity Miami, Opportunity Connect and Venture Cafe Miami, Leigh-Ann has helped unlock over $75 million in philanthropic investment to bridge equity and access gaps for underrepresented communities. She currently serves as the President & CEO of the Miami-Dade Innovation Authority, which invests and provides commercialization support to companies from across the globe to pilot test technology solutions to pressing public challenges in partnership with regional economic engines. Leigh-Ann is also the founder of Nyah Project, which clears the pathway to college for underrepresented students through training and tech based tools designed to remove the practical and systemic barriers to higher education. Under her leadership, 100% of Nyah Fellows attend college and over 90% win scholarships — accumulating over $30 million in scholarships since 2014. As an advisor, she works closely with leaders from private and public institutions, family offices and foundations to design social investment strategies that leverage tech and innovation to create more equitable and inclusive outcomes. She is passionate about elevating the stories of inspiring innovators through content production projects, including the award-winning Innovation City podcast and the Hustle To Scale documentary, which was licensed by PBS for distribution. Leigh-Ann previously served as Chair of the American Bar Association Coalition on Racial & Ethnic Justice. She holds executive certificates from Harvard Business School, INSEAD and Columbia Business School as well as a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law and a B.A from Bethune-Cookman University. She was raised in Vancouver, Canada and has traveled to more than 50 countries to date.
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/
Steve Tobocman has been an innovative leader in building inclusive economies both locally and nationally. He is a former state representative and has authored numerous studies and articles on global talent, immigrant entrepreneurship and community development. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-tobocman-62615423/
Patrick Delehanty is the Director of Economic Research for the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy. In this role, Patrick leads a team of economists who conduct research on small business issues and evaluate the economic impacts of federal regulations on small businesses. Previously, Delehanty served as a regulatory economist for the office focusing on transportation, environmental, and trade policy. Prior to joining Advocacy, he worked as a key account manager in the transportation industry for a global third-party logistics provider. Patrick is a graduate of the Partnership for Public Service Excellence in Government Fellows Program. He holds a Master of Science in Economics from DePaul University in Chicago, IL, and a Bachelor of Science in Business from Miami University in Oxford, OH. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-delehanty1/
Ify joined EFN as its inaugural executive director in September 2021. She is a vision-based, strategic thinker committed to collaborative approaches to building thriving communities. She applies a catalytic thinking model to capacity building, identifying and creating the conditions to bring out the best in stakeholders. She chooses vulnerability over fear, staying rooted in her core values of curiosity and courage. Her career includes launching a consulting practice named The Mudita Collective and working with such organizations as A Woman’s Place in Bucks County, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania Hospital; Liberty Hill Foundation in Los Angeles, California; and serving on several boards of directors including PANO (Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations). Ify holds a BA in Politics from Mount Holyoke College and a MS in Nonprofit Management from Eastern University. She has two amazing daughters and loves to read, travel, or spend time with family and friends – sometimes all at the same time.
Amanda Kosty is a Program Officer for EDA’s Tech Hubs program, helping to lead federal government efforts to accelerate innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology-based economic development in federally designated Tech Hubs around the country. In addition, she serves as the program lead for the Build to Scale program and has helped to launch many of EDA’s national programs, including Good Jobs Challenge, and Build Back Better Regional Challenge. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandakosty/
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/