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Team

ATDC TEAM

Having access to serial entrepreneurs, industry, and functional experts is key to startup success.  ATDC Educate members; and companies in the ATDC incubator program can access coaching on a one-on-one basis via ATDC’s staff of experienced entrepreneurs, industry partners, and startup subject matter experts. They can also seek advice from ATDC’s talented pool of pay-it-forward volunteer mentors.

Not a member? Learn more about ATDC Educate member services and benefits.

Already have a minimal viable product, beta customers, and a full-time commitment  to working on your startup company? Click here for details on how to apply to the ATDC incubator program for portfolio companies.

Interested in connecting with an ATDC staff member? Meet with one of our Catalysts at Coffee with a Catalyst the first Friday of every month from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the ATDC Lobby.

 

COACHING STAFF

Carnellia Ajasin

Carnellia Ajasin

Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Tripp Amos

Tripp Amos

Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Marc Carson

Marc Carson

Lead Startup Catalyst
Robert “Red” Daniel

Robert “Red” Daniel

FinTech Catalyst
Chris Dickson

Chris Dickson

Startup Catalyst, Augusta
Ben Dyer

Ben Dyer

Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Adam Gautsch

Adam Gautsch

MarTech Catalyst
Robert Grant

Robert Grant

Startup Catalyst, Macon
Radford Harrell

Radford Harrell

Startup Catalyst, Savannah
Bill Hogan

Bill Hogan

Startup Catalyst
Greg Jungles

Greg Jungles

HealthTech Catalyst
Tommy Marshall

Tommy Marshall

FinTech Executive-in-Residence
Shane Matthews

Shane Matthews

Manufacturing Catalyst
Sig Mosley

Sig Mosley

Venture Capitalist-in-Residence
Charlie Paparelli

Charlie Paparelli

Angel-in-Residence
Alex Rhodeen

Alex Rhodeen

Supply Chain Catalyst
Clinton Richardson

Clinton Richardson

Executive-in-Residence
Scott Ryan

Scott Ryan

Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Jud Savelle

Jud Savelle

Startup Catalyst, Albany
Bob Siegel

Bob Siegel

5G Connected Future Startup Catalyst
Ashley Steele

Ashley Steele

Startup Catalyst, Athens
Carnellia Ajasin

Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Carnellia Ajasin

Carnellia is a serial entrepreneur and CEO of Mind Katalyst, a humanity-centered, tech-innovation, and sustainability venture studio. She was named a 2022 Georgia Titan 100, which recognizes business visionaries in the state.

Her background makes her a great fit for ATDC, where she looks forward to continuing to work in the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem alongside the next generation of entrepreneurs.

She stays active outside of work, pursuing interests that include travel, cycling, yoga, and cooking.

She graduated from Drexel University in Pennsylvania, with a bachelor’s in computer science and a master’s in information science and computer technology.

Tripp Amos

Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Tripp Amos

Tripp Amos has worked in a variety of sales and executive-level positions at Aflac for more than two decades. In 2018, he purchased Piedmont Payment Services, a leading premium processor that had 38 insurance carriers in its portfolio. Under his leadership, Piedmont was named to Inc. Magazine’s list of “America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies” in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Tripp sold Piedmont in April 2020 and has since been engaged as a consultant for a number of insurance companies and private equity firms. He is excited about his role as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at ATDC. He holds an undergraduate degree from Furman University and an MBA from Emory University.

Marc Carson

Lead Startup Catalyst

Marc Carson

Marc leads a team of startup catalysts who provide services to help ATDC companies grow, connect, and scale.

Marc was the founder, president, and CEO of startup Keystone Industries and founder, president and CEO of HOTPACK. He also serves as chair of the planning commission for the city of Braselton, Georgia.

His extensive business experience will go a long way at ATDC, where he looks forward to helping mentor young tech entrepreneurs as they make the tough decisions that will move their companies forward.

A fan of the outdoors, Marc enjoys hunting, fishing, playing golf, and spending time with family. He graduated from Gannon University in Pennsylvania, with a bachelor’s degree in finance.

Robert “Red” Daniel

FinTech Catalyst

Robert “Red” Daniel

In this role, Robert will manage the ATDC FinTech program, provide incubation and acceleration efforts to portfolio companies, and foster their development and encourage growth. He will also manage and cultivate ATDC relationships with investors, prospective business partners, CEOs, and community technology leaders to promote market outreach and business development in the FinTech ecosystem.

Meet with Robert

Chris Dickson

Startup Catalyst, Augusta

Chris Dickson

Chris Dickson is an experienced management consultant who has supported startups in the Augusta region since moving to the area in 2005.  He founded The George Group LLC, a niche operations consulting firm, in 2008 to support the commercialization of new products and technical services.

Prior to starting his own company, he led several global Fortune 500 strategic business units and private equity funded firms in roles ranging from executive vice president to CEO. In addition, Dickson was an advisor/angel investor in two early-stage medical device companies in the Boston area before moving back to the Southeast.

As a local volunteer, Dickson has coached and/or mentored more than 100 startups and early-stage companies in the Central Savannah River Area. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Clemson University.  A firm believer in lifelong learning, Dickson has attended executive education sessions at Harvard University and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. For the past two years, he has taught project management, creativity, and leadership classes at the McKimmon Center for Extension & Continuing Education at North Carolina State University.

Ben Dyer

Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Ben Dyer

Ben advises promising ATDC companies on a wide range of strategic decisions and deep tech opportunities.  He is best known as the founding CEO of Peachtree Software, which provided IBM its accounting software offering at the launch of the PC in 1981. He has had startups in all locations of the ATDC since its inception and was chair of the alumni committee that spawned the concept in 1980. His many startups have included digital media (partnered at various times with Cox, Rupert Murdoch, and ESPN), an early-stage Cordova Ventures fund, several traditional banks, medical technology, payments, and Internet of Things (IoT) firms. He spent seven years (2011-2018) in Austin, Texas teaching entrepreneurship at the Cockrell School of Engineering, working in a leadership role at SXSW, and advising at the Austin Technology Incubator. For more than two years after returning to Atlanta he served as EIR for Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP, the Southeast’s leading tech law firm, where he worked with hundreds of clients on business matters. He is a Georgia Tech engineering alumnus with an MBA from Georgia State University. He is a member of the state of Georgia’s Technology Hall of Fame.

 

Adam Gautsch

MarTech Catalyst

Adam Gautsch

Before joining ATDC, Adam spent most of his career helping to run a website development company in Greenville, South Carolina. For fun, he helped start and run different organizations and events in the tech and entrepreneurial sectors. These included a co-working space, a social entrepreneur meetup, an idea collection website for cities, an app tracking the Greenville trolleys, and Startup Week Greenville.

Adam has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Clemson University.

Adam’s Office Hours.

Robert Grant

Startup Catalyst, Macon

Robert Grant

Robert seeks out tech entrepreneurs in the Macon area to become part of ATDC’s portfolio of companies.

The entrepreneurial bug hit Robert hard after being laid off from a series of jobs. His business ventures have included the YouTube channel That Guy You Met Today, where he v-logged about travel and restaurants. He now owns Print Your Sheet, an Etsy business of pop culture greeting cards.

He and his wife, a medical lab scientist, own EZ-Genetics LLC, a lab for noninvasive prenatal genetic testing and at-home prenatal gender tests. In addition to being a serial entrepreneur himself, he also serves as the executive director of business incubator SparkMacon.

Robert is a graduate of Armstrong State University (now part of Georgia Southern University), with a bachelor’s in information technology.

Radford Harrell

Startup Catalyst, Savannah

Radford Harrell

Radford Harrell is the Savannah Startup Catalyst for the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC).  He is an incessant entrepreneur, startup coach and connector, and keeper of way too much information. His most recent venture was as CEO of TalentSoup.com and an innovation and business growth consultant. His broad spectrum of experience includes US Navy, Commercial Diver, Dive Boat Captain / Instructor, Medical Device Designer, and Biologic Implant Marketer. He is passionate about helping people doing the hard work of creating technical businesses. Rad relocated to Savannah from Atlanta in 2009, after SEDA’S Creative Coast invited him to experience the rich life, living and working on the Georgia coast. He adventures with his wife, 3 kids, and 2 crazy cattle dogs.

Email:radford.harrell@atdc.org

Bill Hogan

Startup Catalyst

Bill Hogan

Bill has always had a strong interest in technology and business, an interest that led to his obtaining his bachelor’s degree in applied physics from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Early in his career, Bill ran the European operations of a U.S.-based music services business. Stationed in London for three years, he created a pan-European satellite distribution network using cutting-edge MCPC technology.  This new technology changed the industry paradigm for delivering music to customers. In 2000, he co-founded a technology-based startup called EGT, an ATDC company. EGT was focused on building products to improve the bandwidth efficiency of transmitting video over various networks. The company raised more than $30 million in venture capital, developed the first software-based video encoder for the cable television industry and generated more than $12 million per year in annual revenue.

ARRIS acquired EGT in 2009, and Bill led the integration of the EGT business into ARRIS and directed product management for ARRIS’ video encoder business. Most recently he directed internal operations for ARRIS’ Video Systems business, which generated more than $300 million in 2015.


BILL’S HOURS:

ATDC Alpharetta

Fridays 11:00am – 12:00pm

Meet with Bill in Alpharetta

Greg Jungles

HealthTech Catalyst

Greg Jungles

Greg has served as CIO, CTO and chief data officer for multiple healthcare/health technology companies ranging from startup to $1B in annual revenue in size. He brings executive-level experience and has played key roles in leading technology transformation while driving growth and organizational change in multiple venture capital or private equity-backed companies. Most recently, Greg has helped multiple self-funded healthcare start-ups as a strategy consultant and technology advisor.

Greg began his career as a technology developer and has led software, data and product development teams to deliver right-sized technology solutions that anticipate future strategy pivots and scalability needs. In addition to Greg’s technology development expertise, he has extensive practical and leadership experience in technology strategy, roadmap development, project/product management, data governance, analytics, business intelligence, and HIPAA compliance.

Over the course of his professional career, Greg has proven to be effective at quickly understanding business goals to develop aligned technology strategy and execution roadmaps. He is adept at translating technology concepts and discipline into business terms and has a recognized ability to build engaged teams and deliver innovative, right-sized technology solutions that are aligned with strategic business needs.

Greg obtained his bachelor’s degree from James Madison University. He and his wife have lived in metro Atlanta for about 15 years and spend much of their spare time renovating an 1890s farmhouse.

Greg’s Office Hours:

Location:  ATDC Headquarters
Tuesdays 3:00pm – 5:00pm

Meet with Greg

Tommy Marshall

FinTech Executive-in-Residence

Tommy Marshall

Tommy is managing director of Fernbank Advisors in Atlanta, a FinTech-focused advisory firm. Tommy has spent more than two decades in his management consulting career focused on digital financial services and fintech. His role aims to bring a depth in payments, banking, capital markets, and finance and regulation, along with FinTech ecosystem participants to craft meaningful capabilities for financial services institutions. Tommy is a graduate of Davidson College and holds a master’s degree in business administration from Vanderbilt University. He has called Atlanta home for the past 10 years.

Shane Matthews

Manufacturing Catalyst

Shane Matthews

Shane is listed as inventor or co-inventor on more than a dozen patents with others pending. Best known for his work on the Nerf AirJet brand, Shane also has helped to develop manufacturing processes for lithium ion batteries. He is a mentor and coach to inventors through the My Inventor Club, which he established here in Atlanta.

Sig Mosley

Venture Capitalist-in-Residence

Sig Mosley

Sig is Managing Partner of Mosley Ventures, a venture fund that invests in early-stage, Southeast-based technology startups. Widely regarded as the “Godfather of Angel Investing,” a title he earned as president of Imlay Investments, Sig has been one of the most prolific investors in the Southeast since 1990. He has invested in 120 startups with 82 liquidity events and is the current record holder of the largest Southeast venture deal with Ariba’s $5.7 billion acquisition of Tradex.

Early in career, Sig was a staff accountant at Peat, Marwick & Mitchell as a staff accountant. He then joined Management Science America as a staff accountant and served as secretary-treasurer, before being named vice president.

Sig currently serves on the boards of 16 private companies.

In addition, he is a director of the Imlay Foundation, Techbridge, and Entrepreneurs Foundation of the Southeast. He also is a director of GATV, the CEO Council, TiE-Atlanta, and the Technology Association of Georgia. He also serves on the advisory board of Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center, the investment committee of Gray Ghost DOEN Social Ventures Coöper, and the Georgia Research Alliance Venture Fund Board. He is managing member of Flashpoint Investors, LLC.

Sig has received numerous awards and accolades for his contributions including being inducted into Georgia Technology Hall of Fame in 2007, getting the Lifetime Achievement award from TiE is 2011,  and being named the 2012 Speaker of the Year award by the Emory Pelham Education Foundation. He is a member of the Invest Georgia Roundtable, a joint venture capital initiative comprised of Georgia House, Senate, and private industry leaders

He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Emory University.

Charlie Paparelli

Angel-in-Residence

Charlie Paparelli

Charlie advises ATDC Signature companies on the funding process. For 23 years, Charlie has invested in early-stage companies and coached entrepreneurs. He began his career with a successful startup and exit, enhanced his experience with 10 years in general management and chief operating officer roles, and now is a full-time angel investor.

Alex Rhodeen

Supply Chain Catalyst

Alex Rhodeen

Alex will assess, advise, and connect supply chain startups. ​

​ATDC, the state of Georgia’s technology startup incubator, helps entrepreneurs learn, launch, scale, and succeed in creating viable, disruptive technology companies.​

​A U.S. Army veteran, Alex is co-founder of two supply chain companies and has worked at startups since leaving active duty. He co-founded Kanga which was an ATDC Portfolio company until its acquisition by GEODIS. ​

​An optimist and a capitalist, he believes the state of Georgia’s commitment to startups is a key component of our thriving economy. ​

​Alex received his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He enjoys sports of all kinds with his son who is a student in Atlanta Public Schools.​

Clinton Richardson

Executive-in-Residence

Clinton Richardson

Clinton Richardson is a retired attorney and business advisor who has spent his career advising growing businesses and the investors who fund their growth. For more than 40 years, he has helped entrepreneurs raise private and public funding, advised growing companies and venture funds, served on the boards of venture-backed businesses, and has made angel investments. He also held senior management roles in two major law firms — one a regional Atlanta firm with 100+ attorneys. The other a national, Am Law 100 firm of 1,000+ professionals with 11 offices across the United States from Boston to Silicon Valley. Clinton also served on the national firm’s five-person Executive Committee. He co-founded and served in a long-term capacity as an officer and director of The Southern Capital Forum, the oldest and largest venture capital and private equity trade association in the Southeast.

Clinton has written extensively about the entrepreneurial process and venture funding ecosystem. Those writings include the acclaimed “Growth Company Guide” about legal strategies, fundraising, and deal-making. First published in 1987 as “The Venture Magazine Complete Guide to Venture Capital,” it remains in print retitled and updated as the 5th edition “Growth Company Guide 5.0.” The Guide series has been used by venture capital firms to train associates, business schools (including the University of Virginia, University of Southern California, and Clemson University) to train students, and by business accelerators. An investor-focused, Chinese language edition has been used by State of Georgia Trade Delegations.

Mr. Richardson has a BA degree in Economics, summa cum laude and phi beta kappa, from Albion College and a Juris Doctorate degree, with distinction, from Duke University School of Law. While at Duke, he served on the Editorial Board of the Law Journal, the Moot Court Board and received the Dean’s Cup for appellate advocacy.

Scott Ryan

Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Scott Ryan

Scott has more than 20 years of experience building and exiting companies and leading teams to develop and sell products in the IT infrastructure and media technology industries. His exits include Concurrent Computer, a microcap Internet of Things (IoT) and video delivery provider; Senoia Systems, a provider of cloud migration solutions; Asankya Networks, a WAN Optimization solution provider, and Elastic Networks, an IPO in the DSL market.

Additionally, Scott’s leadership experience includes successful stints with storage leader, EMC; networking leader, Nortel Networks; and consulting innovator, North Highland.

He received both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees from Vanderbilt University.

Jud Savelle

Startup Catalyst, Albany

Jud Savelle

Jud works with tech entrepreneurs in the Albany area to become part of ATDC’s portfolio of companies.

The Albany native also owns his family business, Bishop Clean Care, a local residential and commercial cleaning and restoration company. Before moving back to his hometown, he worked for several years in Atlanta, including as department manager for airport customer services continuous improvement at Delta Air Lines.

The Georgia Tech graduate has both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial and systems engineering. He jumped into community involvement as a board member and previous board chair for Leadership Albany, as the volunteer and fundraising chair for Georgia FIRST Robotics in Albany, and as a member of the Lee County Chamber of Commerce.

Bob Siegel

5G Connected Future Startup Catalyst

Bob Siegel

Industry veteran Bob Siegel serves as ATDC’s 5G Connected Future Startup Catalyst. Siegel comes to ATDC with 25 years of mobility experience, including senior roles at Accenture and Verizon Telematics. He leverages his extensive network to discover high-potential startups that can benefit from ATDC’s program. In this new position, Siegel leads recruitment efforts of startups working on 5G technology and guides their growth while in the incubator. He is based at Curiosity Lab’s Innovation Center in Peachtree Corners.

Ashley Steele

Startup Catalyst, Athens

Ashley Steele

Seasoned entrepreneur Ashley Steele serves as ATDC’s local Athens Catalyst, coaching Athens startups and connecting them to  ATDC programs, coaching, and resources.  As an experienced tech, marketplace and service start-up founder and lifelong entrepreneur, Steele has a particular focus on community-building and entrepreneurial ecosystems.  Utilizing her own experience as the founder of multiple startups, including a high-growth tech startup and a national multi-market service startup, she guides the growth of local entrepreneurs in the Athens area.

Ashley’s Office Hours:
Mondays 9:00am – 11:00am
Meet with Ashley

ATDC CONNECT PROGRAM & SUPPORT STAFF

ATDC has initiatives under the ATDC Connect program and dedicated team members focused on working with entrepreneurs to help them access coaches, customers, capital, and Georgia Tech resources and talent. Under the ATDC Connect program, entrepreneurs also receive support into the broader ATDC community through workshops and programming. Support staff ensure the needs of ATDC companies are met at all levels of membership — Signature, Accelerate, and Educate.   Sign in to learn more about ATDC Connect and to seek help from our staff.

Connie Casteel

Connie Casteel

SBIR/STTR Connect Catalyst
Caroline Ford

Caroline Ford

Investor Relations Manager
Corbett Gilliam

Corbett Gilliam

Corporate Development Manager
Aubrey Lenyard

Aubrey Lenyard

Community Engagement Manager
Zebib Tsegay

Zebib Tsegay

Event Coordinator
Connie Casteel

SBIR/STTR Connect Catalyst

Connie Casteel

Connie serves as ATDC’s SBIR/STTR Connect Catalyst, helping ATDC members around the state understand and secure federal funding from the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs — highly competitive research awards up to $1.5 million. As an interface with Georgia’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP), she also helps connect ATDC startup companies with manufacturers and manufacturing resources. Connie’s background is in proposal development, competitive intelligence, data management, and innovation.

Connie began her Georgia Tech career helping to support technology transfer of NASA-developed innovations for three southeastern NASA field centers (Kennedy, Marshall, and Stennis), as well as promoting NASA SBIR/STTR.  Prior to her work at Georgia Tech, Connie was employed by TMP’s Executive Search Division and Solvay Pharmaceuticals. Connie received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia and her MLIS from the University of South Carolina.

Caroline Ford

Investor Relations Manager

Caroline Ford

Caroline will will manage ATDC’s Investor Connect program and its related activities, as well as develop and maintain relationships with angels, venture capitalists, and other sources of debt and equity financing for the incubator’s portfolio companies.

Prior to joining ATDC, Caroline ran a large nonprofit foundation in Little Rock, Arkansas. She also served most recently as Assistant Professor of Marketing at Kennesaw State University. Prior to these roles, she worked in business-to-business marketing technology firms and was part of the founding team that grew and then sold the business Merkle in 2009.

Caroline holds both her master’s and doctorate degrees in marketing from Georgia State University.

A devoted mom of two — 19 and 20 — plus two dogs, Caroline is obsessed with scuba diving and Orange Theory.

Corbett Gilliam

Corporate Development Manager

Corbett Gilliam

Corbett is a visionary leader with expertise in business operations, digital/social strategy execution, brand strategy, and content marketing. He has a proven track record of achieving exceptional results within the FinTech, mobile, livestreaming, and SaaS sectors. Corbett has a history of transforming a companies core business model and marketing strategy to achieve objectives in revenue growth and profitability.

Corbett is a graduate of the University of Georgia where he obtained a bachelor’s degree economics. He also earned his master’s degree in business administration from Mercer University’s Stetson School of Business and Economics.

Aubrey Lenyard

Community Engagement Manager

Aubrey Lenyard

Aubrey’s focus is to identify, cultivate, and build relationships with sponsors, mentors, corporations, partners, and community-based organizations that promote technology and startup development. In this role, he will plan and implement a variety of project-based activities to support ATDC’s operations, and support community and marketing outreach initiatives.

He is responsible for the organization’s community-based functions and social events.

Aubrey has previously held similar roles at Kids ‘R’ Kids, CNN, and with the Atlanta Hawks. A serial entrepreneur himself, he is currently the Founder of AubSauce, a small-batch line of gourmet barbecue sauces. He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine Magazine, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and NPR.

He designed custom wedding gowns for 15 years.

Aubrey obtained his bachelor’s degree in Design from the American College for Art. He loves good food, classic movies, musical theater, and Wonder Woman. He resides in Decatur, Georgia.

Zebib Tsegay

Event Coordinator

Zebib Tsegay

Zebib brings the ATDC community together with event creation and planning, a part of the job she’s well-equipped to perform. She also manages administrative duties to support the team.

Zebib’s background includes customer service, event planning, and administrative roles. She most recently worked as the office coordinator for a property management company, where she was responsible for developing and maintaining tenant relationships. Event coordination experience is part of her experience as well, and she looks forward to using those skills at ATDC.

She has worked as an actor in Atlanta’s thriving film industry. She can be seen in Suicide Squad 2 and briefly in an episode of Ozark. With her time in the spotlight behind her, she now enjoys being in the audience for films, particularly documentaries. She also likes spending time with her family and visiting coffee shops.

LEADERSHIP

ATDC’s leadership team recruits and retains an incredible staff, runs multiple facilities, and spearheads statewide outreach and fundraising.

John Avery

John Avery

Director
Ben Andrews

Ben Andrews

Statewide Program Manager
Nakia Melecio

Nakia Melecio

Senior Startup and Deep Tech Catalyst
Chris Nedza

Chris Nedza

Interim Lead Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Ivy Towns

Ivy Towns

Senior Program and Operations Manager
John Avery

Director

John Avery

John is a serial entrepreneur who was part of four startups. A tech startup veteran with broad experience in data and wireless voice technologies, John was co-founder and chief technology officer of Convergence Corp., a maker of software that connects wireless devices to the Internet. Amazon acquired the company in 1999. Following that acquisition, he joined Amazon as engineering manager.

In 2001, John became an early employee of Mobliss, a mobile applications and messaging solutions company in the entertainment space. He later became the company’s chief technology officer. Japan’s Index Corp., a developer of mobile phone content and information and other media services such as video on demand, acquired Mobliss in 2004.

He holds six patents.

Most recently, he was engineering group manager of Panasonic Automotive Systems’ Panasonic Innovation Center at the Georgia Tech campus. At Panasonic, John oversaw the innovation center’s development projects in next-generation automotive systems including, infotainment, bio-sensing, machine vision, deep learning, and heads-up displays.

He is a Georgia Tech graduate with a bachelor’s degree in engineering.

Ben Andrews

Statewide Program Manager

Ben Andrews

Ben joined ATDC as Community Engagement Coordinator in the fall of 2017. After graduating from the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Scheller College of Business in 2009, Ben began his career working for the Community and Economic Development Department for the city of Americus. While working for the city, he earned his MBA from Georgia Southwestern State University. In 2013 he was promoted to department director, becoming the youngest senior staff member in the city’s modern history. Ben oversaw a variety of boards and authorities, and worked with recruiting, retaining, and assisting small businesses. He was regularly invited to speak at various conferences about the work being accomplished by him and his team in Americus.

In 2016 he returned to Atlanta to work for the American Cancer Society in the role of Senior Market Manager for Community Engagement. There he worked with various verticals within the Atlanta market, ranging from fundraising to mission delivery.

Outside of work Ben is active in his community. He has served as a board member for several non-profit organizations and has worked to address issues ranging from affordable housing and cyclist and pedestrian safety, to improving childhood literacy. He has managed capital campaigns for various charitable organizations. Currently, he is a board member of GeorgiaForward, a non-partisan think tank focused on policy issues across the state. He also is chairman of alumni engagement for GeorgiaForward’s Young Gamechanger program. In September 2014, Rural Leader Magazine named him one of the top four selections for its inaugural “40 Under 40” publication.

Nakia Melecio

Senior Startup and Deep Tech Catalyst

Nakia Melecio

Nakia helps researchers commercialize their technology in biotechnology, energy, defense, military technology, education, government technology, and aerospace. He also helps them secure investments from a network of federally funded laboratories, universities, and corporations. Throughout his career, he has worked with industry, academia, and government. As a result, Nakia has a unique and deep understanding of the early-stage innovation ecosystem and technology transfer, proven scientific and technical expertise, and decades of operational experience in technology-driven, high-growth companies. He has successfully helped startups and to develop businesses worldwide in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Nigeria, and Ghana.

Nakia’s passion as a business advisor, deep-tech, deep-science mentor, and startup coach inspires and helps entrepreneurs and startups spun out of university research. A seasoned entrepreneur, Nakia allows entrepreneurs execute on their ideas while guiding them in the total startup journey — from product development and selling to the government, to their go-to-market strategy and customer discovery to scaling a company and getting capital. He has worked with more than 700 startups worldwide, with more than 15,000 hours of classroom time working with entrepreneurs.

Nakia is an active member and mentor of the technology community and a frequent contributor to numerous business organizations, including the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). He is a longtime technology startup mentor, having served in that role at the:

    • Advanced Technology Development Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology
    • the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (NSF I-Corps)
    • the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM)
    • Georgia Tech Create-X mentor
    • MIT Hack Medicine
    • Department of Defense lab mentor
    • NSF I-Corps Adjunct Instructor at Georgia Tech
    • Hack for Defense Instructor (H4D)
    • Defense Innovation Accelerator Mentor (DIA)
    • StartMe at Emory University

He also has a deep understanding of SBIR-STTR. He has been intimately involved with many new emerging growth technologies, including government, universities, and corporate innovation. He is a board member for several startups and is involved in two health-tech medical device startups, which are being actively funded by SBIR Phase I NIH and SBIR Phase I NSF grants.

Nakia has a master’s degree in education, teaching, and learning, and educational technology; a bachelor’s degree in psychology; and a bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science. He also has a doctorate degree in psychology, educational psychology, educational leadership.


Nakia’s Hours:

ATDC Headquarters
Tuesday-Thursday 10:00am – 11:30pm
Meet with Nakia in Atlanta

Chris Nedza

Interim Lead Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Chris Nedza

Founder and the ignition fuel for ZeeZor, Chris Nedza is a creative thinker, enthusiastic helper, and an eternal optimist. Chris currently serves as Interim Lead Entrepreneur-In-Residence for ATDC.  Chris believes the role of leadership is to build an unbeatable and sustainable culture by catching people doing the right things — and letting them know.

Chris is a serial entrepreneur and a glutton for punishment. He loves diving into a startup business and doesn’t quit until it’s a success. He’s built an Inc. 500 company, successfully served as the turnaround CEO of a restaurant point-of-sale business, and became CEO of an Ozone-based technology firm. He even brought his creative thinking and love of students to Gwinnett County Public Schools by becoming a teacher and ultimately coordinator of academy business partnerships in 2015.

He developed ZeeZor as a real-time mobile reporting tool so his wife could better manage their chain of hair salons. He quickly realized the power of ZeeZor was not in the speed or flexibility of its mobile reporting, but the ability for leadership to connect, recognize, and show immediate appreciation to their staff.

ZeeZor has become the leader of employee engagement and counts the most influential, leading salon organizations and manufacturers as clients.

He also is founder of CMD Services, a single-source provider for print, on-demand print production, variable data programming, and all fulfillment requirements through direct mail services.

Chris is in constant contact with industry thought leaders and has a voracious appetite for studying the data and identifying patterns and trends within the industry ZeeZor serves. He is a frequent contributing author, keynote speaker, devoted husband, father to six sons, drummer at church, and championship-level pizza eater.

He is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in economics and earned his MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

Chris’ Hours:

ATDC Headquarters
Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:00am – 5:00pm
Meet with Chris in Atlanta

Ivy Towns

Senior Program and Operations Manager

Ivy Towns

Ivy provides ongoing support to ATDC companies through membership planning and management. She also plans, executes and leads the ATDC Startup Showcase, ATDC’s largest event of the year. She administers to the broader ATDC Community as well, through member support and programming. Ivy is a graduate of the University of South Carolina-Columbia with a Bachelor’s of Business Administration.

What is ATDC?

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