The Hudson Valley Venture Hub at SUNY New Paltz is pleased to announce the appointment of Bailey Burke, who has worked as a connector and a manager in the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem for nearly a decade, as its new Director.
Burke joins the Venture Hub after serving for eight years with Upstate Capital, a membership network for investors, CEOs, entrepreneurs and M&A professionals. Since 2019, she has also directed the New York Business Plan Competition, a statewide showcase in which teams of public and private college students, including many teams from New Paltz, have pitched innovative startup concepts. She is a well-known figure in the Hudson Valley business community and was a Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress Fellow in 2023-24.
“We are delighted to have Bailey Burke step into the role of Interim Director,” said Kristin Backhaus, dean of the School of Business at SUNY New Paltz, which houses the
At Upstate Capital, Burke held titles of increasing responsibility, most recently that of interim director. Her work included managing and developing the association’s robust network of members; strategic planning for member and sponsor value creation; coordinating outreach, engagement, news and events; and administration of Invest NY, a digital platform that provides stakeholders with information about startup and investment activities and opportunities.
As Interim Director of the Hudson Valley Venture Hub, Burke will lead operations and outreach for our rapidly growing network of founders, investors and business leaders. In less than a decade, the Venture Hub has served hundreds of entrepreneurs throughout our region, in the process becoming the Hudson Valley’s NYSTAR Innovation Hot Spot (2022) and garnering recognition as one of the nation’s top Growth Accelerators by the U.S. Small Business Administration (2024).
Partnering with entrepreneurial support organizations around the Hudson Valley, the Venture Hub organizes and leads workshops, networking events and startup pitch events that help business founders gain the skills and traction they need to be successful. Over the past two years, the Venture Hub has had a multi-million-dollar economic impact in New York State through the new investments, job growth and increased sales realized by our client companies.