NYBPC Finals

Nick Querques

Director of New Ventures at SUNY Research Foundation

Elizabeth Lusskin

Executive Vice President for Small Business and Technology Development at Empire State Development

Elizabeth Lusskin is the Executive Vice President for Small Business and Technology Development at Empire State Development, leading a division with 40+ staff and programs exceeding $1B, across five areas, focused on small business and innovation sectors: Capital Access, Entrepreneur Development, NYSTAR focused on technology and research commercialization, Life Science Initiative and Venture investments. Previously she was President of the LIC Partnership and Executive Director of the LIC Business Improvement District. She was Co-Chair of the NYC BID Association and a member of the Queens Tech Council, NYC Workforce Business Council, and Mayor Eric Adams and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Transition Committees, among other roles. She served as Co-Chair of the Sunnyside Yard Master Plan Steering Committee and Co-Chair of the Amazon Community Advisory Committee Project Plan Committee. Prior to LIC, she served as the Chief of Staff and VP of Strategic Initiatives at the Polytechnic Institute of NYU. She advised a range of clients through her former consulting practice. She previously was Deputy Commissioner of NYC SBS, General Counsel to the Downtown Alliance and Legislative Counsel in the NYS Office of Federal Affairs. She is a graduate of Yale University and NYU School of Law.

David Brown

Managing Partner at Impellent Ventures

Lisa Coppola

Founder & Managing Partner at The Coppola Firm

Lisa Coppola has more than three decades of experience as a litigator and counselor at law, serving clients across New York State. She founded and is managing partner of The Coppola Firm, a woman-owned business, which helps companies and organizations enforce their rights, helps injured people recover the money they deserve, and counsels businesses, organizations, and entrepreneurs as well as charter schools business on legal issues. The Coppola Firm also offers New York-mandated annual sexual harassment prevention training through their online, easily-accessible coppolatrainings.com website.

In addition to running her law firm, Ms. Coppola chairs the board of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) which represents over 13 million women entrepreneurs across the United States. NAWBO’s focus is on leadership, advocacy, and education for women business owners. She also serves on the U.S. Small Business Association’s Regulatory Fairness Board.

Sonya Smith

NYSBDC State Director

Sonya Smith serves as the State Director of the New York Small Business Development Centers (NY SBDC) hosted by SUNY. With over 10 years of experience, Smith is known for bringing together public/private partnerships and creating innovative programs to assist small businesses served by SBDC. She has risen in the ranks through SBDC, and is the first woman and first African American appointed to lead New York’s SBDC network in its nearly 40-year history. Smith previously served as the Pennsylvania SBDC’s associate state director of programs and policy. She oversees the vast programming of the statewide organization that is comprised of 22 regional centers across NYS, that provide one-on-one advising and education to entrepreneurs and small business owners. She holds a Master of Business Administration from Kutztown University, and a bachelor’s in accounting minor in finance from Albright College.

Erica Choi

KeyBank Commerical Sales Leader

Erica is a commercial finance professional with experience across both the public and private sectors and is responsible for business development, portfolio management, and acting as a trusted advisor for Commercial Banking clients throughout the Capital Region and Northeast. Before joining KeyBank, Erica worked for Bank of America, the U.S. Small Business Administration, Beech-Nut Brand, and Kraft Foods.

Vikram Agrawal

President, CEO, & Co-Founder of Levrx

Vikram Agrawal serves as President, CEO, & Co-Founder of Levrx. In his role, Vikram is responsible for the vision, product strategy, and business development. Prior to Levrx, Vikram served as President and CEO of Etransmedia.Previous to Etransmedia, Vikram worked as Program Manager at Indian Telephone Industries and Groupe Bull, India. He served as Director of Business Development for R.K. Enterprises in Cochin, India.

Timmy Oh

Co-Founder, Vara Safety

Timmy Oh is a tech founder, executive, and industry expert in firearm safety. He is the co-founder of Vara Safety, a company making a tech-driven impact on firearm safety.

Timmy won a Phase 1 grant from the Smart Tech Challenges Foundation and started research at the LAPD Firearm and Tactics Division. After winning the $100,000 New York statewide business competition, Timmy founded Vara Safety. He has been featured on the Los Angeles Times, Fast Company, etc for his work in firearm safety. As one of the pioneering innovators in gun safety technology, Timmy has presented on panels such as the NEXUS Summit held in Capitol Hill, DC.

Vara successfully launched their product in 2020 and is now rapidly growing.
https://www.varasafety.com/

Christine Tate

Co-Founder, COO at Vara Safety

Thenkurussi (Kesh) Kesavadas

Vice President for Research & Economic Development @ UAlbany

Dr. Kesavadas was the founding director of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Health Care Engineering Systems Center (HCESC), the largest endowed center in the University of Illinois system. In the center he managed research, IP and commercialization, data warehouse management (HIPAA), regulatory affairs, IRB and human subject protocols, student exchange, graduate programs, external partnerships, government relations, etc. HCESC has 186 members and affiliates. The Center collaborated and funded research in engineering, social and behavioral sciences, education, applied health sciences, medicine, and veterinary medicine. Twenty research laboratories and institutes, and affiliated hospitals, including Mayo Clinic, are supported through the program. A professor of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and a member of the inaugural faculty of the Carle-Illinois College of Medicine, Dr. Kesavadas was named a distinguished University Presidential Executive Leadership Fellow in 2019.

Dr. Kesavadas previously served as a faculty member at the University at Buffalo, where he advanced his research interests in medical robotics, virtual reality/augmented reality in healthcare, manufacturing automation and design of systems.

Dr. Kesavadas received his B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Calicut, India in 1985, his M.Tech degree in Aircraft Production Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in 1987, and his PhD in Industrial Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University in 1995.