Building the Blue
Moderator: Diane Durance
CEO of Headwaters North - Sault Ste. Marie SmartZone
Diane Durance is spearheading the development of a BlueTech innovation hub in Northern Michigan, advancing solutions in outdoor recreation, marine and coastal construction, energy systems, smart shipping, and natural resource management. Diane’s career spans entrepreneurship, venture capital, and ecosystem building. She served as president of the Michigan Capital Network Association (MCN), where she oversaw five angel groups comprising 150 investors. Before that, she directed the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina Wilmington for five years. An entrepreneur at heart, Diane has launched and grown three companies, including a telecommunications engineering firm, a contract publishing company, and a residential construction business. In 2013, she founded an aquaculture venture that was selected as a finalist at the global Fish 2.0 sustainable seafood competition. She began working with technology startups in 2005 in Ann Arbor, supporting University of Michigan faculty spinouts. Diane holds both a BBA and an MPA from Southern Methodist University.
Panelists
Millicent Pitts
Executive Director of Ocean Exchange, OE
Milly is the executive director of Ocean Exchange (OE), giving non-dilutive funding and mentoring advice to innovative start-ups that support healthy oceans and a sustainable Blue Economy. Ocean Exchange is in its 13th year aggregating corporate and family philanthropy to redistribute it based on an evaluation process focused on solution impact, level of innovation, and founders’ ability to execute. Milly is part of steering committee at Ocean Visions, is a Creative Destructive Lab mentor, and represents OE in 1000 Ocean Startups on its Steering Committee. She served on the NOAA Sub-Committee in 2020 for the Blue Economy. Pitts previously was an executive in the chemical/materials industry for 30 years and holds an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She is on the Board of Directors of Forge Nano, an innovative coatings company with materials for advanced lithium battery and semi-conductor markets.
Lydia Thomas
Program Manager, UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, CIE
Lydia Thomas is the Program Manager at the UNCW CIE, where she plays a key role in fostering high-impact startups and supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem in southeastern North Carolina. In her position, Lydia manages programs (i.e. Founders' Roundtable, Idea Test Lab), organizes events such as the annual Ocean Innovation Conference, and connects entrepreneurs to resources that accelerate their growth. Her work is centered around creating opportunities for innovation, particularly in the emerging blue economy sector. Before joining the CIE, Lydia gained experience at the First Flight Venture Center, where she supported entrepreneurs across all stages of business development. She also worked at SeaAhead, Inc., a marine-focused venture organization. Lydia holds a BS in Marine Science and a BS in Environmental Sciences from North Carolina State University. She is passionate about building a thriving blue economy hub in North Carolina and empowering entrepreneurs to succeed.
Jerry Cronin
Executive Director, at OpenSeas, Old Dominion University Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Jerry leads the Open Seas Technology Innovation Hub, a globally engaged operation focused on maritime and coastal issues whose mission is to work with entrepreneurs, industries, organizations, and communities to identify “Difficult” and “Intractable” problems, discover and de-risk innovative solutions, and develop and deploy high-growth, scalable businesses into the global marketplace. Jerry’s background is applying creativity and systems thinking to solving problems and implementing solutions. In approaching issues, he draws upon broad and diverse experience which spans commercial and government work in both domestic and international settings. As a Coast Guard officer, he served as a shipboard operations officer, and was instrumental in redesigning the service’s maritime law enforcement training. He participated in business start-ups related to consulting and environmental regulatory compliance. He developed and ran the commercial and civil government practice at a Fortune 150 center of excellence and was a corporate go-to solutions architect for main thrust ($50M+) business pursuits across a variety of business sectors. In addition to his current work at ODU, he provides mentorship and consulting to companies in both the US and globally.
Natalie Guess
Assistant Director of Innovation and Impact at The University of Southern Mississippi
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