Meet the VentureWell staff—a team of experts, leaders, and high-performing individuals committed to expanding the impact of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Department
Meet the VentureWell staff—a team of experts, leaders, and high-performing individuals committed to expanding the impact of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Department
Hollie Alvarez
Director, Events Strategy and Sponsorship
Hollie is the events lead at VentureWell, overseeing the planning and implementation of programs and events, and focusing significantly on the work of the Investor Catalyst Hub. Since 2014, Hollie has worked closely with VentureWell to execute flawless settings for early-stage innovators to network and learn, including work with the National Institutes of Health’s RADx® Tech initiative, where she was named a RADx® Distinguished Fellow. She holds dual Bachelor of Business Administration degrees in Marketing and in Management, and a Master of Business Administration in Business Management.
Pamela Berry
Marketing and Communications Officer
Pamela develops and implements innovative communication strategies to effectively convey VentureWell’s mission and initiatives, leveraging her extensive experience in journalism, public relations, and marketing to engage and inspire diverse audiences. She has a rich background in newspaper journalism, strategic communication for higher education institutions, and nonprofit marketing communications. She holds a B.A. in English with a focus on Journalism from Jackson State University, and has completed coursework towards an M.S. in Mass Communications at the same institution.
Collin Bunch
Marketing and Communications Officer
Collin Bunch will be expanding the impact for the E-Team and ASPIRE programs in his role as Marketing and Communications Officer. He has a proven track record for reaching and engaging with diverse student and faculty teams, including meeting them through channels and groups they already trust. Collin holds an M.B.A. in Ethical & Strategic Leadership and an undergraduate degree in Marketing.
Claire Coletti
Marketing and Communications Officer
Claire Coletti coordinates ongoing communications on behalf of the GIST Program at VentureWell. She has a rich and varied background, including design work for various community organizations and nonprofits, often with a strong emphasis on social justice and advocacy; she is also the founder of a tech-finance startup dedicated to developing cooperative housing. Claire holds a Master’s Degree in Architecture and a minor in Tech Entrepreneurship.
Monica Concepcion
Event Manager
Monica plans and executes events for the ARPA-H Investor Catalyst Hub. She brings over 17 years of experience working with mission-driven nonprofits and innovative scientific startups, where she has demonstrated her expertise in planning complex, high-touch events, including investor meetings, dignitary visits, press announcements, and milestone celebrations. Monica holds a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University.
Courtney Drauschke
Director, Brand and Content Strategy
Courtney oversees brand- and development-related marketing across the organization through the design of full-scale integrated marketing and communications campaigns. With over 15 years of experience in marketing and communications, Courtney has worked for companies of all sizes in fields including advertising, publishing, higher education, and healthcare. Courtney holds a Bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Colby College and a Master’s in Corporate and Organizational Communication from Northeastern University.
Eliza Gallo
Marketing and Communications Officer
Eliza oversees digital content as part of VentureWell’s marketing and communications strategy, with a focus on websites, social media, and email marketing. Prior to joining the company, she worked in university communications, launching and developing a variety of websites, blogs, and social media channels, with the goal of presenting institutional content in an engaging, appealing way. Eliza also draws on her experience as a magazine journalist, at publications ranging from Architectural Digest to Archaeology Magazine. She holds a B.A. from Columbia University.
Max Germer
Marketing and Communications Officer
Max is the designer for marketing and communications for VentureWell and partner programs. He oversees the visual brand voice throughout the organization and strives to create engaging, impactful design in print and web. Max has 25 years of leading creative teams, including as senior designer for E-commerce at Yankee Candle and art director for Darby O’Brien Advertising. Max holds a B.S. in Graphic Design from Keene State College.
Jillian Gorry
Marketing and Communications Officer
Jillian focuses on writing and editing content to support VentureWell’s thought leadership work. Previously, Jillian supported Pace University’s rebrand efforts, ran its official student newsletter, and was selected to serve on its first Presidential Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion committee. She has also launched her own digital publication, FemHype, for women and nonbinary video gamers. Jillian is a double alumna of Pace University, having earned a B.A. in English Language and Literature as well as an M.S. in Publishing with a digital focus.
Annie Harris
Senior Communications and Outreach Officer
Annie oversees communications strategy for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Investor Catalyst Hub, recruiting and engaging new hub members, and promoting the work of the hub and opportunities for member contribution. She has worked in healthcare communications for leading medical organizations for more than eight years, with extensive experience developing and executing communications strategies, integrating public relations, internal communications, and marketing to promote brand awareness and develop an organization’s reputation. Annie holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Virginia.
Julia Johnson
Event Manager
Julia provides event management for VentureWell meetings, events, and programs. She brings more than 20 years of professional experience in conference support, event planning management, and event content/programming planning. She has handled everything from providing customer service to creating budgets, from creating travel arrangement packages to negotiating contracts and requests for proposals. She holds an Associate’s Degree in Meeting and Event Management. She currently holds four hospitality industry certifications, and she is a member of multiple professional meeting and events associations.
Nadine Kavanaugh
Senior Marketing and Communications Officer
Nadine Kavanaugh creates and executes VentureWell’s editorial strategy. She has worked in entrepreneurship for the past decade, notably at The Wharton School and Techstars, and she brings to VentureWell a keen editorial sensibility and a profound desire to support innovation that makes the world a better place. She has an M.F.A. in Fiction Writing from Columbia University and a B.A. in English from the University of Chicago, and she has taught writing and communications at several universities, including two in the Ivy League.
Brianca Kirkman
Senior Marketing and Communications Officer
In her role, Brianca develops storytelling and digital marketing campaigns for students, faculty, and entrepreneurs to spread the word about VentureWell and its programming. In past experiences, Brianca has built national marketing campaigns for political movements that have raised multiple six figures, garnered national press attention, and mobilized tens of thousands of volunteers. She holds a B.A. in Business Administration with Marketing Concentration from University of Missouri–St. Louis and an M.A. in Marketing and Advertising Communications from Webster University.
Leah Loch
Director, Program Marketing and Membership
Leah supports VentureWell’s mission via strategic, well organized, and creative marketing and communications. She has over a decade of experience promoting entrepreneurship education in grades K-14+. She has collaborated with executives at the National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship on a communications strategy including email, website, webinars, print materials, social media, events, and press, and more. She graduated from Miami University of Ohio with a B.A. in Communications and Spanish and a Minor in Child Studies.
Sara Kay Mooney
Marketing and Communications Officer
Sara Kay brings over a decade of experience working in nonprofit marketing and communications. Most recently, she served as the director of Marketing & Communications for Education Pioneers, where her work included leading an enterprise-level rebranding initiative, a comprehensive website redesign, updating core collateral, and establishing a regularly convening cross-functional communications committee. Sara Kay holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Davidson College and a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of North Carolina–Greensboro.
Autumn Pandolfo
Events Manager
Autumn plans and manages VentureWell events. She became interested in the innovation community while managing an annual conference for prolific academic patent holders, entrepreneurs, and students at the National Academy of Inventors. Autumn earned a Bachelor of Psychology Degree from the University of South Florida and a Master of Business Administration Degree with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from the University of Tampa.
Angela Russo
Associate Vice President, Marketing, Communications, and Events
Angela supports the marketing and promotion of VentureWell early-stage venture programs, faculty grants, and events, as well as collateral development and design. Prior to joining VentureWell, she worked in publishing, higher education, and technology development, where she helped both corporations and non-profit organizations find their vision and stay true-to-brand. She has expertise in marketing strategy, collateral design, and project management. Angela received a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Jalen Scott
Social Media and Data Manager
Jalen is VentureWell’s Social Media and Data Manager, based in his Denver home office. Jalen previously spearheaded organic strategy on multiple platforms, and he has successfully launched new accounts for various brands. Jalen holds a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Science with double concentrations in Digital Culture and English from Arizona State University.
Gillian Wilson
Communications and Outreach Officer
Gillian supports the development and implementation of communications strategies to raise awareness of the ARPA-H Investor Catalyst Hub’s programs and events. She has eight years of experience overseeing digital communications at several organizations in Washington, D.C., including the United Nations Association, where she supported both external communications and internal outreach, and the U.S. Travel Association, where she was responsible for the development and execution of the organization’s digital communications strategy. She graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and International Studies.
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