Our Team
At The Innovation Space, our dedicated team of experts is committed to empowering startups with world-class resources, strategic mentorship, and innovative solutions. Together, we create a supportive ecosystem that drives your vision forward and accelerates your success.
Leadership
William D. Provine, Ph.D.
President & CEO
Bill is the founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of the Innovation Space in addition to a member of its Board of Directors. In this role, Bill oversees all operations and is responsible for its overall performance. Prior to joining the Innovation Space, Bill worked for DuPont where he led global operations for science and engineering encompassing DuPont’s open innovation practice that included oversight for DuPont’s innovation centers and regional laboratories around the world. He also has served in a variety of research, marketing, business development, joint venture, and manufacturing leadership roles in DuPont over the last 30 years. Bill is very active in cultivating and advancing science across sectors and has served on numerous private company, university, industrial, governmental, and scientific association advisory and management boards and committees. He currently serves on the board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) supporting scientific research and advocacy; the Resolution Project, supporting social entrepreneurship; and the National Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship with US Department of Commerce, supporting creation of a national entrepreneurship strategy.
RoseAnn Rosenthal
Managing Director, First Fund
Mrs. Rosenthal serves as the Managing Director for the First Fund at the Innovation Space. She gained national, regional, and local recognition for her years of work in economic development and particularly in technology-based economic development. These include the 2008 Founders Award from Delaware’s Early-Stage East fund for her work in support of investment and entrepreneurship across state lines. She recently transitioned, after 25 years, from her role as President, CEO, and Board member of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeast PA where she remains a Senior Advisor and Board Emeritus.
At Ben Franklin, Mrs. Rosenthal introduced the investment approach now used by the BFTPs statewide, enabling the state support to evergreen and build over time. At Ben Franklin, she oversaw the design and implementation of the first round of SSBCI funds for early- stage investment as well as other federal investment and technical assistance programs. She has provided input to the US Treasury on the current SSBCI program via her participation with SSTI and NVCA.
Mrs. Rosenthal has served on many advisory committees at the national level, through multiple administrations, has testified before Congress on issues of regional economic development, and was one of the initial members of the National Advisory Committee for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She has been recognized for her work to advance women and minorities in areas of entrepreneurship. She was key to the recent launch of the JVS Philadelphia Fund for Women and has advised the minority-led Plain Sight Ventures. She has served on both public and non-profit boards and remains active with several non-profit organizations advancing issues including the impact economy and global trade.
She is also active in the angel investment community. In 2017, Mrs. Rosenthal co-founded and remains Chair of Broad Street Angels, a 120+ member angel group based at the Union League of Philadelphia.
Alex Dulin
Chief Operating Officer
Alex currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer for the Innovation Space. In this role, Alex is responsible for all aspects of the Innovation Space’s facilities and laboratory operations including ongoing scientific operations, building/ facility maintenance, and capital improvement projects. Prior to accepting this role, Alex received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware and joined ExxonMobil Research & Engineering upon graduation. In seven years with ExxonMobil, Alex held a variety of roles within R&D Engineering, Laboratory Operations, & Process Research functions across multiple US research facilities. Most recently, Alex held assignments as the Laboratory Operations Engineering Team Lead for the Upstream Research Company in Houston, TX, followed by an assignment as a Process Development researcher located at the ExxonMobil R&D headquarters in Clinton, NJ. Over the years, Alex has worked on a variety of R&D programs, most recently supporting a portfolio of CO2 reduction initiatives in the carbon capture/storage & biofuels markets.
Marcie Reilly, MS
Chief Growth Officer
Marcie Reilly is the Chief Growth Officer at The Innovation Space, where she leads external communications, strategic partnerships, and programs that support startups in life sciences, clean tech, and advanced materials. With a background in materials engineering and venture development, she brings deep expertise in customer discovery, marketing, ecosystem-building, and startup acceleration.
Before joining The Innovation Space, Marcie co-founded a tech startup in the events industry after years of commercializing technologies across the healthcare continuum. She held multiple roles at Cleveland Clinic Innovations, the commercialization arm of the #2 healthcare system in the U.S., where she most recently served as Director, Global Healthcare Innovation Alliance, supporting innovation efforts across a global network of industry and academic partners.
Earlier in her career, Marcie played a pivotal role in bringing biomaterial and cardiovascular products to market in several product development engineering roles at Kensey Nash Corporation (now DSM Biomedical).
She holds both a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Materials Engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.
Hattie Duplechain, M.Ed.
Principal Consultant, Operations and Impact Measurement
Hattie currently serves as our Principal Consultant, Operations and Impact Measurement. She has over 10 years of experience leading education and professional development. Prior to joining the Innovation Space, Hattie led incubator programming focused on innovation and social entrepreneurship for a global network of colleges and universities. Hattie holds an M.Ed. in International Education from Vanderbilt University and dual B.A. degrees in Communication Studies and English from Clemson University.
Mike Braun
Assistant Dir, Research Facilities Operations
Mike currently serves as the Manager of Laboratory Operations at the Innovation Space. In this role, Mike is responsible for lab safety, chemical hygiene, and facility maintenance. Prior to joining the Innovation Space, Mike spent several years working at the Experimental Station for Bayshore Transportation in a variety of operational roles. In prior roles, Mike maintained databases for Bayshore Records Management, and held a facility maintenance position with Chase Bank. Mike’s expertise includes all aspects of laboratory operations including building and laboratory equipment maintenance and IT system development and optimization.
James Carter, Ph.D.
Sr. Staff Scientist & Lab Manager
Prior to joining the team at the Innovation Space, Carter attended University of California, Davis where he received a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Toxicology. After which Carter earned a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His doctoral work involved the chemical and electronic characterization of thin films using advanced x-ray & electron-based spectroscopies.
Carter currently serves as Sr. Staff Scientist & Lab Manager within the Innovation Space. In this role, Carter manages a dynamic array of analytical equipment available to all our clients and interfaces with each company to better understand any challenges they might be facing with regards to the characterization of their materials.
Grace Buck
Program Manager
Grace is a recent early graduate from the University of Delaware as of December 2021. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in English, as well as minors in Advertising and Human Development. Grace first began at the Innovation Space as the Program intern during the first Science Inc. cohort in the Spring of 2021. Post-graduation, she has now moved into the role of Program Manager where she facilitates and assists with program operations, communications, content creation, and resource collection.
Nyheir Hayes
Client Experience Manager
Nyheir currently serves as the Client experience manager at the Innovation Space. In this role Nyheir leads the Innovation Space’s engagement with current clients. Prior to joining the Innovation Space, Nyheir received her B.S. in Forensic Biology from Delaware State University. Upon graduating Nyheir joined QPS as an Associate Scientist where she contributed to their bioanalytical department. Nyheir also served as a Forensic Scientist for the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab, where her lab work contributed to the identification of 100+ fallen soldiers.
Emanuel Ortiz
Facilities Coordinator
Emanuel Ortiz (Manny) is an experienced life sciences professional with over 15 years in laboratory operations and management. He began his career as a teenager at the University of Pennsylvania, where he developed a deep passion for managing lab environments and ensuring the highest standards of safety and compliance. Today, Manny is the founder of Pristinology, Philadelphia’s first Latino-owned scientific cleaning company, and continues to apply his expertise at The Innovation Space, where he is committed to fostering a collaborative and efficient laboratory space that drives scientific advancement.
Dario Vasquez
Program Manager
Dario Vasquez currently serves as the Partnerships Program Manager for the Innovation Space and supports relationships with universities and students. Dario has experience managing entrepreneurship programs at Columbia University including the NSF I-Corps program, startup bootcamps, and pitch competitions. He has a continued proven track record of managing programs for entrepreneurs to scale their startups across several sectors including technology, health, and engineering. Dario is an avid supporter of the Open Startup organization based in Tunisia that provides young entrepreneurs with resources from US universities and international partners to scale their startups. Prior to Columbia, Dario managed grants for the Rockefeller Foundation and other private foundations. He studied Environmental Studies at Dickinson College, PA and interned for a Brooklyn, NY based startup to support business development operations for a producer of eco-friendly cleaning products. Dario will graduate in May 2023 from Columbia University’s SIPA program with an EMPA degree, concentration in Innovation & Management.
Entrepreneurs-In-Residence (EIRs)
Gail Ball
Gail serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Innovation Space, where she brings her vast knowledge and networks of investors, investment philosophy, and financial expertise to help assist our startups. Most recently, in her role as Associate Director, Horn Entrepreneurship, University of Delaware, she is leading the creation of a new Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative. As employee #23 of venture capital industry disruptor Alumni Ventures Group, she was the Founding Managing Partner of Chestnut Street Ventures and the AVG Women’s Fund and AVG Social Impact Fund for which she raised nearly $20MM and invested in over 75 companies across all sectors and stages. In industry, she served as COO of The Bancorp Bank, the innovative banking solution provider for the most recognizable names in digital banking. She also filled executive roles at PNC, Chase, Capital One, and NCO Financial Systems. In addition, Gail headed the Payments Studies Group at the Richmond Fed and served as Board Member and Risk Committee Chair at Kompanion, Inc., one of Central Asia’s largest microfinance institutions. Gail earned her BS in Economics, Finance, and Statistics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Jonathan Burbaum
Dr. Jonathan Burbaum currently serves as the sole Principal of Gnosys, Inc., a company based in San Francisco. He is also a venture partner with Innovating Capital, an early-stage venture fund. He formerly held a similar position with Genoa Ventures and was an EIR with Spruce Capital Partners.
Gnosys provides life science business development and technology consulting. The company has had clients that include venture-backed startups, a Fortune 50 company, and venture firms.
Prior to moving to the Bay Area, Jonathan was a Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), focusing broadly on transportation energy, from advanced biotechnology applications for biofuels to network optimization applied to personal transportation energy use. He has had a long career as a technology leader, primarily focusing on realizing value from novel technologies, products, and commercial strategies in the life sciences. He founded a San Diego-based company, Azure Therapeutics, and has worked extensively for corporate, venture, and government clients. He has also played seminal roles with two venture-backed startup companies, Pharmacopeia (Princeton, NJ) from inception, through IPO and commercial launch, and as VP of Research for ActivX Biosciences (San Diego, CA). He began his industrial career at the Merck Research Laboratories in 1991.
Jonathan received his B.S. in Chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1981, and his Ph. D. from Harvard University – where he worked for Jeremy R. Knowles on the energetics of enzymatic catalysis – in 1988. From 1988 to 1991, Jonathan conducted post-doctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Paul Schimmel, focusing on protein structure, function and folding. He received his M.B.A. from the Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego in 2009.
Will Cruz
Will Cruz currently serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Innovation Space. Will is a proven entrepreneur and global investor committed to accelerating innovation returns and venture funding through corporate and institutional capital. He is recognized for building exceptional founder talent and supporting them as they validate their startup concepts. Will’s experience stems from being a 5x entrepreneur with meaningful exits and as an Entrepreneur in Residence to several notable universities around the globe.
Mike Patterson
Mike currently serves as Entrepreneur in Residence for the Innovation Space. Mike is a repeat deep tech entrepreneur who has served as Founder, CEO, and COO for companies in nanotechnology, advanced materials, sensors, and healthcare. Mike has over 20 years of experience across startup companies and multinational corporations leading organizations and teams in Innovation, Business Development, Product Management, Operations, and Change Management. Mike is a TechConnect National Innovation Award winner, holds an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, an A.B. in History of Science from Princeton University, completed the National Science Foundation I-Corps Technology Commercialization program at Stanford University, and is a Certified Patent Valuation Analyst.
Deb Travers
Deb Travers currently serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence for the Innovation Space. She is an accomplished strategic healthcare executive and entrepreneur with diverse and progressive product development experience in global pharmaceutical and biomedical companies ranging from start-up to Fortune 500. Deb has bridged the worlds of science and commercialization with a 30+ year track record of success in bringing new products which meet customer needs from concept through technical development, launch and life cycle. For the past five and a half years, she was CEO of PolyAurum, a preclinical stage biotechnology company spun out of the University of Pennsylvania which is developing gold nanoparticles to treat difficult cancers.
Todd Wallach
Todd currently serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence for the Innovation Space. Todd has over 30 years of experience as a successful entrepreneur, consultant, board member, advisor, and seasoned senior executive in Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Devices/Diagnostics, and Spacecraft/Space Systems. He has started and built innovative companies, including raising over $75M in capital and $2M in grant funding. He has led companies from the “earliest signal” – from development through full worldwide commercialization. Todd is a member of the investment committee of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Associate Editor of the Journal of Translational Medicine, member of The Explorer’s Club, and participated in the NIH I-Corp Program. Todd holds a BSME from Purdue University, MBA from Rider University, Masters of Biotechnology from UPenn, and Masters of Science in Engineering from UPenn School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wharton School of Business.
Board Of Directors
Miguel Garcia Diaz
Vice President for Research, Scholarship and Innovation at University of Delaware
Dr. Garcia Diaz serves as the University of Delaware’s Vice President for Research, Scholarship, and Innovation, overseeing the Research Office, ten research institutes and centers, twelve core facilities, and the Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships. An experienced administrator, researcher, and educator, he previously held roles as Interim Vice President for Research at Stony Brook University and Operations Manager for the SUNY Research Foundation, where he promoted innovation in fields like artificial intelligence, clean energy, and biotechnology. As a structural biologist, Dr. Garcia Diaz specializes in mitochondrial biogenesis and its impact on cellular energy production, advancing the understanding of genetic diseases. Committed to developing future researchers, he directed NIH-supported training programs at Stony Brook. Dr. Garcia arcDiaz earned his B.S. and Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Universidad Autónoma in Madrid, Spain, and completed postdoctoral research at NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Alexa Dembek, Ph.D.
Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer at Dupont
Dr. Dembek joined DuPont in 1991 as a research chemist and currently is the Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer for DuPont. Over her career, Dr. Dembek has held a diverse set of roles that have included global business leadership and a broad range of end-to-end innovation experiences.
Dennis Assanis, Ph.D.
President at University of Delaware
Dr. Assanis is the 28th President of the University of Delaware. He was elected to the position by the UD Board of Trustees and took office in June, 2016. Dr. Assanis is a distinguished educator, academic leader, scholar and expert in internal combustion engines and energy systems.
Alexander Khutorsky
Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions at Dupont
Alex is a Director at DuPont, where he works with the company’s many businesses to help develop and execute on portfolio strategies. Prior to joining DuPont in 2019, Alex was an investment banker and corporate attorney specializing in mergers and acquisitions. Over the course of his career, he has advised business leaders and entrepreneurs pursuing a diverse set of business models across a broad range of industries.
William D. Provine, Ph.D.
President & CEO
Bill is the founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of the Innovation Space in addition to a member of its Board of Directors. In this role, Bill oversees all operations and is responsible for its overall performance. Prior to joining the Innovation Space, Bill worked for DuPont where he led global operations for science and engineering encompassing DuPont’s open innovation practice that included oversight for DuPont’s innovation centers and regional laboratories around the world. He also has served in a variety of research, marketing, business development, joint venture, and manufacturing leadership roles in DuPont over the last 30 years. Bill is very active in cultivating and advancing science across sectors and has served on numerous private company, university, industrial, governmental, and scientific association advisory and management boards and committees. He currently serves on the board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) supporting scientific research and advocacy; the Resolution Project, supporting social entrepreneurship; and the National Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship with US Department of Commerce, supporting creation of a national entrepreneurship strategy.
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