June 2024

Sheri Wilson Administrative Aide Email : swilsn@illinois.eduPhone : 217-300-2580  Sheri Wilson is often the first person people meet when they come to the Research Park, as you walk into EnterpriseWorks.  She also assists all staff, tenants, and student interns at EnterpriseWorks. She is also the first point of contact for Laura Appenzeller, Executive Director of Research Park. Sheri Wilson joined the EnterpriseWorks team as the Receptionist in the fall of 2014.   Prior to coming to EnterpriseWorks, she had more than 25 years of customer service experience in the manufacturing and wireless phone industry.  Sheri is a Central Illinois native with one daughter and three sons. She’s a fan of Illini sports, the Dallas Cowboys, the Chicago Bears and Cubs.  She enjoys shopping, antiquing, spoiling her grandchildren, and vacationing with her husband.

SARAH DOHERTY Accounting AssociateEmail : Sarahmd3@Illinois.EduPhone : 217-300-6217 Sarah Doherty joined the EnterpriseWorks team as an Accounting Associate in July 2023, bringing 14 years of experience in accounting including government and real estate knowledge. Sarah completed her master’s degree in accountancy from the University of Illinois, her honors certificate in accounting from Parkland College, as well as a graduate of the Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science. She is an Ohio native and has made Champaign her home with her husband and three daughters.

Roger West Associate Director of Operations and Finance Email :rwest@illinois.edu   Phone: 217-244-7745 Roger West oversees the financial aspects of our organization, including accounting, budgets, grant oversight, and contracts for EnterpriseWorks and UIRP LLC.  Roger is a CPA with a background that includes a mix of entrepreneurship, technology, construction, and University financial audits. Before joining the Research Park staff in 2011, he worked as the Director of Accounts at Common Ground Publishing, a graduate of the EnterpriseWorks incubator which has its offices in the Research Park. He also worked as a Controller at Broeren Russo Construction and Vogel Bros. Construction learning about the construction business, and began his career as an accountant at two small accounting firms.  Roger and his family live in Savoy.

Laura Bleill Director of External Engagement Email : lwbleill@illinois.edu  Phone: 217-244-7744 Laura Bleill manages the community building portfolio of the Research Park. She develops strategy behind the Research Park’s events, programming, communications, branding and marketing efforts; and directs its strategy to attract, grow, retain and train its workforce. Bleill engages with corporate partners large and small interested in embedding their organizations in the fabric of a world-renowned research institution which offers excellence at scale — research, talent, innovation. Bleill and the Research Park team work very intentionally to create a vibrant, dynamic community that drives innovation. An entrepreneur herself, Bleill is CEO and co-founder of a hyperlocal media company, chambanamoms.com. She is very active in the Champaign-Urbana community, and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Experience Champaign-Urbana and the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois.  A native of the Chicago suburbs, she has a master’s and bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

Laura Appenzeller Executive Director and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Innovation Email: lfrerich@illinois.edu  Phone: 217-333-8323   Laura Appenzeller is the Executive Director of the University of Illinois Research Park and the Chief Operating Officer of the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park. Associated with both roles, she is also the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to support research commercialization and industry partnerships. The Research Park provides an on-campus vibrant business ecosystem that creates long-term value for the university’s intellectual assets, its students, participant companies, and the economy. The Research Park is located on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with mixed-use development of more than 800K square feet of constructed buildings, 120 companies (large corporations and startup companies), 2,000 employees including 700 students working year-round in internships. The Research Park hosts numerous programs and events to support its companies through collaboration, peer sharing, and technology programs to elevate skills and innovation outcomes. Corporate R&D centers at the Research Park include ADM, AGCO, Bayer, Caterpillar, John Deere, Mondelez, Motorola, Nvidia, State Farm, Synchrony and Yahoo as examples of industry leaders that Laura has developed through business attraction and corporate engagement. EnterpriseWorks incubator startup companies have raised more than $1.4 Billion in venture capital and $200 Million in SBIR/STTR awards since the incubator opened. Laura led the creation of the U.S. SBA Illinois FAST Center at the Research Park, which provides small business assistance across Illinois for SBIR and STTR programs. Laura is on the leadership team of the EDA iFAB Tech Hub, which was awarded $51 Million for the growth of precision fermentation and bioprocessing in Central Illinois. Laura has been active in the formation of the new Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP) located at the former U.S. Steel South Works site on Chicago’s far South Side. IQMP is designed to support the full ecosystem of companies, researchers, suppliers, end users and other partners working to facilitate the development and commercialization of quantum technologies. In her role with IQMP, she leads site and infrastructure planning, financial and operational oversight, and real estate projects. Laura is active in numerous regional organizations including serving as the board of the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition; the board of the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation; the board of the Illinois Clean Energy and Resilience Fund; past board member of the Association of University Research Parks (AURP); and she is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.