Meet the Big Idea Competition Team!
Rhonda Schuldt
Director, rschuldt@innovation.pitt.edu
Rhonda has a career rich in innovative problem-solving and entrepreneurial action, from leading an incubator for human service organizations, directing public-private regional economic revitalization initiatives, and founding several businesses, to executive leadership in technology startups. Rhonda enjoys helping innovative problem-solvers navigate the complexity, uncertainty, thrill, and satisfaction of realizing their entrepreneurial potential.
Jessica Malandro
Manager for Student Programs & Operations, jmalandro@innovation.pitt.edu
Jess has been a part of the Big Idea Center since Fall 2018. She is a Pitt alum with extensive experience in student engagement as well as program management. Currently, she is pursuing her Master’s of Education part-time at Pitt’s School of Education. In her role as Manager for Student Programs, Jess oversees the organization and execution of all department competitions, workshops, and programming. Additional responsibilities include management of the center’s YouTube page, in addition to all digital video production efforts as they relate to in-classroom and public use.
Tiffany Rice
Assistant Director of Outreach, trice@innovation.pitt.edu
Tiffany currently serves as the Assistant Director of Outreach for the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She holds a BS degree in Marketing Management from Grove City College and received her MBA part-time at the Katz Graduate School of Business. She assists with the organization and execution of Big Idea Center I+E Explore events as well as manages the Big Idea Center’s marketing efforts, including our website, social media (@pittbigidea), and blog.
Ryan Skelton
Student Programs & Operations Administrator, rskelton@innovation.pitt.edu
Ryan currently works as the Student Programs & Operations Administrator at the Big Idea Center, supporting the execution of programs and implementing procedures, processes, services, and systems to support program workflow. He has a BA degree in Japanese from the University of Pittsburgh, and an MA degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Slippery Rock University. His special interests include linguistics and Japanese language and culture, a result of his studies and five years spent living in Japan as an Assistant Language Teacher on the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program.
Coaches
JOANNA SUTTON
Entrepreneurship/Competition Coach
jsutton@innovation.pitt.edu
Joanna is a Business Innovation Advisor with Brights Lights Innovations helping small businesses create profitable growth with accelerated times to market. Since 2007, she held various B2B Marketing Executive roles with Westinghouse Electric Company. She helped create numerous business opportunities leveraging a range of advanced technologies.
KELLY COLLIER
Entrepreneurship/Competition Coach
kellycollier@pitt.edu
Kelly has spent her career working across many facets of healthcare entrepreneurship and innovation. First, as the founder and CEO of a medical device company spun out of a student project at Carnegie Mellon, followed by an experience leading new product development and R&D within the medical equipment corporation that acquired her startup. At UPMC Enterprises, the corporate VC and innovation arm of UPMC, she was involved in investment diligence and the implementation of innovative IT solutions within the UPMC health system. Currently, Kelly leads a life science startup accelerator program and other startup supporting activities at LifeX.
Having been part of the Pittsburgh healthcare innovation ecosystem for over 10 years from the perspective as an entrepreneur, investor, and corporate innovator, Kelly is passionate about building a community that enables startups in the region to flourish through access to expertise, connections to industry collaborators, and a pathway for global reach.
STEPHAN MUELLER
Entrepreneurship/Competition Coach
stephan@preiscapital.com
Stephan has spent the last 25 years in the technology startup ecosystem primarily in senior leadership roles on both the investor side and the operational side of the table. This has helped him develop a deep understanding of how technology can be applied to solve social and commercial challenges. More importantly, he’s learned firsthand how to take innovative ideas and turn them into real businesses.
JUSTIN FRANKERT
Entrepreneurship/Competition Coach
justin.frankert@gmail.com
Justin has spent his entire career in technology-based roles spanning several verticals. His vast experience in industrial automation and robotics has allowed him to understand complex end to end solutions that arerequired to make businesses successful. He has been leading teams for over a decade in complex environments involving industrial robotics, and more recently in the vertical farming and the micro-fulfillment spaces. Justin has additional experience in start-ups, sales, merger and acquisitions, and intellectual property.
