<p>Chris Wilkerson is the President of EquipSystems. EquipSystems focuses on equipment management programs for what is referred to as the non-electrics rolling stock in hospitals. </p> <p>Prior to purchasing EquipSystems, Wilkerson was the Founder, President and CEO of High Bar Capital. High Bar Capital specializes in the acquisition and management of high quality businesses operating in niche healthcare markets. Creation of High Bar Capital led to his purchase of EquipSystems.</p> <p>Before founding High Bar Capital, Chris worked in the business development group of Ventro, a B2B marketplace builder and operator and was part of the founding team at OnCare, a nationwide oncology physician practice management company. </p> <p>Chris Wilkerson holds a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University and a MBA from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania. </p>
Timothy M. Gunn is Chair of the Department of Fashion Design at Parsons The New School for Design. In addition, he serves as an on-air mentor to designers on the Bravo reality television program "Project Runway".
Gunn has been a vital part of the Parsons community for more than 23 years. In August 2000, he was appointed Chair of the fashion design program with the charge of retooling and invigorating the curriculum for the 21st century. Under Gunn's direction, the department has strengthened its position as the indisputable leader in fashion design education in America and as one of only a handful of leading programs in the world.
Prior to his appointment as Chair of the fashion design program, Gunn spent most of his career at Parsons as Associate Dean of the school. In that capacity, he worked closely with the academic departments and helped develop programs and relationships abroad, including the international spectrum of Parsons affiliates in Paris, Korea, Japan and the Dominican Republic.
Gunn has lectured widely on fashion and lifestyle design and Parsons' influential role in putting America on the global design map. His interviews have appeared in publications as diverse as Time and Newsweek, Crain's New York Business, Martha Stewart Living, Elle Magazine and Women's Wear Daily, and his television interviews have appeared on CBS, NBC, and the Metro Channel.
Timothy Gunn holds a B.A. degree from Yale University and a B.F.A. in sculpture from the Corcoran School of Art & Design.
Paul Polak is president of International Development Enterprises (IDE), a nonprofit, poverty alleviation organization he founded in 1981. IDE pioneered the development and marketing of affordable technologies within developing countries. The Technology Museum of Innovation named IDE-International a Laureate for its development of "Easy Drip" a truly affordable micro-irrigation system for the rural farmers in developing countries. In 2004, Paul was awarded Ernst & Young's "2004 Entrepreneur of the Year" award in the category of social responsibility. As a result of technologies like "Easy Drip" and facilitated market entrance, IDE families have increased their net annual income by more than $200 million annually. Recently Polak was honored by Scientific American as one of the Top 50 innovators in 2003 for his work pioneering poverty alleviation worldwide. In 2007, Polak founded D-Rev, an organization created to design affordable technology for dollar-a day customers and developing markets where they can be sold profitably and sustainable at a fair market price. Paul Polak received his MD from the University of Western Ontario and practiced psychiatry for 23 years.
Sara Jobin made history in 2004 as the first woman to conduct on the mainstage subscription series at San Francisco Opera. She conducted performances of Puccini's Tosca with Carol Vaness in the title role and Wagner's Flying Dutchman with Juha Uusitalo and Nina Stemme; the following season she conducted multiple performances of Bellini's Norma. Jobin has also led performances for the San Francisco Opera Center. Prior to her six years as an assistant with the San Francisco Opera, she conducted for Opera San Jose for four years. Her recording with Frederica von Stade of the music of Chris Brubeck has recently come out on the Koch International Classics label; it features the Tassajara Symphony, an organization she led for four years after its founding in 1998. She has also conducted the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Edmonton Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, The Women's Philharmonic, Oakland East Bay Symphony, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic, and Toledo Symphony. At age 16 she attended Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges, where she was named a Leonard Bernstein Music Scholar. After graduation, as a John Knowles Paine Travelling Fellow, she studied conducting with Charles Bruck at the Pierre Monteux School. In 1999 she was the first recipient of the JoAnn Falletta Award, given by The Women's Philharmonic in recognition of a young female conductor of outstanding promise.
Sheila Kennedy is the Principal and Founder of Kennedy & Violich Architecture. Kennedy's professional internship was conducted in Switzerland at the office of Mario Campi and at the Boston based firm of Kallmann, McKinnel and Wood. Sheila Kennedy combines professional practice with instruction in architectural design as an Associate Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and offers to the firm her design expertise on electrical and information infrastructures and strategic conceptual problem solving. Sheila Kennedy received the Masters Degree in Architecture at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, where she was graduated with Distinction.
Jessica Crolick Rolph is founding partner and COO of HappyFamily, a start-up company that produces and markets fresh-frozen, all organic baby and toddler meals. Previously she worked at Whole Foods in national purchasing for SPINS, the leading provider of information to the natural products industry. She also has worked with Lance Armstrong's business agent to develop the concept for the Lance Armstrong branded food line. Based on Newman's Own business model, all proceeds were to benefit Lance Armstrong Foundation.
Jessica Crolick Rolph received an MBA from the Johnson School at Cornell University in 2004, and was awarded a full MBA scholarship, the Park Leadership Fellowship, for leadership in socially responsible business.
As part of that fellowship, she helped launch Ithaca Fine Chocolates, a socially responsible, fair-trade-certified organic chocolate company based in Ithaca that makes and markets "Art Bars". Each chocolate bar features a card with a reproduction of work by local artists or international children's art. The students developed a business plan, including a financial accounting system and pricing model for the chocolate bars; helped source their manufacture; created a distribution plan using multiple channel; and developed a relationship with Whole Foods as a key sales partner.
In addition to holding an MBA from Cornell University, Jessica Crolick Rolph also received her BA from Cornell.
Richard Proctor is the Grocery Buyer at Green Star, a member-owned co-operative grocery store located in Ithaca, NY.
Ramsey Brous is co-owner of Ithaca Bakery and Collegetown Bagels located in Ithaca, NY.
Barbara Lang, founder of RTR Ideas, offers a wide range of experiences, including 10 years as a culinary director at a Napa Valley winery; a former co-owner of a successful restaurant in Ithaca, NY; 17 years as a lecturer at Cornell's Hotel School and is author of "From Restaurant to Retail, a Handbook for Food Professionals".
Lang developed and launched The Ithaca Wegman's Culinary School, produced and hosted a series of food programs and culinary videos for Cornell's Cooperative Extension, created the Popcork Experience, a fun, interactive wine and food pairing experience, developed the Rolling Stove, a series of culinary adventures for children, and was past president of the American Cheese Society. A popular public speaker, Lang has spoken at over 50 conferences and symposia, including at the National Restaurant Show, The Professional Association of Innkeepers International and the California Wine Experience.
Barbara Lang holds an undergraduate degree in Hotel Administration from Cornell University's Hotel School and a masters degree in professional studies in Food Marketing from Cornell University's Department of Applied Economics and Management.