Ernie Davis, senior program officer at VentureWell

Ernie Davis supports VentureWell’s growth in capacity-building and services for higher education innovation ecosystems. He most recently served as the innovation director and industrial liaison officer for an NSF-funded Engineering Research Center at Rice University, where he led innovation ecosystem development, industrial partner engagement, technology commercialization education, and advising for early-stage technology commercialization. Previously, he held the position of senior technology manager at Cornell University, and was the chief operating officer at Widetronix. Ernie holds two degrees from North Carolina State University: a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. in Management.

Jerald Dumas, associate professor at North Carolina A&T State University

Jerald Dumas is an associate professor in the Department of Nanoengineering at North Carolina A&T State University. His research focuses on the development of bioinspired polymeric materials for applications in the areas of biosensors, sustainability, and tissue engineering. He previously served as the NSF I-Corps lead at Hampton University, where he facilitated short courses and workshops (for graduate students and faculty) to introduce lean startup and customer discovery concepts. He has continued to promote entrepreneurship learning and studying its impact on the engineering identities of HBCU students to improve recruitment and retention, and to inspire innovation.

Andrea Hicks, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Andrea Hicks is an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She is also the assistant dean of sustainability education and research through the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and holds the Nosbusch professorship in engineering education. Her work focuses on the environmental impacts and sustainability implications of emerging technologies, with a particular focus on human behavior.

Harini Mittal, professor at the City University of New York, Bronx Community College

Harini Mittal serves as a Professor and Program Director of the Associate in Applied Science (AAS) program in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management (ESBM) at City University of New York (CUNY), Bronx Community College (BCC). Her research focuses on Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship, with a particular emphasis on initiatives that benefit low-income communities. Dr. Mittal is the founder and current anchor of the BCC CUNY Hatchery and Incubator, where she plays an active role in supporting entrepreneurship programming.