Speaker Bios
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Greg LeRoy
Good Jobs First
Dubbed “the leading national watchdog of state and local economic development subsidies,” and “an encyclopedia of information regarding subsidies,” Greg LeRoy founded and directs Good Jobs First, a research and policy center promoting accountability in economic development. His two books include The Great American Jobs Scam, which Publishers Weekly called “…a parade of damning case studies showing why communities should not woo corporations with subsidies.” GJF has published two multistate studies showing that incentive programs and development agencies seriously shortchange small, local and entrepreneurial firms.
GJF is home to Subsidy Tracker, Tax Break Tracker, Violation Tracker, Amazon Tracker, and Covid Stimulus Watch. GJF led the campaign for Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 77 on Tax Abatement Disclosures, a landmark in U.S. municipal finance. It requires most localities, for the first time, to disclose how much revenue they lose to tax abatement programs.
John Lettieri
Economic Innovation Group (EIG)
John Lettieri is Co-Founder, President, and CEO of the Economic Innovation Group (EIG), a bipartisan public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to forging a more dynamic and inclusive American economy. John’s career in public policy has included time in both the public and private sectors working with a diverse set of policymakers, entrepreneurs, investors, and global business leaders. Prior to EIG, John was the Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs for a leading business association, the Organization for International Investment (OFII), where he led the organization’s state and federal policy work on such issues as tax reform, trade, investment promotion, and manufacturing. Before joining OFII, John was Director of Public and Government Affairs for a global aerospace manufacturer. He previously served as a foreign policy aide to former U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel, who was then a senior member of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
John is frequently invited to testify before Congress and speak to audiences around the country on issues ranging from immigration reform to labor market competition to entrepreneurship and improving access to economic opportunity for all Americans. His commentary and analysis have been cited in the AP, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, CSPAN, CNBC, Daily Beast, Fast Company, Financial Times, Fox News, The Hill, NPR, New York Times, Tax Notes, Time, USA Today, Vox, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, San Francisco Chronicle, and others. John is a graduate of Wake Forest University where he studied Political Science and Global Commerce. He has served in a number of outside leadership positions, including as a member of the Board of Regents at The Fund for American Studies, the Board of Directors for Lincoln Network, and the Board of Directors for Friends of the National Zoo. He was a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute from 2018-2020.
Teryn Zmuda
National Association of Counties
Teryn Zmuda is the Chief Research Officer and Chief Economist at the National Association of Counties (NACo), overseeing the Programs and Practices Division and the Research and Data Analytics Division. Teryn leads efforts to promote NACo as a thought leader, leveraging research and best practices to elevate the county role across the spectrum of local government authorities and policy implementation, within the nation’s intergovernmental system. She also leads NACo’s economic analysis, representing the county perspective in federal policy, and guides the development of the issue-focused programmatic work, including peer learning networks and cohorts. Teryn holds an M.A. in Applied Economics from George Washington University and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Maryland.
FEATURED SESSION SPEAKERS
José Alvarez
Prospera North Carolina
José Alvarez is the vice president of Prospera North Carolina, a nonprofit focused on providing bilingual support and assistance to Hispanic entrepreneurs looking to start or expand their businesses. Prospera North Carolina is providing the state’s Latino community culturally focused and in-language business support to help increase economic opportunities through entrepreneurship. Alvarez’s current responsibilities include statewide operations, fundraising, designing programming, and managing community and government relations. A graduate of the University of Central Florida, Alvarez’s professional experience and passion during the last two decades have been focused on multicultural marketing and small business support.
Jill Atherton
Flywheel Foundation
Jill Atherton serves as Executive Director of Flywheel Foundation. She has more than 20 years experience in economic development. She has counseled hundreds of businesses, helping them to grow and thrive in the Piedmont Triad Region of North Carolina. Jill is a graduate of Appalachian State University and Wake Forest University. She spends her free time volunteering with the YMCA and her church.
Toni Barnes
HUSTLE Winston-Salem
Toni Barnes proudly claims two hometowns in Northern Illinois. She deeply values family, community, education, sustainability, and personal autonomy. She strives for success in these areas and loves helping others in these areas as well. Toni graduated from St. Philip’s College with an associate’s degree in Business Administration and reigned as Miss St. Philp’s College 2013-14. She received bachelor’s degrees in Business Management and Fashion Merchandising from Texas State University.
Toni soon realized that what she went to college for no longer aligned with her life vision and so she started her entrepreneurial journey in 2018 with a visual production company, Tony and Toni Productions, named after her father and herself. Throughout this journey, she soon became aware of the uniform way in which resources and information was being given to her unique entrepreneurial peers. Thus, she created Building The Boss, a business strategy and development company, focused on meeting entrepreneurs where they are and providing value that is customized for them specifically.
Toni has been involved in various capacities with HUSTLE Winston-Salem since 2019 and currently serves as its Associate Director. She is delighted to be a part of an organization that is ”a force of positive turbulence” and “is working towards bridging the gap of entrepreneurial inequality, and provid[ing] resources to women…and those in marginalized business districts”.
Toni has plenty of hobbies and passion projects to keep her time diversified. She is an advocate for individualism within communities and hopes her work always centers on inclusiveness.
Jonathan Brereton
Thread Capital
Jonathan Brereton is Executive Director of Thread Capital, a role he has held since its launch in June of 2018. Jonathan is also a Principal with Revolve, a company focused on developing a secondary market for CDFI originated microloans across the United States. Prior to moving to North Carolina, Jonathan was CEO of Accion in Chicago for 14 years.
In addition to his role with Accion, Jonathan was instrumental in the creation of the Chicago Microlending Institute that created additional microlending organizations and The Hatchery, a large food production incubator on the west side of Chicago. Jonathan has worked tirelessly throughout his career to develop a more robust CDFI ecosystem throughout the country. Jonathan has a bachelor’s in business and economics from Wheaton College.
Felipa Cespedes
FotoGenic Photo Booths
FotoGenic Photo Booths was founded in 2014 by a young Latina entrepreneur, Felipa Cespedes. One year after graduating from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and while working in Corporate America, she wanted to do something that brought more joy. And although she was new to the idea of starting a business and was nervous, she went ahead and established the company anyway. One thing was clear, she wanted to provide a fun photo experience and help make memorable events last longer and with that as her goal, it made her believe that it could be done. And she did!
Since then, FotoGenic has become the go-to photo booth company for weddings, galas, festivals, fundraisers, and more in Minnesota. And she is thrilled to have grown her business in Minnesota and is looking forward to the expansion into the lovely Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina!
FotoGenic’s mission is and will always be to provide an engaging photo experience that makes guests feel like they’re part of the party—not just watching from the sidelines. And with this goal in mind, she founded and expanded FotoGenic Photo Booths to bring instant gratification to guests, brand awareness and provide high-quality photos to live events.
Margaret Collins
Center for Creative Economy (CCE)
Margaret Collins is the Founding Executive Director of the Center for Creative Economy (CCE) based in Winston-Salem, NC. The Center develops and delivers inception stage business training to expand the capacity for creatives and artists to emerge as viable entrepreneurs. CCE educates, trains, and provides customized mentoring to fulfill its mission to Launch, Grow, and Accelerate creative entrepreneurs and businesses.
CCE was launched in 2011 from the Creative Economy program Margaret led at the Piedmont Triad Partnership from 2007-2011. Prior to her move to North Carolina, she worked in New York City as an Artist Manager and Senior Booking Representative for ICM Artists. Her work entailed booking concert engagements for the ICMA roster throughout the Southeast, managing soloists and attractions. Other positions held in NYC include Shaw Concerts, Vice President, and Frank Salomon Associates, Artist Manager. Margaret has been named a Triad Power Player by the Triad Business Journal and serves on the Board of Directors of the Piedmont Triad Film Commission. Nationally, she is a co-founder of the Creative Economy Coalition. Originally from Shelby, NC, Margaret attended Wake Forest University and UNC School of the Arts receiving a B.A. in music from WFU studying trombone and piano. In Washington DC, she received an M.A. from The American University in Performing Arts: Arts Management.
Krista Covey
First Flight Venture Center
Krista Covey’s passion is serving high-impact entrepreneurial ventures and helping them achieve success. She has been supporting the development and growth of early-stage companies through her work building and leading award-winning innovation hubs in Florida and Texas. She has an extensive background in banking and finance and has experience in business incubation and acceleration, strategic management, business development, marketing, economic development, economic gardening for high-growth science and tech companies, and public relations. As an entrepreneur at heart, she has also grown her own successful finance business with a profitable exit and served on several start-up boards. Krista is a certified Business Incubator Manager with the International Business Innovation Association (InBIA) and currently serves as the Chair of the InBIA Executive Board of Directors. She is part of the Startup Champions Network, driving long-term change by supporting innovation and entrepreneurship and working to reduce barriers for entrepreneurs, and has served on numerous community and industry boards. Krista is a regular speaker on topics relating to business innovation, technology transfer, incubation, acceleration, mentoring programs, economic development, funding vehicles and other programs designed to transition ideas into profitable ventures that significantly impact our community. Krista holds a B.S. in Business Marketing from Southeastern University and her Master’s in Business Administration from Saint Leo University.
Keith Daniel
Resilient Ventures
Rev. Dr. M. Keith Daniel is owner of Madison Consulting Group, LLC. (MCG) and Co-Founder/Managing Director for Resilient Ventures, LLC. Resilient launched in 2019 and invests in African American entrepreneurs. Resilient Fund I closed at $3.425M. The firm has invested $2.1M in 11 companies. MCG is devoted to community flourishing through consulting that leads to transforming outcomes for individuals and institutions striving for the greatest common good.
Dr. Daniel served in Executive Director roles for StepUp NC and DurhamCares, Inc. He is the Board Chair for The School for Conversion and serves on the boards of Justice Matters, Duke Health Chaplain Services and Education, and Duke University Chapel. Dr. Daniel has over 3 decades of management and servant-leadership in the public sector, higher education administration, including graduate (MBA and Divinity) and undergraduate student affairs, human resources, and religious life. He served as the Director of the PathWays Program and Director of Community and Campus Engagement at Duke Chapel. Dr. Daniel is an ordained clergy member in the American Baptist tradition.
He earned a B.A. in Comparative Area Studies, Duke University; the Master of Higher Education, North Carolina State University; Master of Divinity and Doctor of Divinity, Duke University.
Carol Davis is executive director of the non-profit S.G. Atkins Community Development Corporation and special assistant to the Chancellor of Winston-Salem State University. Carol is on a mission for equity and social justice to increase the homeownership rate and business ownership rate in East Winston-Salem. She collaborates with local, state, and federal partners to make targeted investments for impactful community economic development. With her leadership, the Atkins CDC builds homes for families, provides technical assistance and office spaces for entrepreneurs, operates the first shared-use commercial kitchen in Forsyth County and supports the efforts of neighborhood leaders. In 2010, she directed the Atkins CDC to purchase and transform a 40,000 square foot building into The Enterprise Center – a LEED certified hub for community engagement and business incubation for entrepreneurs and non-profits. In 2021, Carol was instrumental in opening a Small Business Administration Women’s Business Center to serve Winston-Salem. She has secured over $10 million in grant awards and other project funding.
Carol received her Juris Doctorate from Wake Forest University School of Law, Masters of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a B.S. in Business Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Jenni Earle
Jenni Earle, LLC
Jenni Earle is a maker of empowering artisan goods created to inspire courage and authenticity. Headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the core message of the brand lives in the emboldening messages present on each and every product they make, including “Be Brave”, “Trust Yourself” and more playfully “It Ain’t Easy Being a Badass”. The company was started by Jenni Earle Hopkins, a creative instigator, who, after some very trying times, wanted to let people know they are so much braver than they realize. The brand’s foundational product is a hand-dyed bandana (now offered in 18 styles) inspired by the legacy of her grandfather, who always carried one. Most recently, a line of vintage inspired trophies carry that same message to the consumer. Most important to the work of Jenni is her belief that we can be the best version of ourselves if we act from a place of courage and authenticity.
Lou Anne Flanders-Stec
First Launch Capital Fund and Launch Greensboro
For more than 25 years, Lou Anne Flanders-Stec has worked with and for entrepreneurs in private business and academia – either as a consultant to or employee for, developing programming and services for, or providing access to funding for early stage companies. Some of her positions have included first fund executive for the Piedmont Angel Network, first director for entrepreneurship programs at High Point University and The City University of New York. Her current role as EVP – Entrepreneurship provides the opportunity to bring all these experiences together by providing programming (Launch programs) and funding (First Launch Capital Fund) for entrepreneurs in our community.
Prior to academia, she worked over 15 years in the financial management arena, many of them working in finance and treasury roles for manufacturing companies. She holds an MBA in Finance from the University of North Texas and undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Ouachita Baptist University. She was involved on the Board of Advisors for the Angel Capital Association, and many other service organizations, and is honored to be one of the Triad’s Top Women in Business, Triad’s Power Players and Piedmont Triad’s 50 Most Influential People for two years.
William Fulton
The Jugo Bar
William Fulton, Visionary of The Jugo Bar, is a native of Winston-Salem from the Happy Hill community. As a younger man, he spent years traveling the world; from North Africa to Marrakech, along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea to Casablanca, Morocco to the South of France, where he settled for a time in the wine country. William credits these experiences with intensifying his interest in flavor profiles, many of which are infused in his line of juices, waters, and 43 varieties of handcrafted beverages, bottled under the brand The Jugo Bar (Jugo is Spanish for Juice) brand.
J.. Hackett
Black Wall Street AVL and GRIND
J. Hackett, the founder of Black Wall Street AVL, has more than 20 years of expertise in community and economic development. After being released from prison, he has been recognized in NC Bar Journal for his social enterprise model, published in NAADAC’s scholarly journal, and awarded by the chamber of commerce. He established Asheville’s first Black-owned coffee shop, GRIND, which was ranked third best in the state and first among minority-owned businesses in Western North Carolina. He leads a cohort of 115 Black Businesses in Western North Carolina helping revitalize Black Wall Street.
John Hardin is the Executive Director of the Office of Science, Technology & Innovation. He was appointed Acting Director in 2008 and Executive Director in 2009. From 2003 to 2008, he served as the office’s Deputy Director and Chief Policy Analyst. In his current role he conducts strategic planning and makes recommendations for technology-based economic development, implements technology-related economic development policy and resource allocations, supervises the staff of the N.C. Board of Science, Technology & Innovation, directs and oversees the administration of grant programs to support technology development and commercialization, and oversees strategic initiatives.
From 1998 to 2003, he served as Assistant Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs in the UNC System Office. From 1998 to 2005, he held an Adjunct Assistant Professor position in the Department of Political Science at UNC-Chapel Hill. From 2006-2018, he was a Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Public Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he taught courses on American politics, public policy, policy analysis, and science policy.
A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, he holds M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in political science from UNC-Chapel Hill, a B.A. in economics from Baylor University, and a certificate of completion for the Leadership Decision Making program, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government. He and his wife Jane live in Durham and have two daughters who are recent college graduates.
Fay Horwitt
Forward Cities
Fay Horwitt serves as the President & CEO of Forward Cities, where she oversees organizational and programmatic strategy and design. She specializes in the development of equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems as a catalyst for systems change. Fay is a sought after national presenter, trainer, and thought leader on the topic of ecosystem building and inclusive entrepreneurship. Her current thought leadership efforts prioritizes the reimagining of Black Wall Street in a post-pandemic economy.
Jeffrey Kaplan
Venture Asheville
Jeffrey Kaplan is the Director of Venture Asheville, an organization which serves as a catalyst for high-growth startups by building entrepreneurs and getting startups funded. Under Jeffrey’s leadership, new ventures in Venture Asheville’s portfolio created over 300 new jobs, raised over $40M investment dollars, and earned $90M in revenue in the local Asheville area. This effort has been awarded by the International Economic Development Council with a Gold Ranking in Innovation. In 2022, Asheville was ranked the 7th fastest growing tech hub by LinkedIn. Recently, Jeffrey spoke at 2022’s TEDxAVL titled “How to Build Better Entrepreneurs” based on his experience working with over 2,000 entrepreneurs and developing a methodology rooted in experiential education and entrepreneurial competencies.
Prior to leading Venture Asheville, Jeffrey earned his Master’s degree in Entrepreneurship and instructed Entrepreneurship at the University of Florida. He is a published author in Entrepreneurship Pedagogy and an entrepreneur himself working in product development, heath-tech, ed-tech, pet-tech, and even a niche dating site. When not working with founders or talking about entrepreneurship, Jeffrey can be found with his family in Asheville on a trail, in the river, or at a brewery.
David Kaszycki
BEAM Dynamics
David Kaszycki is CEO and Co-Founder of BEAM Dynamics. BEAM provides CTOs and CIOs in the film, broadcast and Pro-AV industry an access point to all critical security patches, firmware updates, and documentation from thousands of industry vendors and millions of products in a single user interface. David founded BEAM in early 2020 after working in the production industry at the largest industry manufacturer. In that role he visited over 200 production studios per year, opening his eyes to the growing and costly problem of managing critical technology infrastructure within production environments.
Grace Lightner
Unbox the Dress
Grace Lightner serves as CEO of Unbox the Dress. Unbox the Dress has helped over 6,000 women transform beloved wedding gowns into stunning keepsakes for brides to enjoy before and after their wedding day. With over 50 design choices like garments, children’s wear, and gifting accessories, a vintage wedding gown can now be reinvented to share or enjoy for a lifetime. The company’s magical dress makeovers have received attention from TikTok viewers – garnering million of views and likes in the last several months.
Tim McLoughlin
Cofounders Capital
Tim McLoughlin is the Managing Partner of Cofounders Capital, which is currently deploying its third fund, a $50M fund focused on investing in seed-stage B2B software companies primarily in NC. Since 2015, Cofounders has invested almost $45M to date into the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. In addition to Cofounders Capital, Tim is on the Executive Committee of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, on the selection committee for the NC IDEA grant program, serves on the Board of Directors for 6 private companies, is a speaker at many NC based Universities, and has his own podcast called “First Check”. Tim graduated from Harvard in 2008 and began his entrepreneurial journey with his first company, Prime Time Hockey, that he sold in 2014. He received his MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler in 2016.
Heather McWhorter
UNCW Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Heather McWhorter is passionate about empowering individuals and communities to succeed through entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainability. She is the Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). CIE nurtures emerging startups and accelerates the entrepreneurial ecosystem in southeastern North Carolina as a vibrant hub of innovation and a central facility that offers educational events, UNCW connections, and a state-of-the-art incubator space. As a result of the region’s successful entrepreneurs and collaborative ecosystem, Wilmington’s startup ecosystem was recently ranked #1 in the nation for similarly sized cities. Heather is also an adjunct instructor for Penn State College of Engineering, where she teaches future leaders about Entrepreneurial Leadership.
Prior to UNCW, Heather worked at Penn State for 17 years at the Penn State Small Business Development Center (SBDC), as the Director and as an Environmental Consultant; as the Director of the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP); and as the Director of Penn State Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Outreach Initiatives. She was involved in the creation of programs such as Penn State Global Entrepreneurship Week, The Investment, and TechCelerator. Heather holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an M.S. in Energy and Mineral Engineering from Penn State University, and a Professional Engineer (PE) license in Environmental Engineering.
Lebone Moses
Chisara Ventures
Lebone Moses is a business leader with a passion for powering and empowering people and organizations to fuel a healthy economy. She specializes in providing strategic thought leadership, oversight, and solutions to help leaders address and overcome complex business problems. She is the Founder and CEO of Chisara Ventures, Inc., a private management consulting firm, which provides strategic solutions to businesses of all sizes specializing in risk management, regulatory compliance (e.g., HIPAA, SOX, NIST), data privacy, IT controls, cybersecurity, and organizational strategy. Prior to leading her business full-time, she spent 17 years advancing through corporate leadership roles at two of the largest public accounting firms in the world (PwC and EY), as well as global financial institutions (JPMorgan Chase and Fidelity Investments). She brings over 20 years of experience advising business leaders, entrepreneurs, and boards across multiple industries, with clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies and large multi-national organizations to small businesses, startups and community-based organizations.
Lebone is also co-founder of multiple programs purposed to address and help close wealth and opportunity equity gaps by equipping and empowering individuals, families and entrepreneurs with access to critical information and resources. An angel investor for over 10 years, she has focused her portfolio on women and entrepreneurs of color. She is also an advisor and the Investment Committee Chair for a NC-based Venture Capital fund focused on investing in African-American founders. Additionally, she serves on several non-profit boards including Bentley University Board of Trustees, First Flight Venture Center, Make-A-Wish Eastern NC, The Justice Theater Project, and Boston Uncornered.
She is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US). She holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Information Systems from Bentley University, an MBA from Babson College and business certifications from Northwestern Kellogg (Risk Management), Babson College (Organizational Coaching), Bentley University (Executive Leadership), Duke University (Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center), Startup@BerkeleyLaw (VC University), and the Independent Director’s Initiative.
Rachael Newberry
RIoT
Rachael Newberry is the Program Director at RIoT, an economic development nonprofit focused on emerging technology and IoT sector growth. Rachael supports innovation through helping small businesses, startups, and corporates explore new business opportunities on the bleeding edge of technology. In 2018, she launched RIoT’s premiere innovation program, the RIoT Accelerator Program (RAP), for early stage startups. Since joining RIoT, Rachael has supported more than 100 startups and corporate innovation projects. RAP alumni companies have collectively created more than 250 jobs and generated over $100 million in revenue. Previously, Rachael built and ran a behavioral science-focused startup program with Dan Ariely’s research lab at Duke University, where her work was featured at Google and in Forbes and Inc. Magazine. As a Triangle-native who’s supported startups across local university, private equity, and nonprofit programs, Rachael is passionate about the continued growth of the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Abi Olukeye
Smart Girls HQ
Abi Olukeye is the founder and CEO of Smart Girls HQ, a learning platform to facilitate STEM career education with a focus on female learners and non-traditional learning spaces. Core offerings include parent education for STEM informal learning at RaisingSmartGirls.com and Dear Smart Girl kits, a project based career-focused STEM curriculum for girls. Her vision is to create an ecosystem of products that when used together are a powerful catalyst for sustaining long-term engagement in STEM for young girls. Her work has been supported by National Science Foundation and the Department of Education through Small Business Innovation Research(SBIR) Awards, the NC IDEA Foundation, and the Vela Education Fund.
Previously, she led Internet of Things (IOT) strategy development and digital transformation projects at Ingersoll Rand. She has over fifteen years of professional and leadership experience spanning new product development, technology commercialization, process improvement, and strategy.
Abi is a member of the Computer Science K12 Standards Committee for North Carolina and serves on the board of CSEdResearch.org. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Virginia Tech and MBA from Indiana University. She and her husband live in Charlotte, NC and have two young daughters who greatly inspire her work.
Adam Orsborn
OrbitalRX
With years of experience as a health system pharmacy leader, Adam Orsborn experienced firsthand the frustrations and increasing severities of shortages. Existing tools were disparate, and time-consuming. Business processes were disconnected and lacked transparency. Data was available but required enormous efforts to operationalize. Recognizing the need for a better way and along with a co-founder, Adam developed a platform that empowers pharmacy leaders to begin automating medication shortage management workflows in a way that truly reflects the needs of pharmacy departments; bringing the power of clinical decision support and real-time situational awareness into a health system’s pharmacy workflow.
Stan Parker
Winston Starts
Stan Parker is President of Winston Starts, a startup business incubator dedicated to supporting economic development in Winston-Salem and the Triad by helping entrepreneurs successfully scale their businesses and realize their dreams. Stan has experience with startups and successfully scaling businesses domestically and internationally. He has held C-Suite and executive leadership roles in strategic planning, brand strategy, marketing management, and communications across multiple industries and operating models. He received an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and his B.A. from Belmont Abbey College.
Henry Rock
City Startup Labs
Henry Rock has well over two decades of experience in media sales, advertising and marketing, working on national brands in Chicago, New York and Philadelphia for Johnson Publishing, the National Black Network, Black Media Inc. and other Black Media companies. He has worked in business development and strategic planning for small black-owned and operated businesses, including his own ventures. He was featured at a TEDx Talk in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2013, where he discussed re-imagining young black men as a new class of entrepreneurs. He studied economics at Rutgers University and marketing at the Keller Graduate School of Business Management. He is currently serving his 2nd term on the Board of Directors of Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont. He is a 2015 Purpose Prize Fellow, the Charlotte Business Inclusion 2017 Crowns of Enterprise Awards – Diversity Advocate of the Year and one of Conscious Company Magazine’s 2019 Business Leaders of the Year, Leadership Charlotte – Class 41, American Leadership Forum (Charlotte ALF) Class XIX and SEED20 Class of 2020.
Ray Trapp
Research Triangle Foundation
Ray Trapp is Vice President of Strategic Engagement at Research Triangle Foundation. Prior to joining RTF, Ray served as Director of External Affairs for North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Ray has also previously served as a Guilford County Commissioner representing District 8 from 2012 – 2017. He won his first election to the County Commission in 2012 and was re-elected without opposition in 2016. His professional work and service have earned numerous awards, including the National Association of Counties’ 2016 Public Health Achievement Award for the “Food Desert Storm” project addressing food insecurity in Guilford County, and his inclusion in the Triad Business Journal’s 2011 “40 Business Leaders Under 40.”
Ray served in the U.S. Navy as an Interior Communications Specialist aboard the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). He is a proud alumnus of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University where he completed his Master of Science in Agricultural Education.
Carl Webb
Provident1898
Carl Webb is a serial entrepreneur with 40 years of business experience in marketing communications, public relations, and real estate development. Carl is cofounder of Provident1898, a 15,000-SF coworking/shared office and creative workplace. Provident1898 aims to honor the entrepreneurial legacy of Durham’s Black Wall Street in the historic NC Mutual Life Insurance building by creating a space that supports and encourages minority and women lead businesses and artists. Provident1898 is inspired by Durham’s legacy of Black entrepreneurship and business success. The flexible, multi-industry workspace offers a range of customizable membership options for organizations at various stages of development with the ability to scale.
With over 15 years of commercial real estate development experience, Carl is also the Founder and CEO of Forty/AM, a community development and advisory firm. This company focuses on projects that help revive and preserve community’s unique histories and legacies. Forty/AM creates opportunities for minority engagement, participation, and ownership in transformative real estate projects. Notable projects include: Durham’s Historic Trust Building and the redevelopment of the NC Mutual Life Insurance Building.
Prior to establishing Provident1898 and Forty/AM, Carl was a partner at Greenfire Real Estate Holdings, where he led the public and government relations strategy in the redevelopment of over 28 distressed downtown properties. Carl is a 30-year veteran of the advertising and marketing communications industry.
Carl studied at North Carolina Central University, later graduating from the Art Institute of Atlanta. He is a graduate of the Leadership Triangle and Leadership North Carolina programs. He also completed the Minority Business Executive Program at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.
Bernard Worthy
LoanWell
Bernard Worthy, Co-Founder and CEO/CTO of LoanWell, is a third-generation entrepreneur with a passion for seeing black excellence in the tech industry. Bernard has leveraged his gifting for software architecture, design, and development for startups to Fortune 100 companies and leads that effort at LoanWell. His personal mission is to see capital access and affordability democratized across communities of color in an effort to drive generational wealth creation.
Magalie Yacinthe
HUSTLE Winston-Salem
Magalie Yacinthe, an alumnus of Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University, is a conscious entrepreneur and community leader that has a passion for social enterprises. Magalie currently serves as Executive Director of HUSTLE Winston-Salem, an organization dedicated to leveling the playing field for entrepreneurs with a focus on people of color, women, and marginalized business districts. She also leads the statewide Black Wall Street Forward initiative with Forward Cities, alongside other ecosystem work as Director of Ecosystem Engagement.
Magalie is also the CEO of YES Strategies & Solutions, a cost-effective event consulting firm helping nonprofits and corporations accomplish successful programming to carry out their missions. Giving back to the community even through her businesses is essential to the core of who she is. Magalie serves as Board Chair of Forsyth Futures and Board Communications Chair for Winston-Salem Delta Fine Arts, Inc. She is an active member of the Winston-Salem Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the Charlotte-Metro Chapter of the FAMU National Alumni Association. Magalie is a 2018 graduate of Leadership Winston-Salem, 2018 City of Winston-Salem Martin Luther King Jr. Young Dreamers Award recipient, 2020 Winston-Salem Chronicle Business of the Month, 2020 Winston Under 40 Awardee, 2020 HOPE Outreach MLK Women’s Day Awardee, the 2020 recipient of the Winston-Salem Forsyth County Arts Council R. Phillip Hanes, Jr. Young Leader Award, 2021 Triad Business 40 Under 40 Honoree, Black Business Ink’s 40 under 40 most influential African-Americans in the Triad, and a 2022 Awardee of the Institute for Emerging Issues that recognized 22 inspiring leaders who are making North Carolina better by building coalitions and momentum for issues they are passionate about.
BREAKOUT SESSION SPEAKERS
Rodrick Banks
Wells Fargo
Rodrick Banks currently serves as Vice President, Senior Community Relations Consultant at Wells Fargo. He is an experienced community relations and development professional with a successful career in the public and private sector, with extensive experience in community and economic development, community affairs, corporate social responsibility, stakeholder relations and philanthropy.
Katrece Boyd
Small Business Technology & Development Center
Katrece Boyd is an ICF credentialed coach and small business advisor. She currently serves as a General Business Counselor with the Small Business & Technology Development Center where she provides personalized management counseling and education services to small businesses across North Carolina. She is also the Co-Founder of Loving All My Body, an indie beauty brand dedicated to making women’s bodies their home. In 2020, she became an Inaugural Member of the North Carolina Black Entrepreneurship Council and is currently serving on Raleigh’s Inaugural Black Wall Street Forward Stewardship Council to develop a pilot that reimagines Black Wall Street in Raleigh and across North Carolina.
Elizabeth “Liz” Brigham, currently serves as the W. Spencer Mitchem Director of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the Jay Hurt Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Davidson College. She leads a team committed to facilitating access and exposure to innovation and entrepreneurship for all. Prior to taking this role in October 2020, she was the Head of Product, Morningstar Direct & Reporting Solutions Software, for Morningstar Inc. in Chicago. Before leading these commercial business lines, she scaled and led the Product Marketing organization for Morningstar’s roughly $400M global software portfolio. While in that role, she was recognized as the Product Marketing Leader of the Year in 2019 by the global Product Marketing Alliance. Before joining Morningstar in 2017, Brigham led product management and marketing teams at enterprise technology start-ups in Chicago and at public companies, such as Jive Software and Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. Brigham is a self-proclaimed “Davidson College Groupie” and has served on the Board of Visitors, Alumni Association Board, has led multiple alumni chapters across the country and was recognized with the Davidson Alumni Service award in 2019. She is also a mentor for TechStars Chicago, serves as a strategic advisor to startups, plays the piano and acoustic guitar, and dreams of building a family band with her young sons and husband. Brigham holds a B.A. in English, cum laude, from Davidson College and an MBA, with Distinction, in corporate strategy and marketing from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
Marlana Bunn
ExtensisHR
Marlana Bunn is a Senior PEO Consultant at ExtensisHR, a full-service HR and employee benefit provider for SMBs and entrepreneurial companies. She has over a decade of experience in the HR solutions industry, including global benefits expertise in a previous role. Marlana is a proud member of the Carolina Angels Network, as well as a Limited Partner in the Triangle Tweener Fund. As a lifelong resident of North Carolina currently raising her family there, she is honored to work alongside these organizations to support the local startup community. Marlana is an alumna of UNC Chapel Hill (go Heels!) and enjoys spending her downtime with her two young children, Jimmy (7) and Jack (3).
Marilyn Chism
The Golden LEAF Foundation
Marilyn Chism joined the Golden LEAF Foundation in November 2013. As a Director of Programs, Marilyn assists in managing the Foundation’s standard grant programs and special initiatives and also manages staff as they conduct due diligence on proposals and monitor projects in Golden LEAF’s priority area of workforce preparedness. Before working at Golden LEAF, Marilyn worked for 20 years in North Carolina government in the General Assembly’s Fiscal Research Division, in NC Central University’s Chancellor’s Office, and in the Office of the State Auditor.
Marilyn was raised in Chadbourn, NC. She attended UNC-Greensboro as a Katherine Smith Reynolds Scholar. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from UNC-Greensboro and a Juris Doctor from the UNC School of Law. Marilyn is an active member of her church and is also an avid fan of both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers. She is currently serving on the North Carolina Network of Grantmakers (NCNG) Board of Directors.
Amy Dunlap
Stemz
Amy Dunlap is the founder & CEO of Stemz, Inc., a logistics & tech company building an effective distribution system for US grown cut flowers. Amy received a BS in Horticulture from the University of Kentucky and a Masters in Agriculture from the University of Florida. She has 20+ years experience in the floral industry including positions in many floral shops, the Walt Disney World Florist, as well as her own floral design business in Winston-Salem, NC. Amy closed this business at the end of 2018 and began exploring and researching how she could strengthen the local cut flower supply chain, which led to the creation of Stemz.
Don Flow
Flow Automotive Companies
Don Flow is chairman and CEO of Flow Automotive Companies, operating over 40 automobile dealerships in North Carolina and Virginia. Motivated by a deep understanding of a business leader’s responsibility to society, Mr. Flow has built a successful purpose-driven and people-centric enterprise that invests in the well-being of its over 1,500 employees and in the broader community of every city in which they operate. In addition to his community involvement through Flow Automotive, Mr. Flow is a driving force in the economic and cultural revitalization of his hometown of Winston-Salem, having led and invested in seminal real estate development, education, and cultural landmark projects that have elevated the city’s national profile. He is chair of the Winston-Salem Open, chair of the Winston-Salem Alliance, vice chair of the Golden Leaf Foundation, and a member of the Executive Committee of Piedmont Triad Partnership. He also co-founded Winston-Salem Starts, a nonprofit working to retain young college-graduates and help local startup businesses in the city.
Mr. Flow earned his B.A. from the University of Virginia, a diploma in Christian Studies from Regent College, and an M.B.A. from Wake Forest University. He has served on and chaired numerous nonprofit boards. His decades-long service to Wake Forest began when he joined and later chaired the business school’s board of visitors. First elected in 2005, Mr. Flow is a current member and former chair of the board of trustees. He is also vice chair of the board of Wake Forest Baptist Health and past chair of the Health Sciences board. In 2017, he was awarded Wake Forest’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
Charlie Gardner
The Winston-Salem Foundation
Charlie Gardner is a program officer for the Winston-Salem Foundation, within the focus area of Building an Inclusive Economy. He manages the foundation’s grantmaking in two primary areas: promoting equitable transportation iniatives and addressing the racial wealth gap in Forsyth County through asset building and debt reduction. Since 2020, he has led the Foundation’s work to utilize both grants and mission-aligned investments to support BIPOC business ownership by improving access to capital and technical assistance.
Charlie currently serves on the board of the Asset Building Coalition of Forsyth County and is the chair of the coalition’s advocacy committee. He also serves on the loan committee for the CARes Project, which is a local CDFI that makes affordable car loans to people with poor credit history.
Prior to coming to the foundation, he served as a grants manager at an NGO that worked in international development, healthcare, and conflict resolution. And at a national faith organization, he served as a program manager that developed resources and trainings for regional grantmakers that funded anti-poverty initiatives.
Charlie is currently enrolled in a Master of Science in Data Science program at Regis University. He is a graduate from the University of Notre Dame, where he received both an M.A. in Theology and a B.A. in the Program of Liberal Studies.
Margaret Gifford
Abundance Capital
Margaret Gifford leads impact investing strategy and operations for Abundance Capital, a donor-advised venture philanthropy platform that invests in building sustainable, entrepreneurial companies and communities. Abundance Capital and its vanguard community of venture philanthropists make investments and grants in the South to build equitable communities aligning to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Margaret has successfully managed and grown diverse teams and global initiatives at Fortune 10 companies and hyperlocal seed-stage social enterprises. A graduate of Furman University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Margaret began her career at Morgan Stanley, then transitioned to leading global brand marketing initiatives for HP and Ogilvy. Her recent work has included founding a nonprofit social enterprise supporting sustainable agriculture in North Carolina, and consulting with purpose-driven companies to develop strategy for attracting impact capital and helping social mission businesses thrive.
Lisa Hazlett
Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship
Lisa Hazlett is the Vice President of the Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship where she is responsible for development, day to day operations of the Center and communicating the Vision of the CEO, Sam Funchess. Prior to the Nussbaum Center, Lisa spent 7 ½ years in healthcare and almost 30 years managing her own business as a professional singer and actress. Lisa is officially sanctioned by the estate of Patsy Cline. A proud Rotarian, Lisa served as President of her club during the 2019-2020 Rotary year. Lisa was awarded the Governor’s Platinum Club Award and achieved the Highest Membership Growth Award out of 50 clubs in District 7690. Lisa is a Certified StoryBrand Guide, a Marketing certification and licensure designed to deliver results for small businesses using the art of storytelling.
Randall Johnson
NC Biotechnology Center
Randall Johnson serves as the NC Biotechnology Center Southeastern Office Executive Director to strengthen the regional economy and to improve the quality of life across North Carolina, through economic development action targeting innovation and commercialization in marine biotech, agricultural biotech, renewable bioproducts/energy, clinical research, and industrial biotech. Randall has extensive experience in local and regional economic development, with a focus on entrepreneurship and knowledge sector development. He graduated cum laude from Wake Forest University with an undergraduate concentration in psychology, and he holds an MBA from the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University. Randall has completed several International Economic Development Council courses, including Basic Economic Development, Technology-led Economic Development, Entrepreneurial and Small Business Development Strategies, Real Estate Development and Reuse, Business Retention and Expansion, and Economic Development Strategic Planning.
Randall serves on volunteer boards in the region and state, including the North Carolina Community Colleges Foundation, and is the Past President of the NC Economic Development Association (NCEDA), Founding Chair of the NCEDA Foundation, Past Chairman of the Southeastern Economic Development Commission, and former executive committee board member for the NC Sustainable Energy Association, Wilmington Rotary Club, and the Advisory Committee for Biotechnology in Southeastern North Carolina, which he helped found. He is a graduate of Leadership North Carolina Class XV and was awarded the U.S. President’s Volunteer Service Award, a national honor award recognizing individuals who have answered the call to make a lifelong commitment to volunteer service.
Eric Kirkendall
Wake Forest Center for Healthcare Innovation
Dr. Eric Kirkendall is a pediatric hospitalist and an applied clinical informaticist. He uses health information technology to maximize patient safety and quality in clinical care delivery, data management, and novel application/software development. He is the former Associate Chief Medical Information Officer at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, overseeing the design, implementation, and optimization of the electronic health record and other associated technologies. Eric was recruited to Wake Forest to help lead the Center for Healthcare Innovation. The center has a portfolio of over two dozen projects, all of which leverage innovative uses of technology. Eric’s personal mission is to use the best data and information science practices to improve health and healthcare delivery, and to create new, impactful informatics knowledge through research.
Stephanie Kissel
Supportedly
Stephanie Kissel is a process architect, entrepreneur, and connector of business support ecosystems. She is the co-founder of Supportedly, a digital platform helping entrepreneurs find, understand, and connect to the most helpful support resources. Built by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, Supportedly is the quickest way to get the right help, right now.
Steve Lineberger
Winston Starts
Steve Lineberger is a veteran senior executive from Winston-Salem, NC, and holds BA and MBA degrees from Wake Forest University. Steve’s educational focus and early career achievements were in the area of strategic marketing. His accomplishments and responsibilities have crossed multiple industries and enterprise sizes, and his executive posts have included: CEO, Sara Lee Casualwear and Footwear (now HanesBrands) where his corporate division won a Walmart Vendor of the Year Award; Krispy Kreme President of US Stores in which he helped turn around a troubled and struggling public company; President, ABT Power Management in which he helped a small private and founder-owned company prepare for scalability; and Chief Operating Officer for First Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem. Steve served as the founding President of Winston Starts, a startup incubator, and served as CEO and CFO of Sneez, a startup company that monitors illness outbreaks. Steve now serves on the Board of Directors for Winston Starts, and also for Greater Winston-Salem Inc. where he chairs the entrepreneurship committee.
Peter Marsh
Flywheel
Peter Marsh is a founding partner of Flywheel which designs and operates coworking innovation space in partnership with premier educational institutions and local community partners. Flywheel operates locations in Winston-Salem at 500 W. 5th St., and at the Cabarrus Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Concord, NC. Flywheel also designed and operated the coworking facility at the Hurt Hub @ Davidson before transferring operations to Davidson College. Flywheel’s network of innovation centers continues to grow throughout North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia in markets that have the right ingredients and community support for early-stage entrepreneurs. Other flagship locations in Development include Greenville, SC and Lexington, NC. In addition, Flywheel has an Affiliate program for smaller cities and rural communities interested in developing their own innovation centers with design, operational and program service assistance from Flywheel. Current Affiliate locations in development include North Wilkesboro and Spencer in North Carolina and Clinton and Greenwood in South Carolina.
Peter is also a founding Director of the Flywheel Foundation, which promotes healthy entrepreneurship ecosystems through events, program partnerships, a learning management system, and early-stage investment programming.
Alyssa Martina
Elon University
Alyssa Martina is a successful businesswoman, entrepreneur, and educator. She currently runs the Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Elon University. She also teaches courses at Elon’s Love School of Business on venture creation. She has taken the classroom beyond Elon’s campus, teaching innovation and entrepreneurship in San Francisco and Israel.
Alyssa’s first venture, Metro Parent Publishing Group, launched over 25 years ago as a publishing and events management company with a focus on the family market. Other successful companies Alyssa started include Windsor Parent Magazine and B.L.A.C. (Black Life, Arts and Culture) Magazine, a monthly lifestyle magazine for the Black community in Detroit. Alyssa launched a storytelling startup that closed in 2014.
Alyssa loves working with students to cultivate curiosity, creativity and an entrepreneurial mindset and tease out the potential that she sees in them. Alyssa is the Faculty Champion of Elon’s University Innovation Fellows and the faculty advisor for the university’s Innovation Living Learning Community. She is proud of the work of the Center with targeted events for Black entrepreneurs and women-led ventures as well as events for the entire student community.
Red Maxwell
VAL Ventures
Red Maxwell is a serial entrepreneur and technology executive with over three decades experience in brand building. Most recently, Red served as Chief Marketing Officer for Bigfoot Biomedical bringing the silicon valley company through FDA clearance and commercial launch of its “smart pen” insulin dosing system. As CMO and Board Director for AvidXchange, he helped grow the FinTech company to “unicorn” status and eventual IPO on the NASDAQ exchange (AVDX). Red has also filled the Chief Marketing Officer role for the SilkRoad Equity family of companies in the HRTech and Public Safety sectors. As President and founder of two branding agencies, Red developed major brand introductions and web properties for Hanes, Duke Energy, Sara Lee, Wrangler, Clear Channel, McGraw-Hill Education and Tiffany & Co. Red began his career in the NY fashion industry where he built the advertising design department at Polo Ralph Lauren as it expanded from a menswear line to a full lifestyle brand.
He lectures at the Wake Forest University School of Business and has served on its Charlotte Executive Board. Red was a co-author to The Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller, The Big Moo.
David Mayo
Crisp Small Business Resource Center
David Mayo is a faculty member teaching in the field of entrepreneurship and the Director of the Crisp Small Business Resource Center in the Miller School of Entrepreneurship at East Carolina University. He is a graduate of NC State University with a major in Marketing, as well as a graduate of East Carolina University with a MBA. During his career, David has worked with hundreds of community small businesses and entrepreneurs, assisting with capital raise, marketing, innovation, and strategic planning. He has published in top journals for entrepreneurship research and entrepreneurial pedagogy. He has started companies in consulting, manufacturing, media, and web services. He directs the Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge, NC’s largest pitch competition with 400 annual participants and more than $150,000 in prizes. He has founded multiple support programs for small businesses through the Crisp Center that help more than 500 small businesses per year. David serves on four not-for-profit small business support organization boards and multiple boards of director and advisory board positions for NC-based startups. David aspires to enable businesses to grow and thrive, especially in rural communities.
Jim Roberts
Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington
Jim Roberts is Founder of the Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington (NEW) and the Wilmington Angels for Local Entrepreneurs (WALE) Angel Investor Network. Jim was recently named to the inaugural list of the Wilmington 100 Most Influential. Jim is also the Entrepreneur in Residence at UNC Pembroke Thomas Hub for Entrepreneurship and is the Founder of the Rojo Octo Ecosystem Consulting business to work with other cities building their resources to help local startup entrepreneurs.
Jim recently worked as the Community Development Director (fundraiser) for Bunker Labs in North Carolina. The North Carolina chapter was named best chapter in the country for the two years Jim was involved. He was the inaugural Executive Director at the UNC Wilmington Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Within 12 months of opening, the CIE won a grant from the SBA at the White House as one of the top 100 incubators in the country. Previously, Jim started an entrepreneur council in Charlotte called FirstRound during the technology boom in 2000. He was then recruited to the Asheville region to start the Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council (BREC) and Blue Ridge Angel Investor Network (BRAIN). In other roles, Jim served as the director of business development at the Center of Innovation for NanoBiotechnology (COIN), a program of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, and as a business development manager for the International Trade Division of the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
Named one of the “40 Most Influential People Under 40” at the age of 30 by the Charlotte Business Journal, Jim’s experience with business development, life sciences, information technology, and governmental agencies allows him to make connections for startup founders throughout the southeast and beyond.
Hillary Sherman
U.S. Department of Commerce EDA
Hillary Sherman is the North Carolina Economic Development Representative for the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration. In this capacity, Hillary works with communities across the state to develop and implement economic development projects. Prior to this role, Hillary served as Lead for the Performance and National Programs office for EDA in Washington, DC, where she focused on performance assessment and program management. Hillary also worked in several other community and economic development roles, most interestingly serving as an AMERICORPS VISTA member. Hillary holds a BS in Biology/English from Elon University and a LL.M. in International Law from the National University of Ireland, Galway.
Geraud Staton
Helius Foundation
Geraud Staton is the executive director of Helius. Helius provides coaching and mentoring for small businesses, primarily those run by necessity-driven entrepreneurs. Helius provides education through their LaunchDURHAM training, as well as provided access to capital and technical assistance through their many partners. Geraud believes whole-heartedly in Helius’s vision: “We see a North Carolina where everyone has the capability to support themselves and their families with dignity, in the face of racial, educational and financial inequity.”
Prior to working for Helius, Geraud was the executive director of Bull City Forward, an organization that worked with social entrepreneurs throughout Durham. Geraud served in the US Air Force during Operation: Desert Storm and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the business school at NC Central University. He is a Goodmon Fellow, as well as a member of the Rotary Club of Durham. And when he isn’t spending time with his lovely wife, Laine, he can be found in his art studio.
Terik Tidwell
VentureWell
Terik Tidwell leads VentureWell’s efforts in creating a cohesive body of equity-centered programmatic work by expanding and creating new programs, frameworks, and partnerships that center innovators and institutions which have been historically marginalized or excluded from science & technology entrepreneurship & innovation. He brings experience in inclusive tech-based economic development, having worked with foundations, corporations, and federal agencies. Terik holds degrees in Finance, Marketing, and IT from Monmouth University, as well as certificates in Venture Capital Finance and Enterprise Design Thinking.