Meet the NYDesigns Team
Interim Assistant Dean
Assuanta Howard
Executive Assistant to the Dean
Erika Correa
Operations Manager
Denise Espinal
FabLab Manager
Megan Butcher
In-House Advisors and Mentors
At NYDesigns, we believe in the power of mentorship and guidance. That's why we have an exceptional team of in-house advisors who support and guide our members throughout their entrepreneurial journey. Our in-house advisors are experienced professionals and industry experts who bring a wealth of knowledge, insights, and connections to help our members succeed.
CInO, UE Laboratory Inc.
Xiaoqi "Max" Ma
Xiaoqi Ma is a cross-domain inventor and motivated engineer engaged in innovative mechatronic R&D and focused on solving complex problems for over 30 years with a reputation as an "engineering rescuer”. He was selected by IN2NYC2018 for project incubation in NYDesigns starting in 2020. One of his projects has received the invitation of NSF SBIR Phase 1.
FabLab Advisor
Joe Puma
Learn more about Joe at pumajoseph.com
CIO, Monozukuri Ventures
Nobuhiro Seki
Nobuhiro "Nob" Seki is a serial tech entrepreneur with a background in media and engineering. He is currently Chief Investment Officer at Monozukuri Ventures, a hardware-focused venture capital firm based in Kyoto and New York City. Monozukuri Ventures was established in January 2020, as merger of Kyoto-based Makers Boot Camp and NYC-based FabFoundry, to help young hardware startups get investment and technical resources.
Strategist in Residence
Dee Dao
Dee helps startup founders explore value proposition and design business model and serves as an Entrepreneurship Instructor for Healthcare Entrepreneurship Community Challenge sponsored by Hofstra University, a Startup Coach for NYU Entrepreneurial Institute, and a Pitch Coach and selection committee for NIH SBIR grantees. Dee is also an investor in early venture addressing unmet needs in healthcare for the Innovation Venture Fund @ NYU.
Strategist in Residence
Tamecca Seril
Tamecca is an impact investor, CEO of Element9.com, and the Founder of Learning Curve, a STEAMD (STEM + Art & Design) entrepreneurship accelerator and impact investment fund. From 2012-2014, Tamecca was appointed to serve as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Managing Director of Coalition for the Improvement of Bedford Stuyvesant (“CIBS”), the largest coalition of community development corporations in New York City.
Mentor
Quinn Robertson
Quinn is a Program Manager at SecondMuse where she spearheads the Futureworks Shops program, helping connect hardware entrepreneurs with spaces to prototype and manufacture their products. She graduated from NYU with a B.S. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering.
Mentor
Warren Harper
Warren is responsible for the development of people, processes and strategic client management at Izba. Most recently Warren was Sr. VP, of Global Marketing and Communications at Phibro where he designed marketing strategies, assessed competitive positioning, established pricing, promotion and routes-to-market for major new products. Warren is passionate about developing people and growing businesses, and looks forward to working with you and your business team.
Mentor
Shelby Thompson
Shelby is the Senior Program Manager for the M-Corps Program in New York City for cleantech startups to get to market faster by reducing headaches associated with manufacturing. Prior to joining SecondMuse, Shelby was the Business & Marketing Manager at Tomorrow Lab, a hardware design and engineering firm in NYC.
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