The Entrepreneurship Center is 工作人员ed with passionate innovators and entrepreneurs who support students, 教师, 工作人员, 校友, 合作伙伴, 赞助商, and other participants in the Trinity Innovation ecosystem.
Danny Briere, Executive Director
The inaugural director of the center is Danny Briere, who brings to this role more than four decades of experience as an inventor and entrepreneur. He has started multiple successful firms—including TeleChoice, which focuses on leading-edge, high-impact technologies—and he has served as a consultant to more than 200 start-ups. Briere has a B.A. 和一个M.B.A. from Duke University, where he majored in public policy and economics. He served on the board of Duke University’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship initiative for a decade. His experiences span multiple industries, including telecom, internet technology, aerospace, alternative energy, health and medical, social networking, education tech, and youth-oriented non-profits. He holds 16 patents with several more pending.
At the policy level, Briere has supported innovation ecosystems in 合作伙伴hip with universities, companies, and government, including in Connecticut. He was the CEO and co-founder of Startup Connecticut, a statewide initiative to help start-ups drive job creation, which ultimately morphed into CTNext. Briere has successfully worked to promote innovation among young people, including as a longstanding board member of Connecticut’s Invention Convention and as chief entrepreneurship officer at The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. He also is the co-author of more than 15本书 and more than 1,000 articles in telecommunications, computer networking, and other topics.
Carlos Espinosa, Director of Community Relations and Strategic Partnerships
Carlos Espinosa is the director of Community Relations & Strategic Partnerships for Trinity’s Entrepreneurship Center and the Office of Community Relations. Carlos is responsible for positioning The Center as a critical stakeholder within 哈特福德’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem and bridging the assets of Trinity College with 哈特福德. Carlos works closely with 工作人员 to build, 管理, and grow relationships with cross-sector stakeholders whose entrepreneurial priorities are consistent with the College’s mission and who enhance the Center’s academic and co-curricular programs through applied learning opportunities that help Trinity College students expand their innovative and entrepreneurial mindset, career experience, and professional networks.
Carlos joined Trinity College in August 2000, as the head of Trinfo.咖啡馆 and has served in many roles representing the school in the community, including representing the College on the boards of Launch[H]artford, Forge City Works, Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance (SINA), and the Betty Knox Foundation. Carlos Espinosa received his B.A. in Educational Studies and Sociology (1996) and then an M.A. in Public Policy in 1998 from Trinity College.
Nisha Joshee, Program Manager
Nisha Joshee serves as the program 管理r for the Entrepreneurship Center at Trinity College. Her responsibilities include developing, implementing, and managing innovation and entrepreneurship programs, such as the Innovation Fellowship and Summit Innovation Challenge, as well as other initiatives sponsored by the center. She brings over 20 years of experience in higher education, in various capacities including program and project 管理ment in institution-wide initiatives, organization leadership, academic department operations, and student affairs. Collaborating with students, 教师, 工作人员, and community, Nisha aims to empower students to bridge liberal arts education with innovation and entrepreneurship, cultivating inclusive opportunities as global leaders.
Nisha holds an M.S. in Organizational Effectiveness and Leadership and a B.S. in Organizational Leadership from Charter Oak State College. She is currently pursuing an M.B.A. at the University of Connecticut.
