Panelists

Speakers, Investors, Moderators, and Panelists

Keynote Speakers:

Guy Kawasaki

Chief Evangelist of Canva
Guy Kawasaki’s Remarkable People Podcast
Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva and the creator of Guy Kawasaki’s Remarkable People podcast. He is a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz, an executive fellow of the Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley), and an adjunct professor of the University of New South Wales.

He was the chief evangelist of Apple and a trustee of the Wikimedia Foundation. He is also the author of Wise Guy, The Art of the Start 2.0, The Art of Social Media, Enchantment, and eleven other books. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University, an MBA from UCLA, and an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta

U.S. Congressman serving the 20th District of California
Congressman Jimmy Panetta is dedicated to public service and proudly serves California’s 20th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

His district includes Monterey and San Benito Counties, and parts of Santa Cruz and Santa Clara Counties. First elected 2016, he is serving his second term in Congress.

He currently serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means, the House Committee on Budget, and the House Committee on Agriculture.

Ben Jealous

President of People For the American Way
and former President and CEO of the NAACP
Benjamin Jealous is an American civic leader and politician.

He served as the president and chief executive officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from 2008 to 2013. Jealous has also served on several boards, including the California Council for the Humanities, and the Association of Black Foundation Executives.

Today, Jealous is the President at People For the American Way and People For the American Way Foundation.

Investors, Moderators, and Panelists:

Luis Alvarez

Alvarez Technologies
Panel Moderator
Since founding the Alvarez Technology Group in 2001, Luis Alvarez has led the company to grow from a small, two-person consultancy to a premier technology solutions provider in California, delivering security, Internet-of-Things (IoT) and information technology (IT) services to more than 200 companies throughout the world.

David Apgar

Santa Cruz County Bank
Community Capital Investor
David is Director of Venture Banking at Santa Cruz County Bank. He managed credit risk for $700M microfinance fund BlueOrchard and turned around the Inter-American Investment Corporation’s $70M Haiti SME Fund over the past decade, with extensive prior experience in small-business finance as an investment banker and a senior bank policy advisor for the U.S. Treasury.

Since moving to Santa Cruz, David has helped local businesses find better ways to grow using the GoalScreen SaaS he developed from his work as a McKinsey consultant, Corporate Executive Board managing director, and author (Risk Intelligence, Harvard Business Publishing, 2006).

Thomas Armstrong

White Summers
Venture Investor
Mr. Armstrong has over 36 years of legal experience in representing companies and investors in venture capital financings, private placements, angel financings, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters.

His practice includes representation of companies and investors in various industries including medical devices, software, internet, consumer goods, telematics and entertainment. Mr. Armstrong is also a FINRA registered investment banker holding a Series 63 license, a Series 79 license and a Series 82 license.

Krishan Arora

Arora Project
Panel Moderator
Krishan Arora is the Founder & CEO of The Arora Project, a crowdfunding and product launchpad agency with one goal in mind: To help entrepreneurs fundraise for and scale their businesses.

The Arora Project has raised over $75+ Million for high-growth ventures around the world. Krishan’s core expertise is in scaling up innovative ventures and initiatives across industries by creating and converting global online communities (with an emphasis on data-driven decision making).

Brad Barbeau

Institute for Innovation
and Economic Development
Keynote Chair
Brad combines experience in both academic and entrepreneurial environments. He has been a university professor, entrepreneur, and advisor to multiple startup companies.

He currently teaches in the College of Business at CSU Monterey Bay, is Executive Director of CSUMB's Institute for Innovation and Economic Development and consults to and has operating roles in startup ventures, designing and implementing startup and growth strategies.

Namrata Banerjee

Carnegie Mellon Accelerator
Director of VentureBridge
Discussion Panelist
Namrata Banerjee is focused on early stage investments, particularly interested in future of work, advancements in fixing inefficiencies in business and supply chain, and future of basic needs (safety, security, health, wellness, food, clothing). I angel invest as well as alongside Indie VC and Republic.

Pamela Burns

Monterey Jane, Wild Plum Cafe, &
Slow Money Monterey Bay
Keynote Chair
Co-Leader of Slow Money Monterey Bay. Proprietor of the Wild Plum Cafe & Bakery in Monterey.

Brian Bordley

Berkeley SkyDeck Fund
Venture Investor
Brian Bordley is a startup operator turned venture capitalist. He has spent time in business roles at various startups (TechValidate, Marqeta, Remeeting), including time as a founder of a 3D printing company, Eucl3D, that went through Berkeley SkyDeck Accelerator in 2015. Brian is a proud Cal Bear (BA Political Science).

Julian Canete

CA Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Discussion Panelist
Julian Cañete serves as the President and CEO of the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, the premier organization promoting the development of Hispanic entrepreneurs and emerging Latino businesses in California. Through its network of Hispanic chamber and business associations, the CHCC represents the business interests of over 800,000 Hispanic-owned businesses throughout the state of California.

Toby Corey

Zentrepreneur.life
Panel Moderator
Toby Corey is a successful entrepreneur and 10-year Stanford University lecturer. He held executive positions at Novell, USWeb (founder), Autodesk, Solarcity and Tesla.

He’s a restless soul turned Zentrepreneur, passionate about sustainability and inspiring creativity for greater good. Toby lives in Santa Cruz, California with his wife Susan and dog Cisco.

Ed Colligan

Edventures
Venture Investor
Ed came to Silicon Valley in 1985 to be part of the personal technology revolution and since that time has established himself as a leading product and marketing innovator. E

d led the transaction that reunited the Palm and Handspring teams into one company while establishing relationships with wireless carriers globally and driving Palm’s annual smartphone business to more than $2 billion.

As the CEO of Palm, Ed spearheaded the transformation that created the highly acclaimed WebOS platform and Palm Pre line of smartphones. Ed now spends his time on the Central Coast of California investing in and mentoring entrepreneurs with the goal of helping to establish the next generation of breakthrough products and brands.

Doug Erickson

Santa Cruz Works
Moderator
Doug Erickson launched his entrepreneurial journey a year after graduating from UCSC by building a windsurf company which rose to the second largest worldwide. He then entered the tech world. Six of the past companies have been acquired including Presenter, WebEx, and SugarCRM. He built the 4,100+ member Santa Cruz New Tech MeetUp which is the 8th largest in the US. He also co-founded and built CruzHacks, a 1,000+ attendee 3-day hackathon. Erickson is an angel investor in Inboard Technologies and Buoy Labs. He is also a founding member of Zentrepreneurship Life.

Richard Ferrari

De Novo Ventures
Venture Investor
Richard Ferrari is a Cofounder of De Novo Ventures which has $650 million under management and is one of the premier firms dedicated to Medical Devices and Bio-Technology, Richard has raised approximately a billion dollars for companies and he has directly influenced and participated in over a billion dollars in acquisition everts.

Previously Mr. Ferrari held the positions of Executive Vice President and General Manager of ADAC Laboratories. In 1996 he founded Saratoga Ventures, a venture capital partnership that has provided seed financing to startup medical technology companies.

Amy Francetic

Buoyant Ventures
Discussion Panelist
Business executive and entrepreneur with 25 years experience in the energy and high technology sectors. Founded two companies, sold one, advised a founder on the creation of another and served on his board of directors.

Strong management skills having hired dozens of employees. Successful fundraiser for private and nonprofit companies.

Experience investor with venture and private equity experience. Extensive national network, with particular strength in Chicago and Silicon Valley. Board management experience having served on private company and nonprofit boards.

Joel Gambord

Gambord Investments
Venture Investor
As a builder & land developer, my company built apartments, income-producing commercial and self-storage projects throughout the 1960s and 70s in the heart of what is now Silicon Valley - the cities of Santa Clara and San Jose, the east bay city of Alameda, and Reno Nevada. I can't tell you how much fun I had doing this.

Frank Gerber

Blueshift Partners
Venture Investor
Investor and business builder with substantial background in private investments, business valuation, leadership transitions, operational improvement, and board level advising.

Strong experience in real estate, technology, publicly traded markets, and retail and consumer businesses including athletic wear and food. Significant additional work and leadership with not-for-profit organizations.

Paula Groves

Impact X Capital
Discussion Panelist
Paula has decades of private equity and consulting experience working with highly-motivated extraordinary entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities.

She is also an expert in developing and deploying targeted investment funds, having helped create funds in London England, the City of Oakland, the States Connecticut and California, and for the US Small Business Administration.

She is currently a Founding Member and General Partner launching Impact X Capital a London-based venture capital company investing in European underrepresented communities of technology and creative professionals.

Stephanie Harkness

Indus Holdings Inc.
Venture Investor
Stephanie Harkness is on the board of INDUS Holding Co. and Indus Holdings, Inc. and Managing General Partner at Opes Holdings, LLC. In her past career Ms. Harkness was Chairman-Governors Board at Silicon Valley Capital Club, Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Plastics & Engineering and Chairman for National Association of Manufacturers. Ms. Harkness received a graduate degree from San Jose State University and an undergraduate degree from California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo).

Susan Szasz Harker

Slow Money Monterey Bay
Moderator
Strategic leader and trusted advisor with a broad business background and a passion for developing people and organizations. As an educator, consultant and corporate professional, I use listening, data and analysis to help individuals, teams and organizations become more effective. Collaborative leader known for integrity, commitment, work ethic and teamwork.

Arno Hesse

Slow Money Northern California
Community Capital Investor
Arno Hesse is dedicated to financing a sustainable and equitable future with thriving food systems and regenerative technologies.

He co-founded the community capital services Credibles and Investibule. As a co-leader and investor with Slow Money Northern California, Arno has led multiple investments in food businesses, with a focus on climate change and social justice. Previously, he was Executive Vice President for Retail Markets at MUFG Union Bank.

Arno grew up in Europe where he worked as a journalist and activist in the environment and peace movements. He is easily distracted by new ice cream flavors and typefaces.

Carmen Herrera

El Pajaro CDC
Discussion Panelist
El Pájaro CDC this year is celebrating 40 years of transforming people’s lives through entrepreneurship by taking the confusion, guesswork and complexity out of starting small businesses. By offering technical, legal, financial and managerial assistance, El Pájaro CDC has helped launch and nurture small businesses while bolstering economic development within the community. “If you give someone an opportunity it can change lives, and lead to generations of success,” said Carmen Herrera-Mansir, executive director of El Pajaro CDC. “To see a journey from farmworker to entrepreneur — many started that way when they came to us — is so rewarding.”

Dr. Veronica Hunnicutt

Powerful Women
International Connections
Discussion Panelist
Born in Sacramento, California, Dr. Veronica Hunnicutt began her teaching career with the San Francisco Unified School District.

After working with S.F.U.S.D. for three years, she joined City College of San Francisco (CCSF) in 1972 and has served in a number of positions, including Dean of the Southeast Campus, Acting Dean of the Southeast Campus, Acting Dean of Students, Dean of the Office of Student Affairs, Chair of the African American American Studies Department, Diversity Calendar Coordinator, Coordinator of the Partnerships to Achieve Academic Success Program (PAAS) and Instructor in both the English and Engineering Departments.

She also served as Chair of the Sustainability Subcommittee, a Shared Governance entity, for the college.

Shyam Kamath

CSUMB College of Business Dean
Keynote Chair
Shyam Kamath, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized scholar and educator who has gained recognition as a global innovator and expert in the area of community development, experiential learning, and business program innovation. His distinguished career has also focused on building programs and institutions that benefit those who are underserved and underrepresented while focusing on economic opportunity and human excellence.

Bob Kavner

Idealab
Venture Investor
Bob has had 3 distinctive careers in his life. He began his career at Price Waterhouse Coopers becoming a Partner in 10 years After 18 years at PWC, Bob was recruited to be CFO of AT&T and during 10 years at AT&T was promoted to CEO of the digital businesses of AT&T and member of the Executive Committee.

In the mid 1990s, Bob moved to Ca to start Idealab with Bill Gross and others. Idealab was the first incubator of technology based companies and continues to do so after over 25 years of operation. Bob has been a member of large corporate boards, in his mid career.

Over the last 25 years Bob has focused his attention exclusively on start-ups...mostly in the role of Chairman and investor.

Jennifer Kuan

CSUMB College of Business &
Institute for Innovation
and Economic Development
Moderator
Jenny is a member of the CSUMB entrepreneurship and economics faculty with a PhD from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. She is currently studying the commercialization of publicly funded R&D and the history of venture capital. Prior to CSUMB, Jenny was a researcher at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research for over a decade. She also has a background in technology, with a decade of experience as an engineer in manufacturing at Apple and Solectron. In addition to her PhD from Berkeley, Jenny holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University.

Jennifer Kuyper

Pacific Valley Bank
Community Capital Investor
In her 20 years in commercial banking, Jennifer has helped hundreds of visionary business owners access the capital necessary to launch, scale or grow their business.

She has a passion for community banking and making funding more accessible across a broader base of the population.

Hope Lehman

The Runway Project
Discussion Panelist
Hope Lehman is a visionary social entrepreneur with 11 years of experience in economic development. She has coached 150+ entrepreneurs in the California Bay Area and beyond through her two companies Fresh to Def Collective and Just BE that propel women of color toward economic freedom through entrepreneurship. She is committed to systems change work and re-imagining a world rooted in equity where all humans are free to thrive. Her art and community work have been featured across the U.S. from Facing Race, Essence Magazine to Shondaland.

Brooks McChesney

Institute for Innovation &
Economic Development
Advisory Council Member
Panel Moderator
Brooks McChesney has been an entrepreneur and senior executive in technology companies spanning multiple vertical markets and industries. He has demonstrated repeated success in developing market-based competitive advantage in emerging technology markets.

He is a Founder of the Start-Up Challenge Business Plan Competition and a member of the Advisory Council for the CSUMB Institute for Innovation & Economic Development.

Rene Mendez

City of Gonzales
Discussion Panelist
René has over 25 years of State and local government experience. After college graduation, he spent five years with the California Legislative Analyst Office. Following that, he spent five years with the Solano County Administrator’s Office. Before coming to Gonzales in 2005, he spent the prior eight years as the County Administrator for the County of Inyo. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from California State University, Stanislaus, and a Master of Arts Degree in Public Policy from Duke University.

Angie Mertens

ONE WORLD
Training & Investments
Slow Money NorCal
Discussion Panelist and
Community Capital Investor
Angie Mertens has been spearheading ONE WORLD Training as the Program Director since 2015, where she is convening and educating social entrepreneurs, investors and corporates in the Bay Area.

ONE WORLD provides organizations training and capital to profitably increase their social impact. Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, we leverage our expertise in developing leaders to deliver innovative approaches to increase social impact in a way that it is profitable, sustainable, and scalable.

She has curated and produced 50+ social impact events and enterprise showcases in collaboration with organizations such as Social Venture Circle, toniic, Nia Impact Capital, Spero Ventures etc.

Ullas Naik

Streamlined Ventures
Discussion Panelist
Ullas is a seasoned venture capitalist, angel investor and entrepreneur with over two decades of entrepreneurial and early stage investment experience across nearly 350 companies.

Ullas is currently spending his time in areas including Data Science, Applied AI Technologies as well as new Computing Technologies including Block Chain based models, Quantum Computing, AR and VR.

Prior to founding Streamlined Ventures, he co-founded investment firm Cota Capital. Prior to that, Ullas was a senior member of the investment team for 12 years at Globespan Capital and helped build that firm.

Carrie Nikitin

Powerful Women
International Connections
Panel Moderator
Carrie is currently CEO of Avatekh, Inc., a high tech company developing and monetizing Intellectual property in noise filtering and power management industries.

With strong skills in constructing, and negotiating licensing agreements, joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions, raising capital and collaborative development and research agreements, in both domestic and foreign markets in various industries.

She is an expert on working with companies in various stages, such as start-up, expansion, downsizing, turnaround, branding and rebranding phases. She has written federal SBIR, NIH and NSF grants, state economic development grants and not for profit grants.

Christine Outram

CEO of Everydae
Community Capital Investor
Inventor and award-winning designer. Named a Top 100 IOT thinker and one of the '36 most creative women' by Business Insider. Expert at seamlessly blending product, technology and marketing to launch and grow impactful companies. Currently CEO of Everydae. Previously Chief Product Officer at Veritas Prep: responsible for the adaptive learning platform, ORION (30% MoM revenue growth). Best known for inventing the electric bike - The Copenhagen Wheel - a TIME Magazine Best Invention, now on sale at superpedestrian.com. Regular speaker at SXSW and other tech conferences. Former design & innovation columnist for Inc.com and judge for Core 77 Design Awards. Tweeting @EdTechFuturist. Always hustling to make the world a better place. Let's discuss building / funding the future.

Trevor Parham

Oakland Black Business Fund
Moderator
Trevor Parham is the founder and CEO of Oakstop, a place-based social enterprise that uses commercial real estate to offer coworking and business support services for artists, activists, and entrepreneurs of color. As part of his work with Oakstop, Trevor recently cofounded the Oakland Black Business Fund, a Black-led investment platform, focused on providing capital, technical assistance, and growth strategy to Black-owned businesses. Previously, Trevor oversaw communications strategy for the Strategic Urban Development Alliance (SUDA) a Black owned real estate development firm in Oakland, leading a $1B capital campaign for a mixed-use downtown Oakland development. Prior to his career in real estate, Trevor was Creative Director for Kapor Enterprises and Kapor Capital, an impact investing firm focused on using tech for social impact.

Gary Peterson

California FarmLink
Community Capital Investor
Gary Peterson grew up in a farm community in western Minnesota, and brings nearly 25 years’ experience in sustainable agriculture, rural development, and land conservation to California FarmLink.

His career has focused on fundraising, communications and program development advancing beginning farmers and sustainable agriculture.

He has teamed up to raise more than $21 million for this work. Prior to joining California FarmLink in 2016, he worked at the Big Sur Land Trust for nearly four years, and at the Agriculture & Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) near Salinas for eight years.

Jonny Price

Wefunder
Panelist and
Community Capital Investor
Jonny is originally from the UK, where he started his career in strategy consulting with Oliver Wyman. In 2011, he joined the non-profit Kiva.org as the Founder and Director of its U.S. lending division, leading that team for seven years.

In early 2018, he joined Wefunder (a PBC and B Corp) as Director of Business Development. His primary role is recruiting great companies that are excited to use crowdfunding to raise capital and gain customers.

Eric Quick

The Town Kitchen
Community Capital Investor
Eric has thirty years’ experience in management and has held senior leadership positions with start-up ventures and notable companies including McDonald’s, Disney, Safeway and Revolution Foods.

Eric (CoFounder & CEO of PocketCFO) is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for developing emotionally intelligent teams. His track record demonstrates his ability to nurture and accelerate big ideas from inception to hypergrowth opportunities.

Eric recently launched and is Co-Host and Producer of Bathtime 2 BoardroomTM, a Podcast focused on working parents or parents to be and how they balance work, life and the challenges that come with it.

Joshua Resnick

Parallel Flight Technologies, Inc.
Discussion Panelist
Joshua Resnick began his career in Alaska developing high efficiency drivetrains for fishing vessels, and teaching in rural communities. Following this, he led system architecture for the Tesla Semi Truck program.

In 2018 he co-founded Parallel Flight Technologies, which is developing heavy-lift autonomous systems for firefighting, search-and-rescue, construction, and agriculture applications.

Julius Robinson

MUFG Union Bank
Managing Director & Group Head,
Corporate Social Responsibility
for the Americas
Community Capital Investor
Based in San Francisco, Robinson has managed Union Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities on the West Coast. In this expanded role, he assumes responsibility for company-wide CSR strategy and programs in the United States, Latin America and Canada, including charitable giving, community outreach, environmental stewardship, Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) compliance and investment, and supplier diversity. Robinson also oversees the bank’s government relations activities and the MUFG Union Bank Foundation, the nonprofit entity that acts as the agent for the bank’s charitable contributions.

John Seabern

Ridgecrest Investments
Venture Investor
Mr. John H. Seabern, CFA, is General Partner at Ridgecrest Investments.Prior to founding Ridgecrest Investments in 2009, Mr. Seabern worked as an analyst and portfolio manager for several years at RS Investments, a San Francisco based investment advisory firm.

While at RS, he served on the management team of small and midcap growth funds. He also worked as an Analyst at Duncan-Hurst Capital Management, Inc.Mr. Seabern holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Amy Stocker

Slow Money Monterey Bay
Moderator
Amy Stocker is a founder of Slow Money Monterey Bay and a recent graduate of Middlebury Institute of International Studies where she completed an MBA with a concentration in Social Enterprise and Finance. Amy is currently serving as Business Manager for Gathering for Women, a local nonprofit that provides services to homeless women on the Monterey Peninsula. As a Certified Public Accountant she has previously worked for Deloitte & Touche LLP and prior to attending Middlebury, she served as CFO for Harbinger Group LLC, a local produce company who is a pioneer of innovative products in the produce industry.

Hillary Talbot

Sail Community Capital
Panelist and
Community Capital Investor
Hillary is a community capital advocate and local investor at heart. She founded Sail Community Capital to help startups and small businesses raise the funds to bring their dreams to life.

She guides clients through the maze of crowdfunding to select a crowdfunding platform, build their debt or equity offering, and market their raise. Hillary is also building a coalition of local investors who want to create vibrant local economies.

Miaja West

The Law Office of Maija West
Discussion Panelist
Maija West is the owner of the Law Office of Maija West, and founder of Moxie Lab, a leadership company for emerging visionaries. She is also the founder of the Healing and Reconciliation Institute, a non-profit consulting firm.
Professionally, she is dedicated to supporting businesses in building a forward-thinking strategy as part of their mission.

Bill Young

Venture Partner
Clarus Ventures
Venture Investor
Bill Young joined NanoString as Executive Chairman after serving from 1999 to 2009 as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Monogram Biosciences, Inc., a pioneer in the field of personalized medicine. William Young holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and a M.B.A. from Indiana University and an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering from Purdue University.

Javier Zamora

JSM Organics
Discussion Panelist
Javier was born and raised in Michoacan, Mexico. His father was a farmer, and Javier started farming in Mexico at eleven years old. Javier came to the United States in his twenties, eventually travelling to the Central Coast and deciding to return to farming. Javier worked for a fresh cut flower grower in the area before establishing his own organic farm on two acres in 2012. Since then, he has expanded his operation to 40 acres that are certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). JSM Organic Farms specializes in strawberries, heirloom tomatoes, summer squash, peppers and cut flowers. JSM Organic Farms has the capacity to grow 300 varieties of flowers including both annuals and perennials.

Investors, Moderators, and Panelists:

Luis Alvarez

Alvarez Technologies
Panel Moderator
Since founding the Alvarez Technology Group in 2001, Luis Alvarez has led the company to grow from a small, two-person consultancy to a premier technology solutions provider in California, delivering security, Internet-of-Things (IoT) and information technology (IT) services to more than 200 companies throughout the world.

David Apgar

Santa Cruz County Bank
Community Capital Investor
David is Director of Venture Banking at Santa Cruz County Bank. He managed credit risk for $700M microfinance fund BlueOrchard and turned around the Inter-American Investment Corporation’s $70M Haiti SME Fund over the past decade, with extensive prior experience in small-business finance as an investment banker and a senior bank policy advisor for the U.S. Treasury.

Since moving to Santa Cruz, David has helped local businesses find better ways to grow using the GoalScreen SaaS he developed from his work as a McKinsey consultant, Corporate Executive Board managing director, and author (Risk Intelligence, Harvard Business Publishing, 2006).

Thomas Armstrong

White Summers
Venture Investor
Mr. Armstrong has over 36 years of legal experience in representing companies and investors in venture capital financings, private placements, angel financings, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters.

His practice includes representation of companies and investors in various industries including medical devices, software, internet, consumer goods, telematics and entertainment. Mr. Armstrong is also a FINRA registered investment banker holding a Series 63 license, a Series 79 license and a Series 82 license.

Krishan Arora

Arora Project
Panel Moderator
Krishan Arora is the Founder & CEO of The Arora Project, a crowdfunding and product launchpad agency with one goal in mind: To help entrepreneurs fundraise for and scale their businesses.

The Arora Project has raised over $75+ Million for high-growth ventures around the world. Krishan’s core expertise is in scaling up innovative ventures and initiatives across industries by creating and converting global online communities (with an emphasis on data-driven decision making).

Brad Barbeau

Institute for Innovation
and Economic Development
Keynote Chair
Brad combines experience in both academic and entrepreneurial environments. He has been a university professor, entrepreneur, and advisor to multiple startup companies.

He currently teaches in the College of Business at CSU Monterey Bay, is Executive Director of CSUMB's Institute for Innovation and Economic Development and consults to and has operating roles in startup ventures, designing and implementing startup and growth strategies.

Namrata Banerjee

Carnegie Mellon Accelerator
Director of VentureBridge
Discussion Panelist
Namrata Banerjee is focused on early stage investments, particularly interested in future of work, advancements in fixing inefficiencies in business and supply chain, and future of basic needs (safety, security, health, wellness, food, clothing). I angel invest as well as alongside Indie VC and Republic.

Pamela Burns

Monterey Jane, Wild Plum Cafe, &
Slow Money Monterey Bay
Keynote Chair
Co-Leader of Slow Money Monterey Bay. Proprietor of the Wild Plum Cafe & Bakery in Monterey.

Brian Bordley

Berkeley SkyDeck Fund
Venture Investor
Brian Bordley is a startup operator turned venture capitalist. He has spent time in business roles at various startups (TechValidate, Marqeta, Remeeting), including time as a founder of a 3D printing company, Eucl3D, that went through Berkeley SkyDeck Accelerator in 2015. Brian is a proud Cal Bear (BA Political Science).

Julian Canete

CA Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Discussion Panelist
Julian Cañete serves as the President and CEO of the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, the premier organization promoting the development of Hispanic entrepreneurs and emerging Latino businesses in California. Through its network of Hispanic chamber and business associations, the CHCC represents the business interests of over 800,000 Hispanic-owned businesses throughout the state of California.

Toby Corey

Zentrepreneur.life
Panel Moderator
Toby Corey is a successful entrepreneur and 10-year Stanford University lecturer. He held executive positions at Novell, USWeb (founder), Autodesk, Solarcity and Tesla.

He’s a restless soul turned Zentrepreneur, passionate about sustainability and inspiring creativity for greater good. Toby lives in Santa Cruz, California with his wife Susan and dog Cisco.

Ed Colligan

Edventures
Venture Investor
Ed came to Silicon Valley in 1985 to be part of the personal technology revolution and since that time has established himself as a leading product and marketing innovator. E

d led the transaction that reunited the Palm and Handspring teams into one company while establishing relationships with wireless carriers globally and driving Palm’s annual smartphone business to more than $2 billion.

As the CEO of Palm, Ed spearheaded the transformation that created the highly acclaimed WebOS platform and Palm Pre line of smartphones. Ed now spends his time on the Central Coast of California investing in and mentoring entrepreneurs with the goal of helping to establish the next generation of breakthrough products and brands.

Doug Erickson

Santa Cruz Works
Moderator
Doug Erickson launched his entrepreneurial journey a year after graduating from UCSC by building a windsurf company which rose to the second largest worldwide. He then entered the tech world. Six of the past companies have been acquired including Presenter, WebEx, and SugarCRM. He built the 4,100+ member Santa Cruz New Tech MeetUp which is the 8th largest in the US. He also co-founded and built CruzHacks, a 1,000+ attendee 3-day hackathon. Erickson is an angel investor in Inboard Technologies and Buoy Labs. He is also a founding member of Zentrepreneurship Life.

Richard Ferrari

De Novo Ventures
Venture Investor
Richard Ferrari is a Cofounder of De Novo Ventures which has $650 million under management and is one of the premier firms dedicated to Medical Devices and Bio-Technology, Richard has raised approximately a billion dollars for companies and he has directly influenced and participated in over a billion dollars in acquisition everts.

Previously Mr. Ferrari held the positions of Executive Vice President and General Manager of ADAC Laboratories. In 1996 he founded Saratoga Ventures, a venture capital partnership that has provided seed financing to startup medical technology companies.

Joel Gambord

Gambord Investments
Venture Investor
As a builder & land developer, my company built apartments, income-producing commercial and self-storage projects throughout the 1960s and 70s in the heart of what is now Silicon Valley - the cities of Santa Clara and San Jose, the east bay city of Alameda, and Reno Nevada. I can't tell you how much fun I had doing this.

Frank Gerber

Blueshift Partners
Venture Investor
Investor and business builder with substantial background in private investments, business valuation, leadership transitions, operational improvement, and board level advising.

Strong experience in real estate, technology, publicly traded markets, and retail and consumer businesses including athletic wear and food. Significant additional work and leadership with not-for-profit organizations.

Paula Groves

Impact X Capital
Discussion Panelist
Paula has decades of private equity and consulting experience working with highly-motivated extraordinary entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities.

She is also an expert in developing and deploying targeted investment funds, having helped create funds in London England, the City of Oakland, the States Connecticut and California, and for the US Small Business Administration.

She is currently a Founding Member and General Partner launching Impact X Capital a London-based venture capital company investing in European underrepresented communities of technology and creative professionals.

Stephanie Harkness

Indus Holdings Inc.
Venture Investor
Stephanie Harkness is on the board of INDUS Holding Co. and Indus Holdings, Inc. and Managing General Partner at Opes Holdings, LLC. In her past career Ms. Harkness was Chairman-Governors Board at Silicon Valley Capital Club, Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Plastics & Engineering and Chairman for National Association of Manufacturers. Ms. Harkness received a graduate degree from San Jose State University and an undergraduate degree from California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo).

Carmen Herrera

El Pajaro CDC
Discussion Panelist
El Pájaro CDC this year is celebrating 40 years of transforming people’s lives through entrepreneurship by taking the confusion, guesswork and complexity out of starting small businesses. By offering technical, legal, financial and managerial assistance, El Pájaro CDC has helped launch and nurture small businesses while bolstering economic development within the community. “If you give someone an opportunity it can change lives, and lead to generations of success,” said Carmen Herrera-Mansir, executive director of El Pajaro CDC. “To see a journey from farmworker to entrepreneur — many started that way when they came to us — is so rewarding.”

Arno Hesse

Slow Money Northern California
Community Capital Investor
Arno Hesse is dedicated to financing a sustainable and equitable future with thriving food systems and regenerative technologies.

He co-founded the community capital services Credibles and Investibule. As a co-leader and investor with Slow Money Northern California, Arno has led multiple investments in food businesses, with a focus on climate change and social justice. Previously, he was Executive Vice President for Retail Markets at MUFG Union Bank.

Arno grew up in Europe where he worked as a journalist and activist in the environment and peace movements. He is easily distracted by new ice cream flavors and typefaces.

Dr. Veronica Hunnicutt

Powerful Women
International Connections
Discussion Panelist
Born in Sacramento, California, Dr. Veronica Hunnicutt began her teaching career with the San Francisco Unified School District.

After working with S.F.U.S.D. for three years, she joined City College of San Francisco (CCSF) in 1972 and has served in a number of positions, including Dean of the Southeast Campus, Acting Dean of the Southeast Campus, Acting Dean of Students, Dean of the Office of Student Affairs, Chair of the African American American Studies Department, Diversity Calendar Coordinator, Coordinator of the Partnerships to Achieve Academic Success Program (PAAS) and Instructor in both the English and Engineering Departments.

She also served as Chair of the Sustainability Subcommittee, a Shared Governance entity, for the college.

Shyam Kamath

CSUMB College of Business Dean
Keynote Chair
Shyam Kamath, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized scholar and educator who has gained recognition as a global innovator and expert in the area of community development, experiential learning, and business program innovation. His distinguished career has also focused on building programs and institutions that benefit those who are underserved and underrepresented while focusing on economic opportunity and human excellence.

Bob Kavner

Idealab
Venture Investor
Bob has had 3 distinctive careers in his life. He began his career at Price Waterhouse Coopers becoming a Partner in 10 years After 18 years at PWC, Bob was recruited to be CFO of AT&T and during 10 years at AT&T was promoted to CEO of the digital businesses of AT&T and member of the Executive Committee.

In the mid 1990s, Bob moved to Ca to start Idealab with Bill Gross and others. Idealab was the first incubator of technology based companies and continues to do so after over 25 years of operation. Bob has been a member of large corporate boards, in his mid career.

Over the last 25 years Bob has focused his attention exclusively on start-ups...mostly in the role of Chairman and investor.

Jennifer Kuan

CSUMB College of Business &
Institute for Innovation
and Economic Development
Moderator
Jenny is a member of the CSUMB entrepreneurship and economics faculty with a PhD from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. She is currently studying the commercialization of publicly funded R&D and the history of venture capital. Prior to CSUMB, Jenny was a researcher at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research for over a decade. She also has a background in technology, with a decade of experience as an engineer in manufacturing at Apple and Solectron. In addition to her PhD from Berkeley, Jenny holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University.

Jennifer Kuyper

Pacific Valley Bank
Community Capital Investor
In her 20 years in commercial banking, Jennifer has helped hundreds of visionary business owners access the capital necessary to launch, scale or grow their business.

She has a passion for community banking and making funding more accessible across a broader base of the population.

Brooks McChesney

Institute for Innovation &
Economic Development
Advisory Council Member
Panel Moderator
Brooks McChesney has been an entrepreneur and senior executive in technology companies spanning multiple vertical markets and industries. He has demonstrated repeated success in developing market-based competitive advantage in emerging technology markets.

He is a Founder of the Start-Up Challenge Business Plan Competition and a member of the Advisory Council for the CSUMB Institute for Innovation & Economic Development.

Rene Mendez

City of Gonzales
Discussion Panelist
René has over 25 years of State and local government experience. After college graduation, he spent five years with the California Legislative Analyst Office. Following that, he spent five years with the Solano County Administrator’s Office. Before coming to Gonzales in 2005, he spent the prior eight years as the County Administrator for the County of Inyo. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from California State University, Stanislaus, and a Master of Arts Degree in Public Policy from Duke University.

Angie Mertens

ONE WORLD
Training & Investments
Slow Money NorCal
Discussion Panelist and
Community Capital Investor
Angie Mertens has been spearheading ONE WORLD Training as the Program Director since 2015, where she is convening and educating social entrepreneurs, investors and corporates in the Bay Area.

ONE WORLD provides organizations training and capital to profitably increase their social impact. Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, we leverage our expertise in developing leaders to deliver innovative approaches to increase social impact in a way that it is profitable, sustainable, and scalable.

She has curated and produced 50+ social impact events and enterprise showcases in collaboration with organizations such as Social Venture Circle, toniic, Nia Impact Capital, Spero Ventures etc.

Ullas Naik

Streamlined Ventures
Discussion Panelist
Ullas is a seasoned venture capitalist, angel investor and entrepreneur with over two decades of entrepreneurial and early stage investment experience across nearly 350 companies.

Ullas is currently spending his time in areas including Data Science, Applied AI Technologies as well as new Computing Technologies including Block Chain based models, Quantum Computing, AR and VR.

Prior to founding Streamlined Ventures, he co-founded investment firm Cota Capital. Prior to that, Ullas was a senior member of the investment team for 12 years at Globespan Capital and helped build that firm.

Carrie Nikitin

Powerful Women
International Connections
Panel Moderator
Carrie is currently CEO of Avatekh, Inc., a high tech company developing and monetizing Intellectual property in noise filtering and power management industries.

With strong skills in constructing, and negotiating licensing agreements, joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions, raising capital and collaborative development and research agreements, in both domestic and foreign markets in various industries.

She is an expert on working with companies in various stages, such as start-up, expansion, downsizing, turnaround, branding and rebranding phases. She has written federal SBIR, NIH and NSF grants, state economic development grants and not for profit grants.

Christine Outram

CEO of Everydae
Community Capital Investor
Inventor and award-winning designer. Named a Top 100 IOT thinker and one of the '36 most creative women' by Business Insider. Expert at seamlessly blending product, technology and marketing to launch and grow impactful companies. Currently CEO of Everydae. Previously Chief Product Officer at Veritas Prep: responsible for the adaptive learning platform, ORION (30% MoM revenue growth). Best known for inventing the electric bike - The Copenhagen Wheel - a TIME Magazine Best Invention, now on sale at superpedestrian.com. Regular speaker at SXSW and other tech conferences. Former design & innovation columnist for Inc.com and judge for Core 77 Design Awards. Tweeting @EdTechFuturist. Always hustling to make the world a better place. Let's discuss building / funding the future.

Gary Peterson

California FarmLink
Community Capital Investor
Gary Peterson grew up in a farm community in western Minnesota, and brings nearly 25 years’ experience in sustainable agriculture, rural development, and land conservation to California FarmLink.

His career has focused on fundraising, communications and program development advancing beginning farmers and sustainable agriculture.

He has teamed up to raise more than $21 million for this work. Prior to joining California FarmLink in 2016, he worked at the Big Sur Land Trust for nearly four years, and at the Agriculture & Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) near Salinas for eight years.

Jonny Price

Wefunder
Panelist and
Community Capital Investor
Jonny is originally from the UK, where he started his career in strategy consulting with Oliver Wyman. In 2011, he joined the non-profit Kiva.org as the Founder and Director of its U.S. lending division, leading that team for seven years.

In early 2018, he joined Wefunder (a PBC and B Corp) as Director of Business Development. His primary role is recruiting great companies that are excited to use crowdfunding to raise capital and gain customers.

Eric Quick

The Town Kitchen
Community Capital Investor
Eric has thirty years’ experience in management and has held senior leadership positions with start-up ventures and notable companies including McDonald’s, Disney, Safeway and Revolution Foods.

Eric (CoFounder & CEO of PocketCFO) is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for developing emotionally intelligent teams. His track record demonstrates his ability to nurture and accelerate big ideas from inception to hypergrowth opportunities.

Eric recently launched and is Co-Host and Producer of Bathtime 2 BoardroomTM, a Podcast focused on working parents or parents to be and how they balance work, life and the challenges that come with it.

Joshua Resnick

Parallel Flight Technologies, Inc.
Discussion Panelist
Joshua Resnick began his career in Alaska developing high efficiency drivetrains for fishing vessels, and teaching in rural communities. Following this, he led system architecture for the Tesla Semi Truck program.

In 2018 he co-founded Parallel Flight Technologies, which is developing heavy-lift autonomous systems for firefighting, search-and-rescue, construction, and agriculture applications.

Nina Robinson

The Runway Project
Community Capital Investor &
Discussion Panelist
Nina is an impact capital convener with over 10 years of experience working with mission-driven entrepreneurs and innovative investment models including The Runway Project Oakland, Buen Vivir Fund, Homestake Ventures, and as a RSF Integrated Capital Fellow in 2017-2018.

Nina has advised numerous small businesses on strategic growth, capital raising, impact and organizational development which has resulted in creation of 400+ local good jobs, and the facilitation of over $10M in capital investments.

Julius Robinson

MUFG Union Bank
Managing Director & Group Head,
Corporate Social Responsibility
for the Americas
Community Capital Investor
Based in San Francisco, Robinson has managed Union Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities on the West Coast. In this expanded role, he assumes responsibility for company-wide CSR strategy and programs in the United States, Latin America and Canada, including charitable giving, community outreach, environmental stewardship, Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) compliance and investment, and supplier diversity. Robinson also oversees the bank’s government relations activities and the MUFG Union Bank Foundation, the nonprofit entity that acts as the agent for the bank’s charitable contributions.

John Seabern

Ridgecrest Investments
Venture Investor
Mr. John H. Seabern, CFA, is General Partner at Ridgecrest Investments.Prior to founding Ridgecrest Investments in 2009, Mr. Seabern worked as an analyst and portfolio manager for several years at RS Investments, a San Francisco based investment advisory firm.

While at RS, he served on the management team of small and midcap growth funds. He also worked as an Analyst at Duncan-Hurst Capital Management, Inc.Mr. Seabern holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Amy Stocker

Slow Money Monterey Bay
Moderator
Amy Stocker is a founder of Slow Money Monterey Bay and a recent graduate of Middlebury Institute of International Studies where she completed an MBA with a concentration in Social Enterprise and Finance. Amy is currently serving as Business Manager for Gathering for Women, a local nonprofit that provides services to homeless women on the Monterey Peninsula. As a Certified Public Accountant she has previously worked for Deloitte & Touche LLP and prior to attending Middlebury, she served as CFO for Harbinger Group LLC, a local produce company who is a pioneer of innovative products in the produce industry.

Susan Szasz Harker

Slow Money Monterey Bay
Moderator
Strategic leader and trusted advisor with a broad business background and a passion for developing people and organizations. As an educator, consultant and corporate professional, I use listening, data and analysis to help individuals, teams and organizations become more effective. Collaborative leader known for integrity, commitment, work ethic and teamwork.

Hillary Talbot

Sail Community Capital
Panelist and
Community Capital Investor
Hillary is a community capital advocate and local investor at heart. She founded Sail Community Capital to help startups and small businesses raise the funds to bring their dreams to life.

She guides clients through the maze of crowdfunding to select a crowdfunding platform, build their debt or equity offering, and market their raise. Hillary is also building a coalition of local investors who want to create vibrant local economies.

Miaja West

The Law Office of Maija West
Discussion Panelist
Maija West is the owner of the Law Office of Maija West, and founder of Moxie Lab, a leadership company for emerging visionaries. She is also the founder of the Healing and Reconciliation Institute, a non-profit consulting firm.
Professionally, she is dedicated to supporting businesses in building a forward-thinking strategy as part of their mission.

Bill Young

Venture Partner
Clarus Ventures
Venture Investor
Bill Young joined NanoString as Executive Chairman after serving from 1999 to 2009 as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Monogram Biosciences, Inc., a pioneer in the field of personalized medicine. William Young holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and a M.B.A. from Indiana University and an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering from Purdue University.

Javier Zamora

JSM Organics
Discussion Panelist
Javier was born and raised in Michoacan, Mexico. His father was a farmer, and Javier started farming in Mexico at eleven years old. Javier came to the United States in his twenties, eventually travelling to the Central Coast and deciding to return to farming. Javier worked for a fresh cut flower grower in the area before establishing his own organic farm on two acres in 2012. Since then, he has expanded his operation to 40 acres that are certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). JSM Organic Farms specializes in strawberries, heirloom tomatoes, summer squash, peppers and cut flowers. JSM Organic Farms has the capacity to grow 300 varieties of flowers including both annuals and perennials.

Investors, Moderators, and Panelists:

Luis Alvarez

Alvarez Technologies
Panel Moderator
Since founding the Alvarez Technology Group in 2001, Luis Alvarez has led the company to grow from a small, two-person consultancy to a premier technology solutions provider in California, delivering security, Internet-of-Things (IoT) and information technology (IT) services to more than 200 companies throughout the world.

David Apgar

Santa Cruz County Bank
Community Capital Investor
David is Director of Venture Banking at Santa Cruz County Bank. He managed credit risk for $700M microfinance fund BlueOrchard and turned around the Inter-American Investment Corporation’s $70M Haiti SME Fund over the past decade, with extensive prior experience in small-business finance as an investment banker and a senior bank policy advisor for the U.S. Treasury.

Since moving to Santa Cruz, David has helped local businesses find better ways to grow using the GoalScreen SaaS he developed from his work as a McKinsey consultant, Corporate Executive Board managing director, and author (Risk Intelligence, Harvard Business Publishing, 2006).

Thomas Armstrong

White Summers
Venture Investor
Mr. Armstrong has over 36 years of legal experience in representing companies and investors in venture capital financings, private placements, angel financings, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters.

His practice includes representation of companies and investors in various industries including medical devices, software, internet, consumer goods, telematics and entertainment. Mr. Armstrong is also a FINRA registered investment banker holding a Series 63 license, a Series 79 license and a Series 82 license.

Krishan Arora

Arora Project
Panel Moderator
Krishan Arora is the Founder & CEO of The Arora Project, a crowdfunding and product launchpad agency with one goal in mind: To help entrepreneurs fundraise for and scale their businesses.

The Arora Project has raised over $75+ Million for high-growth ventures around the world. Krishan’s core expertise is in scaling up innovative ventures and initiatives across industries by creating and converting global online communities (with an emphasis on data-driven decision making).

Brad Barbeau

Institute for Innovation
and Economic Development
Keynote Chair
Brad combines experience in both academic and entrepreneurial environments. He has been a university professor, entrepreneur, and advisor to multiple startup companies.

He currently teaches in the College of Business at CSU Monterey Bay, is Executive Director of CSUMB's Institute for Innovation and Economic Development and consults to and has operating roles in startup ventures, designing and implementing startup and growth strategies.

Namrata Banerjee

Carnegie Mellon Accelerator
Director of VentureBridge
Discussion Panelist
Namrata Banerjee is focused on early stage investments, particularly interested in future of work, advancements in fixing inefficiencies in business and supply chain, and future of basic needs (safety, security, health, wellness, food, clothing). I angel invest as well as alongside Indie VC and Republic.

Pamela Burns

Monterey Jane, Wild Plum Cafe, &
Slow Money Monterey Bay
Keynote Chair
Co-Leader of Slow Money Monterey Bay. Proprietor of the Wild Plum Cafe & Bakery in Monterey.

Brian Bordley

Berkeley SkyDeck Fund
Venture Investor
Brian Bordley is a startup operator turned venture capitalist. He has spent time in business roles at various startups (TechValidate, Marqeta, Remeeting), including time as a founder of a 3D printing company, Eucl3D, that went through Berkeley SkyDeck Accelerator in 2015. Brian is a proud Cal Bear (BA Political Science).

Julian Canete

CA Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Discussion Panelist
Julian Cañete serves as the President and CEO of the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, the premier organization promoting the development of Hispanic entrepreneurs and emerging Latino businesses in California. Through its network of Hispanic chamber and business associations, the CHCC represents the business interests of over 800,000 Hispanic-owned businesses throughout the state of California.

Toby Corey

Zentrepreneur.life
Panel Moderator
Toby Corey is a successful entrepreneur and 10-year Stanford University lecturer. He held executive positions at Novell, USWeb (founder), Autodesk, Solarcity and Tesla.

He’s a restless soul turned Zentrepreneur, passionate about sustainability and inspiring creativity for greater good. Toby lives in Santa Cruz, California with his wife Susan and dog Cisco.

Ed Colligan

Edventures
Venture Investor
Ed came to Silicon Valley in 1985 to be part of the personal technology revolution and since that time has established himself as a leading product and marketing innovator. E

d led the transaction that reunited the Palm and Handspring teams into one company while establishing relationships with wireless carriers globally and driving Palm’s annual smartphone business to more than $2 billion.

As the CEO of Palm, Ed spearheaded the transformation that created the highly acclaimed WebOS platform and Palm Pre line of smartphones. Ed now spends his time on the Central Coast of California investing in and mentoring entrepreneurs with the goal of helping to establish the next generation of breakthrough products and brands.

Doug Erickson

Santa Cruz Works
Moderator
Doug Erickson launched his entrepreneurial journey a year after graduating from UCSC by building a windsurf company which rose to the second largest worldwide. He then entered the tech world. Six of the past companies have been acquired including Presenter, WebEx, and SugarCRM. He built the 4,100+ member Santa Cruz New Tech MeetUp which is the 8th largest in the US. He also co-founded and built CruzHacks, a 1,000+ attendee 3-day hackathon. Erickson is an angel investor in Inboard Technologies and Buoy Labs. He is also a founding member of Zentrepreneurship Life.

Richard Ferrari

De Novo Ventures
Venture Investor
Richard Ferrari is a Cofounder of De Novo Ventures which has $650 million under management and is one of the premier firms dedicated to Medical Devices and Bio-Technology, Richard has raised approximately a billion dollars for companies and he has directly influenced and participated in over a billion dollars in acquisition everts.

Previously Mr. Ferrari held the positions of Executive Vice President and General Manager of ADAC Laboratories. In 1996 he founded Saratoga Ventures, a venture capital partnership that has provided seed financing to startup medical technology companies.

Joel Gambord

Gambord Investments
Venture Investor
As a builder & land developer, my company built apartments, income-producing commercial and self-storage projects throughout the 1960s and 70s in the heart of what is now Silicon Valley - the cities of Santa Clara and San Jose, the east bay city of Alameda, and Reno Nevada. I can't tell you how much fun I had doing this.

Frank Gerber

Blueshift Partners
Venture Investor
Investor and business builder with substantial background in private investments, business valuation, leadership transitions, operational improvement, and board level advising.

Strong experience in real estate, technology, publicly traded markets, and retail and consumer businesses including athletic wear and food. Significant additional work and leadership with not-for-profit organizations.

Paula Groves

Impact X Capital
Discussion Panelist
Paula has decades of private equity and consulting experience working with highly-motivated extraordinary entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities.

She is also an expert in developing and deploying targeted investment funds, having helped create funds in London England, the City of Oakland, the States Connecticut and California, and for the US Small Business Administration.

She is currently a Founding Member and General Partner launching Impact X Capital a London-based venture capital company investing in European underrepresented communities of technology and creative professionals.

Stephanie Harkness

Indus Holdings Inc.
Venture Investor
Stephanie Harkness is on the board of INDUS Holding Co. and Indus Holdings, Inc. and Managing General Partner at Opes Holdings, LLC. In her past career Ms. Harkness was Chairman-Governors Board at Silicon Valley Capital Club, Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Plastics & Engineering and Chairman for National Association of Manufacturers. Ms. Harkness received a graduate degree from San Jose State University and an undergraduate degree from California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo).

Carmen Herrera

El Pajaro CDC
Discussion Panelist
El Pájaro CDC this year is celebrating 40 years of transforming people’s lives through entrepreneurship by taking the confusion, guesswork and complexity out of starting small businesses. By offering technical, legal, financial and managerial assistance, El Pájaro CDC has helped launch and nurture small businesses while bolstering economic development within the community. “If you give someone an opportunity it can change lives, and lead to generations of success,” said Carmen Herrera-Mansir, executive director of El Pajaro CDC. “To see a journey from farmworker to entrepreneur — many started that way when they came to us — is so rewarding.”

Arno Hesse

Slow Money Northern California
Community Capital Investor
Arno Hesse is dedicated to financing a sustainable and equitable future with thriving food systems and regenerative technologies.

He co-founded the community capital services Credibles and Investibule. As a co-leader and investor with Slow Money Northern California, Arno has led multiple investments in food businesses, with a focus on climate change and social justice. Previously, he was Executive Vice President for Retail Markets at MUFG Union Bank.

Arno grew up in Europe where he worked as a journalist and activist in the environment and peace movements. He is easily distracted by new ice cream flavors and typefaces.

Dr. Veronica Hunnicutt

Powerful Women
International Connections
Discussion Panelist
Born in Sacramento, California, Dr. Veronica Hunnicutt began her teaching career with the San Francisco Unified School District.

After working with S.F.U.S.D. for three years, she joined City College of San Francisco (CCSF) in 1972 and has served in a number of positions, including Dean of the Southeast Campus, Acting Dean of the Southeast Campus, Acting Dean of Students, Dean of the Office of Student Affairs, Chair of the African American American Studies Department, Diversity Calendar Coordinator, Coordinator of the Partnerships to Achieve Academic Success Program (PAAS) and Instructor in both the English and Engineering Departments.

She also served as Chair of the Sustainability Subcommittee, a Shared Governance entity, for the college.

Shyam Kamath

CSUMB College of Business Dean
Keynote Chair
Shyam Kamath, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized scholar and educator who has gained recognition as a global innovator and expert in the area of community development, experiential learning, and business program innovation. His distinguished career has also focused on building programs and institutions that benefit those who are underserved and underrepresented while focusing on economic opportunity and human excellence.

Bob Kavner

Idealab
Venture Investor
Bob has had 3 distinctive careers in his life. He began his career at Price Waterhouse Coopers becoming a Partner in 10 years After 18 years at PWC, Bob was recruited to be CFO of AT&T and during 10 years at AT&T was promoted to CEO of the digital businesses of AT&T and member of the Executive Committee.

In the mid 1990s, Bob moved to Ca to start Idealab with Bill Gross and others. Idealab was the first incubator of technology based companies and continues to do so after over 25 years of operation. Bob has been a member of large corporate boards, in his mid career.

Over the last 25 years Bob has focused his attention exclusively on start-ups...mostly in the role of Chairman and investor.

Jennifer Kuan

CSUMB College of Business &
Institute for Innovation
and Economic Development
Moderator
Jenny is a member of the CSUMB entrepreneurship and economics faculty with a PhD from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. She is currently studying the commercialization of publicly funded R&D and the history of venture capital. Prior to CSUMB, Jenny was a researcher at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research for over a decade. She also has a background in technology, with a decade of experience as an engineer in manufacturing at Apple and Solectron. In addition to her PhD from Berkeley, Jenny holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University.

Jennifer Kuyper

Pacific Valley Bank
Community Capital Investor
In her 20 years in commercial banking, Jennifer has helped hundreds of visionary business owners access the capital necessary to launch, scale or grow their business.

She has a passion for community banking and making funding more accessible across a broader base of the population.

Brooks McChesney

Institute for Innovation &
Economic Development
Advisory Council Member
Panel Moderator
Brooks McChesney has been an entrepreneur and senior executive in technology companies spanning multiple vertical markets and industries. He has demonstrated repeated success in developing market-based competitive advantage in emerging technology markets.

He is a Founder of the Start-Up Challenge Business Plan Competition and a member of the Advisory Council for the CSUMB Institute for Innovation & Economic Development.

Rene Mendez

City of Gonzales
Discussion Panelist
René has over 25 years of State and local government experience. After college graduation, he spent five years with the California Legislative Analyst Office. Following that, he spent five years with the Solano County Administrator’s Office. Before coming to Gonzales in 2005, he spent the prior eight years as the County Administrator for the County of Inyo. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from California State University, Stanislaus, and a Master of Arts Degree in Public Policy from Duke University.

Angie Mertens

ONE WORLD
Training & Investments
Discussion Panelist and
Community Capital Investor
Angie Mertens has been spearheading ONE WORLD Training as the Program Director since 2015, where she is convening and educating social entrepreneurs, investors and corporates in the Bay Area.

ONE WORLD provides organizations training and capital to profitably increase their social impact. Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, we leverage our expertise in developing leaders to deliver innovative approaches to increase social impact in a way that it is profitable, sustainable, and scalable.

She has curated and produced 50+ social impact events and enterprise showcases in collaboration with organizations such as Social Venture Circle, toniic, Nia Impact Capital, Spero Ventures etc.

Ullas Naik

Streamlined Ventures
Discussion Panelist
Ullas is a seasoned venture capitalist, angel investor and entrepreneur with over two decades of entrepreneurial and early stage investment experience across nearly 350 companies.

Ullas is currently spending his time in areas including Data Science, Applied AI Technologies as well as new Computing Technologies including Block Chain based models, Quantum Computing, AR and VR.

Prior to founding Streamlined Ventures, he co-founded investment firm Cota Capital. Prior to that, Ullas was a senior member of the investment team for 12 years at Globespan Capital and helped build that firm.

Carrie Nikitin

Powerful Women
International Connections
Panel Moderator
Carrie is currently CEO of Avatekh, Inc., a high tech company developing and monetizing Intellectual property in noise filtering and power management industries.

With strong skills in constructing, and negotiating licensing agreements, joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions, raising capital and collaborative development and research agreements, in both domestic and foreign markets in various industries.

She is an expert on working with companies in various stages, such as start-up, expansion, downsizing, turnaround, branding and rebranding phases. She has written federal SBIR, NIH and NSF grants, state economic development grants and not for profit grants.

Gary Peterson

California FarmLink
Community Capital Investor
Gary Peterson grew up in a farm community in western Minnesota, and brings nearly 25 years’ experience in sustainable agriculture, rural development, and land conservation to California FarmLink.

His career has focused on fundraising, communications and program development advancing beginning farmers and sustainable agriculture.

He has teamed up to raise more than $21 million for this work. Prior to joining California FarmLink in 2016, he worked at the Big Sur Land Trust for nearly four years, and at the Agriculture & Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) near Salinas for eight years.

Jonny Price

Wefunder
Panelist and
Community Capital Investor
Jonny is originally from the UK, where he started his career in strategy consulting with Oliver Wyman. In 2011, he joined the non-profit Kiva.org as the Founder and Director of its U.S. lending division, leading that team for seven years.

In early 2018, he joined Wefunder (a PBC and B Corp) as Director of Business Development. His primary role is recruiting great companies that are excited to use crowdfunding to raise capital and gain customers.

Eric Quick

The Town Kitchen
Community Capital Investor
Eric has thirty years’ experience in management and has held senior leadership positions with start-up ventures and notable companies including McDonald’s, Disney, Safeway and Revolution Foods.

Eric (CoFounder & CEO of PocketCFO) is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for developing emotionally intelligent teams. His track record demonstrates his ability to nurture and accelerate big ideas from inception to hypergrowth opportunities.

Eric recently launched and is Co-Host and Producer of Bathtime 2 BoardroomTM, a Podcast focused on working parents or parents to be and how they balance work, life and the challenges that come with it.

Joshua Resnick

Parallel Flight Technologies, Inc.
Discussion Panelist
Joshua Resnick began his career in Alaska developing high efficiency drivetrains for fishing vessels, and teaching in rural communities. Following this, he led system architecture for the Tesla Semi Truck program.

In 2018 he co-founded Parallel Flight Technologies, which is developing heavy-lift autonomous systems for firefighting, search-and-rescue, construction, and agriculture applications.

Nina Robinson

The Runway Project
Community Capital Investor &
Discussion Panelist
Nina is an impact capital convener with over 10 years of experience working with mission-driven entrepreneurs and innovative investment models including The Runway Project Oakland, Buen Vivir Fund, Homestake Ventures, and as a RSF Integrated Capital Fellow in 2017-2018.

Nina has advised numerous small businesses on strategic growth, capital raising, impact and organizational development which has resulted in creation of 400+ local good jobs, and the facilitation of over $10M in capital investments.

Julius Robinson

MUFG Union Bank
Managing Director & Group Head,
Corporate Social Responsibility
for the Americas
Community Capital Investor
Based in San Francisco, Robinson has managed Union Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities on the West Coast. In this expanded role, he assumes responsibility for company-wide CSR strategy and programs in the United States, Latin America and Canada, including charitable giving, community outreach, environmental stewardship, Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) compliance and investment, and supplier diversity. Robinson also oversees the bank’s government relations activities and the MUFG Union Bank Foundation, the nonprofit entity that acts as the agent for the bank’s charitable contributions.

John Seabern

Ridgecrest Investments
Venture Investor
Mr. John H. Seabern, CFA, is General Partner at Ridgecrest Investments.Prior to founding Ridgecrest Investments in 2009, Mr. Seabern worked as an analyst and portfolio manager for several years at RS Investments, a San Francisco based investment advisory firm.

While at RS, he served on the management team of small and midcap growth funds. He also worked as an Analyst at Duncan-Hurst Capital Management, Inc.Mr. Seabern holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Amy Stocker

Slow Money Monterey Bay
Moderator
Amy Stocker is a founder of Slow Money Monterey Bay and a recent graduate of Middlebury Institute of International Studies where she completed an MBA with a concentration in Social Enterprise and Finance. Amy is currently serving as Business Manager for Gathering for Women, a local nonprofit that provides services to homeless women on the Monterey Peninsula. As a Certified Public Accountant she has previously worked for Deloitte & Touche LLP and prior to attending Middlebury, she served as CFO for Harbinger Group LLC, a local produce company who is a pioneer of innovative products in the produce industry.

Susan Szasz Harker

Slow Money Monterey Bay
Moderator
Strategic leader and trusted advisor with a broad business background and a passion for developing people and organizations. As an educator, consultant and corporate professional, I use listening, data and analysis to help individuals, teams and organizations become more effective. Collaborative leader known for integrity, commitment, work ethic and teamwork.

Hillary Talbot

Sail Community Capital
Panelist and
Community Capital Investor
Hillary is a community capital advocate and local investor at heart. She founded Sail Community Capital to help startups and small businesses raise the funds to bring their dreams to life.

She guides clients through the maze of crowdfunding to select a crowdfunding platform, build their debt or equity offering, and market their raise. Hillary is also building a coalition of local investors who want to create vibrant local economies.

Miaja West

The Law Office of Maija West
Discussion Panelist
Maija West is the owner of the Law Office of Maija West, and founder of Moxie Lab, a leadership company for emerging visionaries. She is also the founder of the Healing and Reconciliation Institute, a non-profit consulting firm.
Professionally, she is dedicated to supporting businesses in building a forward-thinking strategy as part of their mission.

Bill Young

Venture Partner
Clarus Ventures
Venture Investor
Bill Young joined NanoString as Executive Chairman after serving from 1999 to 2009 as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Monogram Biosciences, Inc., a pioneer in the field of personalized medicine. William Young holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and a M.B.A. from Indiana University and an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering from Purdue University.

Javier Zamora

JSM Organics
Discussion Panelist
Javier was born and raised in Michoacan, Mexico. His father was a farmer, and Javier started farming in Mexico at eleven years old. Javier came to the United States in his twenties, eventually travelling to the Central Coast and deciding to return to farming. Javier worked for a fresh cut flower grower in the area before establishing his own organic farm on two acres in 2012. Since then, he has expanded his operation to 40 acres that are certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). JSM Organic Farms specializes in strawberries, heirloom tomatoes, summer squash, peppers and cut flowers. JSM Organic Farms has the capacity to grow 300 varieties of flowers including both annuals and perennials.

Richard De Andrade

Solare, Inc.
Investor
With more than 30 years of experience in international finance and business, Richard has provided advisory expertise on aspects of Corporate Governance/Compliance/Audit, Startup Investment/Acceleration, Business Consulting and Advisory consulting to US and International companies ranging in size from less than $2MM to greater than $5BN in annual revenue.

Richard is currently the founder, member, and CEO of Solare Holdings LLC, (www.solareholding.com), and is actively involved with the startup and entrepreneurial community locally and internationally, focusing on technology and agribusiness opportunities.

David Apgar

Lighthouse Bank
Panelist
With more than 30 years of experience in international finance and business, Richard has provided advisory expertise on aspects of Corporate Governance/Compliance/Audit, Startup Investment/Acceleration, Business Consulting and Advisory consulting to US and International companies ranging in size from less than $2MM to greater than $5BN in annual revenue.

Richard is currently the founder, member, and CEO of Solare Holdings LLC, (www.solareholding.com), and is actively involved with the startup and entrepreneurial community locally and internationally, focusing on technology and agribusiness opportunities.

Richard De Andrade

Solare, Inc.
Investor
With more than 30 years of experience in international finance and business, Richard has provided advisory expertise on aspects of Corporate Governance/Compliance/Audit, Startup Investment/Acceleration, Business Consulting and Advisory consulting to US and International companies ranging in size from less than $2MM to greater than $5BN in annual revenue.

Richard is currently the founder, member, and CEO of Solare Holdings LLC, (www.solareholding.com), and is actively involved with the startup and entrepreneurial community locally and internationally, focusing on technology and agribusiness opportunities.

David Apgar

Lighthouse Bank
Panelist
With more than 30 years of experience in international finance and business, Richard has provided advisory expertise on aspects of Corporate Governance/Compliance/Audit, Startup Investment/Acceleration, Business Consulting and Advisory consulting to US and International companies ranging in size from less than $2MM to greater than $5BN in annual revenue.

Richard is currently the founder, member, and CEO of Solare Holdings LLC, (www.solareholding.com), and is actively involved with the startup and entrepreneurial community locally and internationally, focusing on technology and agribusiness opportunities.