About

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:

• Access to world class Cornell researchers and cutting-edge research and development
• Connections to distributors and marketers, potential partners, co-packing, and manufacturing facilities
• Business services, workshops, and mentorship needed for development and expansion
• Physical office, lab and kitchen space, and specialized equipment

Jenn Smith

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

Brian Bauer

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.

Aaron Proujansky

Investor
Greengage, LLC

Amina Omari

Director
Food Processing Business Incubation Program

Beth Mielbrecht

Vice President and Senior Engineer
Taitem Engineering

Brad Gouldthorpe

Entrepreneur-In-Residence
LaunchNY

Charlie Mulligan

CEO
GiveGab

Dave Eilers

Assistant Professor and Entrepreneur-In-Residence
Syracuse University and LaunchNY

Drury Mackenzie

Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies
Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Ed Bizari

Entrepreneur-In-Residence and Entrepreneurial Fellow
LaunchNY and Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Eric Mozdy

Business Technology Director
Corning Research and Development Corporation

Evan Weissman

Assistant Professor of Food Studies
Syracuse University

Holly Hillberg

President
Hillberg Consulting

Michael D’Eredita

Director of the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Creativity
Le Moyne College

Nate Cook

Entrepreneur-In-Residence and Independent Attorney at Law
Cornell University

Peter Winkert

Principal
High Strain Dynamics and The Montgomery Group

Rich Delmerico

President
RD & Associates Consulting

Roland Scott

Principal
Clean Energy Analytics

Samantha Abrams

Founder
Emmy’s Organics

Wayne Sellers

Founding Entrepreneur
Experiential Holdings

Xanthe Matychak

Facilitator and Entrepreneur
Cornell University

Felix Litvinsky

Director of Blackstone LaunchPad
Cornell University