On August 1, 2018, Innovate Springfield was acquired by the University of Illinois - Springfield. Becoming a university-led incubator means that Innovate Springfield members have access to a broader network of high-quality resources and therefore higher growth potential. 

The University of Illinois, through EnterpriseWorks at the Research Park, is assisting incubators and the entrepreneurial ecosystems associated with higher education in 10 counties in Illinois, representing distressed regions in need of economic development assistance. This is called the Illinois University Incubator Network (IUIN). As a member of the IUIN, Innovate Springfield members have access to a number of high-quality business assistance services including market survey design, brochure design, logo design, business plan review and more.

Larry Johnson, CPA, CFP®, is a tax manager with Sikich Accounting with more than 33 years of experience. He focuses on tax compliance and consulting services, estate planning, and general business consulting for owner-managed companies, and he graciously volunteers his time to host 30-minute appointments for Office Hours with Innovate Springfield members twice a month. 

Chuck Davis provides counsel to existing and emerging businesses and associations, primarily on corporate, commercial, and energy matters. He represents privately and publicly owned corporations and financial institutions. Particularly, Chuck has represented entrepreneurs, public utilities, wholesale pharmaceutical companies, healthcare institutions, distributing companies, risk pools, agribusinesses, and governmental entities. Chuck graciously volunteers his time to host 30-minute appointments for Office Hours with Innovate Springfield members twice a month.

Kelly Gust is the co-founder and principal consultant with HR Full Circle, LLC.  Her background is in HR strategy, talent optimization, leadership development, assessment, performance coaching, training, and change management. Growing up in a small business, she understands the challenges many owners face in finding and keeping great talent. Her experience spans a variety of industries including hospitality, retail, supply chain, and organizations both large and small. She holds a master's degree in industrial/organizational psychology, and loves helping individuals and organizations reach their potential. She enjoys running, interior decorating, gardening and planning healthy meals that her two young sons refuse to eat. Kelly graciously volunteers her time to host 1-hour appointments for Office Hours with Innovate Springfield members twice a month.

Brett has been advising organizations on strategic brand and growth initiatives for over a decade now. With his creative and valuable insight, he has constructed marketing campaigns with ROI’s reaching more than 13,000%. He has an extreme passion for culture, which has earned him and his team a ranking on Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 
Company Culture List for 2017 and Systemax was named one of the Best Places to Work in Illinois for 2017 and 2018. Brett graciously volunteers his time to provide by appointment, one-on-one support to Innovate Springfield members.

The Illinois Small Business Development Center offers a variety of free services to assist entrepreneurs in starting and growing their businesses and collaborates closely with Innovate Springfield. Services include business plan development assistance and general mentorship. The SBDC resources are available by appointment. Email: kevinlust@cisbdc.com for more information.

Dr. Martin is an educator, researcher, writer, and professor with an extensive catalog of written publications. Dr. Martin graciously volunteers her time to provide copy editing and general mentorship to Innovate Springfield members by appointment. 

Jeff Staecker, Ph.D. is a consultant with BioPhia Consulting, Inc. Jeff has extensive experience in the clinical diagnostic and biopharmaceutical industry – developing and commercializing products at Abbott Laboratories, Genzyme, and Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD). Jeff’s experience ranges from research and development through manufacture, testing, quality assurance, and regulatory submissions.
In his experience with contract organizations and overseeing contractors, Jeff has led biopharmaceutical QC groups, worked with over 30 small biotech companies, and has led and participated in multiple risk assessments using FMEA, FTA, technical review, and risk-benefit analysis approaches. Jeff’s expertise includes method development, qualification, validation, transfer, and life-cycle management for peptides and protein therapeutics; creation, implementation, and management of reference standards for a
biopharmaceutical; and design quality and managing interfaces for a random-access immune-analyzer. Jeff’s most recent consulting opportunity was with the gene therapy industry where he wrote method validation protocols and reports while working with analytical and process development groups. During his career, Jeff has managed budgets exceeding $8 million and overseen operation efficiency improvement projects. Jeff received his BS in Biology from Illinois State University, his Ph.D. in Oncology
from the McArdle Lab for Cancer Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and completed post-doctoral studies at Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Vanderbilt University. Jeff is available to Innovate Springfield members by appointment.

Tom Parkinson is Illinois Ventures' Senior Director, based in Champaign-Urbana. He has been investing in, mentoring and advising technology-based startup companies for more than 30 years. The team relies on Tom for his extensive knowledge of hardware, software, engineering, and SaaS technologies.

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Prior to joining the Illinois Ventures team, Tom was a partner with a Chicago-based venture capital firm, where he helped raise and manage two venture capital funds that invested in under-served and fly-over parts of the country.  He ran a successful seed capital fund affiliated with Northwestern University during the 1990s, and was CFO of an award-winning technology business incubator.

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Alongside his work in technology investing, Tom is a passionate educator. He is currently teaching an iMBA course in Entrepreneurship at the Gies College of Business at UIUC. With 1,243 students enrolled, this is the largest known entrepreneurship course in the world. 

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Tom has also taught entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial finance at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Ohio University, Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Previously, Tom taught the capstone class in Kellogg’s Discover-Test-Launch sequence for student entrepreneurs for four years.  His students from Kellogg have gone on to launch more than a dozen new businesses in the US and around the world, raising nearly $200 million in venture capital. 

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Tom is a member of the National Advisory Committee for Pipeline, a prestigious entrepreneurial fellowship program based in Kansas City.  

Matt Simpson serves as the African American Business Development Manager with the Illinois Department of Commerce Office of Minority and Economic Empowerment. (OMEE). The Office of Minority Economic Empowerment promotes opportunities for all minority communities across the state through targeted programs, resources, and advocates. The goal is to ensure minority enterprises have an equal opportunity to contribute to the growth of the Illinois economy and serve as an advocate for businesses, entrepreneurs, and start-ups in traditionally economically-disadvantaged groups. In this role, Matt serves African American business owners, Arab American business owners, Persons with Disabilities who own businesses, and Veteran business owners. Matt can be reached directly at 312-520-0434 or via email at matthew.simpon@illinois.gov. 

Diana Alfaro serves as the Latino Business Development Manager with the Illinois Department of Commerce Office of Minority and Economic Empowerment. (OMEE). The Office of Minority Economic Empowerment promotes opportunities for all minority communities across the state through targeted programs, resources, and advocates. The goal is to ensure minority enterprises have an equal opportunity to contribute to the growth of the Illinois economy and serve as an advocate for businesses, entrepreneurs, and start-ups in traditionally economically-disadvantaged groups. In this role, Diana serves Latin American business owners and Native American business owners. Diana can be reached directly at 312-919-3620 or via email at diana.alfaro@illinois.gov. 

Ibie Hart serves as the Women's Business Development Manager with the Illinois Department of Commerce Office of Minority and Economic Empowerment. (OMEE). The Office of Minority Economic Empowerment promotes opportunities for all minority communities across the state through targeted programs, resources, and advocates. The goal is to ensure minority enterprises have an equal opportunity to contribute to the growth of the Illinois economy and serve as an advocate for businesses, entrepreneurs, and start-ups in traditionally economically-disadvantaged groups. In this role, Ibie serves Women business owners, Asian American business owners, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander business owners. Ibie can be reached directly at 773-951-8542 or via email at ibie.hart@illinois.gov. 

Pam Schallhorn advises entrepreneurs and small business owners on topics of finance, marketing, legal structure and strategic planning. Her work with creative entrepreneurs has positively impacted downtown redevelopment in several Illinois communities.  In the past, she has been a commercial lender, financial consultant and Director of the Small Business Development Center in Rockford, IL. Since 2014, she has worked as a Regional Specialist in Community & Economic Development with the University of Illinois Extension. She graciously volunteers her time to host 30-minute appointments for Office Hours with Innovate Springfield bt appointment. She can be reached at  pscha2@illinois.edu.