With 15+ years in the corporate and non-profit space at various NYC-based companies and organizations, Jen left her 9-5 office job in 2016 with a dream to work from anywhere in the world. In 2017 she launched Sat Nam babe, mindfully made, yoga-inspired clothing for kids under six and babies.

In addition to running all aspects of Sat Nam babe, Jen also works remotely for the business development team for Boston-based global health non-profit Seed Global Health and is an iFundWomen certified crowdfunding coach, supporting female entrepreneurs as they raise funds for their business.
Jen has a Master of Business Administration in entrepreneurship from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College in NYC and a degree in public relations from the SI Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. 
She is also a 200 hour certified Kundalini yoga and prenatal teacher and can usually be found daydreaming about her next spontaneous travel adventure. Originally from Clifton Park, Jen recently said goodbye to NYC living and currently resides in Saratoga Springs.

Richard has a 20-year career as an Internet pioneer and tech entrepreneur, starting at the age of 15 when he built the first Internet Service Provider in Geauga County, Ohio. He later founded Pantek, a Managed Services Provider focused on Linux and Open Source software, and served as CEO prior to successfully exiting in 2007. He later served as the Chief Technology Officer of Metisentry, a builder of secure business software. Richard now leads Our.News, a Troy, NY-based startup that’s pushing back on misinformation through their innovative Newstrition labels, which make it easy for anyone to separate real from junk news. Richard has been featured by numerous news outlets including USA Today, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, Computer World, Albany Times Union, The Business Review, WCNY, & more. His past consulting clients include AutoZone, National Public Radio, Northrop Grumman, The Nature Conservancy, and Sony Music. He is also an advisor and investor in several startups. Richard resides with his wife and children in Brunswick, NY.

Dr. Heidi Knoblauch earned her doctorate in History of Science and Medicine from Yale University in 2015. She owns a restaurant in Downtown Troy - Plumb Oyster Bar - and is the founder of Receipt HQ, Inc. She is also the chairperson of the Troy Industrial Development Agency and the Local Development Corporation. Before starting her two companies, she worked on a Ford Foundation project called the JustPublics@365 Project at the CUNY Graduate School where she worked with activists, the media, and academics teaching strategic digital communications strategies. After working on the JustPublics@365 Project she was hired as the Digital Projects Coordinator and led a Mellon Foundation initiative at Bard College. She sits on the board of the Alliance for the Creative Economy and the Emma Willard Alumnae Association Council.

Ana-Maria Galeano has over 25 years of corporate law experience advising businesses throughout their lifecycle – from formation, governance, restructuring, mergers, acquisitions, private and government financing, intellectual property protection, and contractual matters.
Ms. Galeano was  General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Plug Power, Inc., a fuel cell company.  As General Counsel, she oversaw Plug Power’s initial public offering ($93M), two follow‐on offerings ($61M and $58M), international acquisitions ($45M and$10M), and the creation of strategic alliances with companies in Europe and Asia. And as Corporate Secretary, she was responsible for corporate compliance and advised the Board of Directors on a variety of corporate governance issues.
Ms. Galeano was also a co‐founder, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of H2Pump, LLC, a hydrogen recycling company. She was instrumental in securing over $12M in private and government financing, several patents, and the delivery of the company’s first beta products.
Prior to her roles as General Counsel, Ms. Galeano was an attorney at the Albany Law firm of Whiteman, Osterman and Hanna where she helped to create Plug Power and Prime Care Physicians, among other notable businesses.
Ms. Galeano earned her J.D. degree at Brooklyn Law School and a B.A. degree in history, minor in Russian language and literature, and business adjunct degree at the State University of New York at Binghamton.  She is actively involved in the business community and serves on the Board of Directors of Albany-Tula Alliance, Inc, a nonprofit that fosters international business relationships in the Capital Region.
Ms. Galeano was a member of the first class of the Capital Region’s 40 Under 40 award recipients.

Thad is president of Innovative Manufacturing Consultants (IMC), a local product design and prototyping firm that helps inventors build businesses, and Manufacturing Incubator Program Director at the Tech Valley Center of Gravity.  He holds a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University.  After 12 years as a senior engineer and business leader for large power generation companies including General Electric and Hitachi, he started IMC to work with tech startups.   IMC utilizes the foundation of big business processes to streamline product development and get to revenue quickly.  Thad is engaged in the economic development ecosystem and sits on multiple non-profit boards and committees. 

Anita Morin is a financial advisor with the International Planning Alliance, LLC, and is based in Albany, NY.  Anita is an Investment Advisor Representative (IAR) with Park Avenue Securities, holds the FINRA Series 7, 63, and 65 securities licenses, and is appointed to conduct business in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

Jeff Collette is the founder of HELPSCO that helps business leaders streamline their operations to make their customers happier and improve their business’ bottom line. Prior to starting HELPSCO, Jeff was the U.S. Corporate Benefits Controller for 10 years at SABIC (formerly GE Plastics) in Pittsfield, MA, responsible for benefits financial administration, process and quality improvement, and analytics. He is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and earned his MBA in Finance from Sage Graduate School in 2003. He lives in the Capital District with his wife and 2 children, where they enjoy spending time together outdoors.

Mary is responsible for managing and maintaining all the personal and job-related data that is housed in numerous databases and General Electric’s system of record. She works to resolve any discrepancies in data and troubleshoot errors in the interface. Mary has a strong role in supporting all General Electric’s mergers, acquisitions and dispositions from an employee data perspective ensuring the transitions run smoothly and compliantly. Just this year alone, she has supported over 25 reorganizations, 3 acquisitions and 14 dispositions impacting over ~39,000 employees for US and CAN. Her responsibilities also include supporting the testing and go-live production flows for all major system releases and updates. She is well-versed with tax compliance as her previous role was the Payroll & Benefits Tax Specialist supporting employment tax compliance for all GE employees in the U.S, Puerto Rico and Canada. She has worked alongside the IRS, state and local agencies and many GE vendors. Mary is experienced with and promotes lean management principles to identify and root cause trending issues. Mary has taken on the leadership role for General Electric’s Schenectady HealthAhead global program. She creates and maintains a healthy work environment and encourages employees (and their families) to advance their personal wellbeing. This includes managing the finance account, budget, communications, vendor relations, planning and hosting events for over 3,000 employees consistently throughout the year.Mary obtained her Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the Sage College of Albany and is currently attending Utica College to graduate in Summer of 2020 with her Master of Business Administration with a concentration of business analytics. Mary returns to Startup Weekend for the fourth year helping teams design and carryout business plans as well as mentoring teams to construct an informative and creative presentation for competition day with the judges.

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