Aija Leiponen is an Assistant Professor in Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. She joined the department in 2001.
Prior to joining Cornell University, she carried out research at the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria, Institute for Industrial Relations in UC Berkeley, and the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA) in Finland.
Leiponen's teaching and research focus on the sources and effects of technological change in the economy. The overarching goal of her research program is to understand the interactions between organizational arrangements and innovation.
Aija Leiponen received her Ph.D. in Economics from the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration. During her doctoral studies, she spent two years as a Fulbright scholar in the Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley.
Doris Buffet is the founder of The Sunshine Lady Foundation which is a private family foundation funded through her generosity. The mission of the foundation reflects the midwestern values and no-nonsense approach to decision-making that Doris grew up with in Omaha, Nebraska. Each Sunshine Lady Foundation grant is considered an investment, and the decision to grant funds is always based on an expected successful return. Doris Buffett is grateful to her father and brother (Warren Buffet) not only for providing her with the wealth to fund the foundation but also for their inspirational examples of integrity and generosity.
Buffett is passionate about her responsibilities as a philanthropist and a good citizen and her energy and enthusiasm are boundless. Among her many other roles, she has been a first grade teacher, domestic violence crusader, political activist, mother and grandmother. She is the self appointed Buffett family genealogist and her avocation is historic preservation.
Since its inception in 1996 the Sunshine Lady Foundation has awarded more than $30 million in grants.
Albe Zakes is a publicist for TerraCycle.
While a student at University of Colorado, Albe helped run various student groups including Environnment Alert, a campaign ran by Colorado Public Interest Research Group and Hip Hop Congress, a nationwide grassroots organization which spreads political and social awareness through music, poetry and art.
Albe Zakes graduated from University of Colorado, Boulder in May 2006 with a B.A. in Literature and Psychology.
Jon Beyer is co-founder and CIO of TerraCycle.
Prior to the founding of TerraCycle, Jon worked with Professor Bill Arbaugh and Professor Jeffrey Hollingsworth of the University of Maryland and as a software engineer for Raytheon-Solipsys. He also has years of experience working as a freelance software engineer, with projects ranging from custom CRM solutions to tools for analyzing census data.
Jon Bayer graduated from Princeton University in 2005 where he majored in Computer Science with a focus in computer graphics.
Bena Burda is the founder and owner of Clean Clothes, Inc. and Maggie's Organics, a company that makes cotton and wool socks, men's and women's clothes, and baby apparel, all from organic fibers.
Burda's organic career began with Eden Foods in 1978. As the company's sales manager, she helped introduce the first certified organic soymilk in the United States. Later, when she was sales manager for Bearito's Brand Organic Tortilla Chips, and the company began rotating organic cotton with its corn crops, Burda began experimenting with the cotton. In 1992 she and financial partner Jennifer Mueller co-founded Maggie's Organics, and in 1997 Burda bought out the company from Mueller to create Maggie's Organics/Clean Clothes.
Bena Burda has a background in organic agriculture, and received the 2003 Organic Leadership award from the Organic Trade Association.
Daniel Goldman is currently the CFO of GreatPoint Energy. In addition, Goldman was the founder, Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of New Energy Capital Corp., a venture-backed company focused on investments in renewable energy, fuels and distributed generation assets.
Goldman's previous work experience was as an executive at InterGen, the power generation company co-owned by the Bechtel Group and Royal/Dutch Shell, from 1996-2001, and at consulting firm Arthur D. Little in Cambridge and Singapore from 1989-1996.
Daniel Goldman received a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics.
Felix Laboy is co-founder, President and CEO of E-site Marketing which is an Internet marketing company that specializes in the hospitality industry.
Laboy has held executive positions at several leading hotel companies including The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., Westin Hotels and Resorts, and The Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts as well as The Puerto Rico Convention Bureau.
Felix Laboy is a graduate of the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University.
Greg Dollarhyde is the Executive Chairman of the board of directors of Pacific Island Restaurants, Inc., a chain of 93 Pizza Hut and Taco Bell locations in Hawaii and Guam, acquired through a successful LBO financed by Bank of America and private equity firm Brentwood Associates.
Dollarhyde is a 36 year veteran of the restaurant industry in the United States, having had hands-on responsibility for all major aspects of that business during his career. He has been Chairman or Chief Executive Officer of five separate restaurant companies and Chief Financial Officer of two publicly-held restaurant companies, among other responsibilities.
Prior to his current endeavors, Dollarhyde was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Fresh Enterprises, Inc. , the holding company of BAJA FRESH, a rapid growth, "fast-casual" Mexican food chain headquartered in Southern California. Dollarhyde, in partnership with Catterton Parters, Oak Investors and others, purchased the company in November 1998 and, after accelerated growth exceeding 40% CAGR, sold the company to Wendy's International in July 2002 for $275 million; more that seven times their original investment.
Pursuing other entrepreneurial ventures, Dollarhyde is currently lead investor and Chairman of the board of Riot Games, Inc., an early stage, MMORPG video game development company, and is a principal of B Cellars, a newly emerging winery specializing in Napa Valley appellation blends. Additionally, Dollarhyde is a private investor and liaison to private equity funds seeking investments in the restaurant and service retail sectors.
Dollarhyde has been an alumnus of restaurant concepts that are household names such as TGI Fridays (CFO, Initial Public Offering in 1983), Pizza Hut (VP & GM New Concepts, VP Acquisitions), and Kenny Roger's Roasters (Exec. VP & Vice Chairman). Additionally, he has led regional favorites Rusty Pelican Restaurants (CEO 1990 and CFO 1987, Southern California) and Country Harvest Buffets (CEO 1995, Seattle), stewarding the sale of both of these companies to industry competitors.
Greg Dollarhyde is a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and The Johnson School of Business.
Seth Flowerman is founder and president of Career Explorations, LLC (CE). CE offers a residential summer internship program with sessions in Boston and New York City for high school students from around the world. Participants live at The Juilliard School in the heart of New York City or Emerson College located on the Boston Commons. During the day, participants intern for top organizations in a field of personal interest; and attend group activities such as concerts, sporting events, and an array of other activities in the evenings.
Flowerman has been actively involved with entrepreneurship since he won a national business plan competition run by Saint Michael's College as a 16 year-old. Since then, he was named International Student Entrepreneur of the year in 2004 by JA Worldwide for his work with Career Explorations.
Seth Flowerman is currently an Applied Economics and Business major at Cornell University. He is scheduled to graduate in 2008.