Our Team

Dan Kunitz joined University of Maryland in 2019 as Professional Track Faculty in the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) in the Clark School of Engineering. Dan is co-PI and Director of the NSF-funded Mid-Atlantic I-Corps Hub, supporting innovation and entrepreneurship programs for university researchers. Dan is also PI and Director of the EDA-funded Maryland Innovation Extension, supporting HBCUs an researchers and technology entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups throughout Maryland. Dan is an Instructor in NSF’s National I-Corps program, and has taught evidence-based entrepreneurship programs for researchers throughout the region as well as nationally and internationally. Before joining UMD, Dan was in a similar role at The George Washington University as Director of I-Corps Programs for the NSF I-Corps Node and as co-PI of GW’s NSF I-Corps Site. He has also been a Senior Advisor to NSF’s National Innovation Network where he chaired several curriculum initiatives. At UMD, Dan has been involved in several task forces and workgroups to connect the innovation ecosystem on campus and throughout the region, and he is a senator in the UMD Faculty Senate.

Dan actively advises and mentors many startups, and is a member of several investor groups. He is also a Partner at NextGen Venture Partners.

Prior to his career in academia, Dan was an entrepreneur, founder, and executive for several startups in the web, new media, and education sectors. As Co-Founder and COO of Irides, LLC, a Virginia-based managed services provider, Dan oversaw all aspects of the company’s strategy and operations, and negotiated six acquisitions. Dan was on the founding team of Politico, a Virginia-based new media venture covering politics, Capitol Hill, and lobbying. As Associate Publisher and Managing Editor of politico.com, Dan was responsible for all aspects of the online strategy, built and managed a team of developers, designers, and content producers, and negotiated numerous strategic partnerships. Dan was involved in two other new media start-ups in the Washington region: Local Point TV, an innovative short-form entertainment-based digital spectrum sub-channel, and NewsIT, a mobile platform for crowd-sourced news. Dan’s career also includes two education ventures. At MBA Center, Dan directed all aspects of the company’s communication, marketing, media, and editorial activities for Europe’s largest test prep provider with 12 locations throughout Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Dan subsequently co-founded Professional Prime, a strategic advisory and consulting company headquartered in Paris and London, with offices throughout Europe and education clients worldwide.

Dan has a BA from Wesleyan University, and an MBA in International Business from Ecole des Ponts.

Entrepreneur, angel investor, and mentor for technology start-up companies. Founded or co-founded several businesses, primarily in high-tech markets, with successful exits. Currently active in several Washington, DC area angel investment and entrepreneurial groups.

Primary business experience and interests include technology innovation, product development and management, sales and marketing, and entrepreneurship. Also, extensive experience in technology consulting, manufacturing, architecture / engineering / construction – and conducting real-world due diligence of technology start-up companies.

Acting as an advisor to several area tech start-ups, and an active volunteer for Arlington, VA youth sports and public schools.

• Founding member of FounderCorps

• Member of Capital Area Network - Angel Investors

• Guest lecturer at several local universities

• Mentor at The Founder Institute

• Coach/Mentor, Kauffman Foundation FastTrac program

• George Mason University Venture Mentor

• Chairman, Health & Physical Education Sub-Committee, Arlington Public Schools

• Inventor – multiple patents and trademarks

Hellman has been involved in the Technology Business for over 40 years. Hellman’s been a salesman, product manager, marketing VP, and GM for the Telco Software Division of a Fortune 500 company. In 2012, he was named by Tech Cocktail as the #1 Angel Investor in the United States. He served as an on-camera Business Strategy Analyst for the NBC station in DC. He spent a decade working as a hired-gun turn-around CEO for Private Equity Investors. Glen is formerly trained as an executive leadership coach and has coached over 100 CEOs in the last 15 years. He is a former board member at the University of Maryland Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship and an Executive in Residence at the University of Maryland Ventures.

David has been serving as the Program Manager for UMD I-Corps since February 2020 and is the Hub Coordinator for the NSF I-Corps Hub, Mid-Atlantic Region.

He is a current MBA student at the Smith School of Business and a Graduate Innovation Fellow. He created his own major at the University of Maryland in Innovation & Entrepreneurship and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in 2018.

Directly following school, he interned for two DC Startups, one in the food incubator space, and the other in software application design. He has worked in and around the restaurant industry. Previously, he served as a Teaching Assistant for BMGT461- Entrepreneurship, in the UMD Smith School, advising student entrepreneurs on how to utilize the BMC (Business Model Canvas) and grow their start-ups.

While on campus he was a member of the Hinman CEOs Living Learning program which teaches technology entrepreneurship. He participated in the Innovo Scholars program, through which he consulted with two UMD professors on how to improve the educational impact of BMGT495- Management, a required Smith Business school course. He was also a food tour guide in Georgetown, DC for over two years and has written numerous articles on how to get the most financially out of credit cards.

Nour has embarked on a journey to acquire her Master of Science (M.S.) in Information Management at the University of Maryland, building upon her earlier accomplishment of earning a Bachelor's degree in Information Science from the same institution in 2022.

Throughout her undergraduate tenure at the University of Maryland, Nour actively engaged in the FIRE program, gaining invaluable research expertise in transcriptomics and genome sequencing. During her tenure at the National Cancer Institute, Nour specialized in RNA structural analysis and molecular dynamics simulations. Her steadfast commitment propelled her to enhance algorithms for computational RNA-based software, with a particular emphasis on RNA nano-biology structures. She also made significant contributions to projects at the Applied Research Laboratory for Security and Intelligence, collaborating with government agencies to address bias in AI systems and promote ethical AI practices.

Rob Cohen is a seasoned professional with 30+ years of experience developing products, services, and solutions in the health, healthcare and life sciences spaces. Most recently, Rob was the Director, Product Develop at a biotech startup focused on combating drug resistant infections. In this role Rob developed novel approaches to managing biological and clinical data and operating the company's clinical trials. Prior to this role, Rob served as a Product Development Manager at the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the National Institutes of Health. Rob's focus on serving the customer helped move the organization from a science/experimental focus to a product development focus by understanding the needs of their customers and building products and services for them.

Rob's path of meeting unmet needs includes starting a company that developed sensors that were attached to helmets for players in youth sports. These sensors detected head impacts that could lead to concussions and/or repetitive brain injury. Rob served as the CTO and lead engineer for this activity. Prior to this Rob held senior engineering and business development positions focused on the world’s first commercial, virtual reality surgical training simulators.

Rob holds a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Aerospace Engineering and an MBA from the University of Maryland. Rob is an inventor on over 30 U.S. patents issued and pending as well as being a private pilot, an avid baseball fan and a competitive cook.

In every role, Rob has brought passion, energy and a broad set of skills and experiences to bear on the problems at hand.

Dr. Dean Chang is the Chief Innovation Officer at the University of Maryland. He coordinates and leads UMD’s innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development ecosystem that 1) helps students and faculty develop their entrepreneurial mindsets to pursue their innovative ideas and inventions, and 2) helps launch and scale startups and social ventures that spur inclusive economic development and impact.

In 2013, Dr. Chang founded the Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (AIE) to engage every college in design thinking and lean startup. Before AIE, he oversaw the school of engineering’s technology startup venture programs. Dr. Chang also played a critical role in the founding of Startup Shell in 2012 and STICs in 2017.

Additionally, Dr. Chang is a lead PI and an instructor for the National Science Foundation's I-Corps Hub program and leads workshops for students, faculty, and administrators, as well as professionals and executives from industry, non-profits, and government agencies like NASA and HHS. He has also been an instructor and a coach in the Stanford d.school's Teaching and Learning Studio.

Prior to UMD, Dr. Chang spent 15 years in Silicon Valley where he served as the CTO and VP, Gaming Business of Immersion Corporation. He helped transform the venture-backed, Stanford robotics lab spinout into a publicly traded (NASDAQ: IMMR), world-leading licensor of haptics technology embedded in over a billion devices from companies like Apple, BMW, Microsoft, Samsung, and Electronic Arts.

Dr. Chang holds over 40 patents and received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from MIT, an M.S. and Ph.D in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Alla Corey McCoy has developed and launched Faculty Startup Support program at the University of Maryland in 2018. Alla joined UM Ventures - College Park as a Technology Licensing Associate for Information Sciences in 2013.

Prior to UM Ventures, Alla worked at the University of Maryland's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship designing and managing experiential learning opportunities for student entrepreneurs. During her tenure, Alla also worked with regional entrepreneurs and investors, in particular she managed Dingman Center's angel investor group.

Prior to joining the Dingman Center, Alla spent 8 years in the publishing industry. She led marketing, publicity, and sales efforts for small independent publishers specializing in professional, trade, and academic titles.

Alla completed her MBA at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, in May 2013, and received a B.S. in Computer Science and a B.A. in English Language and Literature and from the State University of Moldova.