Aaron Miscenich
Executive Director
Aaron has worked with companies from the concept stage all the way through growth and maturity. On the economic development side, he has managed efforts that have created a knowledge-based economy in Louisiana through public and private funding including federal, state, and local sources, public/private partnerships, and straight development capital.
Stacy Aljabiry
Administrative Assistant II
Stacy is responsible for processing agreements and renewals for bwtech clients. She joined bwtech team over 22 years ago as a receptionist before transitioning to marketing. For the last 15 years, Stacy has been excelling on the facilities management team. Prior to joining bwtech, Stacy worked in the accounting, medical billing, and printing industries.
Jerry Bechler
Multi Trades Chief II
Jerry brings a wealth of experience and expertise in facilities maintenance to his role at bwtech, mostly gained while working in apartment maintenance. For the last three years, Jerry has been an integral member of bwtech’s South campus facilities team, where he is responsible for overseeing preventative and ongoing maintenance projects.
Marjorie Cota
Director of Entrepreneurial Services
As bwtech’s Director of Entrepreneurial Services, Marjie brings 25+ years entrepreneurial experience in working with companies of a variety of sizes and industries. She has developed numerous relationships throughout the country and has assisted in developing startups from conception all the way through second-stage growth and maturity. She has a Bachelor’s Degree from Indiana State University and has worked for a number of years in the Baltimore/DC area. Marjie completes our bwtech team and will assist our clients in growing to new levels.
Kristen Franklin
Director of Leasing and Facilities
Kristen manages the leasing and physical facilities for bwtech@UMBC’s two incubator and accelerator complexes, North and South and is the initial contact for those seeking collaborative opportunities with UMBC faculty and staff. Prior to joining bwtech@UMBC, Kristen worked in university housing and facilities for more than 15 years in the Baltimore/DC region. She is originally from Wisconsin and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Marquette University.
Brenda Jackson
Program Management Specialist
Brenda has been with bwtech and UMBC since 2003 and is passionate about nurturing innovation. Brenda helps bwtech CEOs connect with critical resources in the community and coordinates annual reviews. She also helps to connect bwtech staff with key research teams at UMBC. Brenda has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Pamela Mandell
General Assistant
Pam is responsible for the bwtech office at North. She prioritizes taking care of our clients' needs and supporting our staff. Prior to bwtech, Pam worked in education, teen programming, and community engagement.
Casina Rice
Program Management Specialist
Casina manages and coordinates events at bwtech South, including rental and concierge services. Casina also manages tenant billing for the South campus. She is a member of the Baltimore Marketing Association and is the founder of two mission-driven companies, Faith Flos and BlankCanvas2Art.
Bobbie Soellner
Business Manager
As bwtech’s Business Manager, Bobbie brings 20 years of UMBC Business & Grant experience to the Research Park team. Starting at UMBC in Financial Services as an Administrative Assistant, Bobbie continued as a Human Resources Specialist and then became a Sr. Grant Specialist. A graduate of University of Maryland, University College Bobbie also completed her Master Certificate at the UMB in Research Administration.
Rob Starr
Facilities Maintenance Manager
Rob is the Facilities and Maintenance Manager at bwtech South Campus, and has been with the building for 42 years. He oversees the maintenance team and works with third-party contractors to ensure that the building is well-maintained and meets all safety and operational standards. Rob is committed to providing a safe and comfortable environment for clients.
Lauren Weinberg
Marketing & Communications
As Manager of Marketing and Communications, Lauren is responsible for promoting bwtech@UMBC and its programs, facilities, partners, and entrepreneurs. She develops, implements, and manages branding, community engagement, and content strategies to nurture growth in translational research and entrepreneurship that drives tangible results for our community.
David J. Fink, PhD
Entrepreneur in Residence, MII Site Miner
David Fink (Bio- Life-Sciences) has worked in biotechnology and biomedical product development for over 40 years, serving as either the founder or top officer of seven startups, mentoring hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs, authoring 41 scientific papers and book chapters, and securing 25 US patent awards. David also serves as a TEDCO UMBC MII Site Miner and I-Corps Mentor.
Hillel Glazer
Entrepreneur in Residence, MII Site Miner
Hillel Glazer (Operations) works with growing companies to enhance their operational efficiency and meet their performance targets. Hillel also serves as a TEDCO UMBC MII Site Miner where he identifies groundbreaking technologies in the labs of university faculty members and helps translate their ideas into viable businesses.
Richard Chipkin
Entrepreneur in Residence
Richard Chipkin (Bio- Life-Sciences) is a seasoned professional with over thirty-five years of experience in executive management, business development, and preclinical and clinical research at big pharma and biotech companies.
Chris White, UMBC '97
Entrepreneur in Residence
Chris White, UMBC ’97 (Health Tech) is an experienced health tech leader and startup founder with over 20 years of experience driving digital innovation and business growth in a variety of sectors, including health IT, Medicaid, state health agencies, academia, and entrepreneurship.
Chris Houg
Entrepreneur in Residence
Chris Haug (General Business Strategy) is an entrepreneurship evangelist, with over 40 years conceiving, starting, and growing successful companies, with three of his own ventures, a founding team member for an additional six, and mentoring and advising hundreds of startups and early-stage growth companies.
Fehmida Kapadia
Entrepreneur in Residence
Fehmida Kapadia (Bio- Life-Sciences) has over 20 years of experience in biomedical entrepreneurship, consulting, teaching and research, and has helped nearly 100 entrepreneurial projects successfully progress in their startup journey.
Chris Ewing
Entrepreneur in Residence
Chris Ewing (Sales and Marketing) has cultivated a career in sales and marketing marked by a diverse range of experiences across several dynamic industry sectors, including aerospace, healthcare, product development, app development, drug design, aquaculture, and associations.
Christina Holt
Entrepreneur in Residence
Christina Holt (Digital Product Strategy) brings over 25 years of experience as an executive-level growth advisor, specializing in digital product strategy for companies whose growth relies on broad, diverse, and growing adoption of their technology.
Will Anderson
Strategic Business Consultant
Will is an executive and trusted advisor to business, investors, foundations and electeds, focused on initiatives with private-public benefits. At bwtech, Will helps organizations to set, clarify, amplify and execute complex strategies. These include business modeling, funding, partnership, organization performance and innovation campus development. Will led Economic & Workforce Development for Baltimore County ($19M operation), served on bwtech's board and founded two tech firms, including his current startup, Circonomy. Will proudly serves on numerous civic boards around greater Baltimore.
Rita Classen
Billing & Finance Advisor
Rita works in the business office at bwtech, handling tenant billings and financials at North Campus. She is a Baltimore native and a graduate of University of Baltimore. Prior to coming to bwtech, Rita worked with her brother to jointly own and operate a small business for 9 years.