Get Involved

Ready to take the next step? There are multiple ways you can get involved: apply now for an upcoming training, join the team or sign up for our mailing list to stay informed.

Meet our Teaching Team

Our regional courses are led by a talented and diverse group of instructors from across the Desert and Pacific Region. These experts have extensive knowledge of the I-Corps methodology and employ proven strategies to guide teams through the customer discovery process, all while creating an inclusive and supportive learning atmosphere.

Leith Martin

Leith Martin

Hub Lead Instructor, Regional Instructor, and National Instructor

Why am I an instructor?
I love seeing teams change.

What is exciting about participating in I-Corps?
If you commit to the process you will be fundamentally changed in the way that you approach not only your research but also other aspects of your life and career. The advantages to participating include, entrepreneurial education, networking, skill development and developing future funding opportunities.

What do I have to offer as an instructor?
I’ve been teaching the Lean Launchpad Methodology both in the classroom and in I-Corps for 7 years. That coupled with my past startup experience provides practical application in this unique learning environment.

Ji Mi Choi

Hub Director, Regional Instructor, and National Instructor

Why am I an instructor?
It’s a wonderful way to support different teams (faculty, staff, students, community members, industry mentors) and their potential solutions, aiming to solve real-world problems with new products and services. Whether serving on a teaching team for regional or national programs, I-Corps instructors have the privilege to work with extraordinary people advancing technological and scientific inventions to impactful innovations. I-Corps instructors are like-minded in their focus to support people trying to create societal value – it’s a good group to be a part of!

What is exciting about participating in I-Corps?
Teams begin I-Corps as experts in their research and solutions space, but participants develop skills to deeply understand customer needs and the value of their inventions. This shift from “my invention is great because…” to a deeper understanding of value is gratifying. Even when participants determine “there’s no there, there” – it’s a gift! To learn quickly if there is a real use case worth pursuing is valuable. I-Corps provides a rigorous, disciplined process to explore and make that determination.

What do I have to offer as an instructor?
With nearly a decade of experience in I-Corps (educator, Site PI, Hub Director, Lead Instructor), I offer extensive knowledge of the I-Corps method in an accessible and relatable way.

Denise McKenzie

Regional Instructor and National Instructor

Why am I an instructor?
I am passionate about helping engineers and scientists think like entrepreneurs.

What is exciting about participating in I-Corps?
It’s exciting to watch teams iterate, pivot and grow.

What do I have to offer as an instructor?
My interdisciplinary skill set helps me advise deep tech teams. I have degrees in math, electrical engineering, and law. I started my career at a major aerospace company where I developed mathematical models of missile navigation systems. I also have more than 20 years of experience as a patent litigator. My practice focused on helping tech companies protect their ideas and inventions from theft by competitors. My education and experience allow me to meet teams where they are and help them explore commercial opportunities.

Nathan Friedman

Regional Instructor and Industry Mentor

Why am I an instructor and mentor?
I am an instructor and mentor because I see the value in the I-Corps approach. I am excited to lend some industry experience and knowledge to teams who have an exciting concept and are trying to understand the potential of that concept in the market. Through my industry experience, I have seen the value in utilizing this approach in bringing a greater clarity to an opportunity and increasing the potential for success.

What is exciting about participating in I-Corps?
I am very excited to be exposed to a lot of interesting concepts and motivated teams around those concepts. I am always interested in learning more about new markets and novel ways that people come up with for accessing or building those markets.

What do I have to offer as an instructor and mentor?
I have spent 20 years in a role of medical device ideation and development, so I can offer some insight into the industry, the process of bringing a device to market, and contacts in the industry. I also have participated in an industry internal I-Corps type program both as a mentor and a participant several times over the last 8 years, so I can offer some process insights as somebody who has been through this investigation process in a variety of areas.

Chad Coffman

Regional Instructor

Why am I an instructor?
I believe that entrepreneurship is all about creating value. Being an I-Corps instructor is a fulfilling way to support diverse groups as they work toward developing innovative solutions to real-world challenges. Translating innovation into value creation benefits entrepreneurs, their customers, and other stakeholders.

What is exciting about participating in I-Corps?
Participating in I-Corps is exciting because teams come in with innovative, new solutions, and we get to help them understand how to create value by aligning those solutions with real problems.

What do I have to offer as an instructor?
As an instructor, I get to combine my academic, research perspective on entrepreneurship, with my experience starting (and sometimes failing!) new ventures. I think this allows me to zoom-in and zoom-out: addressing the nuts and bolts of customer discovery and then stepping back to remind participants of how each piece fits into the larger puzzle.

Tiffany Reiss

Carlos Navarro

Regional Instructor

Why am I an instructor?
I am a strong supporter of the problem-centered approach of business building taught in I-Corps. Few will buy what you are working on just because it’s cool or new!

What is exciting about participating in I-Corps?
Helping graduate students and faculty realize that they are already well-equipped to do as much customer discovery work as they are interested in is so satisfying. The abstract problem-solving skills researchers gain through their doctoral work are powerful tools which can be applied beyond the research lab.

What do I have to offer as an instructor?
I am someone that has experienced many sides of the I-Corps process. As a graduate student, I benefited from the Regional program, as it helped me validate a significant need for my technology. As a start-up founder, the National program taught me to center my company around the problems and experiences of my customers, rather than my shiny new technology toys, and helped me secure contracts with large aerospace companies. Now, as a Regional Instructor, I strive to help folks also embarking on the deep-tech path focus on what value they provide and maximize their chance of success.

Steven Wood

Industry Mentor

Why am I a mentor?
I am an I-Corps Industry Mentor because, simply put, you can’t do this alone. Launching a successful business is a long journey where you will be confronted with countless decisions where you, as the entrepreneur, will need to act. Do not do this alone. Get a Mentor! Use your Mentor!

What is exciting about participating in I-Corps?
As a mentor, the excitement lies in seeing entrepreneurial learning and reactions to various interactions with the teaching teams and, more importantly, with potential customers. It’s exciting to see teams persevere through their early challenges and grow even more committed to their ultimate success and their business mission.

What do I have to offer as a mentor?
As a mentor, I listen and I watch. I listen to entrepreneurs that hunger for success in their business even when they have no prior experience in a startup. I watch potential customers providing information to a would-be entrepreneur, as they get excited and energized to tell their story. Having traveled down the startup path before, I can interpret what I hear and what I see and guide the entrepreneur in avoiding the inevitable traps that exist.

Become an Instructor or Mentor

In addition to our instructors, seasoned entrepreneurs act as mentors, providing invaluable support and insights as teams navigate the business ecosystem throughout their I-Corps journey.

Becoming an instructor or mentor is a rewarding way to contribute to the entrepreneurial landscape in the Desert and Pacific Region. Join us and help shape the future of innovation.

Interested in becoming an instructor or mentor with the NSF I-Corps Hub: Desert and Pacific Region? Click below to fill out the interest form.

Contact Us

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Taylor Silverstein

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

Hub Coordinator
NSF I-Corps Hub: Desert and Pacific Region

taylor.b.silverstein@asu.edu

Get involved

Get Involved

Meet our Teaching Team

Leith Martin

Become an Instructor or Mentor

Contact Us

Taylor Silverstein

NSF I-Corps™ Hub: Desert and Pacific Region