NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of the Polsky Exchange
- Executive Director, Polsky Exchange
Abigail Ingram is executive director of the Polsky Exchange, a 34,000-square-foot incubator space that leads the Polsky Center's engagement with the South Side community through programs and initiatives that support local business owners and entrepreneurs. Abigail is passionate about the role of entrepreneurship as a pathway to opportunity and the importance of measuring impact.
Prior to joining the Polsky Center, Abigail launched the Women in Entrepreneurship Institute (WEI) at DePaul University's Driehaus College of Business, and served as its inaugural director for three years. While at WEI, the nation's first comprehensive institute for women founders, Abigail designed and proved a model that measurably increases economic empowerment for entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur herself, Abigail also taught courses at Driehaus in Entrepreneurship Law, Entrepreneurship Strategy, and Women Entrepreneurs.
She launched her first venture, a music studio in Denver, Colorado, in 2009, and spent four years exploring sustainable business models for creative entrepreneurs. Abigail is a practicing attorney who founded and runs a boutique law firm that provides legal counsel to entrepreneurs.
Abigail earned her J.D. and an M.A. in English from DePaul University. She went to undergrad at Eastern Illinois University, where she also studied English.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Marketing & Communications for the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship
- Executive Director, Marketing and Communications
Abigail Prescott serves as the Executive Director of Marketing & Communications for the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. In this role, she leads the Polsky Center's internal and external messaging strategies to amplify the brand of the center and advance awareness of the broad suite of entrepreneurship programs available to students, alumni, faculty, and research partners, as well as the University of Chicago's technology commercialization efforts and bolstering community engagement at through the Polsky Exchange.
Abigail holds over a decade of experience in external communications strategies and implementation. She brings experience in creative storytelling, targeted messaging, and brand identity to this role. Most recently, she held the position of Chief Communications Officer at Urban Gateways where she managed and launched an organizational visual identity rebrand; oversaw the development of a multi-platform mobile app technology solution with a heavy focus on end-user experience; and led a special task force to establish, adopt, and implement organizational core values. In her time with Urban Gateways she built a robust communications team focused on creative storytelling in order to demonstrate organizational impact to supporters and constituents. Abigail believes in the power of stories to help people connect more deeply with their passions and interests.
Abigail earned a master's degree in arts management from Columbia College of Chicago and a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Illinois Wesleyan University. She believes in the power of the arts and all variety of creative practices as catalysts for change and growth - both personally and professionally.
Abigail lives in Oak Park with her husband, Hayden, and their two children, Beatrix and Isaac. In her spare time she is a vinyasa yoga teacher, is a budding gardener, and makes extravagant cakes for her children's birthdays.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- Assistant Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Capital Management
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- Partner, Illumina Ventures
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- Operating Executive, KKR
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- Managing Director and Co - Founder, Tensility Venture Partners
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- Executive Assistant for Bill Payne
Beatriz Gonzalez is the executive assistant for Bill Payne, executive director for science and technology at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She support executive administrative functions and special projects for the technology commercialization and operations teams.
Prior to working at the Polsky Center, Beatriz spent a dozen years as an assistant at a law firm in the West Loop. She enjoys working on projects at home, revamping spaces and creating new ideas.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- Managing Partner, CITG Capital
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Science and Technology at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- Executive Director, Science and Technology
Bill Payne is the executive director of science and technology at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago. In this role, he leads the technology commercialization, Polsky Science Ventures, and industry relations teams working to bring groundbreaking faculty research to the market.
As a seasoned business and technology executive from the telecommunications industry, Bill most recently served as vice president and chief operating officer of Roberson and Associates' consulting. The firm's clients are from various technology industries, and its services include intellectual property assessment and expert witness testimony.
Bill has held leadership roles in product and technology development at Nokia, Motorola, and AT&T. He had business unit chief technology officer (CTO) responsibilities at both Nokia and Motorola, driving innovations into commercial products and services. He led Nokia's Small Cell Business Line, as well as the development of Motorola's first commercial 4G/LTE cellular infrastructure products. As CTO of Motorola's infrastructure business, he incentivized the development of idea disclosures and introduced an innovation gate process to track, promote, and move concepts toward patent filings and/or commercialization. Bill has 9 issued patents.
Bill is also a startup veteran-having founded and built a company that developed a mobile advertising and sponsorship service that was integrated into AT&T's and Verizon's networks and approved for use.
Bill received his BSEE from Purdue University, his MSEE from Georgia Tech, and his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is a lifelong Chicagoan who enjoys boating and sports.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- Founder and Principal, Triple Edge Consulting
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- Executive Assistant to the Associate Vice President and Managing Director of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Camille Andres serves as the executive assistant to the associate vice president and head of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She is responsible for support functions as well as special projects for the AVP and director of operations and chief of staff.
Prior to joining Polsky, Camille served as senior assistant to the associate dean, Psychology Department at Pepperdine University for 11 years. She supported the associate dean and also handled significant graduate program responsibilities, such as adjunct faculty hires, course schedules, payroll, and new student orientations. Before working at Pepperdine, Camille also served as administrative coordinator at another graduate school and has worked in various forms of healthcare. She began her career at Crain's Communications in Chicago.
Camille earned a bachelor of arts in communications from Loyola University of Chicago.
Camille loves to travel both domestically and internationally, and in her spare time she enjoys working out, watching sports, and spending time with her family.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- Product, Design and Strategy
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- Board Director, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Polsky Deep Tech Ventures
- Executive Director, Deep Tech Ventures
Dan Sachs is the executive director of Polsky Deep Tech Ventures. In this role, he oversees all aspects of the University's effort to apply Chicago Booth's 25-year history of accelerating companies to innovation in the rapidly-growing Deep Tech space. He is responsible for science programming and accelerators, including the development a full spectrum suite of services, offerings, and investment funds to position these startup for success.
As a seasoned business executive and entrepreneur in the hospitality industry, Dan has strong ties to Chicago. He recently served as president of Meerkat Advisory, an A-list hospitality and leadership development advisory group, and was a professor of management and entrepreneurship at DePaul University. Before that, he was the founder and owner of BIN 36 Restaurant Group and grew the company's wine brand domestically as well as to international acclaim. With 25 years of operating experience in the restaurant and service industry, Dan has become a trusted expert for private equity firms, large hotel corporations, and owners of live entertainment venues. He published the book The Million Dollar Greeting, which provides insights on how to apply hospitality industry best practices to strengthen company profit, customer retention, and employee morale.
Dan earned a bachelor's degree in government from Harvard University, a doctorate in business administration specializing in organizational behavior from DePaul University, and a grand diplôme from École de Cuisine La Varenne.
Darby Smart is a video community where people watch and share snappy how-to videos. Founded by Nicole Farb, MBA '09, Darby Smart has become a resource for people to learn and be inspired every day. Today, over 6,000 videos have been created equating to 67 million monthly impressions all backed by a 25-person team. If this doesn't make you want to pick up a paintbrush then perhaps knowing that Nicole has D-I-Y'ed with your morning friends at Good Morning America like Michael Strahan, your co-to recipe connoisseur, Rachel Ray, and even impressed actress Sarah Michelle Gellar will. Go on, you know you want to do some arts and crafts. Following @darbysmart can get you started.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- CEO, Health2047 Managing Partner, G5 Partners
Job Titles:
- Associate Director at the Polsky Center
If you are interested in applying to or have questions about the George Shultz Innovation Fund, please contact Ellen Zatkowski, senior associate director, at ellen.zatkowski@chicagobooth.edu.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Booth Entrepreneurship
- Executive Director of Booth Entrepreneurship at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship
Erika Mercer serves as the executive director of Booth Entrepreneurship at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. In this role, she oversees all entrepreneurship programming within Chicago Booth, leading a team of staff in developing co-curricular programs and experiential learning opportunities for MBA students, alumni, and other related constituents. This includes managing the startup, private equity, venture capital, entrepreneurship through acquisition, and small business programs that serve the professional interests students and alumni. She has been with the Polsky Center since 2010 and, over that time, has led the development and growth of numerous Polsky Center offerings.
Erika brings close to 20 years of experience in higher education, having previously held roles in the international programming offices at the University of Chicago, Harvard University, and Brown University, where she managed, developed, and promoted study abroad programs worldwide, acted as the primary contact for students, faculty, and staff on site, and provided international training and advising to undergraduates. She served as a member of several international education organizations, including The Forum on Education Abroad and NAFSA: Association of International Educators; was published in Abroad View Magazine and the Bulletin of the American Research Center in Egypt; and presented at national conferences on the topic of cultural and citizen diplomacy. She also interned in the Academic Editorial Department at Oxford University Press, where she assisted editors with the review and preparation of manuscripts for production.
Erika earned a BA, magna cum laude, from Middlebury College and an EdM from Harvard University. She has studied in Spain, Germany, and Egypt.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- Executive IT Architect, AI and Machine Learning, IBM
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate Director at the Polsky Center
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Operations
- Executive Director of Operations for the Polsky Center
James Licklider serves as the executive director of operations for the Polsky Center. In this role, he oversees finance, human resources, IT, facilities and space needs, and strategic planning.
Prior to Polsky, James spent over seven years at UChicago's Institute for Mind and Biology as its administrative director. He managed the post-award operation for the Florida State University College of Medicine and guided its faculty practice plan as chief financial officer. James also held roles in central post-award administration at FSU, pre-award and department administration at DePaul University, and executive management in several Chicago nonprofits.
James earned an MS in accountancy, MS in public services management, and a BA in political science at DePaul University. He is a Certified Research Administrator and a former participant in the Executive Program for Emerging Leaders (EPEL) at Chicago Booth.
Job Titles:
- Data Manager for the University of Chicago 's Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship
- Data Manager, Innovation Intelligence
Jan Lach serves as a Data Manager for the University of Chicago's Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. In this role, Jan leads data governance, systems optimization and special projects to support technology commercialization.
Prior to joining Polsky, Jan served as senior assistant director, data management at UChicago Alumni Relations and Development office, where she engineered data-driven databases to improve alumni and donor engagement activities and transformed the Harper Lecture Series reporting and analytics.
Jan earned a bachelor's degree in political science from UC Irvine and a master's degree in public policy and administration from Northwestern University. In her free time, Jan enjoys learning new skills and trekking the world to find the best street food.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- President and CEO, Great Lakes Crystal Technologies
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- President and CEO, PixelEXX Systems, Inc
Job Titles:
- Patent Docketing Administrator
As a Patent Docketing Administrator, Kim supports administrative processes related to technology commercialization, including coordinating and overseeing the activities, reports, and filings associated with the patent prosecution journey.
Prior to joining Polsky, they managed operations for a curatorial department at the Art Institute of Chicago, with a focus on interdepartmental relationship-building within the institution. Kim has a background in classical languages and literature with undergraduate and graduate degrees both from the University of Chicago.
Job Titles:
- Data Scientist
- Data Scientist at the University of Chicago 's Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship
Kyle Hanna serves as the applied data scientist at the University of Chicago's Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He works closely with colleagues from the tech commercialization and operations teams to manage data, complete reports, and monitor compliance related to invention disclosures, patents, and contracts. He will also be responsible for business process development of the aforementioned data, reporting, and compliance activities.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- Partner, Osage University Partners
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- Life Sciences Entrepreneur
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- Senior Partner, Westlake BioPartners
Job Titles:
- Financial Analyst
- Financial Analyst for the University of Chicago 's Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship
Nick Neu serves as a financial analyst for the University of Chicago's Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. In this role, Nick performs comprehensive reviews and analysis of financial statements and financial data. He has previously served as operations manager at the Polsky Exchange where he played an integral role in maintaining the most community facing component of the Polsky Center footprint, overseeing all physical aspects of the Polsky Exchange and managing logistical support for events, programming, and Polsky staff working within the facility.
Prior to joining Polsky, Nick managed the inventory team as a member of the Facilities Services department at the University of Chicago. In addition to providing sourcing, procurement, and planning support, while also assisting with various department wide analytics projects.
Nick earned a BA in chemistry from Michigan State University. Since graduating from MSU, he has continued to explore additional educational opportunities, earning a certificate in supply chain management from MIT and becoming increasingly involved with APPA, the leading industry group for educational facilities management professionals.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- CEO, Qunnect
Job Titles:
- Financial Analyst
- Financial Analyst at the University of Chicago 's Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship
Renee Lowers serves as a financial analyst at the University of Chicago's Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Renee supports the finance team with a particular focus on financial maintenance of license agreements and related royalty reporting, accounts receivable, and revenue distribution.
Prior to joining Polsky, Renee worked at Fidelity Investments in Westlake Texas. During her time at Fidelity, Renee worked on the Transfer of Assets and International Settlements team as a senior representative where she assisted clients in transferring numerous assets from their brokerage accounts at competitive firms to their accounts with Fidelity. In addition to her transactional responsibilities, Renee created training materials and onboarded new associates.
Renee earned a bachelor's degree in finance at Howard University located in Washington, D.C.
Outside of work, Renee enjoys music, video games, cooking, and traveling. She is looking forward to exploring the food scene in Chicago and seeing all the activities the city has to offer.
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance and Accounting
Rob Reardon oversees the financial and accounting activities at the Polsky Center. These activities include the development and analysis of monthly, quarterly, and annual financial planning cycles including budget, forecast, and long-range strategic plans. Rob's position also develops financial analysis, key performance indicators, and dashboards that highlight Polsky's financial performance. Rob's group is responsible for tracking university's license agreements for financial obligations required of the licensee and distributing income to inventors. Rob also oversees unit-wide compliance and adherence to University and unit policies related to procurement, fund and gift management, program execution and budget stewardship.
Before joining the Polsky Center, Rob spent 8 years working as the Director of Operations for the technology transfer department at Washington University in St. Louis. In this role, Rob was responsible for the financial activities of the office as well as the compliance, analysis, patent administration, human resources and IT. Rob worked in the commercial real estate section prior to his time in academia.
Rob received his bachelors of science with an emphasis in finance and information systems from Boston College. He later received his MBA from the University of Missouri in St. Louis.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
Job Titles:
- Leader
- Associate Vice President and Managing Director of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- Head of the Polsky Center
Samir is an accomplished leader with a track record of driving innovation and impact across the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. Most recently, he was deputy mayor for the city of Chicago, where he focused on economic and neighborhood development. He was a driving force behind initiatives such as INVEST South/West, the city's signature community development initiative that marshaled resources from across city departments, community organizations, and corporate and philanthropic partners to support commercial corridors across several South and West Side neighborhoods. Before that, he served in the U.S. government during the Obama Administration, where he was part of the White House's national security team and on the executive staff at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.
Samir also co-founded and served as CEO of NanoGraf Corporation, a global manufacturer of advanced materials for the lithium-ion battery industry that has raised over $100 million in funding and was spun out of Argonne National Laboratory and Northwestern University. He holds a B.A. and M.B.A. from Northwestern, where he served as a trustee, and he is active in the Chicago civic community, serving on the boards of the Metropolitan Pier and Exhibition Authority, Lyric Opera, and other organizations. He is also a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and is an alumnus of the Marshall Memorial Fellowship and the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans.
As head of the Polsky Center, Samir plays a pivotal role in advancing the University's innovation, technology commercialization, entrepreneurship, and partnership priorities. He fosters connections across the University, our city, region, and world that enable the Polsky Center to accelerate the commercialization of critical technologies to help solve some of society's most urgent challenges. He also elevates efforts to help drive economic development on the South Side and strengthen partnerships that bolster the university's and Chicago's upward trajectory as hubs of world-class innovation.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship, Chicago Booth School of Business
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
Job Titles:
- Administrator at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship
- Disclosure Administrator
Shakira Jones is the disclosure administrator at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She manages invention disclosure, patenting, and license agreement data and processes. Shakira brings to the team a strong background in customer relations and administration. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering with her church's food pantry, and has worked with Habitat for Humanity in Louisiana to rehabilitate homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Simple Mills makes delicious almond flour baking mixes with simple, nutrient-rich ingredients. Founder, CEO, and Chicago Booth student Katlin Smith started her company in 2013 based on a desire to create simple, healthy, and delicious food. Katlin and her team won first place at the 2014 Edward L. Kaplan, '71, New Venture Challenge (NVC) taking home $30,000. Today, you can find their products at Whole Foods Market, Jewel Osco, Marianos, and Target. And, trust us, you'll want all of them in your pantry. Follow their tasty, yet healthy journey @SimpleMills.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- Consulting Director, Ventures
- Founder and Principal, the Gould Consulting Group / Consulting Director, Ventures, Polsky Center
Steven Gould, MD, serves as the Consulting Director for Polsky Science Ventures and is responsible for leading the formation and launch of new science based ventures from University of Chicago faculty research. In this role, he advises faculty founders, engages the investor community, and works closely with leadership to develop future strategies for Polsky Science Ventures.
Steve is the Founder and Principal of The Gould Consulting Group, which provides advisory services to companies, universities and venture investors seeking to develop and capitalize on healthcare innovations in biotechnology and life sciences, devices, diagnostics, and healthcare IT. He is deeply engaged in the Chicago healthcare and entrepreneurial ecosystem. He is a founding member of the Board of Directors for MATTER; chair of the Advisory Board for Point B, a mentoring program formerly called Chicago Innovation Mentors (CIM); and a member of the Bioscience committee of WBC's ChicagoNEXT. He has also previously served as a judge in the New Venture Challenge and has been an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Polsky Center.
He has in-depth experience raising capital for and investing in early stage companies in both clinical and scientific research in an academic environment, and as an executive for a publicly traded biotechnology company. As the scientific founder and former CEO of Northfield Laboratories, he led the company's IPO and raised nearly $300 million in both public and private financings. Prior to Northfield, Steve was Chief of Surgery at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center and a professor of surgery at the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Steve received his BA from Williams College and his MD degree from Boston University School of Medicine. He completed his residency training in surgery at Yale and the University of Vermont, and a research fellowship at Michael Reese and the University of Chicago.
Job Titles:
- Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance Kessenich E.P. Faculty Director, Polsky Center
He teaches advanced MBA and executive courses in entrepreneurial finance and private equity, corporate finance, corporate governance, and wealth management. BusinessWeek named him one of the top 12 business school teachers in the country. Steve conducts research on issues in private equity, venture capital, entrepreneurial finance, corporate governance and corporate finance. He has published papers in a number of academic and business journals. Kaplan is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and an associate editor of the Journal of Financial Economics.
He is the co-creator of the Kaplan-Schoar PME (Public Market Equivalent) private equity benchmarking approach. A Fortune Magazine article referred to him as "probably the foremost private equity scholar in the galaxy."
Job Titles:
- Director, IP Compliance and Operations
Teana Stocco supports the patent and licensing portfolio as licensing administrator. She also helps to manage the team's relationships with several University and non-University organizations including University Research Administration, the University of Chicago Investment Office, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Prior to joining Polsky, Teana worked for several law firms in the areas of litigation, personal injury, and employment law.
Teana received her bachelor's in science degree in legal studies from Grand Valley State University, and a law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School. Teana resides in the near west suburbs with her husband and three daughters.
Job Titles:
- HR and Financial Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the Advisory Committee
- Vice President
6054 S. Drexel Ave., Suite 405 Chicago IL 60637 E: ygooden@uchicago.edu YaQuavia (Yaya) Gooden is the Compliance Manager at the Polsky Center. Yaya will support Polsky's compliance strategy, by optimizing invention reporting for technologies spawned from federal grants and sponsored research agreements, in partnership with the Polsky Technology Development and Data Management teams. Yaya will also manage a strategic grant compliance initiative with the Office of University Research Administration (URA) ahead of introducing a PI compliance education program. Prior to joining the Polsky Center, Yaya held several roles in compliance and contracts management at the Chicago Housing Authority and CVR Associates. She is well known in Chicago compliance for thorough asset audits that align internal procedures with federal and state regulatory policies. Yaya earned a master's in public administration from the Keller School of Management and a bachelor's degree in radio broadcasting from Columbia College of Chicago. Yaya is driven by being able to utilize her knowledge of compliance to help departments grow and understand how what they process effects other departments. In her spare time she is a basketball mom, enjoys to cook and spend time with her family.