MACH37 is led by a team of seasoned entrepreneurs, business leaders, and venture capital investors with a diverse set of skills and backgrounds:
JASON CHEN -
CEO & Executive Director
Jason is VentureScope’s Founder and CEO and MACH37’s CEO and Executive Director. He is a business strategist, entrepreneur, and early stage venture investor with more than 19 years of experience leading business planning and consulting engagements for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and multi-national organizations in both the private and public sector.
Jason is a former Techstar’s Entrepreneur-In-Residence and was the Director of their Startup Next Cybersecurity DC pre-accelerator program that was designed to provide cyber startups with expertise and mentorship. In addition to founding VentureScope, Jason also co-founded HackEd, a cybersecurity hands-on-keyboard cybersecurity training company, and WeatherAlpha, a weather data analytics company.
Jason holds a MA from Harvard University, and a BA from the University of Virginia. He is also certified in InnoCentive’s Problem Deconstruction and Challenge-Driven Innovation methodologies.
JENNIFER ADDIE - COO, CWO & Strategy Director
Jennifer is a professional innovation strategist, entrepreneur and investor who facilitates organizations through all stages of innovation and acceleration, from startups to large enterprises across the public and private sectors. Leveraging decades of international business experience to help organizations transform, bridge cultures and de-risk ventures, Jennifer’s approach to innovation emphasizes effective problem deconstruction, strategy development, methodological integration, applied cognitive and behavioral approaches, iterative and experiential learning, and holistic wellbeing practices.
As COO and CWO of VentureScope and MACH37 Cyber Accelerator she helps lead the consulting, investment, emerging tech scouting, training, accelerator operations and entrepreneurial wellbeing practices. Jennifer also serves as an adjunct professor of Entrepreneurship teaching Lean Startup at seven universities, a Creative Problem Solving (CPS) facilitator, a certified instructional systems designer (CISD), and leader in entrepreneurial wellbeing with a BA in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Virginia as well as a Master of Science in Creativity and graduate certificate in Creativity and Change Leadership from the International Center for Studies in Creativity (ICSC) at the State University of New York (SUNY) Buffalo State.
DR. LINDSEY POLLEY de LOPEZ, PhD -
Director of Cyber & Space Intelligence
Dr. Polley is VentureScope’s Director of Disruptive Technologies, and MACH37’s Director of Cyber & Space Intelligence. She is a futurist who specializes in the emergent landscape around cyber and “cyber-adjacent” technologies, providing C-Suite and SES-Level leadership with strategic and advisory services related to the research and analysis of disruptive technologies within the commercial sector. Dr. Polley also leads embedded strategic advisory cells that provided emergent technology solution identification for segments of the DoD, with an emphasis on space applications.
Prior to joining, Dr. Polley served as a defense and policy researcher at the RAND Corporation where she worked on cyber and defense-related science & technology projects spanning the DoD, DHS, and the IC. Her doctoral research examined the United States Government’s Vulnerabilities Equities Process for assessing software vulnerabilities, and the intricacies of balancing the various equities involved. She has been featured in several high-profile outlets, including SXSW, Lawfare, OODA Loop, America’s Future Series events, GEOINT Symposium, and the international Ground Systems Architecture Workshop.
DR. ADRIAN J. MACK - Community Engagement Manager
Dr. Adrian J. Mack, PhD, MBA is a business developer, strategist, business operator, and transdisciplinary academic with a background in social impact. Prior to joining the MACH37 team, he worked for Amazon as an Account Executive. Adrian regularly publishes and speaks about his research focused on media, technology, and society through a diversity, equity, and inclusion framework. Adrian is an adjunct professor, and has served as a DEI consultant and government contracts and grants consultant. He has experience in both the public and private sectors, including the Department of Defense, K-12 independent schools, nonprofits, and tech startups. Adrian has served in advisory and board roles for different startups and community organizations, such as NASA’s Astrophysics Division’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Council.
He has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia, a Master of Arts from Duke University, a Master of Arts from Liberty University, a PhD from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and an Executive MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology. Adrian lives in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill region of North Carolina with his wife, April, who is an educator for Wake County Public Schools, and their dog, Pepper. In his spare time, he enjoys writing fiction, reading, working out, college sports, and pop culture.
JOHN ASBRA -
Director of Strategic Partnerships
John is a business strategist, sales leader, entrepreneur, and two time founder. After graduating from the University of Mary Washington John has spent the last 25 plus years working in the technology space in a variety of roles. He has unique expertise in sales, partner development and strategy with large corporate, early stage and growth startups. Before joining VentureScope he served as a mentor to MACH37 and is on the board of WeatherAlpha.
ERIC LIDDELL - Technology Strategist
Eric is a technology strategist, scout, and analyst with an academic background in Economics & Government. Prior to joining VentureScope and MACH37, Eric had experience in public sector business development, helping to build out the state, local, and higher education division at Snyk, a late-stage cybersecurity startup. Eric currently lives in Syracuse, New York and enjoys time spent golfing, hiking, skiing, and traveling.
SOPHIA KHAN - Director of Venture & Mission Strategies
Sophia spent the first half of her career in counterterrorism working with INTERPOL, the UN, and various governments overseas. She moved into the tech world starting with a five-year stint on Greycroft's early-stage investment team, followed by running strategy at sustainability-focused Reformation. As a Principal at Struck Studio, Sophia led incubating and launching new ventures. She holds an MA in Terrorism and Counterterrorism with highest Honors from King's College London, and a BA in Spanish, German, and Arabic from Kenyon College. In her spare time she loves playing beach volleyball and paddle tennis.
SARAH SAFER - Community Engagement Specialist
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“Great vision without great people is irrelevant.”