Powering the Innovation Ecosystem in the Monterey Bay Region
About
What We Do
Startup Monterey Bay supports entrepreneurs, innovators and the startup community in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties with training, workshops, events, competitions, information about local resources, and opportunities to connect and network. This is a great region to live and work and we want to enable local entrepreneurs, innovators and startups to be able to succeed in this region.
Startup Monterey Bay is a program of the CSU Monterey Bay Institute for Innovation and Economic Development. The Institute is housed within the College of Business, and serves the university and its surrounding community.
The iiED prepares highly motivated students and community members for success as entrepreneurs. We educate, incubate, and launch new enterprises. We seek out and serve underserved communities and actively promote inclusion and diversity.
The iiED is committed to the Central Coast region being an economically and environmentally rich and resilient region offering economic opportunity balanced with maintaining a rich ecology. The Central Coast is home to a vibrant entrepreneurial community creating innovative companies both large and small. This community is renowned for being an inclusive and sustainable community that offers encouragement and opportunity for all. It is a place where there are rich career opportunities for graduates of CSUMB and other institutions of higher education.
Meet Our Team
Leadership Team
Mary Jo Zenk, MBA
Program Manager
As Program Manager of the Institute for Innovation & Economic Development (iiED) at CSUMB, she coordinates workshops, speaker series, competitions, and conferences that foster innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development on campus and in the local region. She also teaches graduate and undergraduate level courses in public and non-profit finance and management and consults in the areas of government budgeting and community, housing and economic development programs.
Jennifer Kuan, PhD.
Deputy Director of Innovation and Research
Dr. Kuan is a member of the CSUMB entrepreneurship and economics faculty with a PhD from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. She is currently studying the commercialization of publicly funded R&D and the history of venture capital. Prior to CSUMB, Jenny was a researcher at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research for over a decade. She also has a background in technology, with a decade of experience as an engineer in manufacturing at Apple and Solectron. In addition to her PhD from Berkeley, Jenny holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University.
Jonathan Bagley-Rowe
Program Assistant
Jonathan Bagley-Rowe is a senior at CSUMB completing a degree in Sustainable Business Administration with a minor in Nonprofit Management. To iiED and the program assistant position, he brings a wealth of experience from a long career in hospitality and a passion for organizational excellence.
Stephanie Arteaga
Program Assistant
Hello, I'm Stephanie Arteaga. I recently started as an iiED Program Assistant at Cal State Monterey Bay. I am a CSUMB alumni, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Communication Design, emphasis in Visual Design, and a minor in Business Administration. I’m excited about bringing creative visual experiences to iiED. In my free time, I love attending concerts, getting coffee, and hanging out with my cat, Pepper.
Team Members
Mirna Gonzalez
Print & Web Designer
Mirna Gonzalez is a recent graduate from CSUMB, majoring in Communication Design. She is the current IIED Print and Web Designer, creating marketing materials to promote upcoming events. She is seeking a new graphic design position specializing in branding and marketing design.
Student Interns
Angel Heredia
Data Management Intern
Senior with a major in Business-Accounting, last semester. Was interested in the internship because I want to learn more about different aspects of business and the startup environment and want to help contribute to IIED's mission in the process. And because I also plan on starting a business someday.
Diego Valdez
Web Management Intern
Diego Valdez is a Junior at CSUMB, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with an emphasis in software engineering and a minor in Communication Design. He is excited to expand his web management knowledge and acquire valuable skills along the way with this team. Diego is passionate about the design and development process of web applications and hopes to continue pursuing a career in that specialty, but of course is always open to trying new skills.
Advisory Council
Associated Professors and Researchers
• Angie Nariswari, PhD, College of Business
• Dante DiGregorio, PhD, College of Business
• Eric Tao, PhD, School of Computing and Design
• Heiko Wieland, PhD, College of Business
• Jenny Lin, PhD, College of Business
• Joel Ryman, PhD, College of Business
• Joshua Gross, School of Computing and Design
• Miguel Lara, PhD, School of Computing and Design
• Paige Viren, PhD, College of Business
• Rosalyn Sandoval, PhD, College of Business
• Shwadhin Sharma, PhD, College of Business