Asmita is a manufacturing engineer at Tapecon with a background in Chemical Engineering. She works closely with specialty ink and material applications in printing which cater to the industrial and medical industry. Asmita has been part of numerous sustainability initiatives within her company and worked on projects to source alternate materials. She has worked on …
Ben Verschueren is an innovative leader with expansive experience connecting technology to outcomes and effectively motivating and managing interdisciplinary teams. He is adept at managing portfolios of research and development programs across multiple industries, from program selection through conclusion. He is a trusted mentor and creative problem solver, able to work across organizational boundaries. Ben …
Katie has more than a decade of economic development experience, spanning multiple states, public, private, and non-profit sectors. She currently leads CEG’s business attraction and expansion activities; directs and implements strategies for entrepreneurship, growth, workforce, and talent. Prior to joining CEG, she led economic development for National Grid in the Capital Region. At Capitalize Albany …
Dr. Candace S. Johnson joined the faculty of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in February 2002, and is currently President & CEO, the M&T Bank Presidential Chair in Leadership and Professor of Oncology. The first woman to lead Roswell Park, Dr. Johnson has steered the expansion of pivotal programs in areas like immunotherapy, cellular therapies, …
Shay Harrison recently became the CEO of Free Form Fibers. He originally joined the organization in June 2012 as the Senior Materials Scientist, focusing on fiber morphology, crystallography, and chemistry, assessment of thermal and mechanical properties of the fiber products, as well as fiber growth rate optimization. The technical focus of Free Form Fibers on …
As the interim vice president of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Liddy is responsible for leading CenterState CEO’s entrepreneurship portfolio and support programming, operated out of its incubator, The Tech Garden, located in downtown Syracuse. Liddy most recently served as entrepreneur-in-residence at The Tech Garden, where he brought his experience with startups, scaling companies and investments to …
Franca Armstrong is the Executive Director of Mohawk Valley Community College’s SUNY Apprenticeship Program and an Adjunct at MVCC who teaches Sociology. As a member of the statewide leadership team for the SUNY Apprenticeship Program, she is coordinating more than $18 million supporting SUNY apprenticeships. She has worked for MVCC for over twenty-two years and …
Dr. John J. Simmins is Associate Provost for Research and Economic Development at Alfred University. In this position, he oversees approximately 50 research faculty and 200 graduate students. In addition, he directs the efforts of the NYS Center for Advanced Ceramic Technology (CACT) as Executive Director. Simmins is also partially responsible for bringing jobs and …
Lloyd Ploof is President at Square One Coating Systems. Lloyd has 39 years in metal finishing with a degree in Chemistry. He is author of numerous technical papers, the former International Product Manager for Functional Coatings at a multi-national corporation, and previously managed 2 large job shop metal facilities in the Northeast. Company Website
