2025 UNM Anderson Center for Responsible Entrepreneurship Accelerator Pitch Competition

Meg Fisher is a technology, product, and operations leader who has helped create some of the most transformational products and services for education, media, and technology industries including Apple’s App Store, iTunes U, iBooks Store (Apple Books), and Everyone Can Code’s App Development with Swift. She currently serves as a consultant to Santa Fe Community College for the program she brought to Santa Fe entitled Santa Fe Creative Coding Initiative (Apple Community Education Initiative) and advises for AI applications through Santa Fe AI Partners. 

General Partner Dangerous Ventures Ward Hendon is an investor, teacher, and entrepreneur with a diverse career spanning law, business, and education. A founding team member of Axiom Law, Ward helped grow the company into the world’s largest provider of tech-enabled legal services. With 6,900 lawyers, Axiom serves over half of the FTSE/Fortune 100 and has been recognized for innovation by The Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal. Over 15 years, Ward held executive management roles and contributed to Axiom’s global success before its 2019 acquisition by Permira, a private equity firm.

Currently, Ward teaches entrepreneurship and impact investing at UCLA Anderson School of Management and explores the intersection of law and innovation at UNC School of Law. He also invests in promising businesses, serves on boards, and mentors entrepreneurs and CEOs.

Ward graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and its School of Law, later clerking for the Hon. Wm. L. Osteen, Sr., and practicing corporate law at King & Spalding LLP in Atlanta.

Bridget Dixson has been with the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce since 2009, becoming President & CEO in 2019. Under her leadership, the Chamber has remained a vital resource, advocating for businesses of all sizes and promoting economic resilience across Santa Fe. Bridget also serves as Executive Director of Leadership Santa Fe and is involved in numerous boards, including the Western Association of Chamber Executives and the New Mexico Organized Retail Crime Association, United Way of Central New Mexico and chairs the New Mexico Chamber Executive Association.

A passionate advocate for family-friendly business practices, Bridget has helped expand childcare facilities and certifications in Santa Fe and has championed initiatives to support Spanish-speaking and Southside businesses. Her work has earned her recognition as one of Albuquerque Business First’s Women of Influence in 2024. Bridget is also a graduate of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute of Organizational Management and the WACE Academy Program.

Outside of work, Bridget enjoys spending time with her family, exploring New Mexico’s culinary offerings, and mentoring her team. Her dedication to Santa Fe is evident in her commitment to strengthening the local economy and supporting the community’s unique and inclusive spirit.

Hilary Kilpatric is a bilingual international social entrepreneur with a BA in Business Economics, a CPA license, and MA in International Relations. She is also a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer from Guatemala. Hilary worked as an auditor at Deloitte & Touche, earning her CPA license before discovering her passion of helping entrepreneurs create and grow their businesses. She worked in artist development at the International Folk Art Market helping artisans build and scale their businesses, developing sustainable business models for earning year-round income. She then moved to Laos where she helped a women’s weaving cooperative extend their reach into international wholesale markets, growing sales and decreasing their reliance on local tourism. She recently founded The Kitchen Table Santa Fe, where she supports small food businesses to scale and grow while aiming to keep the value chain local. 

Reilly White serves as UNM Assoc. Dean of Teaching and Learning, and an Associate Professor of Finance. As a board member of the CFA Society of New Mexico he advises on the $4.7M student-run UNM Regent’s Portfolio. In addition, he leads a series of financial literacy projects in the community. With a banking analyst background Reily is well versed in ethical corporate leadership including how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing is used to screen investments based on corporate policies and to encourage companies to act responsibly. In 2022 he received the Paul Bartlett Ré Emerging Promoter of Peace Award and has written widely on finance and financial technology and interviewed over 150 times by local and national media outlets on various economic and finance topics.

Taylor Betzen is a current MBA student at the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Managment. She has a background in biology and years’ worth of experience with animals, both academically and personally. When not at work, she enjoys spending time with family, reading, and learning random facts.

Velimir Vesselinov, PhD, CTO of EnviTrace is a former LANL employee and AI/ML technology leader. His award-winning research and software drive EnviTrace’s technical success.

Trace Kliphuis is an enviropreneur, artist , chemical engineer, mediator, and recognized leader with public outreach expertise and 20 years of technical and management experience related to regulation and restoration (e.g. CAA, CERCLA, CWA, NRDA, RCRA). She was the executive director of a state agency, and was responsible for every aspect of that agency’s operation. Trace was a division director at the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED). Her experience includes leading, managing, coordinating, and communicating between industry, State and Federal agencies (BLM, DOE, DOI, EPA), Congressional delegation, State legislators, and a wide range of stakeholders, including activist groups and local Indian Pueblos and Tribes. She is also a passionate and dedicated student of mediation, leadership, and negotiation.

Diane Hatz is Founder CEO of The Hearth Network, an umbrella arm of Whole Healthy Group LLC, an events, consulting, and publishing company working to maximize health of mind, body, and spirit.

Diane has written and published three fictional books, award-winning Rock Gods & Messy Monsters, Fallen Spirits, and The Light of Wounds. Previously, she was Founder/Organizer of TEDxManhattan, Founder/Executive Director of nonprofit Change Food, Impact Producer at film production company Participant, mentor to artists at Creative Capital Foundation as well as entrepreneurs in food startups, plus much more.

WholeHealthyGroup.com and DianeHatz.com

Kari is a physician (Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease) and an MBA candidate in her final semester at UNM. She earned her BS from Duke University, an MD from Wake Forest University, and an MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She has worked at the CDC, the Indian Health Service, and Pfizer Vaccines.

John Cole, founder CEO, technologist, musician, graphic designer, publisher, and amateur full stack PHP developer. From New Mexico Military Institute, Rhode Island School of Design, The John’s Hopkins University Press, to publishing SF Oneheart magazine, John continues to give to our communities. He sees himself as an agile leader ready to advance a transformational technology into the second quarter of the 21st century.

Charlie Paynter and Chris Schaum are prominent figures in New Mexico’s forestry and land management sectors, each bringing decades of expertise and dedication to sustainable practices.​

Charlie Paynter has amassed extensive experience in ranch management across New Mexico. His tenure at Quinlan Ranches New Mexico, LLC, based in Chama, highlights his proficiency in overseeing large-scale land operations. Charlie’s role as Ranch Manager at Trout Springs Ranch in Montezuma further underscores his commitment to sustainable land stewardship and effective resource management. ​

Chris Schaum a veteran wildland firefighter as well as retired from the Santa Fe Fire Department. He is the owner of Chris’ Tree Service in Santa Fe, a company he established to provide expert tree management services. With a scientific background that includes research assistance for the Smithsonian Museum and fieldwork in Central and South America, Chris has cultivated a deep understanding of arboriculture. His experience as a mountaineering instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School and his tenure with the Santa Fe Fire Department, where he retired as a Training Captain, reflect his dedication to safety and environmental conservation. ​

Stephanie W. Telles, Founder and CEO of Otoño Consulting, LLC, leads a Latina-owned organizations dedicated to fostering inclusivity, ethics, and fraud prevention. A dynamic educator, she teaches Fraud Examination and Forensic Accounting at the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management and Accounting at Central New Mexico Community College, inspiring diverse learners with her engaging teaching approach. Stephanie’s extensive experience includes roles at the GAO, New Mexico State Auditor’s Office, and Wells Fargo, where she honed her expertise in transparency, accountability, and internal controls. A proud Native New Mexican and Albuquerque Business First honoree, Stephanie was recognized with the 2020 Diverse Business Leader Award and the 2018 40 Under Forty Award. Balancing her professional achievements with her role as a caregiver in the sandwich generation, she is deeply committed to her family, community, and creating a more ethical and fraud-resistant future.

Lisa Montoya is a ‘momtrepreneur’ with a passion for parenthood, teaching, and community impact. Her professional background is rooted in education and training.

Christy Georg is an Artist / Adventurer. She’s a professional sculptor and educator teaching fabrication skills and sees the market for quality, good-looking safety glasses for women firsthand.  She has taught at the Institute for American Indian Arts, Santa Fe Community College, Maine College of Art, Massachusetts College of Art and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University and was most recently Operations Manager at MAKE Santa Fe, our fabulous local nonprofit makerspace.

She has worked as a deckhand aboard sailing schooners, thru- hiked the 2,650 mile Pacific Crest Trail and 500 mile Colorado trail, and cruised the Arctic. Her artwork is inspired by travel and historical research into desolate and harsh natural environments and sites of wonder, like the American ‘Wild’ West and the Arctic. Courage, endurance, and fortitude are recurring themes in her artwork, studio practice, and life. While she is certainly a risk-taker in life, taking a risk with her eye safety in the shop will never do, and she’s out to change that!

Hanmin Kim is the founder of Seoul Gimbap, a food business dedicated to bringing fresh, healthy, and affordable Korean-inspired meals to underserved communities. With a background in Cybersecurity and Business Analytics and an MBA candidate at UNM, Hanmin leverages his expertise in logistics and data-driven decision-making to enhance food accessibility while promoting cultural diversity in Albuquerque.

Chauncey Foster is the co-founder and Creative Director of we.grow.eco, a grassroots organization dedicated to fostering environmental awareness through art, education, and community engagement. In 2021, Chauncey embarked on a remarkable journey, walking over 4,000 miles across the United States to promote litter reduction and environmental consciousness. This expedition involved organizing community clean-ups, distributing meals to the houseless, and collecting 37,365 pieces of trash over 295 days.

Now based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Chauncey continues to lead we.grow.eco in developing innovative programs that encourage critical thinking about our relationship with the environment. These initiatives include educational programs in schools, where students participate in litter collection, recycling, and paper-making workshops using upcycled textiles. Additionally, the organization addresses challenges within our community through action based, collective efforts such as their fiber reuse & recycling closed loop system , turning from clothes to paper.

Under Chauncey’s guidance, we.grow.eco also hosts artistic events like the annual “Save the Ugly” music festival, celebrating experimental art and promoting environmental stewardship. In 2023, the organization launched a sewing bike tour from Salt Lake City to Albuquerque, promoting cycling and sewing as tools for self-sufficiency.

Chauncey’s commitment to environmental conservation and community empowerment continues to inspire individuals to take small, unified actions that lead to lasting, systemic change.