Program Director
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Leanna Sweha has an agtech and aglaw background. She did plant biology research at USDA, served as an attorney for the State of California, and negotiated research agreements for the University of California, Davis. She is passionate about sustainable agrifood tech startups.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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John Selep serves as President of the AgTech Innovation Alliance, the 501(c)3 non-profit behind AgStart. As a business consultant, investor, and technology executive, John has worked with dozens of startup companies launching new technologies in the Agriculture, Food tech, and other technology domains. John is a frequent mentor at AgStart Office Hours and AgStart founder education workshops. John is also a Board Director for the Sacramento Angels, a regional investor organization, and is a Principal Advisor through LARTA to numerous startup entrepreneurs associated with USDA SBIR awards.
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Ken Hiatt serves as Assistant City Manager for the City of Woodland.
Ken has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Community and Regional
Development from the University of California, Davis.
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Ryan Sharp is Associate Director for Economic Engagement for Venture Catalyst at the University of California, Davis. Ryan has a background in economic development, management consulting and technical research. He has a Master's in International Affairs, Public Policy & Administration from California State University, Sacramento.
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Trish Kelly is Managing Director at Valley Vision, leading portfolios in food and agriculture, workforce development and broadband. She has helped elevate the profile of the region’s food and ag economy, from promoting ag tech entrepreneurship and innovation to addressing critical workforce skills gaps and food insecurity and advancing Farm to Fork. She also helps lead Valley Vision’s efforts to develop the Capital Region’s economic prosperity strategy, in collaboration with partner regional leadership organizations.
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Jennifer Jackson joined CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) as an employee benefit plan signing director in February 2017. Before joining CLA, Jennifer worked for three years as a senior manager at a regional accounting firm and twelve years at a Big 4 accounting firm. Although she primarily focuses on employee benefit plans, she also has experience in technology, agribusiness and various other industries. Furthermore, Jennifer has spent over eight years auditing public companies making her an exceptional practitioner.
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Jason Petersen is a Partner, Global Tax and Reporting at EY.
Jason holds an MS in Taxation, from Brigham Young University.
He has served clients in many industries including consumer
products, technology, agriculture, cleantech, biotechnology,
manufacturing, and real estate.
MENTORS AND ADVISORS *
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Chris Chediak
has a JD from the University of Southern California and is a leading corporate finance attorney at Weintraub Tobin |
Jack Coots is a Regional Manager of Farm Data Systems, Inc. and previously founded Professional Grower Services, LLC. Jack is a graduate of the California Agriculture Leadership Program, further developing his skills and connections throughout the agriculture industry.
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Patrick Dosier is an Agronomist and the Co-Founder of TransValley AgTech. He is a California State Polytechnic University – Ponoma alumnus who likes to be on the cutting edge of specialty crop science and technology
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Julie Morris is Academic Coordinator, Food and Agriculture Industry Immersion at the University of California, Davis Graduate School of Management. With a Harvard MBA, Morris has held the positions of CFO of Marrone Bio Innovations and CFO at SureClinical.
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Chris Russell has a JD from the University of
Pacific – McGeorge School of Law and is Partner at Stoel Rives, LLP in Sacramento |
Joe Schmidt is Senior Vice President of Business Development and Strategy for BioConsortia. With an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School Of Business, Schmidt has over 20 years of experience in business development, strategic planning, and financial management.
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Robert Tse is currently State Broadband Coordinator and Community Planning and Development Specialist at USDA CA Rural Development. His background is in strategic vision and implementation, and technology solutions.
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Dean Andrews is a Business and Accounting Professor at Woodland Community College. With a MBA, MSA, and CPA, Dean has taught for numerous community colleges throughout Northern California.
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John Kapral is a Principal and Practice Lead with CliftonLarsonAllen in the firm’s Federal Tax Strategies Group in Roseville, CA. He has worked in specialty tax credits and incentives since 2006, concentrating on technologies including agritech / life sciences, software, AI, and cloud-based service companies, robotics and drone developers, and other early stage and venture backed businesses. John has his LLM in Taxation from Boston University, JD from Villanova Law School, and BS in Accounting from Bentley University.
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*partial list