TUFTS UNIVERSITY - Key Persons

Alex Ocampo

Job Titles:

Lecturer, Derby Entrepreneurship Center Cofounder & CEO, Ganance

Alex is a startup operator and entrepreneur. His work background is in consulting and product development for artificial intelligence and bringing new AI products to market at IBM Watson. His latest venture, Ganance is enabling users to become the best version of themselves by thriving across physical, emotional and financial pillars of health. As a founder and adviser to other startups, Alex takes joy in enabling early ideas to flourish. Alex graduated from Tufts University in 2014 with a degree in Economics and Entrepreneurial Leadership and he currently lives in Chicago.

Alex Wulkan

Job Titles:

Cofounder and COO, Estateably

Alex is the Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Estateably - the modern, cloud-based software platform for estate and trust professionals. Estateably streamlines administration by automating the filling of court forms and precedent letters, simplifying input of estate inventory and accounting and enabling one-click court-formatted reporting. In just over a year Estateably has grown to become the leading technology provider for Canadian trust & estate professionals and are now expanding globally. Before co-founding Estateably, Alex graduated from Tufts in 2019 with a B.S. in Engineering Psychology and a minor in Entrepreneurial Leadership. While at Tufts, Alex was prominently involved with the Entrepreneurship Center by co-leading the Venture Lab and student Entrepreneurs Society. When Alex isn't working, he can be found skiing, cycling, playing tennis or hiking with his dog Alfie.

Amanda Tramont

Job Titles:

Assistant Director
Assistant Director, East Coast Regional Engagement

Amanda is the Assistant Director, East Coast Alumni Chapters at Tufts University. She facilitates the engagement of a diverse base of alumni, parents and friends on the East Coast, manage a portfolio of 16 - 20 regional chapters and Shared Interest Groups. She plans and executes events and activities ranging from local social and cultural events, to more formal educational programs as well as large scale programs involving entire alumni community. She works with individual steering committees to help recruit new volunteers and maintain momentum within the chapter. She creates all regional communications including registration pages, e-blasts, calendar pages, print invitations and phone blast messages and submit to University communications in a timely manner. Prior to Tufts, Amanda served as an account and client manager at diverse organizations including Berman Advertising to UBS Financial Services, CBS and more. Amanda holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (International Relations) and a minor in Hispanic Studies from Trinity College - Hartford, and a Master of Science in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University.

Andy Merken

Job Titles:

Partner and Co - Chair, Life Sciences, Burns & Levinson LLP

Andy is a Partner in the Corporate Group and the Venture Capital & Emerging Companies Group. He is also the Co-Chair of both the Life Sciences Group and the Securities Group. Andy focuses on business and transactional matters for a wide range of clients, with a particular concentration on Seed round and Venture Capital financings, recapitalizations, mergers & acquisitions, private equity transactions, and corporate governance. In addition to his corporate finance and mergers & acquisitions work, Andy represents entrepreneurs, start-up and growth-stage companies, and investment banks, as well as venture capital investors, private foundations, family offices, and angel investors, in formation and structuring matters, equity and compensation, business contracts and general business advice and planning. Andy also represents C-level and R&D executives in employment matters, including equity compensation. Andy works with clients in a variety of industries, including life sciences (biotech/biopharmaceutical, medical device, healthcare, digital health, and healthcare services), business services, software, financial services, venture capital, investment banking, consulting, legal services, consumer products, staffing, food services, real estate, and entertainment.

Andy O'Brien

Job Titles:

Lecturer
Lecturer, Derby Entrepreneurship Center Managing Director / Founder, Resolute Advisory Services & Resolute Investors

Andy O'Brien is a lecturer in entrepreneurial finance at the Tufts Entrepreneurship Center. He brings to the TEC expertise in finance informed by his experience as a leader of and an advisor to B2B companies as an operating executive, board member, investor, and consultant. Outside Tufts, he consults for lower-middle market companies in a wide range of industries to develop and execute M&A programs that will accelerate their growth. He has been a leader of several B2B companies in industries such as enterprise software, web services, and wholesale distribution as an executive, board member, and investor. Previously, he was a core member of the leadership team at Brooktrout (a NASDAQ-listed telecom software provider), from $12M to over $100M revenue. Andy started his career as a consultant at McKinsey & Company and a commercial banker at a predecessor to JP Morgan Chase. You can learn more about Andy's background and experience at www.linkedin.com/in/randrewobrien/. Expertise Financial analysis Mergers & acquisitions and post-merger integration Go-to-market (business development, marketing, sales) Education B.A., Chemistry and Economics, Yale University M.B.A., Harvard Business School

Ben Carson Jr.

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Advisors
Co - Founder and Partner at FVLCRUM
Cofounder and Partner, Fvlcrum Funds

Ben Carson Jr. is Co-Founder and Partner at FVLCRUM, where he is responsible for the overall guidance of the company and the portfolio. Previously, Mr. Carson served as Executive Vice President at The Warner Companies, where he led TWC Capital, a division that advised companies on mergers and acquisitions, capital structuring, capital raises, investments, insurance, and strategic planning. Ben is actively involved in the community and serves on several boards, including Tufts University (Derby Entrepreneurship Center and the President's Council), YPO (Young President's Organization), the Minority Wealth Commission, Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital Foundation Board, and Carson Scholars Fund. Mr. Carson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor in Entrepreneurial Leadership from Tufts University. He is a recipient of Baltimore's 35 Under 35 award, the Envest Foundation's 40 Under 40 award, Washington Life's 40 Under 40, and DCA Live's Rising Stars of GovCon.

Beth McCarthy

Job Titles:

Senior Lecturer, Derby Entrepreneurship Center Principal, Elizabeth M. McCarthy Consulting

Beth has spent the last 20+ years helping brands bridge the gap between their offering and their consumers' needs. Most recently she was with C Space (formerly Communispace) where she consulted with Fortune 500 companies including Hewlett Packard, Charles Schwab, Bank of America, Citi, Meredith Corporation, Kraft Foods and Weight Watchers and helped them understand how to make their brand, products, experiences and messaging relevant to the people they serve. She gets to this level of deep understanding by establishing trust, getting into hearts and minds and ultimately surfacing what moves people to action. During her 11+ year tenure at C Space, Beth was instrumental in growing the company from 30 to 600+ employees - establishing and growing client relationships; recruiting, developing and inspiring employees; and defining and executing overall growth strategies. Prior to C Space, Beth worked at top consulting firms in Boston including Digitas and Epsilon. Much of her work focused on developing customer loyalty initiatives including launching best customer programs for American Express, AT&T, Amtrak and Target. Beth currently runs her own consulting practice, helping organizations think through tough challenges and new/different ways to solve then. She does this primarily through strategic facilitation - engaging teams in spirited discussion and pushing them to think in ways they haven't before. Beth is a staunch advocate for education working as volunteer, consultant and lecturer. She has taught Consumer Understanding at both Northeastern University and Boston University and currently teaches Entrepreneurial Leadership at Tufts Gordon Institute.

Brittany Sokoloff

Job Titles:

Litigation Associate, ArentFox Schiff
Litigation Partner at ArentFox Schiff

Brittany Sokoloff is a Litigation Partner at ArentFox Schiff. Brittany focuses her practice on complex commercial and securities litigation matters. Brittany has defended litigation brought under the Securities Act of 1933 and successfully first-chaired complex financial products arbitration. Brittany is involved in ArentFox Schiff's white collar practice. She has represented companies, city agencies, and individuals confronted with allegations regarding business regulations, corruption, government contracts, and tax fraud. She has successfully helped her clients navigate grand jury investigations, respond to witness subpoenas, prepare for sentencings, and move for compassionate release during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Carol Denning

Job Titles:

Assistant Director at the Derby Entrepreneurship Center
Assistant Director, Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts

Carol is the Assistant Director at the Derby Entrepreneurship Center. She develops strategies for co-curricular events and academic objectives for the Entrepreneurship Program. She plans and executes a variety of co-curricular programs and activities, including business plan competitions, seminars, lectures, workshops, and events. She is a passionate supporter of entrepreneurship education at Tufts, representing the Center at a variety of events. She manages course setup for the entrepreneurship portfolio, works with faculty on curriculum development, and manages faculty hiring and annual contracts. Prior to Tufts, Carol served as a senior merchandising, buying and category management executive in several multinational apparel and footwear companies, most recently serving as the Director of Buying and Category Management at Clarks Americas. As an intrapreneur, Carol led the successful introduction and expansion of Kids Footwear into the North America market. Carol holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

Catherine Popper

Job Titles:

Executive
Angel Investor and Advisor
Angel Investor, LaunchPad Venture Group

Catherine Popper is a highly respected executive with a diverse background including senior leadership roles in management consulting, supply chain, sales and client management, corporate finance and HR organizations. Ms. Popper is a high energy and authentic leader known for building teams and "GSD - getting stuff done". Ms. Popper has a 30 year track record of delivering business results and working across the executive and c-suite levels of $10B+ organizations. Ms. Popper is currently an Angel Investor and Advisor to early stage start-ups. She is an active member of LaunchPad Venture Group, a Boston-based angel investment group. She is currently an advisor and board observer for Zippity Cars. She has a passtion for supporting Women Entrepreneurial Founders through investing, advising and mentoring. She is a member of the Tufts Presidents Council and the Derby Entrepreneurship Center Advisory Board. Ms. Popper departed Fidelity Investments in 2017 as a Senior Vice President in the Corporate Finance function. She was responsible for leading the firm's Scale and Efficiency efforts to reduce Fidelity's overall cost structure. Prior to her Finance role, Ms. Popper spent seven years as an SVP in Fidelity's Procurement organization which included 120 colleagues in four global locations overseeing $3.5B in supplier spend. Ms. Popper served as vice president of Fidelity Human Resources from 2007-2009 where she was responsible for human capital strategy and execution for a Retirement Channel business unit of over 5,000 employees across seven call centers in the United States and Canada. Prior to Fidelity, Ms. Popper had a 20 year career in consulting working for Mercer HR Consulting, Towers Perrin, Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman) and WFD Consulting. Ms. Popper received her BS in math from Tufts University and her MBA at Boston University. A resident of Lincoln, MA, Ms. Popper lives with her husband (and Tufts alum) Noah Eckhouse and has two adult children. In her free time, she enjoys running, mountain biking, scuba diving, adventure travel and watching all the Boston sports teams.

Christine Dunn

Job Titles:

Partner, Seven Letter Chair of the Marketing Committee, Board of Advisors, Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts

Christine Dunn has more than two decades of experience in global financial journalism and strategic communications, branding and thought leadership. She advises senior leaders, non-profits and companies on the development and implementation of integrated communications and marketing programs that align with business objectives in such diverse industries as technology, finance, education, life sciences and healthcare services. Christine previously served as Senior Vice President at O'Neill and Associates, which merged with Seven Letter in 2020. Prior to joining O'Neill and Associates, Christine founded and ran ArcPoint Strategy, which advised CEOs and senior management teams on thought leadership platforms for advocacy and issues campaigns; the launch of new companies and market-making products; corporate communications programs; and the development of integrated digital and traditional PR programs. Christine won multiple national and international awards for those campaigns, including several Best in Biz and Stevie Awards for Women in Business, as well as recognition from Bulldog Reporter and the Publicity Club of New England. Christine honed her media strategy skills at Bloomberg News, where she worked for more than a decade as a multimedia reporter, editor and senior manager. Leadership roles included Bureau Chief of Boston; and head of the North American Consumer/Retail, Mutual Funds and Education teams. A longtime advocate of education, Christine serves on the Executive Committee of the Advisory Board of Tufts University's Entrepreneurship Center (TEC) and on the Board of Trustees for the Judge Baker Children's Center. She is also a mentor with the Stanley + Tech Stars Accelerator in Hartford, CT. She has contributed articles to Compliance Week, Computer World, Chief Content Officer and the Boston Globe's Boston.com. Christine grew up in New York and Hong Kong, and received a Master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a B.A. from Tufts University. Christine works in the Seven Letter Boston office.

Chuck Auster - Chairman, Founder

Job Titles:

Co - Chairman
Founder
Member of the Board of Advisors
Founder and Partner, Runtide Capital Partners Chairman of the Board of Advisors, Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts

Chuck Auster has over forty years of experience creating value through entrepreneurship, corporate executive management, as well as venture and private equity investment. As Chairman of the Board of Advisors of the Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts, Chuck works passionately with the Director, students and faculty of DEC as well as the administration of the University to enhance the experience and learning of all those served by the Center's academic and co-curricular activities. Chuck is currently a Founder and Partner of RunTide Capital Partners, an independent financial sponsor partnering with institutional investors making investments into tech enabled lower middle market companies. Previously Chuck was a Partner and Managing Director at One Equity Partners, the private equity arm of JP Morgan Chase prior to its 2016 spin out. Mr. Auster led the deal team in the acquisition of Polaroid Corporation by One Equity Partners and served as Chairman of the Board of Polaroid. Chuck was a founder, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of IXnet, Ltd. (NASDAQ - EXNT), a network provider of communication services for the financial services community. Chuck was in a leadership role with the team that took the company public and negotiated the sale of the Company valued in excess of $3.8 billion. Currently, Chuck serves as Co-Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of L'Enfant Trust, a historic preservation tax-exempt organization he helped found. He graduated from Tufts University with Highest Honors in Economics and holds a Juris Doctor with Honors from the National Law Center, George Washington University.

Cody Damon

Job Titles:

Entrepreneur - in - Residence, Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts Cofounder, Media Cause
Strategic Communications Advisor

Cody Damon is a strategic communications advisor known best for his work creating high-impact communications for the social good sector. His career spans a variety of communication disciplines, working with organizations like (RED), NRDC, Center for American Progress, the Atlantic Council and dozens more, where he has architected and managed the implementation of large-scale digital marketing programs. He is based in Boston, where he champions new waves in digital marketing through entrepreneurship and technological innovation. An avid consumer of data, he specializes in turning analytics into sound digital communications strategies and identifying solutions for gaps in data. Cody loves working with organizations creating positive change within the world - whether it's a local startup incubator or an international NGO - through smart, strategic communications poised for digital. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Cody also holds a Masters in Global Communications, Public Sphere Theory from the American University of Paris. Cody holds various board and advisory roles and is especially interested in high-impact organizations with a global reach or scope.

Daniel Tobengauz

Job Titles:

Student Coordinator, Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts

David Jen

Job Titles:

Director & Head of Finance and Strategy, X
Head of the Investments, Finance
Venture Partner at UP.Partners

David is the head of the investments, finance, and corporate development at X (formerly known as Google X). In this role, David leads diligence and capital allocation across a portfolio of ‘Moonshot projects,' pairing patient capital with amazing technologies, entrepreneurs, and business models to build the next generational company at Alphabet While at X, David has been fortunate enough to help build several amazing businesses including Waymo, Verily, Intrinsic, and Project Wing. David is also a Venture Partner at UP.Partners, an advisor at Tufts University, and sits on several boards. David is passionate about turning nascent technologies into businesses, transparency through metrics, and creating the right environment for repeatable innovation. Outside of work, David enjoys being a dad to his kids James and Nora… that's not true… sometimes he really enjoys being with them… other times he doesn't… but he still loves them very much.

Dr. Katrin Kaeufer

Job Titles:

Director of the Just Money Program at the Community Innovators Lab
Professor of the Practice, Tisch College

Dr. Katrin Kaeufer is director of the Just Money Program at the Community Innovators Lab within the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-founder and executive director of the Presencing Institute. Katrin teaches on leadership and transformational change. Her research focus on leadership, organizational change, mission-based banking as well as on participatory action research.

Earle Yaffa

Earle is the former Managing Director at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meager & Flom LLC, one of the leading business law firms in the world. He joined Skadden Arps in 1980 and helped in the transformation of the legal profession from local partnerships to institutions which now service the needs of global corporations in their most difficult problems. Earle graduated the School of Engineering in 1961, obtained a graduate degree from MIT's Sloan Management at MIT and Arthur Young where he worked for 17 years before joining Skadden Arps.

Elaine Chen

Job Titles:

Director
Professor

Elaine is the Cummings Professor of the Practice in Entrepreneurship and Director of the Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts. Elaine is the Academic Director for the popular undergraduate Entrepreneurship Minor, where she also teaches multiple courses. She oversees all co-curricular programming, including 1×1 coaching, workshops, a summer accelerator and more. Under her leadership, the Center has grown rapidly and now attracts students with diverse professional interests and career plans, including historically underrepresented groups. Prior to joining Tufts, Elaine served as Senior Lecturer and Entrepreneur-in-Residence for nearly a decade at the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, teaching entrepreneurship in startup, corporate, non-profit and government settings. Elaine founded and led the implementation of multiple academic and co-curricular offerings at MIT. She coached hundreds of students every year, and spearheaded the development of digital infrastructure that used technology to scale up equitable access to entrepreneurship education - on and off campus. Elaine plays an active role in entrepreneurship enablement in the community. She received the MIT Monosson Prize for Entrepreneurship Mentoring in recognition of her impact on entrepreneurship education. She was selected by the American Academy for the Advancement of Science and Lemelson Foundation to serve as an Invention Ambassador. She also served on the board of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge (now known as the eForum). She is currently a Board Director at the Center for Open Science. Elaine brings a wealth of experience to Tufts, having served as an engineering and product management VP at six companies, including Rethink Robotics, Zeo, Zeemote and SensAble Technologies. She has brought numerous hardware and software products to market and holds 22 patents. As Founder and Managing Director of ConceptSpring, a corporate innovation and entrepreneurship consulting company, Elaine helps corporate leaders build entrepreneurial organizations via innovation consulting in companies spanning healthcare, industrial automation, FinTech, non-profits, government agencies and more. As a thought leader, keynote speaker and author, Elaine has been featured in Xconomy, TechCrunch, Huffington Post, Forbes and Fortune. She is author of Bringing a Hardware Product to Market: Navigating the Wild Ride from Concept to Mass Production. She has extensive international experience with particular expertise in the Asia-Pacific area. Elaine received her BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Felice Shapiro

Job Titles:

Founder and Publisher, Better After 50 ( BA50 )

Felice Shapiro has been an entrepreneur in publishing for her entire career. She sold her print magazine group targeting the regional parenting market in 1998 (Family Publishing Group), and launched a digital media site www.betterafter50.com in November of 2011. As the Founder/Publisher of the on-line magazine, Better After 50 (BA50), she is dedicated to celebrating women in their next phase. She established Betterafter50.com as #1 in its niche for women in this stage of life (currently boasting over 45K instagram followers). She taught Entrepreneurship 101 at Tufts for 5 years. She is a mother of 2 Tufts Grads, Jake (08) and Caleb Shapiro (11), and her fabulous husband Bill is also a Tufts Alum. Felice is an adventure traveler who is dedicated to living a positive life. She loves to coach start-ups and write, and is an avid yogi, skier, golfer and road biker. Felice and her boys established the Alan Shapiro Entrepreneurial Lecture Series in loving memory of her husband to continue his (their) passion for celebrating entrepreneurs and sharing their stories with Tufts students.

Forrest Snowden

Job Titles:

Chairman and CEO of Aria Gems

Forrest Snowden is the Chairman and CEO of Aria Gems (mining high quality emeralds) and Chief Gold (gold brokers) which are vertically integrated companies as a "miner to designer" business model. His companies also provide complex International, high value, logistics solutions as systems engineers for the World's largest logistics companies. Formally, he was a multiple awardee executive at IBM, Deloitte, and KPMG spanning 25 years excelling on starting new divisions and companies. He has closed deals at over 50 Global Fortune 500 companies personally. He was awarded as one of the fathers of E-Commerce by the US Commerce Agency last century while he was the Global Head of IBM's secure E-Commerce division.

Frank Apeseche

Job Titles:

Chairman of Amstar Advisers
Professor of the Practice, Tufts Gordon Institute

Frank brings to Tufts more than three decades of experience building, leading and advising successful enterprises. During his career, he managed 4 companies through their initial public offering and sponsored 14 institutional private equity funds with over $7 billion of capitalization. The businesses he supervised span a geography covering the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. Frank's academic interests focus on enterprise formation and growth, strategy and venture capital. His courses include Entrepreneurial Finance, Finance for High Tech Ventures, Business Strategy, Financial Management of Technology Firms and Finance and Accounting. He is also a senior faculty adviser to Master's degree candidates completing their Industry Consulting Practicums and Capstone Leadership Projects in Tufts' MSEM and MSIM programs. Beyond Tufts, Frank is Chairman of Amstar, an international real estate private equity firm. He is also Co-founder of J. Locke & Company, a merchant bank targeting corporate growth and repositioning opportunities. In addition, Frank is a Board member of Launchpad Venture Group where he specializes in financing promising businesses in the life science, technology and cleantech industries. Previously Frank was Chief Executive Officer of The Berkshire Group. During his 26 years at Berkshire, he helped launch and grow over a dozen subsidiaries in the healthcare, finance, software technology and real estate industries. He subsequently took three companies public on the New York Stock Exchange and another on the Canadian Stock Exchange. Frank has served as Chairman of Amstar Advisers, Berkshire Realty Ventures, Berkshire Property Advisors, BG Affiliates, K-Bro Linen Systems, Berkshire Realty Development and Aspen Furniture; and was Audit Committee Chairman of Building Engines Inc., Berkshire Mortgage Finance, SMS Modern Cleaning Services and Berkshire Realty Holdings. His public company expertise includes senior officer responsibility for two NYSE corporations and active engagement as an expert witness and industry spokesman to the U.S. Congress on commercial economic development. Frank received his BA from Cornell University and his MBA from the University of Michigan.

Gavin Finn

Job Titles:

President & CEO of Kaon Interactive
Professor of the Practice, Tufts Gordon Institute CEO, KAON Interactive

Gavin Finn is President & CEO of Kaon Interactive, a profitable, high growth B2B software company. He has led the successful transformation of the company's business model, technology platform development, and dynamic marketing strategies. Kaon's Global 1000 customers use the company's solutions to elevate business performance through increases in sales effectiveness and marketing efficiency. Gavin is an advisor to, and investor in, several startup companies, and has been a lead mentor for the World Bank's XL Africa startup program. Prior to joining Kaon, Gavin served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Bluestreak, Inc., an Internet advertising and marketing infrastructure software company, and led the company through four acquisitions and organic growth resulting in a profitable, high-growth business. Prior to Bluestreak, Gavin was President and Chief Executive Officer of Prescient Technologies, Inc., a software company that provided engineering data quality solutions for engineering and manufacturing companies in the aerospace, automotive, and, heavy industrial markets. Gavin holds a Ph.D. in Computer-Aided-Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Structural Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Oklahoma State University.

George Blount

Job Titles:

Lecturer, Tufts Gordon Institute

As a Financial Therapist & Behavioral Economist, George Blount helps individuals overcome financial fears and help organizations use this information to teach money concepts and create wellness programs. This is his way of bridging the gaps he saw in the industry and of bringing a distinctive and personalized approach to the financial services marketplace In 2020 George was named one of the Top 100 People in Finance 2020 by top 100 magazine, and in 2015 he served as Co-Chair of the adult sub-committee for the MA Financial Literacy Task Force, Appointed by MA Treasurer Deborah Goldberg. George is an adjunct lecturer of Managerial Accounting, Entrepreneurship, and Behavioral & Personal Finance by choice. He loves teaching and taking advantage of the opportunity to share more than 20 years of experience as a financial services professional and research expertise in wealth financial planning, retirement planning, behavior sciences, decision-making, analytics, and strategy. George's educational background includes Johnson & Wales University, where he received an Associates of Finance and Bachelor of Science in Management degrees, and Walden University, where he received a Master of Business Administration and Doctor of Business Administration.

Idicula Mathew

Job Titles:

Co - Founder and CEO of Hera Health Solutions
Program Director, Tufts Venture Accelerator Entrepreneur - in - Residence, Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts Cofounder & CEO, Hera Health Solutions

Idicula is the co-founder and CEO of Hera Health Solutions, a pharmaceutical device company that specializes in the research, development, and commercialization of long-acting therapeutics through their proprietaty Bioerodible drug delivery implants. Idicula is an entrepreneur with over eight years of experience in scaling startups, entrepreneurship, accelerator coaching, venture capital, medical device/pharmaceutical and SAAS innovations. He has led startups to raise millions of dollars in venture capital funding. Idicula has received numerous entrepreneurship awards, including being named a 30 Under 30 Global Sustainable Business Leader, named to many 40 Under 40 Business Journal lists, Forbes YEC council, and was invited to the United Nations World summit being recognized as a global leader in startup leadership. Idicula regularly presents his companies and about scaling startups in notable global conferences like South Summit Madrid, UNESCO Seoul, GES (Global Entrepreneurship Summit), Startup of the Year, and MedTech West Ireland. Idicula holds a degree in biomedical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Igor "Iggy" Moliver

Job Titles:

Advisor
Investor
Head of Product & Strategy, Remedy Product Studio

Igor "Iggy" Moliver is an investor, advisor, and product leader. He is currently a Managing Partner and Head of Product & Strategy at Remedy Product Studio in New York. His team has strategized, architected, and built digital products for Classpass, Ritual, Block Six Analytics, and more. Iggy leads the product management team and investments. He previously founded OnePlayce, a social media data science company. Iggy started his career in the sports media and marketing world, most notably at ESPN, where he was on the launch team of the WatchESPN app. He is the Chairman of the Tufts Entrepreneurial Network, is a product mentor for multiple accelerator programs, and is a member of several angel investor groups.

Jack Derby

Job Titles:

Professor of the Practice, Derby Entrepreneurship Center CEO, Derby Management

Jack is a professor within the Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts where he teaches separate courses in marketing and in sales. Jack has taught at Tufts for 20 years and was the prior director of the Entrepreneurship Center. The Derby Entrepreneurship Center encompasses the study and practice of entrepreneurship through all the Tufts schools and is home to the Entrepreneurship Minor, the largest minor on campus. Jack individually coaches approximately 20+ Tufts student startups each year and in 2022 co-founded a nutrition startup with another Tufts professor In 2015, Jack received the Henry and Madeline Fisher Award, an award given annually to a faculty member of the School of Engineering judged by graduating seniors of the School of Engineering to be "Engineering's Teacher of the Year." Prior to stepping down as Director in 2020, due to family health issues, Jack was the Cummings Family Professor of the Practice in Entrepreneurship. For 22 years, he has taught business planning and marketing in MIT's Mechanical Engineering Department where he continues to teach. In 1990, Jack founded Derby Management, a regional consulting firm specializing in strategic and business planning with deep expertise in the specializations of business planning, sales productivity and marketing optimization. Prior to starting Derby Management, Jack served as CEO of Mayer Electronics and President of CB Sports. He is or has been a board member of 21 companies.

Jane Seminara

Job Titles:

Lecturer, Tufts Gordon Institute

Jane Seminara has extensive experience teaching courses in ethical leadership, social justice, and public speaking in various educational settings. She joined TGI in 2008 as a part-time lecturer and began teaching "Humanistic Perspectives on Leadership" for the Master of Science in Engineering Management program. In 2016, she created a Graduate seminar titled, "Unbounded Perspectives" for the newly formed Master of Science in Innovation and Management program. In 2022, Jane Seminara was appointed as a full-time Senior Lecturer at Tufts Gordon Institute. In 2008, Seminara was awarded the "Exemplary Teacher Award" by the Lynch School of Education at Boston College.

Jimmy Edgerton

Job Titles:

Lecturer, Nutrition and Entrepreneurship, Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition and Derby Entrepreneurship Center

Jimmy teaches Nutrition and Entrepreneurship (NUTR 280) at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition, co-teaches in an advisory/mentorship role for Master of Science in Innovation & Management students in New Product Innovation (EM221), and oversees special projects where current students are leading diverse teams rapidly crafting ideas towards revenue generation. Jimmy espouses three pillars of entrepreneurship; (1) Partnership- success does not happen in isolation; (2) Value- find repeat customers in your niche's niche and understand market conditions; and (3) Why- "It's not what you do, it's why you do it". Jimmy is a Jumbo who graduated from Tufts with a BS in Civil Engineering, Dual Major in Economics, and received a Minor in Engineering Management. Jimmy has a love of basketball/coaching and a goal to make the world a healthier, more sustainable place, so it is a natural fit that he began teaching at his alma mater. Initially, Jimmy worked as a highway design engineer (now P.E.) turned construction project manager, and started his first successful enterprise as a real estate developer focused on combining historic preservation with durable sustainability initiatives. (Business ideas that were not commercial successes include a fitness facility powered by human energy and a fantasy sports league straddling multiple sports…) Property management and consulting became natural extensions of Jimmy's core real estate development business. In 2013 Jimmy partnered with a fellow Jumbo, Dr. Greg Katz, and in Washington, DC they co-founded a food business utilizing chickpeas as their primary ingredient. The business evolved into Watusee Foods with a category focus in consumer packaged snacks and breadcrumbs/coatings, and after sales growth the business was acquired in 2018. Currently, Jimmy continues to be active in real estate, but his entrepreneurial energy is primarily focused on building - a team and the technology for - a SaaS tool to assist consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies selling items through retail.

Joe Volman

Job Titles:

Lecturer, Derby Entrepreneurship Center Partner, Burns & Levinson LLP

For over 25 years, Joe has built his reputation as a deal maker in the business community. He dedicates himself to partnering with clients, serving as their strategic advisor to drive growth and realize the maximum return on their investments. By devising creative, results-focused solutions, his clients are able to take their businesses to the next level, and by tapping into his vast network, he regularly facilitates capital raises and connects business partners to source deals. As co-chair of the Business Law group, his practice focuses on the representation of entrepreneurs and investors, startup and emerging companies, and PE/VC funds through all phases of the investment process. Joe also has significant experience representing family-owned businesses, public companies and investment banking firms. He arms himself with the requisite business acumen in specific industries-technology, life sciences, media and entertainment, sports and hospitality-in order to provide the necessary practical advice that gets the deal done. In addition to significant international experience, Joe is skilled at seamlessly guiding clients through public offerings, securities compliance, buying/selling private/public companies, and venture financings as well as through a variety of early- and late-stage private/public equity and debt financings.

John Cuming

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Advisors

Jordan Kivelstadt

Job Titles:

Founder & Proprietor, Kivelstadt Cellars

Jordan Kivelstadt has spent the last 15 years innovating in the beverage alcohol industry. After leaving management consulting in 2006, Jordan spent three years traveling around the world learning to make wine. He then founded Kivelstadt Cellars, a small winery focused on Rhone Wines. In addition, Jordan founded Free Flow Wines, a leading wine packaging and logistics company, that created the US wine on tap movement. Free Flow was sold to private equity in 2016, and Jordan has since pursued other ventures. Today, Jordan serves on the Board of multiple ventures and non-profits, while growing his family wine brand. He lives in Sonoma, with his wife and two kids.

Josh Wiesman

Job Titles:

Head of Innovation Strategy at Inogen
Professor of the Practice, Tufts Gordon Institute Head of Innovation Strategy, Inogen

Josh Wiesman is the Head of Innovation Strategy at Inogen. He is also a Professor of the Practice at the Tufts Gordon Institute. Prior to Inogen, Josh was a Senior Director in Research and Science at Clif Bars and Company and a Director of Strategic Innovations at Ocean Spray Cranberries. Josh is also the cofounder and former CEO of Smilo, a new direct-to-consumer brand for essential baby and child products lovingly perfected by doctors, scientists, and engineers. Smilo was acquired by BuyBuyBaby in 2019. Josh founded his first company, TWI LLC, as a sophomore in college. Josh successfully led the company to four international license deals for portions of the patent portfolio. After launching TWI, Josh consulted for a number of the medical giants and privately funded start-ups in the medical device community. In 2008 Josh was recruited to be the Director of Engineering at Portaero, Inc., a bay area startup, where he led his team in developing a device treatment therapy for emphysema. After Portaero, Josh ran a Boston based operational fund that developed and licensed "small ball" medical and consumer products with a focus on airway management in anesthesia and infant/child products. Josh has authored a number of medical publications, holds numerous US and international patents, and holds a MS and BS in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University.

Joshua Kapelman

Job Titles:

Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Hilldun Corporation
Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Hilldun Corporation Chair of the Development and Governance Committee, Board of Advisors, Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts

Joshua Kapelman is the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Hilldun Corporation.

Julianne Zimmerman

Job Titles:

Lecturer, Derby Entrepreneurship Center

For over 25 years, Julianne Zimmerman has focused on putting technology to work for the greater good. In her current role as Managing Director with Reinventure Capital, she is in the process of raising a fund to invest in a chronically overlooked pool of entrepreneurs: people of color and women. Previously as Co-Founder of seed-stage investment firm Vodia Ventures, Julianne invested in startups in energy, water, food, and health. As an external consultant, VP of Communications, VP of Business Development, and VP of Engineering, Julianne has built departments, managed alpha projects, guided branding and identity efforts, and led a wide variety of initiatives from blank page to successful, in many cases award-winning, completion. Along the way she and her co-conspirators have catalyzed industry shifts, changed conversations, won awards, and set new standards for performance. Julianne holds two undergraduate degrees from MIT in Humanities/Literature and Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, an MS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland, and an executive certificate in sustainability management from the Presidio Graduate School; she previously served as a certified EMT in Maryland and Massachusetts. She was twice a finalist in the NASA astronaut selection process. She is a frequent speaker, reviewer and judge for innovation and entrepreneurship programs in the US and abroad; she currently serves on the MIT Venture Mentoring Service and as a founding Principal of Great Dome Associates.

Karen Cassel

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Advisors
President and CEO, MedicAlert

Appointed as MedicAlert's President & CEO in October 2020, Karen is a digital marketing pioneer and start-up veteran. She has been leading and scaling digital marketing services companies for over 20 years. While CEO of Caring.com, Karen transformed the company into the number two senior care referral business in the nation and led it through two successful exits. Prior to Caring.com, Karen's other leadership positions include social media giant Tagged, as well as digital marketing companies QuinStreet, Exponential Interactive, and Focus Media, where she led the turnaround and sale to Ziff Davis Media. Karen earned her M.B.A. from Stanford University's GSB and a B.S. in Mathematics and Quantitative Economics from Tufts University.

Kate Weiler

Job Titles:

Lecturer, Derby Entrepreneurship Center Co - Founder, Drink Simple

Kate is an Ironman triathlete and passionate advocate for nutrition and holistic wellness. She earned her Master's degree in Nutrition from Northeastern University, her Bachelor's degree from Colby College and holds a certification in Holistic Health Coaching from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Kate has completed countless marathons and triathlons, including twelve full-distance Ironman races, and is a qualifier and finisher of the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. She is on a mission to help people thrive naturally.

Kendall Reiss

Job Titles:

Professor of the Practice, School of the Museum of Fine Arts

In her work, Kendall Reiss focuses on two separate yet parallel modes of inquiry: the design and fabrication of contemporary jewelry alongside material experiments, which result in sculptural objects and time-based installations. A native of Bristol, Rhode Island, Kendall grew up exploring the rocky shoreline of Narragansett Bay. She attended Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA where she received a BS in Geology, which provided the visual training and hands-on approach she now uses to conduct and record her studio-based investigations. After studying at several prominent institutions including the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Kendall returned to school to combine her fascination of the natural world with the study of jewelry. In 2011, she received an MFA in Jewelry + Metalsmithing from the Rhode Island School of Design. Exhibits of her work include the Clark Gallery, Greenville Center for Creative Arts, Bristol Art Museum, and Haskell Public Gardens. Kendall is also an independent curator and has worked both independently and collaboratively on curatorial projects on the East and West Coast at Brooklyn Metal Works, The Hotel Wilshire, Velvet da Vinci, and Alloy Gallery. Kendall recently initiated and moderated a Social Club panel discussion in collaboration with Current Obsession magazine to correspond with the opening of Past is Present: Revival Jewelry at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She has taught across New England including at the Rhode Island School of Design and Fuller Craft Museum. Kendall is currently a Professor of the Practice at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston, MA, where she teaches in the Metals Area and the Senior Thesis Program.

Kenny Nova

Job Titles:

Founder & Investor, Stat Scientific
Partner and Co - Chair, Life Sciences, Burns & Levinson LLP

Kenny Nova is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and advisor. He is the founder of Stat Scientific, a company identifying, funding and commercializing technology-driven innovation. He has led early-stage technology businesses to successful exit as well as launched and scaled digital and media businesses with world-class enterprises (Time-Warner, Random House and Ziff-Davis Publishing). He is an inventor, having been awarded a U.S. patent for the education industry's first, real-time, one-on-one mobile test preparation game. He is a Board Director for Start Small Think Big and a member of the New York Angels and the Mid Atlantic Bio Angels. He received his BA from Tufts University and MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Kim Hartman

Job Titles:

Owner, KH Designs Cofounder, Mask Ready

Kim Hartman graduated from Tufts with a BA in Political Science in 1985 and received an MBA in Finance in 1990 from the Leonard Stern School at Business at NYU. She currently owns and runs KH Designs, an interior design firm in New York City. Prior to being a designer, Ms. Hartman was Vice President of Human Resources and Facilities for Trust Company of the West. She spends a majority of her free time working with non-profits. Ms. Hartman serves on the Board of Directors for Temple Emanu El in NYC, Writopia Labs (a national creative writing program for children and teens), UJA Federation of Manhattan, University of Pennsylvania Hillel National Board, Co-Chair Board of Governors for FARE(Food Allergy Research and Education) and she is the Chair of the Development Committee for Excellence Community Schools (a charter management organization in NYC). Kim is married, has 3 children, a dog named Missy and lives on the Upper East Side.

Kofi Asante

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Advisors
VP of Strategy and Business Development, Elroy Air

Kofi is the Head of Strategy and Business Development at Elroy air. Elroy Air is building an autonomous vertical take-off and landing system that can deliver 300 lbs of cargo over a 300 mile range. Their mission is to improve the quality of life around the world by expanding the reach of express logistics. Prior to Elroy Air, Kofi was a part of Uber's Advanced technology strategy group team which launched Uber freight. During his time at Uber freight, Kofi built an Uber entity he named "Powerloop" which has helped thousands of drivers maximize their workday and come home early to their families all at the same time. Kofi's ventures both at Uber and Elroy Air have been featured in the Wallstreet journal, Techcrunch, Forbes and Business Insider.

Luke Fraser

Job Titles:

Founder and CEO of Stepwise Innovation
Lecturer, Derby Entrepreneurship Centerl Founder and CEO, Stepwise Innovation

Luke is the founder and CEO of Stepwise Innovation, an innovation consulting and training organization that helps corporate teams discover and develop transformational ideas. He began his career in Corporate Strategy at Liberty Mutual Insurance, where he also built new products on the Digital Health & Wellness Innovation team and led a team of eCommerce product managers. He was an early member of the growth team at Catalant Technologies, and he also founded a fintech venture focused on college student financial literacy as part of the DCU Bank FinTech Accelerator. Over his career, Luke has collaborated with companies like GE Healthcare, The Nature Conservancy, John Deere, Bain & Company, & IDEO on new product development initiatives. He holds a BA from Tufts University in Economics & International Relations.