Dr. Stromhaug has a lot of experience in technology transfer, entrepreneurship, business incubation, and economic development on the business and administrative side; at the hands-on and at the executive level. Prior to Binghamton University, Dr. Stromhaug has worked as an assistant professor and licensing associate at the University of Missouri – Columbia, and as a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor and the University of Florida – Gainesville, conducting research in the area of molecular and cell biology. He has been also a post-doctoral research fellow at the Norwegian Radium Hospital, with a fellowship from the Norwegian Cancer Society.

Kathi Durdon, MA, CCRP, is Executive Director of the CNY Biotech Accelerator (CNYBAC), a division of Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY.

Kathi develops biotech innovation-oriented programs, coordinates resources and promotes educational and investment opportunities for clients and the startup community. Kathi mentor’s medical device innovators relative to Good Clinical Practice regulations, FDA submission requirements and device classification as well as human factors usability testing. Kathi created the Medical Device Innovation Challenge supported in part by an Empire State Development NYS Certified Business Incubator grant. The grant also funds management of the monthly-held CNYBAC Concept to Commercialization Virtual Series.

Kathi volunteers as a GCP Instructor for the not-for-profit 15,000-member educational organization Society of Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA) and is the device track chair for SOCRA’s Annual Conference. Kathi is also a member of the Business Incubator Association of NY (BIANYS) Board of Directors, a member of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) Human Factors Engineering Committee and is Volunteer Faculty at Upstate Medical University.

Kathi holds bachelor’s degrees in English and Anthropology and a master’s degree in business policy. Previously, Kathi was employed at Welch Allyn, a medical device manufacturer, as Manager of Clinical Affairs and as Director, Clinical Trials at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Kathi is married to Pete Durdon, has 3 wonderful daughters who live in the area and has 8 energetic grandchildren.

When he was the Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce, he grew the total number of chamber members by 30 percent and strengthened businesses in the different communities of Queens who are in fields like advertising and media, arts, culture and entertainment, home and garden, health care, business and professional services, among others.

At CCI Energy Solutions LLC, he was the Director of Sales / New Business Development where he helped owners, developers, co-op boards, etc. take advantage of sustainable energy solutions.

He was a Professor of Business at Farmingdale State College, specializing in Entrepreneurial Studies and Small Business Management.

He also was the Managing Director of JJT Energy, an Energy Service Company.

Tom is a graduate of the Univesity of Scranton where he was Class President and later received an MBA in International Busines from Manhattan College.

Deborah is the Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation within the Westchester County Office of Economic Development, where she directs the Element 46 incubator program and oversees the Biosciences Accelerator program. In addition, she looks for opportunities to grow the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem in Westchester.

Novick was most recently Director of the Biotechnology Incubator at New York Medical College, a position she held since late 2017. Among her responsibilities was creating a collaborative community within the incubator and recruiting new start-ups. She was also responsible for overseeing the design and physical expansion of the incubator, which doubled in size.

Her background also includes having served as an instructor for a course on entrepreneurship at the Women’s Enterprise Development Center; co-founded a successful real estate staging firm and served as fund manager for several venture capital funds. A resident of Larchmont, Novick earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University’s College of Industrial and Labor Relations. She holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Director of Economic Development and Research Professor of Technology and Society,
Stony Brook University.

Chair: Business Incubator Association of New York State, Long Island Innovation Hot Spot Steering Committee, Stony Brook Incubator Selection and Review Committee. Moving spirit behind creation of the Long Island Angel Network. Founder of Stony Brook Entrepreneurs Challenge, which has awarded more than $450,000 to 29 student start-up businesses  half still in existence — as of 2017. Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency trustee, serving New York’s third largest town. Manager and Instructor, Stony Brook’s NSF I-Corps Site, since 2015.

Board of Directors: Long Island Angel Network, region’s only public organization of early-stage investors; Hauppauge Industrial Association (HIA-LI), representing the largest industrial park in the Northeast; Long Island Forum for Technology, trade association for high technology manufacturers and businesses; Long Island High Technology Incubator Inc., the region’s first new business incubator facility; and Community Development Corporation of Long Island (Vice Chair), the region’s largest affordable housing and community development not-for-profit. Past president of Women Economic Developers of Long Island.

Author/co-author of proposals that have brought more than $25M in federal and state economic development funding to Long Island. Invited speaker on technology-based economic development, International Association of Science Parks, International Economic Development Council, state and regional economic development and business organizations.

Education

AB magna cum laude, English and American literature, Brown University.
Elected to Phi Beta Kappa
MAT in the Teaching of English, Yale University
Ph.D., History of American Foreign Relations, Stony Brook University
Certified Lean LaunchPad Educator, National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance-Venturewell/Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley