I love building. I build relationships, programs and communities that help entrepreneurs succeed.

I started my career as an electrical engineer, but quickly discovered a passion for entrepreneurship and early-stage founder support.

In 2014, I left my job (Power Systems Engineer at NASA) to work with the clean tech startup I founded in college. After 8 years with the startup, I decided to follow my passion for supporting entrepreneurs and served in leadership roles in the startup community in Ohio, first as a volunteer, then full time.

Six years ago I took my founder-support work global and joined the team at Techstars as Director for the LaunchPad university entrepreneurship network. In this role, I led the development and management of entrepreneurial programs that served over 40 universities, reached nearly 1 million students, and facilitated over 500 mentor connections annually. I was so in awe of the amazing students I met that decided to collect their stories and publish a book, The Student Startup Guide. After this, I continued my journey with Techstars on the Ecosystem Development team where I helped underrepresented founders access capital and move their companies forward by leading Techstars Founder Catalyst programs.

Today, I’m excited to continue supporting founders across the globe as Startup Community Lead for Amazon Web Services. I love mentoring and encouraging early-stage founders.

Most of my free time is spent on the trails. I’ve run a number of 50k’s and one 50M and recently obtained my UESCA Ultrarunning Coach Certification. To learn more about my coaching, visit crookedrivercoaching.com. I love getting out in the woods, traveling, living life and caring for those around me. #GiveFirst