Scale – Staff

Jackie serves as Operations Manager and IT supervisor for NextCorps. She has worked supporting the entrepreneurs at NextCorps in several capacities since 1999. She graduated from SUNY Fredonia with a BA in theatre arts production and has remained involved in Rochester’s vibrant arts community with Blackfriars Theatre.

Peter is the Scale For ClimateTech Program Coordinator at NextCorps. In this position, he helps ClimateTech companies scale their products from validating prototypes to market implementation and production.

He comes from a background working in and with startups. Originally starting his own nonprofit, MassVaxx, a mass vaccination distribution software system, alongside teammates and mentors from RIT and Marquette University. He then moved on to working at MAGIC Spell Studios supporting early game development teams and Open@RIT supporting technology transfer in open science. On the side, he leads Fly Team, a cleantech composing venture utilizing black soldier flies. He is also a recent RIT grad with a BS in Computer Science.

Mike is the Startup Manufacturing Program Coordinator at NextCorps. In this position, he helps Manufacturing Startup companies scale their products from validating prototypes to market implementation and production. He is using what he learns in this role to assist in developing a framework for new Manufacturing Startups to move efficiently from the hardware product idea phase to pilot production.

Mike has a wide range of professional experience. He spent 10 years in manufacturing as a product designer and production supervisor. After which he spent 16 years in higher education both as a professor of computer science and mathematics and a project manager in continuing education. He was a co-founder of Boundless Connections Technology Centers and stayed on through their start-up phase. He then went on to create his own nonprofit, Strength Solutions to help people recognize strengths in themselves and those around them.

Kris is the Program Manager for Scale for ClimateTech based in NYC. In this role, Kris provides execution and strategy support through program design, development, implementation, impact reporting, and stakeholder management. Kris is passionate about building community by supporting one another in accomplishing shared goals and believes designing and delivering quality educational experiences is a way to achieve that.

Prior to SecondMuse, Kris ran business education programming for entrepreneurs at the NYC Department of Small Business Services. They led the design and execution of programs for Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises as well as workshops on pivoting strategies for navigating the Covid-19 pandemic. Outside of work, Kris is an avid board game player and loves traveling as a way to experience landscapes and cultures. They love biking around the city, going to concerts, and continually learning from new perspectives.

Steve has more than 30 years of experience in the mechanical design, development, and global manufacturing of complex, electro-mechanical products. He has experience leading engineering teams and working with cross-functional teams including management, manufacturers, and customers. He maintains a deep knowledge of intellectual property and is named as inventor or co-inventor on 40 U.S. Patents. Most recently, Steve was the Manufacturing Lead for Maidbot. Steve has a B.S.M.E. from Rice University and a Masters Degree in the Management of Technology from Rensselaer Polytechnic University.

Shelby is the Senior Community Manager for New York City programs including Scale For ClimateTech. Shelby supports startups with short and long-term goals, develops workshops and events relevant to their design and manufacturing needs, and identifies mentors and technical experts that can help them meet their go-to-market goals. Prior to joining SecondMuse, Shelby was the Business & Marketing Manager at Tomorrow Lab, a hardware design and engineering firm in NYC. During her six years there, Shelby helped the once scrappy startup to become a successful small business by running day-to-day operations, communications, and community outreach. Much of this outreach was directly related to cultivating a more inclusive and diverse community for women within the hardware space, which she still focuses her efforts on with Scale For ClimateTech.

Ken is the Director of Rev: Ithaca Startup Works, as well as its Hardware Entrepreneurship program. He is the Managing Director of Cornell’s eLab student accelerator program, teaches entrepreneurship at the Johnson School, instructs and coaches in several technology commercialization programs including NSF I-Corps, and is a Venture partner at Cayuga Venture Fund. Ken has held multiple senior business and technical positions for organizations such as Discovery communications, Reuters, Matrox, and the Toronto Stock Exchange. He has direct startup experience having co-founded a software business in Toronto and joining an early-stage online media business in New York; both of these startups concluded with successful exits. Most recently, Ken was the Senior Vice President of Digital Media at Discovery.

Brian is the senior research engineer for Sustainable Design at Rochester Institute of Technology, Golisano Institute for Sustainability. He has more than 25 years of industrial product design and development experience spanning from clean sheet concept-inception through fully-automated, high-speed production at domestic and international assembly plants; and holds 58 international patents (including 29 U.S. patents). He currently provides expertise and management on industrial and government sponsored research projects focused on improving the product life cycle, sustainable design, manufacturing, remanufacturing, and technology readiness.