Officers
Beau Ferrari, Chairman
David Day, Vice-Chairman
John A. Fraser
Carl Roston
Rhys Williams, Treasurer

Beau Ferrari
Beau Ferrari is Special Assistant to the CEO of Univision Communications, Inc., the premier Spanish-language media company in the United States. He serves as Chairman of the Board of the Florida Institute for Commercialization of Public Research, and also serves on the Audit and Compensation Committees. Mr. Ferrari has served as an officer and on the Board of Directors of several public and private companies, and previously served as a partner and co-founder of Royal Palm Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm. Prior to this, Mr. Ferrari worked as an investment banker with Morgan Stanley & Co. in New York. Mr. Ferrari received a Bachelor of Science in Finance and International Business, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University with Beta Gamma Sigma Honors.

David L. Day
David L. Day is the Director of the Office of Technology Licensing at the University of Florida Incubator where he oversees the commercialization efforts of all UF technologies.  He also serves as the Director of the Sid Martin Biotechnology Development Incubator in Alachua, FL.  UF’s Office of Technology Licensing annually executes about 75 licenses and options and is involved in the creation of about 10 new startups based on UF technologies.  In the latest fiscal year, UF spinoffs raised more than $100 million of investment capital.  David received a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Alabama in 1987 and has a Masters of Library and Information Studies from the University of Alabama, 1977.  David was a founding member of the Biotechnology Association of Alabama, where he held the position of Vice President and member of the Board of Directors.  Mr. Day serves on the Board of Directors of BioFlorida, the McKnight Brain Institute Advisory Panel, the Board of Directors Executive Committee of the Florida Research Consortium, and the Board of Directors Executive Committee of the Southeastern Bio Investors Forum.

John A. Fraser
Mr. Fraser is currently the Executive Director of the Office of IP Development and Commercialization at Florida State University.  Prior to that, he served as the Director of the University/Industry Liaison Office at Simon Fraser University.  He has held positions as Executive Vice President and co-founder of UTC, Inc.; President and CEO of UTI; Vice President of TDC, Inc.;  and President of Burnside Development. He has co-founded three companies and assisted entrepreneurs launch another twelve technology based firms.

In 2006, he became President of AUTM, the global, academic professional technology transfer association; is a Founding Board Director of the Tallahassee region technology association, the TalTech Alliance and its Executive Committee; is a Founding Board member of the Florida Research Consortium and its Executive Committee, appointed by the Governor to increase university/company interactions to better the Florida economy, has consulted to the John’s Hopkins University technology transfer program by assisting scientists/engineers to write business plans for new startup companies.  Mr. Fraser holds a Masters Degree in Biochemistry from the University of California - Berkeley.

Carl Roston
Carl Roston is Co-Head of M&A and Private Equity at Akerman Senterfitt, Florida's largest law firm. Mr. Roston represents public and private companies and private equity and venture capital funds in a variety of domestic and cross border corporate, securities and M&A transactions. Mr. Roston is listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, PLC Which Lawyer, The Best Lawyers in America, The Legal 500 and Super Lawyers Magazine. He regularly speaks on topics including M&A, capital markets, cross-border M&A and distressed M&A.

Mr. Roston has served as Chair of Florida Venture Forum and of the Florida Venture Conference. He has also served as General Counsel to and as a member of the Board of Directors of BioFlorida and the Florida Research Consortium. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the University of Florida Foundation, and chaired its Private Equity Committee. He also serves on the University of Florida Technology Commercialization Advisory Board. Mr. Roston also served as an advisor to Governor Bush's Internet Task Force. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Public Corporations, and is a Trustee of the United Way of Miami-Dade. He received his undergraduate, law and MBA degrees from the University of Florida, and was Managing Editor and Associate Tax Editor of The Florida Law Review, served as an MBA Teaching Fellow and graduated Order of the Coif.

Rhys L. Williams
Mr. Williams is President of iTherapeutics, a biotechnology company developing therapies for retinal degenerative disease, which he co-founded with prominent faculty from Scripps Florida and the University of Miami (Bascom Palmer Eye Institute). Mr. Williams is also President of New World Angels, Inc., a member-managed angel investment group with chapters in Southeast Florida and Tampa Bay. His prior business experience includes roles as a venture capitalist with SI Ventures (GarnerGroup affiliated fund), as well as having held executive positions with Ixion Biotechnology, Smith Barney, American Express, and U.S. Army Special Forces (commander, combat diver detachment).

He serves the Boards of the Univ. of Florida's Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Leadership Florida (Florida Chamber of Commerce affiliate), and is Chairman of the South Florida Science Museum (WPB). He is also an advisor to Ocean Ridge Biosciences and co-chair of the underwriting committee for the JFK Medical Center Foundation. He is a member of BioFlorida, the Economic Council of the Palm Beaches, the Harvard Club of the Palm Beaches, and Florida Blue Key. He earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard College magna cum laude and both MBA and J.D. degrees from Univ. of Florida (MBA class president; admitted to practice in FL & NY). A fifth generation South Floridian, Rhys lives in Delray Beach with his wife Dr. Lorna Sohn Williams and their two children.

Audit Committee
Beau Ferrari
Rhys Williams

Compensation Committee
David Day
Beau Ferrari
John Fraser
Charles "Mick" Lasher, External Advisor

Charles "Mick" Lasher
Mick Lasher founded Lasher Associates in 1985, and currently serves as President of the firm. He is a renowned expert on recruiting, with particular expertise in all forms of technology and the unique challenges facing emerging companies.

Mick has been a Director of the Florida Venture Forum since 1986 and served as Chairman in 1992, the inaugural year of the Annual Florida Venture Capital Conference. He is a past President of a local chapter of the Society of Human Resources Management and served as Adjunct Professor in the MBA program at Florida International University.

Mick is also a Director and former Vice Chairman of Enterprise Development Corporation of South Florida, a public/private developer of emerging companies. He has served on the corporate boards of Unipower Corporation, a Florida-based manufacturer of electronic power supplies, and StrandWare, Inc., a leading developer of barcode software headquartered in Wisconsin.

In order to better connect investors, entrepreneurs, and corporate partners, the Institute has formed an Advisory Board which is composed of fifteen distinguished industry experts. Members of the Institute’s Strategic Advisory Board include:

• Richard J. Brandewie, Ballast Point Ventures
• Jonathan Cole, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP
• Kent Gossett, SR-One
• Kathy Harris, Noro Moseley
• Jonathan Kislak, Antares Capital Corporation
• Garheng Kong, Intersouth Partners
• Curt Labelle, Tullis-Dickerson
• Alan Rossiter, Springboard Capital Management, LLC
• Dan Rua, Inflexion Partners
• John Uhrin, Harbert Venture Partners
• Michael Wasserman, H.I.G. Ventures
• Scott Weiner, Pappas Ventures

The Enterprise Development Corp. of South Florida (EDC)
EDC is a non-profit organization that assists emerging science and technology companies. As South Florida's clearinghouse for entrepreneurs, EDC offers the BusinessLINC mentor/protégé program which links early stage companies to area resources, and produces two major conferences each year to provide increased visibility for young companies. EDC manages two incubators: The Technology Business Incubator in Boca Raton, and the Wet Lab Incubator in Palm Beach Gardens. EDC also manages the activity of New World Angels, Florida’s premier structured angel investment group, with chapters in South Florida and the Tampa Bay area.

Jane Teague, Interim Executive Director
Jane Teague is Executive Director of the Enterprise Development Corporation of South Florida (EDC), a public/private partnership organization that assists emerging science and technology companies. In her role she is responsible for oversight of EDC’s mentor/protégé program, the Technology Business Incubator, annual EDC conferences, fundraising, administration of New World Angels, management of the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research, and other programs that EDC runs in support of the emerging science and technology community.

Teague has been an active supporter of the technology community since moving to Florida in 2000. She has supported the InternetCoast (iCoast) initiative, helping to brand the region as a center for high-technology excellence, and has served on a number of committees dedicated to the growth of Florida’s technology sector. She participates with organizations such as the South Florida Technology Alliance, BioFlorida’s Southeast Chapter, the MIT Enterprise Forum, and Enterprise Florida’s Technology, Entrepreneurship and Capital Council, and is a frequent guest speaker on entrepreneurship in South Florida. She serves on the Executive Advisory Council of Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering & Computer Science, and the Engineering Advisory Committee at Miami Dade College. In 2007 she received the In Focus Magazine “Quiet Storm” award, and in June 2009 was recognized as one of the Power Players in “The Power Issue” of South Florida Business Leader Magazine.

Teague has over 20 years experience in the software and technology industries. Prior to joining EDC in April 2002, Teague held a variety of marketing management positions with Dun & Bradstreet Software, (formerly McCormack & Dodge), and HighGround, Inc., a provider of public relations and marketing support for emerging technology. Teague graduated McGill University, Montreal, Quebec in 1980.

Teri Hart, Executive Assistant
Ms. Hart has held a number of senior administrative positions in industry and academia including the Vermont Genetics Network (VGN) where she served as program manager, acting as liaison between VGN and its partner colleges, overseeing NIH obligations associated with the VGN grant, and working with faculty and staff throughout the daily operation of the program. Prior to joining VGN she worked at a variety of agencies in Ft. Lauderdale that support senior citizens, including the Service Agency for Senior Citizens where she was responsible for duties involving community relations and overall operation of the agency and Kelly Assisted Living where she was Client Services Supervisor. Ms. Hart received her Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Sociology, Summa Cum Laude, from Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida.