Shanna and Eric Bass ’05 Director of Entrepreneurial Programs
Kyle Jensen is an entrepreneur, developer, and scientist. Before joining the Yale SOM faculty, he co-founded Agrivida, a venture-backed biotechnology company based in Boston; PriorSmart, a patent analytics provider (acquired by RPX, Nasdaq:RPXC); and Pit Rho, a leader in motorsport analytics. He works with numerous Yale start-ups, now as Director of Entrepreneurial Programs at SOM and previously as mentor and entrepreneur-in-residence at the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute. His academic research spans computational biology, intellectual property, and the sociology of science.
Associate Director
Over the last nine years, Jennifer McFadden has played an integral part in developing and fostering an entrepreneurial culture across Yale University. Prior to joining Yale SOM, Jennifer was an adjunct professor at the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism at the City University of New York and a co-founder and the original program director for the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute (YEI). She is a co-founder and advisor at Skillcrush, an online education company teaching women technical skills. Jennifer is the Associate Director of Entrepreneurial Programs and a Lecturer in the Practice of Entrepreneurship at the Yale School of Management.
Samantha Hepworth
Assistant Director, Co-Curricular Programs and Engagement
Samantha came to Yale SOM from SCSU where she was the STEM Entrepreneurship Grant and Events Coordinator for the Office of STEM Innovation and Leadership. In this role, she worked with numerous student-founders each year and began working with the National Science Foundation’s New York City Regional Innovation Node, helping entrepreneurs prepare for the NSF I-CORP program. Samantha was a founder herself as an undergraduate at American University. She was the first student-founder from AU to apply for an SBIR grant and was accepted into the Air Force Research Lab’s Federal Technology Commercialization Program.