The Grow-NY competition is being cultivated by partners dedicated to leading the way for growth and innovation—and everything good that comes from them—in our region.
Empire State Development is providing funding for Grow-NY through the Upstate Revitalization Initiatives connected with the three regions—Finger Lakes Forward, CNY Rising and Southern Tier Soaring.
While there are other universities with top 10 agriculture programs and other schools with top 10 computer and information science programs, only Cornell University can offer both. Because of that, New York state chose Cornell to administer the competition and accelerate the formation and growth of new, innovative startups. Cornell will leverage its experience managing the state’s 76West Clean Energy Competition, its resources as a top-ten institution for entrepreneurship and a top-three agriculture school, its partnerships through AgriTech and extension programs, and its long history as New York’s land grant research university. The competition will be administered by Cornell’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement.
The New York state Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture at Cornell AgriTech pulls together multiple partners to catalyze business development in the agriculture and food industries. The Center for Excellence serves as a hub connecting New York state businesses and entrepreneurs with the services they need to grow including:
Grow-NY Program Director
Jenn Smith’s role with Grow-NY draws on her background in craft beverage market development, most recently as the Executive Director of the New York Cider Association and the Admin Director of the New York State Distillers Guild. In addition to working with NYCA and NYSDG, over the past 5 years Jenn was an NYC-based consultant to entrepreneurs creating value-added products and hospitality ventures. Before that, she was the marketing director of New York’s largest wine and spirits retailer
Competitions Director
Brian Bauer is the Competition Director for Cornell’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement. Brian runs 76West, NYSERDA’s clean energy business competition and the Grow-NY food and agriculture competition. He is also an Entrepreneur in Residence for the Southern Tier Startup Alliance, a member organization of incubators across the Southern Tier, which is a collaboration between Cornell University, Binghamton University, and Corning Enterprises.
Erin Tolefree
Dave Johnson
Julie Suarez
Robert Drago
Keven Bucklin
Andrew Fish
Mark Broadhurst
Matt Stanton
Nichole Malec
Jan Nyrop
Tim Vanini
Kevin King
Theresa Mazullo
Staci Henning
Ashleigh Madison
Steve McGrattan
Dan Mitchell
Emma Baudendistel
Michael Kreher
Stefanie LiDestri
Mike Nozzolio
Daniel Burns
Kipp Hicks
Lisa Benson
James Senall
John Noble
Hector Gonzalez
Sue Santamarina
Dan Palladino
Robert Scharf
Ernest Hackney
Kristin Alongi
Matt Hurlbutt
Bob Duffy
Joe Roxstrom
Rob Salamida
Marius Weigert
Jamie Johnson
David Rogers
Cathy Young
Rick Clonan
John Johnson
Bill Strassburg
James Pierce
Investor
Greengage, LLC
Director
Food Processing Business Incubation Program
Vice President and Senior Engineer
Taitem Engineering
Entrepreneur-In-Residence
LaunchNY
CEO
GiveGab
Assistant Professor and Entrepreneur-In-Residence
Syracuse University and LaunchNY
Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Entrepreneur-In-Residence and Entrepreneurial Fellow
LaunchNY and Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Business Technology Director
Corning Research and Development Corporation
Assistant Professor of Food Studies
Syracuse University
President
Hillberg Consulting
Director of the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Creativity
Le Moyne College
Entrepreneur-In-Residence and Independent Attorney at Law
Cornell University
Principal
High Strain Dynamics and The Montgomery Group
President
RD & Associates Consulting
Principal
Clean Energy Analytics
Founder
Emmy’s Organics
Founding Entrepreneur
Experiential Holdings
Facilitator and Entrepreneur
Cornell University
Director of Blackstone LaunchPad
Cornell University