Mentor Directory
Jim Goulka is the Managing Director of ATIF, and in addition serves as CEO of JumpStart Solutions LLC, an early stage business intelligence software company, and as President of Lone Mountain Associates, LLC, a boutique consulting firm.
He previously served as CEO of software companies NetSelector Inc (sold to Apple, Inc) and bid4real.com; the National Technology Transfer Center; the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation; and Taliesin Preservation, Inc. He was also COO and CFO of Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc and its worldwide subsidiaries. He began his career in corporate finance focused on financing private equity transactions and global finance at units of JPMorgan Chase and Citibank.
He holds two degrees from Yale.
Joan Morgen has an extensive background in investment banking, asset management, business development, strategic planning and investor relations. Prior to moving to Arizona, she enjoyed a career spanning over two decades on Wall Street, where she raised funding for and invested in start-ups and public companies. Joan is a hands-on, strategic management executive who leads collaboratively across disciplines to advance corporate growth and goals of start-ups, small and mid-sized companies. Joan advises C-level managements in the identification and pursuit of business building opportunities through sound, disciplined planning, resource optimization and comprehensive strategic approach.
Since moving to the Valley, Joan has been committed to advancing and supporting entrepreneurship and innovation. She has served on various committees within the business/industry and academic community focused on promoting these efforts.
Cayenne Consulting, LLC
Innovate | Grow | Succeed
John Welch is a managing partner for the law firm of Squire Sanders & Dempsey in Phoenix, Arizona. He has practiced for more than 25 years in the corporate and corporate finance areas, representing issuers and underwriters in initial public offerings, secondary offerings, debt offerings, private placements, exchange offers and going private transactions. He also counsels clients on 1934 Securities Exchange Act compliance issues. He has significant experience in domestic and international mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, particularly in the financial institutions, healthcare and renewable energy industries. Additionally, he advises clients on corporate matters such as employment agreements, stock option and other incentive compensation plans, and corporate governance issues. His work for financial institutions includes capital transactions, merger transactions, FDIC assisted acquisitions of failed institutions, branch sales and acquisitions, and counseling regarding board of directors’ duties in a variety of contexts.
John N. Robinson spent many years of strategic service in senior marketing roles for Discover Card, G.E. Capital, and Citibank, managing lead key business initiatives. In healthcare, he tackled co-CEO responsibilities for Arrowhead Health, a Phoenix-based multidisciplinary outpatient services facility, where I provided insight and expertise to all strategic discussions and plans. John also spent three years as a key marketing leader and contributor at Ameritech New Media, where his division won the JD Power & Associates award for customer service – the first and only cable provider to win this award.
John is a proud graduate of Northern Illinois University with a B.S. in Marketing and DePaul University with an M.B.A. in Entrepreneurship.
Throughout her career Juliet has been the “go to” resource when something needed to be quickly analyzed, a response developed and a fire doused… She first developed these skills in the field as a journalist but those skills are equally as important in the practice of law. As a lawyer, Juliet’s clients say that she is smart, reliable and dependable. Having worked with clients in a broad range of industries, including technology, social media, quick service restaurants, retail and government she knows what it takes to run a successful business and how to protect the rights of individuals and companies in business, property and consumer disputes to protecting the rights of property owners and consumers. Juliet knows how important it is to start off on the right foot, so she focuses part of her practice on litigation avoidance by advising start-ups and growing businesses on their structure and drafting and negotiating all types of business agreements. When it comes to protecting what you have worked so hard to build, having an attorney like Juliet on the front line to assist your company with crisis management, tackling employee issues and protecting intellectual property is something you can’t afford to do without.
Law is a second career for Juliet. She worked in television news around the US before relocating to Phoenix in 1993. She graduated Cum Laude from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University in 1998 where she was named Outstanding Graduate.
Juliet began her legal career as a civil litigator at Gallagher and Kennedy, litigating complex commercial disputes for six years. She has been at the Attorney General’s Office twice--once in a hybrid communications/ legal position-- and once as the Division Chief Counsel for the Child and Family Protection Division representing the Department of Economic Security as their general counsel. In this role, Juliet also supervised the Division’s 380 lawyers and staff in offices around the state.
Juliet first gained her transactional experience as a vice president and in-house counsel for a large Phoenix ice cream franchisor. Juliet not only handled the company’s regulatory disclosures and helped run the legal department, but she also worked with the heads of all of the company’s business units including real estate, marketing, franchisee relations and product development. She opened her current practice in Scottsdale in January 2011 and focuses primarily on advising small to mid-size businesses in a broad range of industries.
Juliet received her undergraduate degree in journalism from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
For nearly 30 years, Katherine Christensen, CMP, DMCP, owner of Katherine Christensen & Associates, Inc (KCA) as been involved in corporate organization, trade association management and event development both near and far. She was selected to help launch the PR division of America West Airlines (now US Airways) during the start up and remained in this position for seven years. Since then, Christensen has managed programs, events and/trade organization for hundreds of entities locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. She leads a team of nearly 30 who manage worldwide events both small and large and assist boards and executives on strategic development of events for specific objectives.
Christensen has nearly 30 years of experience in the fields of public relations, meeting and association management, media relations, internal and external communications, special events, promotions, publishing, working with large and small corporations, associations, and community and philanthropic programs. Her expertise spans from crisis management, evaluation, and execution of communication strategies to actual contract negotiation and detailed, creative program development.
Owner and lead designer of Geary Graphic Design, Katy continues to help her clients grow their business by applying over five years of combined corporate and entrepreneurial expertise with specialties in launching marketing campaigns and products/services for new and existing companies through graphic design. Katy gained the majority of her experience creating out-of-the-box designs that were utilized for major automotive research, consultation, instructional design, logistics, and training/facilitation for national and international client bases. These included among others: Acura, BMW, Audi, MINI, smart, Volkswagen, and Honda. Her experience in planning, designing, and executing projects has enabled her to be a part of multi-million dollar events, giving her the skills and confidence needed to efficiently meet clients’ aggressive demands and deliver first-class communication solutions both nationally and internationally. Through proven graphic design principles, Katy produces a complex range of design mediums for clients and ensures consistent branding throughout each project while maintaining a high level of excellence in quality and expectations.
In 2002, Keith Raab co-founded the Cleantech Group with Nicholas Parker, and helped introduce the cleantech concept to the business community and develop it as a viable investment category. Keith served as the company’s CEO from 2002 to 2009 before transitioning into the VP of Business Development role where he currently resides.
Cleantech Group helps business leaders make smarter, more strategic decisions involving cleantech innovation. Its i3 Platform provides web-based, comprehensive, up-to-date information and insights into companies, investors and relationships across the clean technology ecosystem including the smart grid, energy efficiency, energy storage, smart water, and green transportation sectors. Cleantech Group also produces the premier Cleantech Forum® and Focus conferences worldwide including upcoming events in Korea, Toronto, San Francisco, Munich and Washington DC. Since 2002, the Cleantech Group has been providing Fortune 1000 global corporations, investors, entrepreneurs and policy-makers with the latest industry market intelligence through subscription-based research, global industry networking events, and world-class custom research services. By focusing entirely on the companies innovating in clean technology, Cleantech Group helps its clients make critical business decisions that foster growth, reduce cost, and meet consumer and government demands for improved environmental quality.
Kiran Annaiah is currently an independent business solutions consultant for various start-ups and small businesses and brings extensive research experience in life sciences. His work in the area of genomics and genetic analysis of complex diseases has led to numerous publications. He combines his skills from the scientific world with well rounded business thinking to provide value to his clients.
Kristian Richardson currently serves as Senior International Trade Specialist with the U.S. Commercial Service, Arizona US Export Assistance Center. In this capacity he supports American companies by facilitating the entry of U.S. businesses into international markets. With key leadership responsibilities on the U.S. Department of Commerce's Information and Communications Technology Team, Kristian manages export promotion activitie. In just 2010 alone, Kristian and his colleagues helped over 80 Arizona companies complete 117 export transactions to 34 countries, resulting in $317 million in sales.