About: Eliza is the Program Director of the Hudson Valley Venture Hub at SUNY New Paltz, the regional NYSTAR Innovation Hot Spot designation in the HV. She brings 10+ years’ experience as both an entrepreneur and a developer of programming to support entrepreneurship. She has been an adjunct professor of Social Entrepreneurship at Bard College for 4 years. Eliza holds her BS in Communications from SUNY Oneonta and her MBA in Sustainability from Bard College. 

 Eliza was born and raised in the Hudson Valley. Growing up here in the 90’s, her belief was formed that our community should have access to high-quality work and the option to create a living for themselves. Thus, her career has worked towards making capital, education, and network, accessible. Through the HV Venture Hub Eliza aims to play a role in seeding the future companies of our region, providing locals with meaningful work without needing to leave this beautiful region. Having been an entrepreneur herself, she enjoys the thrill of starting something from nothing as startups and innovators do. 

 HV Venture Hub: The Hudson Valley Venture Hub‘s vision is to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem that enables high growth startups to thrive, thereby fostering economic growth in the region. The Innovation Hot Spot operates with a two-pronged approach: 

  1. As a “Hub” we connect businesses to the broader regional network of educators, service organizations and their programs, investors, and more. 
  1. We provide direct acceleration services to startups with the highest potential for scale. 

HV Venture Hub Pitch Contest Hosted at Senate Garage (CoWork Kingston Event Space)