The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a product of collaboration between student entrepreneurs, college faculty and administration. Students come from a variety of grades, majors and interests. These students are the driving force behind the center’s operations. There are currently 10 student leaders and 14 student facilitators working everyday to foster entrepreneurship on the 5C’s. Applications for facilitator positions are released in the fall but any student interested in helping should contact the center right away. Below are bios covering the background and interests of the CIE team.
Director of the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Janet Kiholm Smith is the Von Tobel Professor of Economics at Claremont McKenna College and Director of the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. She received a Ph.D. in economics from UCLA, and has been on the faculties of Arizona State University, University of Southern California, and Oberlin College. At CMC, she has served as Chair of the Department of Economics, Director of the Financial Economics Institute, and the founding Dean of the Robert Day School. She is coauthor of Entrepreneurial Finance: Strategy, Valuation and Deal Structure (Stanford U Press), with translations into Japanese and Chinese. She is the author of numerous journal articles on topics ranging from IPO pricing to corporate philanthropy, including publications The Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial & Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Legal Studies, Journal of Law, Economics & Organization, Journal of Industrial Economics, Journal of Banking and Finance. Current research interests are in the areas of new venture finance, investment behavior of not-for-profit institutions, and behavioral aspects of risk-taking. She teaches courses on entrepreneurial finance, strategy, and a practicum on new venture development.
Executive Student Director
Tyler comes from Portland, Oregon, and is a sophomore at CMC majoring in Philosophy and Public Affairs with a Sequence in Leadership Studies. Tyler is also a Staff Writer for the CMC Forum. When not having enlightening philosophical discussions with his peers, he enjoys playing basketball, golf and exploring obscure genres of music.
Executive Student Director
Julian was raised in Santa Rosa California and is currently a Government major completing the Leadership Sequence. He is a Lead Consultant with SOURCE, an on-campus non-profit consulting company, and a ASCMC student senator. He is interested in using entrepreneurship to help solve social issues around the globe and create innovative, sustainable types of ventures. His favorite company is Pacific Community Ventures, an investment and consulting company that focuses on small high-growth companies with positive missions.
Student Director
I have worked on two separate businesses: a shaved ice company and a flash game studio. I love the freedom, challenge, and variety of entrepreneurship.
Director of External Relations
Charlie Montgomery is a sophomore from Los Angeles who is dual majoring in Economics and Government with a Sequence in Leadership. At CMC, Charlie enjoys debating world events over a game of croquet and reading the economist by the pool. Charlie is fascinated by the idea of turning what he loves into a successful venture and has aspirations of being the next Willy Wonka. Charlie enjoys dancing to the music of Diana Ross and the Supremes while wandering through the Southern California chaparral.
Director of Venture Development
David hails from Chatham, New Jersey and is a Physics major. He is a member of Shades, the premier A Capella group on campus and is interested in politics, philosophy, and New York Giants football. He is interested in entrepreneurship because, as he says it, “There will always be something that needs innovating, and being able to take a brilliant idea and turn it into profit as quickly as possible is 100% American and 200% awesome.” His favorite company is Apple.
Director of Events
Evan is a senior dual Economics and Film Studies major interested in entrepreneurial ventures concerning the entertainment industry. He is anxious to spread entrepreneurial spirit amongst the CMC student body through various events and workshops.
Chief Technology Officer
Originally from the suburbs of Atlanta, Jack is pursuing an International Relations and Economics dual from CMC. He is an avid triathlete and believes in the power of collaboration. Also, he is a budding aquarist.
Director of Resources
Josh is a Computer Science major at CMC. After growing up in the creative city of Santa Fe, in close vicinity to the more scientific Los Alamos, he became interested in the intersection of art and technology. Since then, he has been fortunate enough to hold two Product Management positions and he continues to learn what it means to create innovative solutions to our everyday problems. When his time in Claremont has come to an end, he hopes to continue his career in User Experience design.
Chief Financial Officer
Samantha is a sophomore at CMC hailing from Aurora, Colorado. She is an Economics-Accounting major who plans to also complete the Financial Economics Sequence. On campus, she is a member of the CMS women’s soccer team and enjoys contributing to various community service projects. Her entrepreneurial interest was sparked in high school after competing in the Future Business Leaders of America state finals for Entrepreneurship. Her favorite company is Barnes & Noble.
Director of Marketing
A senior Economics and Film Studies dual major. Sean has been the Marketing Director for CIE and hopes to pursue a career in this field. He enjoys nature, mystical creatures, and turning frowns upside down.
Director of Social Entrepreneurship
Sophie is a sophomore at CMC majoring in Organizational Studies with an emphasis on entrepreneurship, and completing the Leadership Sequence. While originally from Dallas, she prefers to spend her time traveling and getting to know other places. Sophie took a year off before attending CMC. She went on a gap-year program called Kivunim, where she lived in Israel, took classes, and traveled to ten other countries. Sophie is passionate about social entrepreneurship and started her own non-profit in high school called Kids Teach Kids. In her spare time, Sophie enjoys singing Disney songs in Chinese, French, and Spanish, baking cake-pops, and taking way too many pictures of every life event. Her favorite company is Ashoka, where she interned last summer. She hopes to continue to work with them while abroad in China and France during her junior year.
Executive Secretary
A New Yorker born and raised, Kyra is currently trying to enjoy the West Coast as a sophomore, while studying as an International Relations major at CMC. In the Claremont community, Kyra serves as an Event Coordinator for the Sophomore Class Council (SoCo) and as the lunch coordinator for the annual TEDxClaremontColleges event. Prior to joining the CIE family, Kyra worked on her own social venture project, entitled GLAM IT UP (Girls Learning About Media Influence Through the Use of Projects) in which she worked with girls ages 8 to 15 on pursuing healthier beauty and body ideals.
Facilitator
Chris is a Science and Management major with a Chemistry Sequence at CMC. He is particularly interested in entrepreneurship as a vehicle for social and environmental change. Feel free to take a look at his LinkedIn profile: www.linkedin.com/pub/christopher-albanese/35/7b3/5a3/
Facilitator
Chris is a Junior at CMC, currently studying abroad in Paris, France. Chris is majoring in Literature and Philosophy. Hailing from Hawaii, his interest in entrepreneurship began with searching for a solution to Maui’s rising gas prices. He along with two partners created a company called Hydrogen Solutions that made dry cell hydrogen generators, which increase a car’s gas mileage. After graduating from CMC, Chris plans to attend law school.
Facilitator
Jeff is a sophomore at CMC majoring in Economics with a Sequence in Financial Economics. He is from Aurora, Colorado and transferred to CMC this fall from UNC-Chapel Hill. On campus, Jeff is also an analyst for CMC’s Student Investment Fund. In his spare time he enjoys swimming, hanging out with friends and watching his favorite shows. His favorite company is Apple because of their innovative pursuits and the success he has watched them achieve in his lifetime.
Facilitator
Harry is a sophomore at CMC from Manhattan, New York. He is a PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) and Government Dual Major. On campus, Harry currently serves as Director of Marketing for CMC’s Model United Nations Team and is also a member of CMC’s Debate Union. This past semester, Harry was selected to join CMC’s Student Investment Fund as a small cap fund analyst. He also works as a Bike Tech at CMC’s Bike Shop. Outside of his academic pursuits, Harry enjoys playing club soccer, basketball and relaxing by the pool with a stiff drink and close friends nearby. This past summer, Harry interned as a Marketing and Business Development Associate at Uncharted Play, a dynamic social enterprise start-up located in New York City. After graduation, Harry plans to pursue a career in management consulting or financial services.
Facilitator
Born and raised in New Orleans, Remy Guercio is a freshman dual majoring in Economics and Computer Science at CMC. This past semester, he was on the sponsorship committee of the 5C Hack Club where he helped raise money to fund the biannual 5C hackathon. His entrepreneurial interests are mainly focused on web and mobile start-ups in both the consumer and B2B spaces. Remy also looks out for hardware startups doing innovative work in new fields. Remy’s favorite startup is Planetary Resources and he always looks forward to the new technologies coming out of Microsoft’s R&D division.
Facilitator
Sara is a freshman at CMC from San Diego, majoring in Economics and Government with a Leadership Sequence. Sara has worked for and observed various business models through past employment and would love to help you figure out the logistics and details of launching your entrepreneurial idea. She has a passion for social entrepreneurship and loves to travel.
Facilitator
Sumaer is a freshman at CMC from India, majoring in Economics and Accounting with a Sequence in Finance. At CIE, Sumaer wants to make sure that every Claremont College entrepreneur has the resources that he/she requires to facilitate his/her idea or venture. He is also on the Model UN team and loves debating on the latest international issues. In his free time Sumaer loves playing golf and squash. He also enjoys watching soccer and is an ardent Chelsea supporter.
Facilitator
Tom is a freshman from Seoul, South Korea majoring in Economics and International Relations at CMC. He serves as an advisor for TEDxYouth Seoul and YOUTHECA.org and is a member of the ASCMC Public Engagement Committee and the ASCMC Venture Council. Tom is interested in social media and software developments and enjoys reading publications like the Verge, Engadget, TechCrunch, etc. He also loves watching movies in his free time and is excited for the 2015 release of Star Wars VII.
Facilitator
Hailing from Newport Beach, CA., Thomas is currently a freshman at CMC who hopes to establish the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s Alumni Network, mentorship program, and influence on campus. In his spare time, Thomas enjoys catching up with old friends, jumping off boats and bonding with seniors over an Arnold Palmer in Palm Springs. His favorite advertising campaign is Apple’s “Think Different”, as he is awed by its simplistic embodiment of those who change the world. Products that he is currently most interested in are 3D printers, the Tesla model S, Google’s self-driving cars.
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