Kathryn Foster / INCubator 
The BDC was built in the late 20’s and home to American Lava (ceramics manf), 3M, GE and a few others from 30’s-early 80’s. GE donated the building to Hamilton County and from 85-88 it was transformed into a business incubator. Second reno was in 95 and completed a $5 mill renovation in 2011 which is when we received our Silver LEED certification. It is currently the largest Incubator in TN and 3rd largest in the US @ 127,000′. We house 70+ start up businesses for 3 years, helping them achieve financially stability through a staged development program. From those businesses in house, over 400 jobs are created, making it an economic engine which pumps millions of dollars into our local economy. We provide shared services, below market rent, entrepreneurial education, State of the Art Technology Conference Center, Free SBA counseling, Free PO Box, and the synergy is amazing. The INCubator, a nonprofit program managed by the Chattanooga Chamber, has graduated over 525 successful business into the business community as we celebrate our 26th year in operation!
Cordell Carter / TechTown Foundation, Inc.
Executive with 16 years of multi-sector experience. My breadth of organizations and sectors include: – Serving on the leadership team for the world’s largest philanthropic organization – Chief Operations Officer for a national charter school advocate – Education and Information Technology lobbyist for a premier national association of “Fortune 250” Chief Executive Officers – Senior Leadership roles with an urban school district – Attorney for a German bank’s Climate Protection Fund – Management consultant with IBM
Education: B.A. University of Washington M.Sci. Carnegie Mellon University J.D. University of Notre Dame Law School
Don Jacobson / Newcomb Spring 
G. Donald Jacobson III is a 4th generation spring maker. He is married to Sara (9 year anniversary 8/19) and has three children Joshua, Noah, and Scarlett. They currently live in Ooltewah, TN with a few stops on the way including Huntington Beach CA, Broomfield CO, and Ringgold GA. Don has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Babson College in Wellesley MA. Besides manufacturing and selling springs, Don spends his free time golfing with his family and helping support public education in Hamilton County. Don is the President of the Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts Foundation and working diligently to raise money and awareness for a new school. CSLA is currently rated as one of the top 5% of public schools in the state. Don is working on building a Catapult with he Newcomb Spring Team for the CSLA fall event that will allow local companies to chuck footballs or tennis balls for prizes and trophies. Come check out the 3D printed catapult parts on November 6th at CSLA in Chattanooga.
Platt Boyd / Branch Technology
