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.

Zoe Feldman

Head of Corporate Development + New Ventures,
Chobani

Laura Pedersen

Co-owner,
Pedersen Farms, Inc.

Andrew Rose

Director of Innovation,
Farm Credit MidAtlantic

Mary Shelman

Founder,
Mary Shelman Group

Pravina Raghavan

Executive Vice President, Division of Small Business & Technology Development,
Empire State Development

Samantha Abrams

Founder
Emmy’s Organics

Ed Bizari

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

Scott Colby

Assistant Professor
SUNY Morrisville

Nate Cook

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

Michael D’Eredita

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

Rich Delmerico

President
RD & Associates Consulting

Dave Eilers

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

Brad Gouldthorpe

Entrepreneur-In-Residence
LaunchNY

Holly Hillberg

President
Hillberg Consulting

John Liddy

Principal
Liddy Enterprises Inc

Felix Litvinsky

Director of Blackstone LaunchPad
Cornell University

Drury Mackenzie

Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies
Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Sheila A. Marshman

Associate Professor of Agricultural Business
SUNY Morrisville

Xanthe Matychak

Facilitator and Entrepreneur
Cornell University

Beth Mielbrecht

Vice President and Senior Engineer
Taitem Engineering

Eric Mozdy

Business Technology Director
Corning Research and Development Corporation

Charlie Mulligan

CEO
GiveGab

Amina Omari

Director
Food Processing Business Incubation Program

Aaron Proujansky

Investor
Greengage, LLC

Roland Scott

Principal
Clean Energy Analytics

Sharon Samjitsingh

Director of Commercialization
Sweetwater Energy

Wayne Sellers

Founding Entrepreneur
Experiential Holdings

Peter Winkert

Principal
High Strain Dynamics and The Montgomery Group