Mary Louise has over 25 years experience working in executive marketing, product and business development roles for start-ups and companies with high growth initiatives in the technology, financial and education industries. She is the former President of Virtual Nerd an ed-tech start-up who received national and industry awards for product design and is currently a mentor for the Capital Innovators Accelerator Program. In addition to working for start-up companies, while at American Express Incentive Services she led the strategic planning process including rebranding the product portfolio and while at Charter Communications she managed the re-design of the consumer high-speed internet installation program.

Melissa brings over 15 years of experience and commitment to the St. Louis innovation community to her role at ITEN. She works with our companies to help foster their successful navigation through ITEN’s various programs–from Intake to Mock Angel grad; as well as manages ITEN’s operations and many community-focused collaborations and events. Prior to joining ITEN, Melissa served as the Director of Administration for Akermin, Inc., a clean-tech R&D company that was BioGenerator’s first client company in 2004. Prior to Akermin, Melissa was one of the original employees of BioGenerator where she served as Manager of Operations and Client Services. Earlier in her career she spent time at Monsanto in its new products division and corporate M&A. She has also worked as a certified sign language interpreter. Currently, Melissa on the Board of Missouri Venture Forum and a member of the Parent Boards of Webster University and Bradley University. Melissa holds a Bachelor of Educational Studies and an M.A. in Higher Education Administration, both from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Bringing over 25 years experience from the startup space Connie is a versatile, accomplished business professional. Her experience expands over areas in account management, customer experience, operations, business development, sales and marketing and product development. Connie has contributed and played multiple roles in a variety of startups, including founding member of a K-12 Education startup as Operations & Director of Partnerships to a Mobile Healthcare startup as Director of Client Services & Implementation. Other industries that she has worked in include Automotive Manufacturing, E-Learning, and Sales & Marketing.

Hayley has been immersed in the St. Louis Innovation Ecosystem as the Director of Gateway Venturing Mentoring Service and as the Administrator for the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Pro Bono Program helping a 5 state region of low income inventors secure pro bono patents. Having the experiences of starting several businesses herself and growing up with entrepreneurial parents she understands first-hand what is needed to grow and succeed when launching a new venture. Hayley consults with local start-ups to help with branding, website design, and marketing strategy. She is a board member of the Benton Park Dog Park, a nonprofit dog park she is working to establish in her neighborhood. Hayley has a Masters of Social Work with a focus in Social and Economic Development and Policy from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. 

Quentin is an experienced startup leader, skilled in corporate relationship management, digital strategy, mobile applications, corporate communications, and vision development, which will prove valuable to our ventures as he supports their progress toward successful market entry and growth stages.  Quentin is currently the Business Operations Manager at Multiply (Formerly Answers) and a board member at Johego.

Over the years, Quentin has been involved with numerous entrepreneurial ventures and organizations. Currently serving as the Square One IT Track Leader and the Vice President of Lumate Inc., Quentin is passionate about improving processes, growing companies, negotiating fair business deals, and seeing new thought leadership applied to organizations of all sizes. These passions have led Quentin to his current roles, which allow him to have the most positive impact possible.

Quentin has his MBA, a degree in Management and Information Systems, and a certification for Sustainable Business from Missouri University of Science and Technology.

In his free time, Quentin enjoys watching movies, attending concerts, and learning new things.

Stephen Von Rump has over 20 years of broad, global management and operational experience in startups and small companies including: business planning, startup company evaluation, preparing entrepreneurs for venture capital funding, and fund raising; R&D for software, electronic and mechanical development; manufacturing, technical service, project and quality management; intellectual property, U.S. and international regulatory compliance; and sales and marketing. He has founded and led several companies, and has extensive U.S. and international experience in medical technology including telehealth, telemedicine and remote monitoring platforms; medical devices and systems; digital health, visual communications, diagnostics and AI analysis; and quality and regulatory compliance.

With more than 30 years of experience in information technology, Rick Proctor is currently Managing Client Director at Datatrend Technologies where he helps companies navigate their digital transformation, as well as develop their cloud, IOT, and security strategies.  Prior to Datatrend, Rick held previous leadership roles as Client Director at EMC, as well as Vice President positions at Partec and Koss Electronics.  Rick graduated from Washington University with a BS in Electrical Engineering and led software development for 14 years of his career.  Rick is a Father of 5, and is expecting his first grandchild at the end of October.

Jim von der Heydt has been working at the intersection of technology and branding for his entire career. Jim started his career in the advertising industry in Chicago. Jim joined the Marketing Department of Ralston Purina in 1981. During is 21-year career he held the roles of VP Marketing Cereals, EVP Marketing Pet Products and EVP Global Business Development and R&D for Pet Products. He also played a key management role in the company’s technology and brand acquisition strategy. After retiring from Purina in 2002, Jim formed a consulting practice focused on business development and strategic acquisitions. He has invested in and coached a variety of early stage companies as one of the first members of the Saint Louis Arch Angels. He is currently advising the new early stage fund iSelect where he also serves as a member of the Selection Committee. In 2010 Jim joined the management team of a start up beverage company, Nawgan. Jim is also an active member of the St. Louis Arch Angels, serves on their screening committee, and has invested in a number of local startups.

In addition to being an owner of TDK for more than 17 years, Kristin is active in the STL tech community as the Marketing Chair for Gateway to Innovation, member of the IS Advisory Board at UMSL and a member of the St. Louis Chapter of the Society for Information Management (SIM).  In addition to TDK’s expertise in staffing, recruiting and IT solution development, Kristin has experience working in the financial services, manufacturing, education and healthcare industries.  Previously engaged as an ITEN mentor, she looks forward to deepening her involvement as a Board member.

Jim has 32 years of entrepreneurial, management, marketing and sales experience with technology-based companies. He has been involved with numerous start-up ventures, including telecommunications, IT, retail, manufacturing and a number of non-profit organizations. Since April of 2008 he has been Executive Director of ITEN. From 2003 to 2006, he was the President of the Technology Entrepreneur Center, a technology incubator in downtown St. Louis. He built TEC into a regional center for start up companies focused on information and communications technology. TEC continues as the parent organization of T-Rex. In 1999, he became the CEO of Partner Communications, providing wireless internet services to apartment communities in the Midwest. Partner raised $15M from a combination of local and national investors. During that time, he also served on the Board of Directors of Intira Corporation, a Silicon Valley-based web hosting company. He joined Brooks Fiber Properties in 1994 as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing until the successful sale of the company for $3B+ in 1998. Prior to joining Brooks Fiber he was with Nortel Networks, developing leading-edge technology and innovative financing solutions for the emerging Competitive Local Exchange market and also won the largest telecommunications contract ever awarded by the US Air Force at that time. Jim holds a Bachelor of Science degree from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He pursued graduate studies in psychology and innovative management at the Institute for Comparative Studies, Gloucestershire, England.