Shuford Innovator-in-Residence’s inaugural program will bring together a cohort of industry subject matter experts with an intentional focus on diverse personal and professional backgrounds, experiences and identities.
The seven leaders, all Carolina alumni, will support students in the Shuford Entrepreneurship Program through academic lectures, professional development initiatives, mentorship opportunities and candid conversations on campus. Each innovator will visit the campus for one week per academic year and will continue to build connections and networks with the University and the community of Shuford beyond this week.
The inaugural 2021-2022 Shuford Innovators in Residence class includes:
- Soltan Bryce ’13: Health
- Eric Campbell ’12: Venture Capital
- Courtney Couch ’08: Entertainment
- Hannah Elly ’14: Design and Marketing
- Dezbee McDaniel ’17: Health and Communications Technology
- Shruti Shah ’11: Electronic Commerce
- Dedren Snead ’12: Tech and Afrofuturism
They will receive a stipend of $ 4,000 as well as assistance of up to $ 1,000 for travel and accommodation while on campus.
Meet Shuford’s New Innovators in Residence
Soltan Bryce: Healthcare
Soltan Bryce is the Harvard Business School Leadership Fellow and Special Assistant to the COO & EVP of Strategy at Boston Medical Center Health System. While at HBS, he helped launch Plume, a venture capital-backed digital health company focused on the trans community, as growth manager. In his spare time, he advises digital health companies funded by companies focused on population-specific virtual care models and scouts for Gaingels, a network of angel investors.
Eric Campbell: Venture capital
Eric Campbell is the Managing Partner of Value Investment Group, a private family office focused on private equity backed by influencers and value-driven investing. Campbell has deployed over $ 50 million in capital and invested in over 30 companies with seven exits to date, including Draftkings, Coinbase, Airbnb and others. He was recognized by Forbes as a 2020 “30 Under 30” venture capital recipient. Before VC, he worked at Google and then Uber for almost four years. At Uber, Campbell was responsible for regional operations and strategy for the Middle East and Africa.
Courtney Couch: Entertainment
Courtney Couch is focused on making meaningful connections, building better brands and strengthening her community. After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2008, Couch founded c.luxe creative – running events, activations and public relations services for growing brands and professional athletes. Couch has partnered with some of the best and brightest talent and some of the most recognizable brands in the world including Adidas, Disney’s Black Panther, The Bail Project, Travis Scott, Rajon Rondo, TI and Rodger Saffold. Currently, Couch is Marketing Director at Atlantic Records, where she manages 12 artists, including multi-platinum rapper Don Toliver.
Hannah Elly: Design and Marketing
Hannah Elly is a first generation entrepreneur whose expertise in social growth, customer communities and product design has propelled Nugget from a small three-person company to the fastest growing manufacturing company in the world. United States (Inc. Magazine; 2020, 2021). His work sparked new industry-wide trends in children’s toys and furniture, increased Nugget’s social following to over 500,000 people, and was covered in publications like Parents Magazine, The Los Angeles Times and BuzzFeed News. In her current role as Creative Director, Elly supports Nugget’s product and marketing teams, creating visuals that are the perfect balance between fun for kids and good looking for adults. She is passionate about diversity, inclusion and using social platforms for good.
Dezbee McDaniel: Healthcare and communication technologies
Dezbee McDaniel is a career entrepreneur. He is an alumnus of Venture for America, a prestigious entrepreneurial scholarship, where he worked with tech startups in sales, marketing and operations. McDaniel has since founded and accelerated startups since its inception, currently building CliniSpan Health, a software platform that diversifies recruitment for clinical trials. McDaniel was a 2018 Forbes Fellow and was also recognized by Charlotte’s Inno “25 under 25” in 2021 as one of the best and brightest entrepreneurs contributing to the Charlotte area.
Shruti Shah: Electronic Commerce
Shruti Shah is an advisor, investor and coach for a handful of growing companies. She was previously the co-founder and COO of Move Loot, backed by Y Combinator, a full-service online marketplace for buying and selling used furniture, where she led national expansion and general business operations. In three years, she and her co-founding team have raised $ 22 million. Shah was honored by Forbes as a 2016 30 Under 30 recipient in Retail and Ecommerce and the Aspen Institute as the Aspen Ideas Festival Fellow for Reinventing Capitalism. Prior to co-founding Move Loot, Shah worked for the New Schools Venture Seed Fund, a seed fund that invests in early stage education technology companies, and she was also a teacher at a public school. in Baltimore.
Dedren Snead: Tech and Afrofuturism
Dedren Snead is an emerging technologist, creative consultant and social futurist from Snow Hill, NC, currently based in Atlanta. Snead’s creative studio work uses graphic novels, video games, and animation as well as mobile apps and augmented reality to create inclusive storytelling and cultural fairness in popular media. Serial entrepreneur, Snead’s startup SUBSUME, a fun learning platform, connects K-20 students to creative and technical training for future-ready workforce development . He recently accepted an Artist-in-Residence position at the Creative Media Industries Institute at Georgia State University for the Y22 school year.
Learn more about the Shuford Entrepreneurship Program