Matt Roberson
bwtech Board Chairperson, SC&H Capital
Matthew Roberson is a Managing Director with SC&H Capital, leading M&A transactions for business owners and boards, maximizing results in sell-side representation, recapitalizations, management buyouts, and divestitures.
With more than 20 years of M&A transaction and investment banking experience, Mr. Roberson specializes in providing organizations with expert guidance in merger and acquisition transaction scenarios, as well as financial and strategic advice.
Mr. Roberson’s experience includes successful transactions across numerous industries, including IT products and services, manufacturing, distribution, government contracting, managed services, training, and logistics.
Mr. Roberson earned his MBA from Loyola University and his bachelor’s in business from North Carolina State University.
Mike Adelstein
Potomac Photonics (Former), UMBC & bwtech Alumnus
Mike Adelstien is the former President/CEO of Potomac Photonics, a leader in Digitally Based Micro Fabrication Technologies based in bwtech@UMBC. Focused on partnering with companies, researchers, and entrepreneurs to develop and bring their micro devices to the market, this contract-manufacturing unit is equipped to handle prototyping to full production.
Mr. Adelstien assisted in developing Potomac’s Education Manufacturing Initiative, a program focused on creating robust partnerships with universities that enable students, faculty, and researchers to develop and build their micro devices cost-effectively. Mr. Adelstein oversaw the sale of Potomac to Goodfellow, a UK-based company focused on advanced materials with worldwide offices.
Mr. Adelstein has a B.S. in Biochemistry & Microbiology from UMBC and an MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland Global Campus.
Jeffery Armiger
BB&T (Retired)
Jeff Armiger is a 40-year veteran of community banking and has been involved in Commercial Business Development his entire career. During the '80s, Mr. Armiger was the head of Business Development for a major regional bank, and in the ‘90s, he was senior vice president of Commercial Lending for a small community bank, until joining BB&T in 1998. He recently retired from BB&T as market president for the Howard and North Anne Arundel Cities of the Maryland region.
A graduate of UMBC, University of Baltimore, and Johns Hopkins University, Mr. Armiger holds degrees in English, Business/Marketing, and Real Estate, as well as a variety of degrees and diplomas from banking schools. Jeff is also the Chair of the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center Board of Directors.
Dr. Chuck Bieberich
University of Maryland Baltimore County
Dr. Chuck Bieberich is currently the training program director for STEM BUILD at UMBC, a research initiative designed to enhance the success of diverse undergraduate students in STEM fields. He is also a member of the Office of Technology Development Advisory Committee, Research Park Advisory Committee, and UMBC Research Park Corporation Board of Trustees.
Dr. Bieberich sat as the Herbert Bearman Foundation Chair in Entrepreneurship for 2016-2019. This position recognizes and supports outstanding teaching skills, an interest in entrepreneurship, and a strong record of scholarship in entrepreneurial studies and fields related to entrepreneurship. The three-year endowed position enabled Dr. Bieberich to offer workshops and related activities to encourage entrepreneurial approaches to expanding research support and commercialization opportunities for faculty.
In 2015, Dr. Bieberich received a Maryland Innovation Initiative Phase II award to develop a business plan and perform market analysis for his work on biomarkers.
Dr. Bieberich currently holds a Postdoctoral degree from Yale University and a PhD from Johns Hopkins University.
George Davis
Evergreen Advisors
George Davis is currently Executive Vice President in Evergreen Advisors’ Strategic Advisory practice. George has been working for years in support of entrepreneurship and is well known for his successes in investing, building, and managing companies in a variety of technology industries, often from the start-up stage. Prior to Evergreen, he completed a 2-year tenure as Executive Director and CEO of Maryland’s Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), the State’s Technology Transfer, Innovation Development, and Venture Investing Platform.
Prior to that role, Mr. Davis was a Partner in Gamma3 LLC, a Maryland-based investment platform that provides early-stage financing to locally based startups. Under his guidance, Gamma3 has invested in several Maryland-based portfolio companies that cover a broad spectrum of life science and cybersecurity early-stage opportunities.
With over 30 years of management experience, having served in various C-level positions, including President and CEO of publicly traded companies, Mr. Davis offers a broad range of experience and business acumen. Over the course of his career, he has helped secure over $1.5B in capital for several technology sector companies, including leading several public offerings.
Mr. Davis has a B.S. in Economics & Finance from Bethany College.
Krishna Gohel
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Krishna Gohel's practice focuses on a broad range of financial and commercial transactions. She regularly assists clients in the documentation, structuring, negotiation, and closure of leasing and financing deals. Her experience includes handling various types of equipment transactions, from individual sales and purchases to portfolios.
Prior to joining Baker Donelson, Krishna was an Intellectual Property Coordinator at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she managed the university's intellectual property portfolio and negotiated, drafted, and reviewed various legal documents for consistency with applicable laws, regulations, and policies.
During law school, she served as a student attorney for the Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic, where she drafted patent applications and provided business-related advice to clients. While at UMBC as an undergraduate student, Krishna was one of the co-founders of OCA Mocha as a part of her entrepreneurship minor.
Krishna has a B.S. in Biology/Biological Sciences from UMBC and a J.D. from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
Dr. Derrick Levroney
Realtime Technical Solutions, Entrepreneur, UMBC Alumnus
Dr. Derrick Levroney brings exceptional entrepreneurial, investment, and executive leadership as CEO of Realtime Technical Solutions. A serial entrepreneur and seasoned venture capitalist with extensive C-suite experience as CEO, COO, and CFO across multiple ventures, he has built, funded, and scaled technology enterprises serving the intelligence and defense sectors. His unique ability to bridge deep technical expertise with strategic business acumen has enabled the successful commercialization of dual-use technologies across both government and private markets.
With more than 20 years of experience architecting enterprise-scale network infrastructures deployed across 25+ countries in support of CIA, NSA, and DOD, Dr. Levroney combines technical mastery in secure communications and big-data transport systems with proven global operational expertise in zero-failure environments. His entrepreneurial and investment vision extends beyond technology into multiple industries, demonstrating versatility in building sustainable ventures and transforming complex technical capabilities into strategic business growth and long-term value.
Dr. Levroney holds a Doctorate in Business Administration, a Master of Business Administration, and a Master of Science from the University of Maryland. He is also a proud alumnus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Information Systems Management.
Jason Paluck
UMBC/Compass Point Labs Alumnus, Entrepreneur, UMBC Faculty
Jason Paluck serves as CEO and Lead Technology Architect at Compass Point Labs, driving the development of advanced technological solutions with a focus on cloud computing and modern development methodologies for clients, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
As the Associate Vice President for the Division of Information Technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Jason provides executive leadership and strategic direction for the university’s IT infrastructure and services. Collaborating closely with the Chief Information Officer, Mr. Paluck oversees enterprise infrastructure, strategic sourcing, vendor management, artificial intelligence innovation, and cloud service adoption, ensuring alignment with UMBC’s academic and research missions. He has responsibility for the division’s operating and capital budgets, leads personnel development, and coordinates cross-departmental projects.
Jason holds both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in Emergency Health Services Management and Administration from the University of Maryland and is currently completing his Ph.D. in Information Systems at UMBC.
Dr. Govind Rao
UMBC Research, Entrepreneur, UMBC Faculty, UMBC Alumnus
Govind Rao is Professor of Chemical & Biochemical Engineering at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He obtained his Bachelor of Technology degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, in 1984. His Ph.D. degree was obtained from Drexel University in Chemical Engineering in 1987. He has been a faculty member at UMBC since 1987 and has served as Department Chair from 2000-2006. In 2006, he founded the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology (CAST) and has been serving as its Director since its inception.
Dr. Rao’s research is targeted towards disruptive innovation, where the goal is to create paradigm shifts in the state-of-the-art. A major effort is the application of sensor technology to reduce healthcare costs and close disparity gaps by making innovative, low-cost devices for use in low-resource settings. Another emerging area is point-of-care biomanufacturing. He has published over 200 papers in professional journals. His funding has come from several diverse sources, including NSF, NIH, JDRF, DARPA, FDA, ONR, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and several companies. Dr. Rao has given several invited Keynote and Plenary Lectures at various International Conferences and Corporations. He has served on various government and industry advisory panels.
He has received several awards. These include the Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation, Outstanding Teaching and Research Awards from UMBC, the Van Lanen Award from the American Chemical Society, the Gaden Award from Biotechnology & Bioengineering, the University System of Maryland Regents Award for Excellence in Research, and he has been named a 2003 Innovator of the Year by the Maryland Daily Record. Dr. Rao has over 30 issued patents, many of which have been licensed and/or resulted in startups. Dr. Rao has served as the Chair of the Biotechnology Division of the American Chemical Society and on the Editorial Board of several prominent journals. In 2007, he was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science. In 2009, he was appointed as Editor of the PDA Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology. In 2015, he was named an Eminent Engineer by Tau Beta Pi. In 2019, he received a “75 Bright Ideas” award from UMBC for the number of inventions filed. He received the 2017 Pioneer Award from Connected World Magazine. The cardboard incubator won the 2019 Academic Pediatric Association Global Health Research Award. He was named the 2019 Presidential Research Professor at UMBC. He was appointed as an American Chemical Society Media Expert in 2022.
Srinivas Rao
Amazon (Retired) Alumnus, UMBC Alumnus, Entrepreneur
Srinivas Rao is a business leader with extensive payments, ecommerce, and technology expertise in developing innovative tech-led consumer-facing products. As a fintech and industry expert in emerging payments and technologies, Mr. Rao has a proven track record in setting up and scaling product, technology, and operations teams in multiple countries. Mr. Rao holds a Product and Tech Innovator (US Patent 7747475).
For more than twelve years, Mr. Rao served in key functions within Amazon, growing from Senior Manager for Software Development in Amazon India to becoming Director, Digital and Emerging Payments for Amazon for eight years.
Srinivas holds a B.S. in Engineering from Walchand College of Engineering, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UMBC, and an MBA from Case Western.
Donna Ruginski
UMBC Research Entrepreneur, UMBC Staff
As Associate VP for Center Development in the Division of Research and Creative Achievement at the UMBC, Donna Ruginski is responsible for strategic positioning and growth of UMBC’s research portfolio, working closely with research leaders, faculty PIs, and Center Directors, providing key strategic support to establish, operate, and grow Research Centers and Institutes. She works closely with research leadership in growing and aligning UMBC’s research, education, and entrepreneurship activities with government and industry needs.
Ms. Ruginski works with the bwtech@UMBC Research Park and as a mentor for the Maryland New Venture Program, working with teams of entrepreneurs and graduate students to create new market-ready businesses. Ms. Ruginski currently oversees the Office of Technology Development, the UMBC group that establishes licenses with startups and established companies looking to commercialize UMBC technologies.
Ms. Ruginski is a senior technology executive with extensive experience in building a start-up business. She was the Founder and CEO of SAINT Corporation, a cybersecurity software company providing vulnerability management solutions. Ms. Ruginski also served as COO for a cybersecurity consultancy and was responsible for business operations.
Ms. Ruginski is a fellow of the International Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (INCS-CoE), recipient of the 2021 Maryland Cybersecurity Award - Cyber Warrior Women of the Year, and recognized in The Daily Record’s 2023 Cybersecurity Power List.
Ms. Ruginski has a B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Towson University and a Master of Science in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University.
Ayinde Stewart
Realtime Technical Solutions
Ayinde Stewart is the COO at Realtime Technical Solutions, LLC (REALTIME) – a network engineering firm specializing in big data transport and cybersecurity.
Mr. Stewart is also co-founder of Clear Resolution Consulting, LLC (CRC), a management and technology consulting firm that focuses on all types of analysis. Mr. Stewart has twenty-five years of strategic planning, risk management, performance management, mission readiness, and business consulting expertise in both commercial and government markets.
Mr. Stewart is on the Board of several non-profit organizations and holds as a badge of honor his support and mentoring of numerous successful small businesses.
Mr. Stewart graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. While at Penn, he double majored in Economics and Political Science. Mr. Stewart received his master’s in business administration from the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business with a concentration in Entrepreneurship.
Tasha Vanzie
AgileCare, Entrepreneur, bwtech Alumna
Over her 22-year career as a business and organizational development expert in the education, healthcare, IT, and aerospace sectors, Tasha Vanzie has led small to medium-scale organizations. Today, she leads Squared Enterprise as CEO of the executive coaching consultancy and serves as the Chief Strategy Officer of Agile Care Enterprises, a cybersecurity and IT services firm based in Maryland. Ms. Vansiz leads Agile Care's organizational design, stabilization, and scaling as it breaks new ground at a rapid pace in the industry.
Notably, Ms. Vanzie has a passion for education-focused enterprise development and management. In 2011, she was selected for the prestigious Open Society Foundation Fellowship for her innovative work as a social entrepreneur who developed workforce development and career development programs for aspiring STEAM field youth in the Baltimore/DC Metropolitan area. This organization continues to grow today with scholars and their families connecting around the country as WorldSchool Mosaic. Ms. Vanzie’s experience with these adjacent sectors enables her to match her client’s organizational mission with emerging talent and resources.
Ms. Vanzie is an alumna of Howard University.