Meet the Judges
for the 1st round
of the 2020 UP/Start
Venture Competition!
Stephanie Hsu
Business Equity Manager, Baltimore Development Corporation |
Stephanie is a Business Equity Manager for the Baltimore Development Corporation, with a focus on small and minority businesses. Passionate about Baltimore, Stephanie is a Venture for America alum and previously worked with Seawall Development Corporation, where she helped tell the stories of R.House and its chefs.
Stephanie is also one of the organizers of The Chinatown Collective, who’s mission is to amplify the voices and experiences of Baltimore based Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) artists, entrepreneurs, and creatives. The Chinatown Collective highlights the history of AAPI stories in Baltimore to activate a new generation of thought leaders and community organizers through community based events and resources. |
A foodie with a research background, Joan co-founded Bottoms Up Bagels to end Baltimoreans' search for a good bagel, with the desire to create the kind of work environment she could not find anywhere else.
Joan is also the founder of Karmic Messenger, a lifestyle solution company. They design technology tools and deliver niche products and services by employing consumer research and leveraging customer input. She created its first product, Fugue®, to give listeners better control over their music. Joan is presently working on Fugue 1.0: think "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" meets Marie Kondo. Joan reminds us that truth is best received when it’s seasoned with good humor. |
Alex Riehm is the Director of the Social Innovation Lab at Johns Hopkins and former Deputy Director of Development Innovation Ventures with experience supporting innovative social enterprises and nonprofits creating positive change in the world and preparing for scale.
The Social Innovation Lab (SIL) at Johns Hopkins University accelerates emerging ventures and leaders that seek to change Baltimore and the world. SIL does this by providing funding, mentorship, office space, and workshops to help innovative non-profits, mission-driven companies, and disruptive technologies develop and grow into thriving, sustainable ventures that make a measurable impact. |
Andres Zapata
EVP of Strategy + Co-Founder, idfive |
Andres ensures progress through communication based on connection, understanding and clarity.
He has been actively leading interactive projects for clients—such as the Epilepsy Foundation, Maryland Food Bank, LiveBaltimore, Avis, GSA (FirstGov), Deutsche Bank, The Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University, Kent State, the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, the University of Maryland School of Nursing, the University of Baltimore and the University of Michigan—for more than two decades. Andres’ work for clients has been recognized with numerous awards including two Webbies (the "Academy Award" of the Web), several ADDYs, Maryland’s Best, several Interactive Media Best in Class, smartCEO, Baltimore Magazine’s “40 under 40”, American Marketing Association’s “4 Under 40 Emerging Leaders in the US” and the Art Directors Club of New York awards. Prior to idfive Andres was the principal and founding partner of Smartank Group, a consultancy that was acquired to create idfive in 2005. He has a B.A. in Sociology and Communication from Goucher College, an M.A. in Design from the University of Baltimore, and an M.B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University. Andres expects to earn a Doctorate degree in Information & Interaction Design from the University of Baltimore in 2021. He currently teaches User Interface and Experience Design and Interactive Media to graduate students at Maryland Institute College of Art. |