Arizona Business Incubation Association (AZBIA) Elects New Officers/Directors
PHOENIX, Arizona – Today the Arizona Business Incubator Association (AZBIA) announced its incoming slate of officers and board members for 2015-16. The AZBIA is a trade association committed to the growth and leadership of Arizona’s business incubators, accelerators, co-working spaces and other programs dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and start-up companies. The AZBIA is supported by member organizations and entrepreneurs with special administrative assistance provided by the Arizona Commerce Authority.
The following officers were elected to serve as officers of the board of directors:
President: Thomas Rainey, Rainey & Associates, LLC, Peoria, Arizona.
Mr. Rainey is a 24-year veteran of the business incubator and accelerator industry. Mr. Rainey developed and managed business incubators in St. Louis, Florida, New Hampshire, and Vermont before relocating to Arizona in 2007. Mr. Rainey has led several prominent technology-based economic development initiatives in Arizona including the Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (NACET) in Flagstaff, and BioInspire in Peoria. He also is working with the Arizona Commerce Authority on its Arizona Diversification Initiative. This Department of Defense-funded program assists Arizona defense supply chain companies with new non-defense industry business development.
Vice President: Greg Bullock is the Marketing Specialist at the Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation in Phoenix, which provides support for early-stage technology-oriented companies in the creation of quality, high-paying jobs. A Summa Cum Laude graduate from Arizona State University, Mr. Bullock has five years experience in various marketing roles and is a certified practitioner of inbound marketing.
Secretary: Anita Bell is Acting Director of the Arizona Center for Innovation (AzCI). The University of Arizona affiliated Arizona Center for Innovation is a Tucson-based business incubator helping entrepreneurs, startup and emerging companies transform their ideas into successful ventures. The Arizona Center for Innovation is a component of Tech Parks Arizona, which is part of Tech Launch Arizona (TLA), a UA office of integrated teams creating an ecosystem of invention and commercialization throughout Arizona and beyond. Ms. Bell has been in the incubation and commercialization industry for over 10 years and holds the Incubator Management Certificate from the National Business Incubation Association.
Treasurer: Trish Rensink is Director of Operations and Programming at the Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology. Ms. Rensink is an accomplished organizational development professional. She has spent over 20 years transitioning corporate needs into programs and systems to enable culture change and employee performance. She has held leadership and change agent positions with national organizations such as TDS Telecom and AAA, and regional organizations such as Northern Arizona University.
About the Arizona Incubator Association (AZBIA)
AZBIA is a trade association promoting collaboration and best practices among a growing list of business incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces in Arizona. The Association is comprised of 34 Member organizations in business, research and education, economic development, government, and other professions involved in supporting entrepreneurs. AZBIA serves as the unified voice of the business incubator industry in Arizona. Learn more here.
