As the EIR, Rick assists students, faculty and alumni with creating and validating business models, developing entrepreneurial skills, and launching new ventures. He is also a mentor for the Capital Region NSF I-Corps Site program and member of the Accelerate 518 academic consortium. Rick has previously served as a New Ventures Consultant for the New Your State Technology Enterprise Corporation (NYSTEC) where he developed and launched IgniteU NY, an early accelerator program focusing on customer discovery and business model validation.