Author name: researchpark24

SHERI WILSON Administrative AideEmail : Swilsn@Illinois.EduPhone : 217-300-2580 Sheri 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.

SHELLEY MAVES FAST Center ManagerEmail : Smaves@Illinois.EduPhone : 217-244-1502 Shelley Maves is the manager of the FAST Center at the University of Illinois Research Park.  She coordinates outreach, training, and individual assistance to entrepreneurs throughout the state of Illinois looking to secure funding through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Shelley joins the EnterpriseWorks team with a background in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry serving as a technical consultant to both start-up health-care  and large pharmaceutical companies.  Prior to that, Shelley was an entrepreneur herself when she co-founded a startup company with technology spun out of Baxter Healthcare, where she had started her career in exploratory research.  Under Shelley’s leadership as Director of Research, the startup was successfully awarded an SBIR grant from the  NIH, which sparked her passion for assisting other entrepreneurs to become successful in obtaining this flavor of funding.  Shelley received her bachelors and doctorate degrees from the University of Illinois in Biochemistry.

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, Operations and FinanceEmail : Rwest@Illinois.EduPhone : 217-244-7745 Roger 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, External EngagementEmail : Lwbleill@Illinois.EduPhone : (217) 244-7744 Laura Weisskopf Bleill manages the community building portfolio of the Research Park at Illinois. 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 and the Research Park team work very intentionally to create a vibrant, dynamic community that drives innovation. She is active with the entrepreneurial ecosystem across campus, as a founding member of the iVenture Accelerator team, a Cozad New Venture Challenge mentor/trainer,  and a former instructor with National Science Foundation I-Corps at Illinois team. She was the co-PI and co-founder of the AWARE entrepreneurship inclusion effort (originally funded by NSF,) which now has been replicated at other universities. 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. She is also on the board of Leadership 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 at the University of Illinois Research Park and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignEmail : Lfrerich@Illinois.EduPhone : 217-333-8323   Laura Appenzeller oversees the University of Illinois Research Park operations and development, manages the entrepreneurship programs at EnterpriseWorks technology incubator, and supports the University’s economic development efforts. She also serves as the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Innovation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and supports special projects of the Chancellor’s Economic Development Council. She is active in numerous regional organizations including serving as the current board chair of the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition; Hope Chicago board; the board of the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation; and she is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago. In the past she has been on the boards of the Association of University Research Parks the Illinois Technology Association, and ChicagoNEXT. Laura was named “Woman of the Year” by Central Illinois Business Magazine in 2009; awarded the Entrepreneur Advocacy Award at the Champaign County Innovation Celebration, 2011; presented the 2013 Athena Young Professional Award; and awarded a Chancellor’s Academic Professional Excellence (CAPE) Award, 2015. Laura is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Media and served as Student Body President at the Urbana-Champaign campus. *formerly Frerichs

JOE MADUZIA Lab ManagerEmail : Jmaduzi2@Illinois.EduPhone : 217.244.6302 Joe Maduzia is the lab manager at EnterpriseWorks. His role includes oversight of the tenant labs (including the future LabWorks), the shared labs, and the MakerSpace. He is at EnterpriseWorks on a part-time basis, and as needed. Joe works across campus as a lab specialist in in the Micro-Nano-Mechanical Systems Cleanroom. He recently completed a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Grainger College of Engineering. Earlier in his career, he worked at EnterpriseWorks graduate Starfire when the company was in residency at the incubator.

GERALD WILSON Director of EntrepreneurshipEmail : Gwilson@Illinois.Edu  Dr. Gerald Wilson, inaugural Director of Entrepreneurship at EnterpriseWorks and the University of Illinois Research Park. In this role, he is responsible for the strategic development and implementation of a vision and infrastructure to establish and accelerate a cross-campus culture of entrepreneurship that spans research institutes, colleges, and departments. His focus includes anticipating mechanisms to secure and grow entrepreneurship programs and resources to assist ecosystem members with company creation, funding, management, and growth beyond the incubation phase. Dr. Wilson leads the staff in supporting entrepreneurship programming and business development of clients of the EnterpriseWorks incubator at the University of Illinois Research Park, which provides technology commercialization support for researchers and entrepreneurs, supports new venture creation, and catalyzes promising startup companies. Prior to joining the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dr. Wilson was President and CEO of Autonomic Materials, Inc. (AMI), an advanced materials company based in Champaign, IL. AMI commercialized technology developed at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science, and is a graduate of the EnterpriseWorks incubator. As CEO, he led the development of the company’s AMP-UPTM protective coatings product lines aimed at eliminating traditional tradeoffs between high performance corrosion protection and environmental responsibility. The company’s technology platform was recognized as the Materials Performance Corrosion Innovation of the Year by NACE International (now AMPP), the Worldwide Authority on corrosion and as a Solar Impulse Efficient Solution. For over two decades, Dr. Wilson has worked on developing new chemistries for self-healing coating, adhesive, sealant, composite, and biomedical applications. He has authored or co-authored over 70 peer-reviewed articles, conference proceedings and invited lectures in a variety of professional national and international forums and is an inventor on over 30 issued and pending patents. Dr. Wilson is also a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Technology Entrepreneur Center in the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a leadership coach and workshop facilitator for the Illinois Leadership Center. He earned a BA in Chemistry from Macalester College, a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering and an MBA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

DUSTIN MAYFIELD-JONES Laboratory and Facilities ManagerEmail : Dustinm2@Illinois.EduPhone : 217-300-5803 Dustin Mayfield-Jones joined the team in May 2024 as the Laboratory and Facilities Manager at EnterpriseWorks. His role includes management of operational functions of the EnterpriseWorks technology and business incubator building, laboratory services, shared facilities, and MakerSpace. He is passionate about helping deep tech startup clients with their tenant service needs during critical periods of the incubation phase. Dustin is also responsible for safety and equipment operations and assists with general administration. Dustin is an alumnus of the University of Illinois and the Graduate College’s Illinois Distinguished Fellowship program. He was laboratory manager and safety officer of a former startup tenant at EnterpriseWorks and has more than 15 years of experience in scientific research. Dustin completed his master’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Missouri-Columbia after earning his bachelor’s degree in biology at Truman State University. Prior to joining the University of Illinois, Dustin actively participated in the Saint Louis maker and tech startup communities. Dustin was a member of The Maker Group, Arch Reactor, TechShop, and co-founder of HAB.education, a STEAM education organization that partnered internationally to teach and inspire children using high altitude balloons. His formative experience making, managing, and pitching tech with others in these communities via GatewayVMS, VentureCafe, and 3DayStartup continues to frame his philosophy of innovation and entrepreneurship and informs his understanding of client needs. Dustin enjoys spending time with his spouse breeding and showing Great Danes from 7Sisters farm with the Illini Great Dane Club, flying airplanes with EnginAires, technical scuba diving, and fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.