2016 2016: Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship announces two new advisory board members

CIE announces Jennifer Schwall Rousseau and Craig Costa as new advisory board members

UMass Dartmouth’s Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship is pleased to announce the appointment of two new advisory board members: Jennifer Schwall Rousseau, Executive Director of Cherrystone Angel Group, and Craig Costa, Director of Engineering for Whirlpool Corporation. 

“Jennifer and Craig embody the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation and bring a tremendous amount of expertise, energy, and talent to the CIE’s advisory board,” UMass Dartmouth Acting Chancellor Gerry Kavanaugh said. 

Jennifer Schwall Rousseau

Executive Director, Cherrystone Angel Group

At Cherrystone, Jennifer manages the Cherrystone Angel Group's operations and serves on the Steering, Screening and Due Diligence Committees. She has experience in screening deals, determining valuation models and conducting market research for several verticals including pharmaceutical, medical devices, software, hardware and internet/mobile applications. She advises portfolio companies on fundraising strategies and works with the CEOs to keep investors updated. Jenn also serves as a representative of Cherrystone in the Boston and New York markets at various fundraising and networking events.

Jenn graduated Summa Cum Laude from Bryant University with a B.S. in Finance and a minor in Legal Studies. She received the Delta Sigma Pi Scholarship Key, awarded to the graduating senior with the highest cumulative academic average, as well as the Jack H. Rubens Leadership in Finance Award.

Craig Costa

Director of Engineering, Whirlpool Corporations Commercial Laundry Division.

Craig is responsible for engineering resources in Fall River, MA, and Benton Harbor, MI. He was previously Vice President of Operations & Engineering for Private Equity-owned American Dryer Corporation (ADC) before Whirlpool acuired of ADC. He was directly responsible for the overall management of supply chain, manufacturing, quality, maintenance, safety, engineering, and R&D. Prior to joining ADC, he served as a Manufacturing/Design Engineer at Texas Instruments in their automotive sensor division, Instrumentations and Controls engineer at MIT start-up Molten Metal Technology, and as a Field Engineer/Project Manager for MCI Telecommunications.

Craig graduated from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth with a degree in electrical engineering, and has an MBA from the Charlton College of Business at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He also has an executive certificate in Technology, Operations, and Value Chain Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Business and successfully completed Finance for Senior Executives at Harvard Business School Executive Education.

These new members join those who were appointed last year, including: Daniel Abraham, Vice President, Hub International New England, LLC; Paul Burke, President, Insurit Agency Inc.; Nick Christ, President, BayCoast Bank; Kenneth Fiola, Jr., Director, Fall River Office of Economic Development; Angappa Gunasekaran, Dean, UMass Dartmouth Charlton College of Business; Gerry Mauretti, President, Engineered Yarns; Robert Mellion, President, Fall River Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Robert Peck, Dean, UMass Dartmouth College of Engineering; Brian Plummer, Vice President of Manufacturing, Cadence, Inc.; Jim Sabra, President, Greater Fall River Development Corporation; Derek Santos, Director, New Bedford Economic Development Council; David Slutz, former President, Precix.

The UMass Dartmouth Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) is an incubator that delivers a full-suite of services, including prototype development, laboratory facilities, conference rooms, office space, and technical assistance, by providing a connection to the world-class faculty and students at UMass Dartmouth, to technology-driven companies.  If you would like more information about the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, please contact Tobias Stapleton at 508-910-9807 or email at tstapleton@umassd.edu.