Phil Weilerstein, Executive Director, began his career as an entrepreneur as a student at the University of Massachusetts. He and a team including his advisor, launched a start-up biotech company which ultimately went public. This experience, coupled with a lifelong passion for entrepreneurship, led to his work with the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance. Phil’s tenure at the NCIIA is marked by his skill for network-building and expert leverage of resources. He has a special talent for seeking out gifted educators and other important contributors and putting them to work for the betterment of invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship education in the U.S. and worldwide. As an entrepreneur in a not-for-profit organization, he has grown the NCIIA from a grassroots group of enthusiastic faculty to a nationally known and in-demand knowledge base and resource center. Phil also serves as the Chair of the Entrepreneurship Division of the American Society of Engineering Education.

Tim Binkert, Program Associate for Communications, earned a bachelor's degree in English and Philosophy from Syracuse University in 2000 and a certificate in professional writing and technical communication from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2004. Tim joined NCIIA in 2004 as an intern and was later hired to the permanent staff. Tim's responsibilities at NCIIA include reviewing and summarizing grant proposals, writing and editing publications, generating web content, conducting grant performance reviews, and performing administrative and operational tasks.

Humera Fasihuddin, Invention to Venture Program Director, oversees the NCIIA's acclaimed national workshop series and manages BMEidea, a national student competition in biomedical engineering. Since she joined the NCIIA staff in 2005, there have been over 75 Invention to Venture workshops throughout the country, reaching thousands of participants. In 2006, she launched the Advanced Invention to Venture workshop series, a 3-5 day intensive, hands-on workshop for student and faculty teams committed to commercializing their innovative products. The AI2V series continues to grow, and many participants have called it the single most important turning point for their startups.

Humera is the co-founder of Edical May, a manufacturing and business development company enabling scale-up of new medical devices. She spearheaded the Western Massachusetts Regional Technology Corporation. Humera began her career at materials manufacturer Intelicoat. She worked her way up from operations to technical support, and finally to managing a $40 million business unit in the CAD arena and cultivating a new digital proofing business unit. Humera earned her MBA from UMASS Amherst in 2000 and her B.S. in Mathematics (minor in Economics) from Smith College in 1992.

Jennifer Keller Jackson, NCIIA’s Grants Manager, oversees the NCIIA’s grants, awards, and competitions. Keller Jackson’s background is in nonprofit management, in the areas of education and technology. Her experience includes program development, marketing, fund-raising, technical proposal writing, communications, and PR. She has also helped to start a nonprofit and worked to transform another nonprofit into a for-profit company. Keller Jackson and her family moved to Amherst, MA from the Washington, DC area in 2004. Jennifer grew up overseas in Asia, Africa, and South America and is deeply interested in alternatives to the traditional aid model of development. She is fluent in French and understands Spanish.

Romi Kher, Program Associate, oversees the logistics of the NCIIA's annual meeting, arranges E-Team presentations, assists with Invention to Venture Workshops, and works on a variety of special projects. He is a graduate of the UMass Amherst, School of Management MBA program. Romi is a faculty member at The International College of Hospitality Management, Suffield, CT.

Amanda Mitchell, Electronic Resources Associate, maintains NCIIA-affiliated websites and online resources, liaises with third-party technology providers and offers technical support within the office. Although she has a background in modern languages (BA in French & German; PhD in German), she has strong experience in commercial website design/development and has enjoyed the move back to the non-profit sector.

Tom Porter, NCIIA Treasurer and Manager, Business Development, has a deep background in entrepreneurial venture start-up planning, launch and operational management. Tom’s primary focus has been in the uses of technology to advance and transform media industry and higher education offerings, and he has particular expertise in development of processes for new venture concept evaluation, research, testing, launch and roll-out. He has handled key strategic roles with Verisign Ventures, Discovery Channel Enterprises, Tech TV, and College Parents of America, and has also assisted a number of universities with technology transfer strategy.

Loran Diehl Saito, Communications Manager, has been with the NCIIA since 2000. She holds a B.A. in French from the Catholic University of America, a Master’s Degree in International and Intercultural Management from the School for International Training, and an M.A. in English with a concentration in technical writing from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Loran is a returned Peace Corps volunteer (Namibia) with a background in teaching, non-profit work, and written and visual communication. She dedicates energy and volunteer time to helping build local food and transportation alternatives. She home-educates her daughter and three sons, and is an avid cyclist.

Angela Shartrand, Assessment Specialist, is an educational psychologist who has experience evaluating programs in philanthropic, community-based, and higher education settings. Prior to joining NCIIA, she evaluated programs in the areas of teacher education, youth philanthropy and leadership, and community-based family support services, identifying and disseminating best practices and policies. She has also taught courses and workshops in applied research to faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates at Boston College and Wheelock College.