The Power of Partnerships
Our team is the connection between your ideas and UB
Here is where differences become our strengths, where scientific and technological adventures transform into profitable ventures, and where bettering the world becomes our life’s work. A successful team is about more than finding a group of people with the right mix of professional skills; it's about finding a team who is passionate about helping you succeed and then working together to do it.
FEATURED TEAM MEMBER
Rick Gardner
With more than two decades of experience in the public, private, nonprofit and startup sectors, Rick Gardner has been an innovator throughout his career. He holds 32 U.S. patents and has taken dozens of products to market.
Under Rick's leadership, the BEP team helps grow the infrastructure and support services needed to commercialize innovative research, increase industry-academic collaborations, identify expert talent, align industry expertise and advance the next generation of startups and technologies.
TOGETHER, LET'S BUILD SOMETHING IMPACTFUL
Shareefa Albanna
Startup Success Manager
Asal Barem
Finance & Operations Assistant
Peter Burakowski
Associate Director, Startup Ventures
Kimberly Chase
Administrative Assistant
Timothy Dee
Associate Director, Technology Transfer
Jeffrey Dunbar
Director, Technology Transfer
David DuPlessis
Business Development Associate
Esther Eagan
Senior Associate Director, Contracts
Kirsten Fischer
Digital Graphic Design Specialist
Michael Fowler
Commercialization Manager
Rick Gardner
Associate Vice President for Economic Development
Sara Goodman
Startup Program Manager
Soma Hawramee
Program & Finance Associate
Kathryn Helfer
Senior Manager, Stakeholder Engagement
Amy Herstek
Senior Manager, Contracts
Smitha James
Senior Associate Director, Finance & Program Administration
Christopher Janson
Business Development Executive
Antoinette Johnson
Finance & Operations Manager
Richard Kim
Interim Director of Startup Ventures
Kimberly Kohl
Associate Director, Finance & Operations
Tracy Krawczyk-Schiedel
Director of Marketing Communications
Rebecca Larson
Commercialization Coordinator
Adrian Levesque
Industry Engagement and Visualization, Center for Computational Research
Jennifer Mandina
Manager, Contracts
Tom Matheny
CRM Marketing Analyst
Ryan McAnany
Contracts Manager
Thomas Murdock
Manager, Incubator Network
Norma Nowak
Executive Director, Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences
Matthew Pelkey
Program Director, Entrepreneurship Law Center
Diane Plinke
Receptionist & Operational Support Assistant
Eric Poniatowski
Program & Finance Manager
Alan Rae
Director, Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics
Sandra Small
Science Education Manager
Maksim Sokolov
Contracts Manager
Jessica Szklany
Manager, Marketing Content and Writing
Sandra Talley
Startup Program Assistant
Deanna Thames
Senior Administrative Assistant
David Thiemecke
Startup Client Manager
Penny Turrell
Patent Paralegal & Compliance Specialist
Karen Utz
Director, Program Administration
Evan Witmer
Technology Assessment Specialist
Buffalo Innovation Seed Fund: Advisory Board
Buffalo Innovation Accelerator Fund: External Review Committee
Independent Pharmaceutical Regulatory Consultant Board of Directors, FACET Life Sciences
