Speakers

As Managing Partner of 412 Venture Fund, Ilana leads fund activities, including sourcing, evaluating and investing in the Pittsburgh region's most promising startups.

Previously, Ilana was a Managing Director of Riverfront Ventures, Innovation Works' Venture Fund for early stage companies. She also served at Innovation Works as Managing Director of Hardware and AlphaLab Gear where she led a team that helped startups make rapid progress through the early stages of product and customer development.

Earlier in her career, Ilana led and grew tech companies from startup to exit - building management teams, raising venture capital, and managing mergers and acquisitions from both ideas of the table (buyer and seller).

Ilana frequently serves in leadership roles on boards of private companies and not-for-profit organizations. Her academic background includes a B.A. in Biological Sciences and Economics from Northwestern University, and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Carlos is a Vice President at Hyde Park Venture Partners and has been with the firm since 2021.

Prior to HPVP, Carlos was an associate at Mesirow Financial in the Private Equity Real Estate team where he focused on acquisitions and asset management. Additionally, Carlos was a Co-Founder and Director at Angeles Investors. He received his BBA at the University of Notre Dame.

Neenah Jain brings two decades of experience in finance, analysis, and accounting to ASV and has worked closely both with high-growth software startups and venture capital firms. She also serves as Chief Financial Officer at ASV and is responsible for sourcing in the Midwest as well as monitoring and analyzing existing investments and managing the ASV portfolio.

In the past, Neenah has worked at Radius Ventures, a healthcare venture firm, and previously held positions as Sr. Vice President of Finance for IPcelerate, Inc, and Capital Analytics, LP. She started her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP.

Neenah lives in Indianapolis, Indiana spent over a decade each in Dallas and New York.

John started his career as a corporate lawyer at Jones Day in Cleveland where he co-founded the Private Ventures Group after determining the firm needed a better way to serve the needs of entrepreneurs and venture capital and private equity firms. After several years of representing VCs and early-stage technology companies, he decided to pursue a career in venture capital.

Although he achieved success as an attorney, he knew that to succeed as a venture capitalist he would need operating experience. So he left Jones Day to join publicly-traded Quantum Health Resources, a provider of drugs and related therapies to patients with rare, chronic diseases, as SVP of business development and general counsel.

In 1997, after Quantum was sold to Olsten Health Services (where John continued on as SVP of business development), he was recruited to Blue Chip Venture Company in Cincinnati. During his 12 years as a partner with Blue Chip John led investments in over 25 companies (including Renal Solutions in Pittsburgh), several of which achieved highly successful exits.

John co-founded Allos Ventures in 2010 to focus on early-stage software and software-enabled service companies based in the Midwest. Since then, Allos has invested in over 50 seed and early-stage companies (including Pittsburgh-based Maven, Rimsys and Blast Point) and is now investing from its fourth fund.

John has been involved in a variety of startup initiatives throughout the Midwest. He was a founding board member of the Michigan Venture Capital Association and was the founding board chairman of VentureOhio. And he was a founding board member of Cincinnati's OCEAN Accelerator. John also served as a board member and board chair of publicly-traded Meridian Bioscience until its successful sale for $1.5 billion in early 2023. He currently serves as an entrepreneur in residence with Miami University's entrepreneurship institute and as an adjunct professor for the Miami Redhawk Startup Launch Accelerator.

Howard Lee Mosbacker, PhD received his doctorate in physics in 2008. During his academic career he published a dozen articles with over 1000 citations. Over the past 15 years, he has raised $25MM from venture capital and The Department of Defense, cofounded a $3MM hyperspectral imaging lab and exited an artificial intelligence company. He currently serves as co-founder and managing partner of Kobol Fund investing in several startup businesses in pre-seed and seed stage. He's also CEO of Caprica AI, a $200MM sports investment firm. Recently, Dr. Mosbacker is CEO of Cyrannus, a platform that will reinvent the venture ecosystem launching in Spring of 2024. 

With more than a decade of experience as an investor, fund manager & business builder, RevUp Capital Managing Partner Melissa Withers is a bullish advocate for innovating the ways in which new companies are funded and supported to produce successful outcomes for founders and investors alike. She is also deeply committed to directing funding to founders who build their businesses without the perks of privilege.

In addition to 80+ investments she has made as a fund manager, Melissa is also an active angel investor, an activity she likens to driving down a dark road with one headlight out while also wearing sunglasses.

With a background in life sciences and a graduate degree in science communications, Melissa started her career at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, working at the intersection of research and public policy. Most importantly, she's a proud mom, an amateur boxer (with a title belt!), and a lover of the great outdoors.

Joe facilitates the growth of a company by developing and implementing high-impact sales and marketing strategies that deliver a return on investment. His accumulation of twenty plus years of business experience provides valuable insight in how marketing interacts with all departments and levels within a company. This enables him to identify and utilize all the resources that are available within a company to improve brand recognition.

For over 10 years, Joe has been driving organic growth within the accounting industry for both regional and national firms. He is an active member within the business community and enjoys expanding his personal network. He is proud to serve as the Secretary for the Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association (PVCA) and is highly involved with the 3 Rivers Venture Fair and the Great Lakes Capital Connection. He was the Founding Chairman of the PVCA's Emerging Leadership Board (ELB), the ACG Pittsburgh's Future Corporate Leaders (FCL), and the TMA Pittsburgh's NextGen Board.

PROFESSIONAL & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Secretary - Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association

Executive Committee - Great Lakes Capital Connection

Member - Association for Corporate Growth (ACG)

Co-chair of the Marketing Committee - 3 Rivers Venture Fair

Member of the Marketing Committee - Invent Penn State Venture & IP Conference

Member - Vistage® Worldwide (Trusted Advisors Group)

Member - Association for Accounting Marketing

Member - Professional Services Marketing Association

Portfolio Executive with the Hardware Sector at Innovation Works, consistently one of the top 10 most active early stage investors in the country, investing approximately $117 million and supporting over 729 companies. Afshan works primarily with physical product companies, advising on critical business issues, and evaluating companies for funding. Prior to Innovation Works, Afshan was fortunate to have a great diversity of roles in many different types of small and large companies. Afshan was CEO of an international manufacturer and distributor of polyurethane building materials, and also held key positions in Xerox Corporation, in business development, M&A, and strategic planning. Afshan secured over $10 million in equity and debt funding, completed 3 acquisitions, oversaw 200 employees across 3 facilities, and a network of 100 independent sales representatives. Afshan also held key roles at Xerox Corporation, including financial analysis, business development, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic planning. Afshan has an MBA from Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University, and a BS in Business Administration and English from Duquesne University. 

President & CEO Megan Shaw is a mission-driven healthcare and life sciences leader with 20 years of experience in strategy development, early stage investing, and development of growth companies.

Previously, as Managing Director of Life Sciences at Innovation Works, she managed investments in over 35 life science startups, launched AlphaLab Health seed-stage healthcare accelerator in partnership with Allegheny Health Network, and served as a board observer for numerous portfolio companies.

Megan also served with NIH's Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics initiative to identify and scale up technologies to detect SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic, including serving on the Variant Task Force. Earlier, she was employee #1 at HemoSonics, a company sprung from research at the University of Virginia that developed a novel point of care coagulation diagnostic. As vice president of marketing and business development, she established the business infrastructure and led the commercial leadership team in developing and launching an outcome-changing product. HemoSonics was acquired by French multinational Diagnostica Stago in a successful exit. Megan began her career as a strategy consultant for Monitor Group, a consultancy founded by Michael Porter, and previously worked at two mid-market private equity funds.

Lauren is a Principal at 412 Venture Fund, a Pittsburgh-based VC fund focused on early-stage companies, where she screens new investment opportunities, manages the diligence and investment process, and provides portfolio company support. Previously, Lauren was on the investment team at PNC Riverarch Capital, PNC Bank's private equity group. Lauren has an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and a JD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Steve Carpenter serves as Director, Research Startups at Penn State University's Office of Entrepreneurship and Commercialization providing guidance and support to scientists pursuing commercialization of their technology. Mr. Carpenter also serves as an Adjunct Instructor at Penn State's Smeal College of Business teaching Entrepreneurial Finance & Venture Funding and as the Program Administrator for the Garber Fund providing venture investment experiences for Smeal graduate students.

Mr. Carpenter has served as a director or board observer on more than ten company boards since 2008. Mr. Carpenter has 19 years of experience with Life Sciences Greenhouse Investments providing seed- and early-stage investments in promising life sciences companies in Pennsylvania. In his most recent role as Senior Vice President, Mr. Carpenter provided guidance and support to portfolio companies, evaluated early-stage companies for prospective investments, and managed the organization's accounting and finances. Prior to joining LSG Investments, Mr. Carpenter served more than 20 years in a variety of management and engineering positions, primarily leading operation start-ups and new product launches.

Mr. Carpenter earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University and an MBA from Penn State University's Smeal College of Business where his academic concentration was on venture capital, entrepreneurship, and finance.

Nuwan Sella Kapu, PhD, MBA, is the Center for Medical Innovation Associate Director, who leads medical device and digital projects and works closely with Penn State innovators from multiple colleges and campuses, providing project management to move technologies toward market entry and engaging external partners to promote industry partnerships. Nuwan has over 15 years of experience in innovation project development and management, research translation, and applied research. He has served in scientific and translational roles in a startup, academia, and industry, with over a decade of experience in curriculum development, teaching, and mentoring.

Dr. Sella Kapu received his PhD in Plant Biology from Penn State University and an MBA from The University of British Columbia.

Erika Swift, MBA, MHA, serves as a Professor of Practice with a joint appointment at Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Harrisburg. She is also the Director of the Center for Medical Innovation at Penn State College of Medicine, where she leads efforts to foster a thriving innovation ecosystem. The Center provides essential education and resources to drive medical innovation, ultimately generating both economic and social impact.

With over 20 years of experience in economic development, technology commercialization, and new business development across various industries-including medical devices, consumer goods, and dental equipment-Erika joined Penn State College of Medicine in 2015 to spearhead technology development initiatives. She was pivotal in establishing the Center for Medical Innovation, officially launched in February 2017, aligning with the College of Medicine's broader mission of cultivating a culture of innovation.

Beyond her role at Penn State, Erika served as President of BioStrategy Partners, Inc., a nonprofit consortium dedicated to advancing academic research into the marketplace, from 2018 to 2024. She continues to contribute as an Officer and Board Member.

Erika holds a Bachelor of Science in Business with a concentration in International Business from Bloomsburg University, an MBA from York College of Pennsylvania, and an MHA from Penn State University.

Michael Colaresi is the William S. Dietrich II Chair of Political Science. His work leverages the accelerating availability of computational tools, including machine learning and Bayesian approaches, along with unstructured information, such as from digitized text, to build and improve models of national security secrecy and oversight, international and intrastate violence, and changes in human rights over time. He also develops computational and visual tools that enable domain specialists to work alongside computer scientists to improve specific applications. He is co-editor of the journal International Interactions and was co-recipient of the Best Visualization Award from the Journal of Peace Research in 2017 and the Gosnell Prize for Excellence in Political Methodology from the Methodology section of the American Political Science Association in 2006. He has been PI or co-PI on four NSF grants and is a research affiliate for the ERC-funded Violence Early Warning Project at the University of Uppsala and an affiliate faculty member of the Pitt Institute for Cyber Law, Policy and Security. His most recent book, Democracy Declassified: The Secrecy Dilemma in National Security (Oxford University Press), explores the effectiveness of legislative oversight, freedom of information laws and the press in resolving the inherent contradiction between domestic accountability and private information in liberal states. Democracy Declassified was shortlisted for the 2015 Conflict Research Society book prize. In his previous position at Michigan State University, he founded and directed the Social Science Data Analytics initiative.

Mary Beth Green is an accomplished, c-suite innovation leader and change agent, whose passion and expertise fuels growth by attracting top talent and by commercializing innovation. She identifies opportunities and champions strategic initiatives that transform business.

Mary Beth's successful executive career includes leading business development, marketing and now innovation, most recently as Chief Innovation Officer at Sheetz, a $9 billion convenience store chain with more than 600 locations across six states. She is a successful entrepreneur, product strategist and process improvement professional who has driven sales growth up to 50 percent and margin growth up to 20 percent for companies ranging from a consulting startup to a Global 500 healthcare giant.

Mary Beth is a respected leader and active participant in the Pittsburgh startup and innovation ecosystem. She often coaches and mentors founders, judges pitch competitions, speaks at local and national venues, and teaches new product management at Carnegie Mellon University and commercialization innovation at the University of Pittsburgh.

A lifelong learner, she earned an MBA in Marketing, Strategy and Entrepreneurship from CMU - Tepper School of Business and an MPIA in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor of Economics degree from the University of Illinois.

Jack is a founder and Managing Director of Pantek Partners, Pantek is a boutique investment banking firm focused on the hard science sectors with deep networks in the North American, European and Asian technology centers. Strong expertise in advanced materials, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, batteries, alternative energy platforms, computer vision systems and biotechnology. Our mission is to provide our clients with unique insight and access to strategic investment, M&A and business development channels globally coupled with seasoned execution capabilities. Founded in 2007, Pantek has advised over a 300+ clients with regards to their global capital raising, strategic business development and M&A initiatives.

Joe Ferrara is a Board Member of Innovation Works and Security Journey, a private equity-backed cybersecurity SaaS company. Joe is also strategic advisor to startups and venture-backed companies. He was most recently the CEO of Security Journey and previously the CEO of Wombat Security which was acquired by Proofpoint for $225 million, delivering over a 10X return for venture capital and angel investors. Other positions include GM of Proofpoint's Security Awareness Division, CEO of Tollgrade Communications, CEO Marconi Communications North America, and GM of Ericsson's Routing & Switching division. Joe has been involved with both sell side and buy side M&A throughout his career.

Anthony J. Gadient is the CEO and co-founder of Vali Cyber. Prior to founding Vali Cyber, Anthony was the co-founder of three successful high-tech startups that were acquired for a total exit valuation of $250M including Voci Technologies (acquired by Medallia [NYSE:MDLA]); Renovis Surgical Technologies (acquired by Kyocera [OTCMKTS:KYOCY]), and Neolinear (acquired by Cadence [NASDAQ:CDNS]). Mr. Gadient sits on the Board of Trackstreet and is an observer on the Board of Arieca. He has advised the University of Virginia on classified research, served on the Industrial Advisory Board for Electrical Engineering at the University of Virginia, and an Officer in the United States Air Force. He supports the Wounded Warrior Project and is a member of the USAFA Saber Society. Mr. Gadient received a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, a M.B.A. in Finance from Wright State University, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia.

Nicholas Kuhn, has been CEO of Setex Technologies for 6 years. He has raised over $12 million dollars for Setex, launched its consumer products globally, and built the Setex team. Recently he led an asset sale for the company to Shin-Etsu, a multi-billion advanced materials company. He is a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in the medical device, advanced materials and consumer products arenas. Prior to Setex, He was the Founder, President, and a Director of Curavi Health, Inc; a UPMC Enterprises healthcare IT spinout. He was the founding CEO of ALung Technologies, leading that company through technology development, clinical trials, CE approval, and global commercialization. Mr. Kuhn holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Notre Dame, and a M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management. Mr. Kuhn is the winner of the Pittsburgh Technology Council Enterprise Business plan competition; as well as Carnegie Science Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year.

With more than a decade of experience as an investor, fund manager & business builder, RevUp Capital Managing Partner Melissa Withers is a bullish advocate for innovating the ways in which new companies are funded and supported to produce successful outcomes for founders and investors alike. She is also deeply committed to directing funding to founders who build their businesses without the perks of privilege.

In addition to 80+ investments she has made as a fund manager, Melissa is also an active angel investor, an activity she likens to driving down a dark road with one headlight out while also wearing sunglasses.

With a background in life sciences and a graduate degree in science communications, Melissa started her career at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, working at the intersection of research and public policy. Most importantly, she's a proud mom, an amateur boxer (with a title belt!), and a lover of the great outdoors.

Michelle has more than 25 years of finance, accounting, administration and investment experience, in publicly traded, privately held and not for profit corporations, startups and billion-dollar enterprises, regional investment funds, investment advisory service firms and highly performing national funds. Michelle has served as a C-level consultant to early-stage start-up companies since 2013 providing strategic financial services as their contract Chief Financial Officer, advising on a number of complex financial transactions, and to an investment advisory firm as Venture Partner, supporting the investment process for Series B, C and later stage syndicated venture transactions, including due diligence, financial modeling, investment document preparation and portfolio reporting.

She launched Book+Street in early 2018 to address a big gap in the startup ecosystem in the Midwest, providing on-demand CFO and controllership services to a growing number of tech and service companies throughout Ohio.

Throughout her career, Michelle has designed, implemented and administered multiple equity-based compensation programs, including ISO qualified and non-qualified stock option programs, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, and phantom stock plans. In 2003, she received the designation Certified Equity Professional (CEP), a recognized certification in the subject of equity-based compensation, from Santa Clara University.

Michelle is a Certified Public Accountant in addition to her Certified Equity Professional designation, earned a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Service Sector Management from California State University, San Marcos, and an MBA from The Ohio State University.

Charles is an integral part of the Book+Street team. He supports clients with numerous projects including cash flow forecasts, cap tables, financial models, systems integrations, commission trackers and deal pipelines. His job to two-fold as he also supports the internal team with operational systems and KPI reporting. In his role, Charles has also taken on the responsibility of mentoring and managing our analysts and interns. He finds immense satisfaction in bridging the gap between classroom learning and real-world applications.

Prior to joining Book+Street, he was a Financial Planning and Analysis Intern at Libbey Glass where he was responsible for reporting on financial actuals each month, identifying low-margin SKUs in order to make the projection process more efficient and streamlined, and maintaining and rolling over projections month-to-month.

At OSU, Charles was a part of the Undergraduate Finance Association, where he gained a lot of useful and practical knowledge on the world of finance, and the chance to network and talk with other students and professionals. He developed a love of business in high school, planting the seed for his eventual major in Finance.

Charles earned a BS in Finance from the Ohio State University.

Brett's practice focuses on assisting entrepreneurs in the design and optimization of their corporate strategy and roadmap for growth. He also routinely advises venture capital (VC) funds on matters related to venture investment and manages deal work with knowledge and ease. He has experience working with startups, emerging companies, VC funds, and established organizations, regarding their corporate, fundraising, and governance legal needs. His professional work ethic, responsiveness, knowledge of the law, and advocacy on behalf of clients makes him invaluable to current and prospective clients.

Brett helps lead a team of professionals who focus primarily on the venture space and deliver immense value across multiple interdisciplinary practice areas (Corporate, Intellectual Property, Tax, Securities, Data Privacy) under one roof.

As a Cincinnati native, Brett has built connections with Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky organizations of all sizes ranging from single-member LLC start-ups to nine-figure annual profit companies with hundreds of employees. He is skilled in predicting blind spots and mitigating risk and is the Chief Legal Officer (CLO) for a variety of start-ups, developing, and established companies. Brett has an extreme passion for entrepreneurialism and has dedicated his professional life to investing in the venture ecosystems both in the Midwest and all across the country.

Mackenzie is a Healthcare Consulting Practice Lead with a clinical background in nursing. She serves as a Healthcare Investment Advisor for Hickory Reserve Capital and an Engagement Lead for JumpStart Health Tech Accelerator projects. At WynHouse: An Innovation Firm, she lives her passion for improving healthcare by optimizing operations within hospital systems with a strong focus on commercializing solutions post-development. 

Jason Hauer is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and Inc. 500 honoree dedicated to redefining industries through AI-driven innovation and strategic growth. As CEO of HauerX Holdings, he partners with a portfolio of dynamic AI companies, empowering enterprises to become self-sustaining growth engines and driving real-world impact through transformative technology. Through his thought leadership platform, How I AI'd This, Jason explores the vast potential of AI in reshaping business and life, sharing insights that inspire leaders to embrace the future. A bold leader with a proven track record, Jason is on a mission to push the boundaries of what AI can achieve and create lasting change across sectors.

Owner and CEO of TRX®, Managing Partner of JFXD Capital LLC, former Partner at TPG Capital, former Partner at Goldman Sachs & CO as Head of Industrials Private Equity in the Americas

Before that he spent six years on the faculty of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) teaching classes on product development, design and manufacturing. Jack also briefly served as a Visiting Professor at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand.

Jack has served on a number of private, public and non-profit boards of directors and currently serves on the boards of TRX, Newlight Technologies and the Navy SEAL Foundation (Treasurer). Jack received BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering from CWRU and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.