WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice for America’s 33 million small businesses and startups in President Biden’s Cabinet, announced the appointment of 15 members to the newly established Invention, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Advisory Committee (IIEAC). The advisory committee’s main objective is to promote, expand, and strengthen the innovation ecosystem, including innovation commercialization, lab-to-market translation, and constructing a more equitable, inclusive federal innovation ecosystem.

"The Biden-Harris Administration is working to ensure America’s entrepreneurs get the support they need to innovate and commercialize to create the industries of the future and solve global problems," said Administrator Guzman. "The distinguished members of this newly launched advisory committee will serve as an important resource with insights and recommendations to help us build policies and programs that foster American ingenuity, innovation, and economic competitiveness."

The IIEAC consists of members with a diverse set of perspectives, experiences, and occupational backgrounds across America that will help accelerate support for startups and small businesses.

“The members of the advisory committee will inform how the SBA, and the federal government more broadly, think about addressing persistent gaps in support for entrepreneurs inventing, commercializing, and scaling breakthrough innovations that are critical to our country’s global economic competitiveness and national security,” said Associate Administrator for Investment and Innovation Bailey DeVries.

Invention, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Advisory Committee Members

• IIEAC Chair: Philip Gaskin, Executive Fellow and Strategic Advisor to the CEO, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (Mo.)
• IIEAC Vice Chair: Julie Lenzer, Chief Innovation Officer, Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (N.H.)
• Eric Adolphe, CEO & Founder, Forward Edge-AI, Inc. (Texas)
• Dr. Ramon Barquin III, Chairman of the Board, Atlantic University (Puerto Rico)
• Richard Carroll, Chairman, Innovative Defense Enterprises (Fla.)
• Dr. Dedric Carter, Vice Chancellor for Innovation & Chief Commercialization Officer, Washington University in Saint Louis (Mo.)
• Dr. Carol Dahl, Board Member, VentureWell, VertueLab, and Washington Research Foundation; Trustee, Wisys (Wash.)
• Colleen D. Egan, President and CEO, Illinois Science and Technology Coalition (Ill.)
• ML Mackey, CEO, Beacon Interactive Systems (Mass.)
• Andrew McCandless, Chairman and CEO, Bascom Hunter (La.)
• David McFeeters-Krone, Principal, Intellectual Assets (Ore.)
• Dr. Sally Morton, Executive Vice President, Arizona State University’s Knowledge Enterprise (Ariz.)
• Dr. Jake Reder, CEO, Celdara Medical (N.H.)
• Dr. Jenny Servo, President, Dawnbreaker (N.Y.)
• Timothy Tiemann, Managing Director of Innovation Programs, California State University Northridge (Calif.)

 Additional information about the Invention, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Advisory Committee can be found at Invention, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Advisory Committee (sba.gov). The SBA will announce additional IIEAC members and public meeting dates in the coming weeks. 

Appointment terms are set for two years. Members of the advisory committee do not receive a salary, nor are they eligible to officially represent the SBA. Their selection does not connote an endorsement of their organizations.

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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. Learn more at sba.gov.

Tiffani Clements
U.S. Small Business Administration
press_office@sba.gov