Meet the Venture Café Team

Thomas is an experienced business counselor providing financial and technical assistance to small and medium-sized businesses across a variety of industries and stages of development. Tom uses his background in economics, accounting and finance to help growing companies secure the financial resources required for growth through private investment and commercial and non-traditional lending.

His educational background includes degrees in accounting and economics, an MBA, a doctoral candidate in Computer and Information Systems. He holds certifications as an SBA commercial loan underwriter and an INBIA Certification in Business Incubation Management, and he is a certified trainer in the Profit Mastery and Growth Wheel programs.

At the Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation (CEI), Thomas leads a state-of-the-art, award-winning business incubator that focuses on the commercialization of bioscience and medical device technologies emerging from Arizona’s higher education community. CEI is expanding its mission by launching LabForce, state-wide workforce training initiative focused on developing the skills and talent required by the Arizona bioscience industry.

Thomas came to CEI after a 25 year career in Michigan universities where he held a variety of leadership positions and spearheaded multiple state-wide outreach initiatives to support businesses and entrepreneurs, such as the Inventors Center of Michigan, the Michigan Manufacturing Resource and Productivity Center and the Michigan Business Incubation Association. Throughout his career, Tom has been at the forefront of technology use in education. He was recognized by the Michigan legislature as “Michigan’s E-Learning Pioneer”.

Patti DuBois is a 3X entrepreneur who has advised and assisted businesses to help them grow, scale and generate profit for over a decade. Her expertise lies in strategic planning, building effective business infrastructures, and management. As the Assistant Executive Director at the Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation, Patti supports the business incubator’s clients through hands-on support.

She advises founders on business strategy, provides accountability and offers timely access to subject matter experts on an ongoing basis. As a strong executor and connector, Patti works with her network to make sure her clients have the resources they need to build successful companies. Additionally, Patti contributes to the development of new programs at CEI. Most recently, she led the creation of the Validation Lab, a program designed to help founders thoroughly vet their idea to assess product-market fit, de-risk their venture, and obtain the data investors want to see for future funding.

Melissa has built and run companies both in Europe and the US. She has partnered with successful leaders and companies across all industries around the world. Her leadership programs are used at Accenture, IKEA, Linkedin, MTV, Porsche, Ripple, SAP, Space X, Unity Point Health, WalkMe and many other firms. She has served as interim Head of Global Diversity.

Melissa has her Masters in Intercultural Relations, specializing in Diversity Management, and has authored six books with D&I subject matter. She has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Forbes and Fast Company.

Alex is the founder of Alimental LLC. A lifepath and business consulting group. Her goal is to help individuals and organizations, find balance between interpersonal relationships and work load. Before founding Alimenal LLC she spend the last 15+ years in the health, nutrition, food and beverage industry as a global sales and event manager, producing large scale global tradeshows and events, (50k attendees +). During this time worked on special projects such as international government association relations, special event management such as corporate parties, golf tournaments and 5ks. She also managed a global sales team remotely for over two years, selling exhibit space, sponsorships and digital media to ingredient suppliers and manufactures all over the globe.

alex@venturecafephoenix.org

Forbes Shannon is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Co-Author of Exponential Theory: The Power of Thinking Big. At Venture Cafe Phoenix, Forbes is the show producer and master of ceremonies. He looks forward to creating an engaging experience for Venture Cafe Phoenix attendees, and build a platform for others to share their stories. If you're interested in speaking, volunteering, or performing at Venture Cafe Phoenix, you can email Forbes below!

forbes@venturecafephoenix.org

Sarah Waschler is the owner of Expos and Events LLC, a freelance event management contractor that supports show organizers and exhibitors/sponsors in the tradeshow industry. Sarah has over 20+ years of experience running tradeshow and conference event operations and has worked on events ranging in 50-15,000, with a heavy focus on tradeshows in the Tech space. Sarah has a passion for connecting communities, so after attending and volunteering Venture Cafe since September 2022, she is excited to join the Venture Cafe team to help connect the innovation ecosystem in Phoenix.

With a decade of experience working in the hospitality industry, Johnna's passion for people and event planning lead her to CEI. After two years supporting the biotech and life science startups who work out of the incubator as CEI's office assistant, she now spearheads the Center’s expansion into Downtown Phoenix with CEI LabForce.

Alexis has always been interested in networking and media, something she discovered while volunteering with nonprofit organizations. Her passion for success and helping others eventually led her to CEI, where she now heads the digital marketing efforts. She is dedicated to growth, and is constantly working to build online presence and reach new audiences to connect. Alexis continues to expand our reach and make a difference in the lives of innovators.

Carly is a dynamic networker with a rich background in sales and marketing. Passionate about helping businesses and entrepreneurs grow, she will support early stage startups through CEI’s Validation Lab. In this role, she will guide founders through the customer validation process to help them determine product and market fit.

As an Executive Communications Coach, Kristy believes that stellar communication is the key to success in life and business. While the most dynamic leaders may appear to simply have a gift, Kristy knows that memorable, compelling and inspiring communication is a teachable skill, no different than chess or tennis.

Using her GoTo Speaker™ Methodology, Kristy has trained over 700 professionals to craft powerful messages and deliver them with confidence and impact. Organizations like CBRE, HomeSmart, HP, Phoenix Children’s Hospital and Charles Schwab have entrusted Kristy with training their talent.

Kristy has prepared executives for national media appearances, high-stakes presentations and speeches, and international summits. She is a sought-after keynote speaker and event emcee, taking the stage for organizations like Society for Human Resource Management, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, The Business Journals, The Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation, and Organization for Nonprofit Executives.

Kristy’s expertise is drawn from 20 years experience as a national spokeswoman and Emmy-recognized network Journalist and Anchor. She has broadcasted on NBC, CBS, Fox, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, and Extra!

Kristy is a proud Duke Blue Devil and holds a Bachelors in Psychology and Masters in Multimedia Communications. When she’s not training, coaching or speaking, you’ll find her road tripping with her feisty Norwich Terrier "Poppy Monsoon."