Advisory Board

John Hardin, Acting Executive Director, North Carolina Board of Science and Technology, North Carolina Department of Commerce
John Hardin is the Deputy Director & Chief Policy Analyst for the North Carolina Board of Science and Technology. The Board advises and makes recommendations to the North Carolina Governor, General Assembly, Secretary of Commerce, and Economic Development Board on the role of science and technology in the economic growth and development of the state. From 1998 to 2003, he served as Assistant Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs at the UNC General Administration. The division advises and assists the University president in the planning, administrative review, development, promotion, and evaluation of research and sponsored programs within the 16 UNC institutions. From 1998 to 2005, he held an Adjunct Assistant Professor position in the Department of Political Science at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he taught courses on American government, political institutions, and state and local politics. He currently holds an Adjunct Assistant Professor position in the Department of Public Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he teaches courses on American politics, public policy, and policy analysis. Hardin holds the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in political science from UNC-Chapel Hill, and a B.A. in economics from Baylor University.

Luther Hodges Jr., President, Phoenix Associates, Inc.
Luther Hodges is a retired banker, but remains active by serving on many corporate and charitable boards of directors. He is President of Phoenix Associates, Inc., a small venture capital and an Adjunct Professor at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School teaching an MBA course on business-government relations. Mr. Hodges serves as a director of Piedmont Pharmaceutical Company, Open Finance Network, Homeowners Insurance Corporation of America, and Advanced Safety Concepts, Inc. He was previously Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The National Bank of Washington Bancorporation, Under Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and Acting Secretary of the United States Department of Commerce, Chairman of the Board, North Carolina National Bank, and Director, NCNB Corporation (now Bank America Corporation). He is a past member of the UNC Board of Visitors and UNC Board of Governors. He holds a BA from UNC-CH and earned an MBA from Harvard.

Lisa Jones Christensen, Assistant Professor, Sustainable Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Kenan-Flagler School of Business
The research and teaching of Lisa Jones Christensen focus on sustainable enterprise in the United States and in developing economies, corporate social responsibility, leadership, change management and change implementation. Dr. Christensen's research has been published in edited books and journals, including the Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Business Ethics and Academy of Management. She worked for nearly 10 years as a marketing and sales manager at Silicon Valley startup firms before she began her academic career. She also co-founded and sits on the board of H.E.L.P. Honduras (now HELP-International), a nonprofit organization which emphasizes economic self-reliance and microfinance principles in developing economies. Dr. Christensen has consulted with various public and private sector firms, including SJF Ventures, Johnson & Johnson, BST Consulting, Earthbound Farms, Sustainable Harvest, Pioneer Hi-Bred (DuPont), Procter & Gamble, UNC Hospitals and Papa Johns Pizza. She received her PhD in organizational behavior from UNC Kenan-Flagler, her MBA from the Marriott School and an MA in international development from the David Kennedy School, both at Brigham Young University. She received her BA from the University of California at Berkeley.

Justyn J. Kasierski, Attorney, Hutchison Law Group
Justyn advises technology and emerging growth companies at all stages of development across a range of industries, including software, e-commerce, networking, advanced materials, medical devices, biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals. He also represents angel and venture capital funds in their fundraising and investment activities. Justyn counsels clients on day-to-day legal and business issues, and his transactional experience includes start-up and formation, public and private offerings of equity and debt securities, mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions and strategic partnerships. Justyn joined Hutchison Law Group after practicing in the Waltham office of Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin &anp; Hachigian, LLP, a national venture law firm. During his tenure at Gunderson Dettmer, Justyn represented a variety of private and public technology companies and also served as counsel for a number of leading venture capital funds. Justyn currently serves as Executive-in-Residence in the North Carolina State University College of Management's Technology, Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Program. He is also Co-Chair of the North Carolina Bar Association's Technology and Emerging Growth Companies Committee. Justyn received his J.D., cum laude, from Duke University School of Law and his B.S., summa cum laude, from the University of Rhode Island.

Henry McKoy, Chairman, Fourth Sector Bancorp
Henry McKoy is currently the Chairman of Fourth-Sector Bancorp, a NC-based bank holding company and the Nation's first venture bank devoted to sustainable enterprises. Henry spent 10 years in Corporate Finance, Banking and Technology for Central Carolina Bank, National Commerce Financial, and SunTrust. In 2004, he launched CASS Intelligence Networks, an information technology company specializing in financial and educational business intelligence, in the Research Triangle Park and whose clients include the National Science Foundation, educational institutions and 18 universities across North Carolina.Henry has worked with more than 100 non-profits since 1993 and founded the non-profit think tank, OneVoice Institute of Business and Entrepreneurship (OneVIBE) in 1999, which he still chairs, to focus on the connections between Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Henry sits on, and chairs, numerous boards across North Carolina related to sustainability, community development, business and education including Sustainable North Carolina, EmPOWERment Inc., and the NC Council on Economic Education. He graduated with a BSBA from the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School program in 1995.

Bonny Moellenbrock, Executive Director, SJF Advisory Services
Bonny Moellenbrock is Executive Director of SJF Advisory Services, a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to businesses whose expansion generates environmental, societal and employment gains. SJF Advisory Services works with hundreds of entrepreneurs each year through one-on-one assistance and events focused on helping companies get ready for equity investment or other financing. The organization also promotes environmental and workforce innovation by assisting and showcasing companies with successful cleantech business models and effective workforce engagement strategies. SJF Advisory Services is allied with SJF Ventures, a venture capital fund with $45 MM under management that invests in high-growth companies that positively impact the world, focusing on the cleantech, technology-enhanced services, and premium consumer products sectors. SJF provides equity financing from $1 to $5 million, solo or in syndicates, to established companies that are seeking expansion capital. Bonny has been with SJF since 2001, first serving in administrative and investment roles. As SJF Ventures Managing Director, she served on the Investment Committee, generated deal flow in the natural consumer products sector, conducted due diligence on prospect companies, and monitored portfolio companies. Prior to SJF, Bonny worked in management capacities at nonprofit and entrepreneurial ventures. She holds an MBA, a Master of Regional Planning, and a BA in Environmental Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Neeta Patel, Director, Technology Monitoring & Development, Duke Energy
Neeta Patel is responsible for shaping technological innovation and growth opportunities at Duke Energy where she and her team identify, evaluate and drive adoption of emerging energy related technologies for the company. She has developed a comprehensive technology strategy covering technologies in six areas: modernizing the electric transmission & distribution grid; developing the fifth fuel (energy efficiency); greening the existing coal generation fleet; introducing competitive sources of utility-scale green energy; promoting green distributed energy resources; and water conservation and treatment. In addition, Neeta is currently working on creating a 2030 vision of how technologies will shape the utility of the future and will be developing a strategic roadmap for achieving that vision. Neeta has worked for Duke Energy (formerly Cinergy) since January 2000 in various roles including: Manager, Strategic Planning; Director, Market Strategy for Duke Energy Generation Services; and Director, Broadband over Power Line where she helped create the vision and pilot program for "Utility of the Future". Prior to Duke, Neeta provided consulting services to the UK/Europe hi-tech sector in such areas as strategic marketing & positioning, internal communications, change management and business process reengineering. Her clients included a range of small and large enterprises throughout the UK and Europe including Peoplesoft, Oracle, Sainsbury's, Cincom, MicroCadam, American Megatrends, SDRC, Rebus and Flemming Group. Neeta holds an MBA from City University and a BSc in Mathematics from Brunel University, both in London (UK).

Jonathan Philips, Senior Director, Cherokee
Mr. Philips specializes in investment, strategic and structuring activities. Through his work identifying, analyzing and executing transactions, Mr. Philips has forged partnerships with communities, organizations, agencies and officials. Prior to joining Cherokee, he served as an executive officer and General Counsel of a closely held company headquartered in New York City, where he identified, structured and closed private equity investment and strategic relationships. Previously, Mr. Philips practiced as a corporate attorney with Davis Polk & Wardwell in the Merger and Acquisitions and Capital Markets groups, where he represented private equity, banking and corporate clients in over 25 transactions, comprising over a billion dollars of closing value. Before Davis Polk, Mr. Philips founded and led a Manhattan-based company and, previously, worked as a strategic management consultant. Mr. Philips has served as an advisor to corporate and nonprofit entities and is actively involved with several nonprofits throughout the country. He received his law degree from the Yale Law School, where he was an Olin Fellow in Law and Economics, and his Bachelors degree from the University of Virginia, where he was an Echols Scholar with double Highest Distinction. He and his wife Eva have three children.

Beth M. Ritter, SVP Human Resources, Burt's Bees
Prior to joining Burt's Bees, Beth Provided HR leadership and support to the Global Supply Chain for the Campbell Soup Company. While there she also supported their Food Services business and led the Occupational Health, Safety and Wellness strategies. Previous to that she provided HR support to foods businesses of the Nabisco Brands Company. Those brands included Planters Peanuts, Lifesavers Confections, Cream of Wheat, A-1 Steak Sauce and Grey Poupon mustards. Ritter holds an MBA from Old Dominion University and a BA in Labor Relations from The Pennsylvania State University.

Brian Schneiderman, Vice-President and Director, Real Estate and Facilities Lending, Self-Help Credit Union and Ventures Fund
Brian Schneiderman is the Vice-President and Director for Real Estate and Facilities Lending for Self-Help Credit Union and Ventures Fund. Self-Help Ventures Fund and Credit Union are subsidiaries of the Center for Community Self-Help, the nation's first statewide community development financial institution, providing development financing for business and housing purposes in North Carolina. As Director for Real Estate and Facilities, Schneiderman oversees a $150+ million portfolio and focuses on lending strategy, loan operations and asset management for Self-Help's larger and more structured loans, many of which utilize loan programs such as New Market Tax Credits. Prior to joining Self-Help in 2004, Schneiderman ran two small business near-equity loan funds for ShoreBank. Additionally, he's worked with FINCA International's domestic micro lending program in Washington, DC. In 1993, he helped start a non-profit initiative in El Salvador which supported farmers and organizations to develop individual and community economic projects which also benefited the environment and the health of the community. Schneiderman is also a co-founder and Board member of Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (in Cleveland, OH) and Board member of Durham Literacy Center. He has an undergraduate degree in international studies from the University of North Carolina and a Masters of Business Administration from Case Western Reserve University.

Bill Starling, CEO, Synecor
Bill Starling is CEO of Synecor, LLC, focusing its efforts on the identification and development of proprietary, transformational technologies with extraordinary market potential in the cardiovascular and GI disease field. Starling is also general partner of Synergy Life Science Partners, LP, a $143 million venture capital partnership investing in Silicon Valley and Research Triangle Park medical device start-up companies. Starling has spent 30 years in the medical device industry. He was a founding management team member for Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (acquired by Lilly/Guidant/Abbott), and was a co-founder, officer, and board member of Ventritex, Inc. (IPO in 1992, acquired by St. Jude Medical in 1997). In 1992, he was cofounder, chairman, and president and chief executive officer of Cardiac Pathways Corporation (IPO in 1996, acquired by Boston Scientific Corporation in 2001). Starling has been primarily responsible for raising more than $300 million in private and public capital for the companies that he has co-founded, which have combined annual revenues exceeding $2.75 billion. Starling earned a BSBA from UNC-CH and holds an MBA from the University of Southern California. He also serves on the UNC Carolina First Steering Committee.

Tim Toben, Partner, Greenbridge Developments
Tim Toben is the founder and former CEO of KnowledgeBase Marketing, Inc, a Chapel Hill-based database and analytic firm. Since selling his company in 1999, Toben has focused on global climate change and enterprises designed to reduce carbon emissions at the state and local level. Toben serves on the NC Legislative Commission on Climate Change and the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources "Climate Action Plan Advisory Group." He also serves on the Board of NC Environmental Defense and is Vice Chairman of the Board of Visitors at the UNC-CH Environmental Program. Toben and his wife Megan operate an organic farm in Western Orange County, where they grow vegetables for a Community Sponsored Agricultural Program (CSA) and make biodiesel from waste vegetable grease. Their farm runs on a hybrid solar and wind renewable energy system, which serves as a "sustainability field site" for UNC-CH.

Jesse White, Director, UNC Office of Economic and Business Development
Dr. Jesse L. White, Jr., is Director of the Office of Economic and Business Development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also holds the title of Adjunct Professor in the School of Government. Prior to coming to UNC-Chapel Hill in January 2003, he served for almost nine years as Federal Co-Chairman of the Appalachian Regional Commission; and from 1982-1990, he led the Southern Growth Policies Board as its executive director. White was also a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University in 1990 and a private consultant in economic development in the early nineties. White received his B.A. at the University of Mississippi in political science and history, a master's degree in international relations from the University of Sussex, and his Ph. D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, serves on the boards of Regional Technology Strategies, Rural LISC, the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, and the Association of Appalachian Colleges.

M. Rhem Wooten, Jr., President, Allied SynGas Corporation
A 25-year veteran of the energy industry, Mr. Wooten currently is President of Allied Syngas Corporation, a company which is commercializing the British Gas Lurgi (BGL) gasification process in North America. Allied is focused on converting a variety of coal, waste and biomass streams into natural gas, hydrogen, electricity and other high value energy streams, while dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of these products. Mr. Wooten previously held a number of senior management positions in the Duke Energy family of companies. He was responsible for conceptualizing, structuring and starting up Duke's domestic and international independent power units, serving as President of those units from 1989-1996. He was also instrumental in the formation and development of Duke/Louis Dreyfus, the company's pioneering effort in electric power marketing from 1994-1997. Following his tenure at Duke, Mr. Wooten served as Chief Executive Officer of Merchant Energy Group of the Americas (MEGA). Founded by Mr. Wooten in 1997, MEGA was the U.S. joint venture between Gener, S.A. of Santiago, Chile and TransAlta Corporation of Calgary, Alberta, the largest independent power companies in South America and Canada, respectively. MEGA's business focus was the acquisition and management of long-term physical and contractual energy positions on behalf of its customers and for its own account. Mr. Wooten graduated with Honors from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1981 with a B.S. degree in Business Administration.