Richard “Duke” Jankura
As interim CEO, Duke Jankura is responsible for supporting strategic operations and revenue generation as well as partnering with senior leaders to advance critical organizational initiatives. Duke served as JumpStart’s Chief Financial Officer from 2004-2015 and as Senior Finance Partner from 2017-2021. Prior to JumpStart’s formation in January 2004, Duke was the Sr. Director, Finance
Ray Leach
Ray Leach is the founding CEO of JumpStart Inc. This Cleveland, Ohio-based non-profit venture development organization has gained a national best-in-class reputation for its innovative economic development models and its ability to leverage its experience and expertise across the U.S. Ray is considered a national thought and practice leader at the intersection of public, private,
Teleangé Thomas
As Chief Operating and Relationship Officer, Teleangé Thomas is responsible for leading JumpStart’s strategic fundraising initiatives, strengthening partnerships and spearheading the organization’s involvement in civic initiatives including the Cleveland Innovation Project, the MidTown Innovation District and other initiatives JumpStart anticipates pursuing in the coming years. Thomas brings with her almost twenty years of experience in
Jerry Frantz
Jerry leads JumpStart’s internal and collaborator-driven operations that provide capital and services to entrepreneurs while working to ensure these activities generate the greatest inclusive economic impact. Jerry’s team provides services to help entrepreneurs access the capital, sales, talent, mentors and other resources necessary to accelerate growth. They conduct due diligence, deploy capital and manage JumpStart’s
Karen Adame
Karen brings more than 30 years of experience in business development, program management, product marketing, product management, software sales, software implementation and financial management consulting in a variety of industries. In her role at JumpStart she leads the Finance, IT, HR and Inclusion teams. Prior to joining JumpStart, Karen served as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Product Officer
Corey James
As Chief Equity, Outreach and Initiatives Officer, Corey James has a critical executive leadership role within JumpStart leading the vision and effective strategy to advance an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem and equitable business growth opportunities for diverse entrepreneurs across Northern Ohio. James partners with other executive leaders on the development and implementation of proactive initiatives focused
John Grace
John Grace is a strategic thought leader with more than 15 years of human resources experience gained across diverse industries—from startups to Fortune 500 organizations. As JumpStart’s Chief People & Culture Officer, he provides coaching and leadership development training to the JumpStart team. He is also responsible for employee relations and organizational change initiatives with
Lorne Novick
As Chief Services Officer, Lorne is responsible for oversight of all service-related strategic initiatives, specifically providing leadership for JumpStart lines of business delivering services on behalf of the organization. Lorne is responsible for building and managing direct capacity and partnerships to deliver outcomes to funders supporting JumpStart’s efforts, while generating the greatest inclusive economic impact.
Kimalon Dixon
As Chief of Staff, Kimalon Dixon is responsible for the strategic alignment of operations, programming and external partnerships to increase the organization’s ability to power initiatives driving economic development, entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem building across Northern Ohio. Kimalon recently served as Senior Project Director of Cleveland (CLE) Purpose Built Communities, a partnership between the Cleveland
Hardik Desai
Hardik connects early-stage technology companies with entrepreneurial resources in Northeast Ohio and performs due diligence on companies seeking capital from funds managed by JumpStart. Hardik has more than 10 years of experience working at large corporations and startup companies, where he held diverse technical and business roles. Prior to joining JumpStart, Hardik co-founded IR Diagnostyx
Matthew Miller
Matthew joined JumpStart in 2016 and is focused on working with high potential early-stage tech startups seeking investment capital from the funds managed by JumpStart Ventures, helping them through the investment process, and he leads a team of Venture Partners that support and advise JumpStart Ventures’ portfolio companies from initial investment through their growth stage.