Speaker Bios

John Ahlen, President of Arkansas Science & Technology Authority John Ahlen is President of the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority, an instrumentality of the state with the mission of bringing the benefits of science and advanced technology to the people and state of Arkansas. The Authority uses direct investments or tax incentives to promote a broad range of important, job creating activities, including math and science education, scientific research, technology transfer and development, seed capital investments, knowledge-based-company entrepreneurship, and technology extension services to manufacturers. John spent a year as an ASME Fellow at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where he worked on state-federal technology partnerships. He has a B.S. in bioengineering and Ph.D. in physiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Before coming to the Authority, he served as Assistant Director for Science and Technology at the Illinois Legislative Council, where he directed the science policy research activities of the Council's Science Unit. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Back To Top ^

John R. Castle, Sc.D, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship of University of Washington, School of Business John Castle teaches Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington Business School and advises companies on how to turn their technologies into profitable businesses. He previously was co-founder and CEO of Cantametrix, a music software company, CEO of Hamilton-Thorn, a medical electronics and diagnostics company; Executive VP and co-founder of Seragen, a biotechnology company, and a partner in Washington Biotechnology Funding, a seed venture capital fund specializing in medical technologies. In addition he has been a principal, director or advisor to many other early-stage companies including, Biohesion, Savtech, Goodwell Technologies, YourSports, Sunriver Specialties, Microgreen Polymers, Cyberspeed Technologies, Point B Solutions, Sharebuilder and American BioDesign, and is a member of the Keiretsu Forum which provides financing to early-stage companies. He has provided leadership or guidance to several large companies including Danaher Corp., FMC Corp., Procter & Gamble, Penwest, Johnson Controls, Washington Dental Service, Eldec, Arthur D. Little and the Harris Group. He has been an expert witness in matters related to management and director responsibilities in entrepreneurial ventures. Dr. Castle's innovative methods help students and clients focus on the elements of the venture that are essential for success. His practical classes have spawned several new companies and he has coached several prize-winning teams in national business plan competitions and in the UW Business Plan Competition. He has been honored several times as one of the University of Washington's outstanding business professors and has been an invited speaker at numerous events for entrepreneurs. He serves on the boards of non-profits Encompass, MIT Enterprise Forum of the Northwest and the Northwest Entrepreneur Network and is a graduate of MIT in Chemical Engineering, and the Harvard Graduate School of Business. Back To Top ^

John Down, Director of Center for Entrepreneurship Professor Down is Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Portland where he is currently leading an effort to develop a graduate level program aimed at commercializing medical school research. This initiative leverages his teaching and research interests that blend strategy, finance and entrepreneurship in technology environments. Other recent projects include a study of the venture funding environment in Oregon; an examination of how firms achieve the right balance of strategic flexibility; and a comprehensive look at the effectiveness of university commercialization of technology efforts. Prior to joining UP, Jon was Director of the Austin Entrepreneurship Program at Oregon State University. His PhD. is in Strategic Management from the University of Washington. He also has an MBA. from the Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Oregon State University. Past management roles include stints at Westinghouse Electric Company, Precision Castparts Corporation and with early stage companies. Back To Top ^

Humera Fasihuddin of NCIIA Humera Fasihuddin, Invention to Venture Program Director, oversees the NCIIA's acclaimed national workshop series and manages BMEidea, a national student competition in biomedical engineering. Since she joined the NCIIA staff in 2005, there have been over 75 Invention to Venture workshops throughout the country, reaching thousands of participants. In 2006, she launched the Advanced Invention to Venture workshop series, a 3-5 day intensive, hands-on workshop for student and faculty teams committed to commercializing their innovative products. The AI2V series continues to grow, and many participants have called it the single most important turning point for their startups. Humera is the co-founder of Edical May, a manufacturing and business development company enabling scale-up of new medical devices. She spearheaded the Western Massachusetts Regional Technology Corporation. Humera began her career at materials manufacturer Intelicoat. She worked her way up from operations to technical support, and finally to managing a $40 million business unit in the CAD arena and cultivating a new digital proofing business unit. Humera earned her MBA from UMASS Amherst in 2000 and her B.S. in Mathematics (minor in Economics) from Smith College in 1992. Back To Top ^

Rebecca Lovell, Program Director of Alliance of Angels Rebecca is in the second year of her tenure with the Alliance of Angels, beginning as the 2006-2007 K&L Gates Fellow, and continuing on as Program Director. In this capacity, she has interviewed and coached over 200 companies, presented workshops to over 400 entrepreneurs, and facilitated industry forums for investors and early-stage businesses. As a member of the first place team in the 2006 International Venture Capital Investment competition, she has represented the AoA as a judge in the 2007 competition in Chapel Hill. Prior to joining the AoA, she completed her MBA at the University of Washington, where she was a Dean's Scholar and awarded the McGowan Scholarship in her second year. Before returning to school, Rebecca was a Business Development Manager with Preston Gates & Ellis Law Firm in Seattle, having previously served as the Director of Business Development for Christian & Timbers executive search firm, focusing on early-stage venture backed CEO practice and board searches. Previously, she spent 6 years in operational management with $5B industrial supply distributor McMaster-Carr, supervising in sales, inventory and the call center, and managing both Accounts Receivable and Marketing departments. She has also been formally trained as a Project Manager and Human Resource Generalist, worked as a project consultant for a Point-of-Sale software developer, and led management recruiting and training and development initiatives throughout her career. Rebecca obtained her BA in History from Carleton College in 1993, graduating phi beta kappa, magna cum laude. In the local non-profit community, she has served on the board of the Central District Forum for Arts and Ideas, and as a community outreach consultant for Rosehedge. Back To Top ^

Janis Machala of Paladin Partners Janis Machala is founder and principal of Paladin Partners which provides strategic consulting, executive recruiting, financing and company development services to high-tech startup companies. Previously, Janis was the President and Chief Executive Officer for Pinnacle Publishing, Inc., from 1993-95. Founded in 1986, Pinnacle Publishing is a leading provider of component software and technical newsletters for application developers. Pinnacle saw a dramatic turnaround under Janis' leadership, achieving company profitability for seven straight quarters after seven years of operating losses. Prior to Pinnacle, Janis held a number of senior management positions in product marketing/product management, market development and marketing programs with leading computer systems vendors such as Microsoft Corporation, Sun Microsystems, Inc. and Wang Laboratories. In her various roles with these companies she has worked with early stage companies in a mentoring and business development capacity for 14 years. Janis has long been known for the quality of management teams she builds. She believes that the best thing she can do for emerging growth companies is to help them build a stellar management team that will carry them to an IPO or other liquidity event. Janis received her MBA in marketing from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa and her undergraduate degree in English and psychology from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. Janis was a board member for the Washington Software Alliance from 1994 through 1997 and is currently on the board of the Northwest Entrepreneur Network. Janis was one of the 1995 Pacific Northwest Finalists for Inc. Magazine's and Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award. Back To Top ^

Alan Mattamana, Principal of Polaris Venture Partners Alan Mattamana is a principal in the Seattle office. Alan joined Polaris in June 2002 and focuses on investment opportunities in medical technology as well as growth equity investments in the healthcare, technology, consumer, and business services industries. Experience: Prior to business school, Alan was an Associate at Polaris Venture Partners, where he focused on investments in various sectors, including information technology and digital media. Prior to Polaris, Alan was a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Co.'s Silicon Valley office, where he served startup clients in the high tech sector. Alan also has previous experience at Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, and LibertyView Capital, a multi-strategy hedge fund. Education: Alan has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University with a minor in Engineering Management Systems. Back To Top ^

Steve Nichols, Professor & Founder of Idea to Product competitions and University of Texas at Austin Dr. Nichols is an expert on design and manufacturing systems with particular interest in reducing defects, through both design and manufacturing processes. Dr. Nichols earned a Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board 2004-06 Technology Development and Transfer Program Award for his research submission entitled Semi-Active Suspension System Technology Development and Transfer. He was named the Associate Vice President for Research at the University of Texas at Austin in 2002. In 2003 he was named the Clint W. Murchison Chair of Free Enterprise for the Cockrell School of Engineering. Dr. Nichols is also a faculty member of the Manufacturing & Design program of the Mechanical Engineering Department. He has served on the Cockrell School of Engineering faculty since 1976. Dr. Nichols received the Olympus Innovation Award from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) in March, 2005. This the inaugural award was for his visionary development and implementation of an integrated technology entrepreneur program at the university, and work to create similar programs at 17 other universities globally. The NCIIA noted that Nichols' innovative and interdisciplinary education, research and service programs have expanded student opportunities for entrepreneurship, while increasing the number of start-up companies based on university developed technology. Dr. Nichols also received the E.D. Walker Centennial Fellowship for research and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers International Distinguished Lecturer Award for teaching. Dr. Nichols is founder of the international competition, Idea to Product. He is on the steering committee for the Innovation Showcase, and a long-time active volunteer in ASME. Back To Top ^

Nate Silverman, President & CEO of Silverman Consulting LLC Nate Silverman is an experienced advisor to early stage investors and entrepreneurs. He has more than eight years experience in business development in the Pacific Northwest and California working with entrepreneurs, start-ups, and rapidly growing companies. During his career, he has reviewed many hundreds of business plans as initial deal screener for investors and has coached hundreds of entrepreneurs seeking seed capital from angel groups. Nate began his involvement with angel groups as a Program Manager for the Alliance of Angels in Seattle. He later co-founded and actively managed four angel investor groups: the Northwest Energy Angel Group, the Bellingham Angels, the Apple Seed Network and the Columbia Investor Group. He also has assisted at least five other groups across the country get started. Over the past five years, Nate has conducted and organized a series of educational events for entrepreneurs and investors. He also has served on the steering, screening and/or coaching committees for a number of Northwest investment forums and competitions, including: Northwest Entrepreneur Network's Early Stage Investment Forum (ESIF) Zino Society's Zino Zillionaire Investment Forum Energy Venture Northwest University of Washington's Business Plan Competition In addition to his experience with equity investors, Nate also supervised an SBA-supported program in Washington State to help small businesses compete for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) research grants. In addition to running Silverman Consulting LLC, Nate serves as a technical advisor to Mont Vista Capital, global investment bank engaged in advising, trading and investing in the renewable energy sector. Nate also is a research associate for the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington. Nate earned an MBA from the University of Washington, focusing on entrepreneurial marketing, and a BA in economics from the University of California, San Diego. Back To Top ^

Phil Weilerstein, Executive Director of National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance Phil Weilerstein, Executive Director, began his career as an entrepreneur while still a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts. He, along with classmates and an advisor, launched a start-up biotech company which eventually went public. This experience, followed by several other entrepreneurial ventures, brought him a lifelong passion for entrepreneurship, which he has lived out through his work with the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance. Phil's tenure at the NCIIA is marked by his skill for network-building and expert leverage of resources. He has a special talent for seeking out gifted educators and other important contributors and putting them to work for the betterment of invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship education in the U.S. and worldwide. As an entrepreneur in a not-for-profit organization, he has grown the NCIIA from a grassroots group of enthusiastic faculty to a nationally known and in-demand knowledge base and resource center. Back To Top ^