Connecting Emerging Aviation
Startups with Capital

Joshua Ganye serves as Project Coordinator for UAS Cluster Initiative and UAS Angel Network. He brings a wealth of experience in banking and community development to his role. Prior to joining the UASCI team, Joshua held the position of Financial Empowerment Program Assistant at the City of Tulsa’s Office of Financial Empowerment & Community Wealth. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, he is currently pursuing a Master’s in Accounting at the University of Illinois.

Robert Heard is a Managing Director of Cimarron Capital and of Development Capital Partners (DCN), two affiliated firms with over 30 years of experience in development lending and equity investing. He is a pioneer in designing innovative programs that drive economic development by attracting capital and business-building talent to local economies. He frequently speaks on capital formation, portfolio optimization, technology transfer and state venture capital strategies. Robert has advised national development banks in Mexico and Colombia on building a venture capital industry and designing funds of funds. He has served on the advisory committees of numerous venture capital funds.

His leadership of DCN has included design and oversight of the Wyoming Smart Capital Network and North Dakota Red River Corridor Fund, both focused on development lending to small businesses under the US Treasury's State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). He helped launch the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Cluster Initiative for Oklahoma and Kansas, and the Droneport Network.

Robert is committed to building organizations that support the growth of the entrepreneurial economy. He was a founder of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF), the Latin American Venture Capital Association (LAVCA), and the WBT Innovation Marketplace. He was a Board member of CDFA for four years and provided guidance to the organization for 18 years through DCN association management services. He serves on the National Advisory Council of the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer.

Robert is an angel investor in technology companies and a member of Cowboy Technology Angels and the Houston Angel Network. His publications include the "Innovation Finance Reference Guide" authored with Jim Troxel for CDFA, an "Angel Investing Workbook" for NASVF, and the National Governors' Association study on "The Experience of States with Seed and Venture Capital" co-authored with Dr. John Sibert.

Robert has a B.A. from the University of Oklahoma and an MBA from Northwestern University.

Anthony Maher began as the lead for Startup Growth & Financing at UND in 2021. Anthony spent most of his career working with innovative startup companies in Silicon Valley.

At UND he currently leads efforts to launch and manage a startup fund for early-stage ventures; manages relationships with venture capital, angel, and institutional investors; develops startup accelerator programs; and supports Center programs via grant writing and fostering relationships with key organizational and government stakeholders.

He began his career working in corporate development in Munich, Germany for Siemens, a multinational publicly traded company. Based in Silicon Valley, he became a founding member of Mustang Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Siemens Communications Networks Group. Later, he led a global team of analysts at Siemens Venture Capital, the global venture capital arm of Siemens AG where his responsibilities included identifying, evaluating, and investing in early-stage venture-backed companies, as well as managing the global deal flow, portfolio review and investment process. Most recently he was active in providing strategic planning and growth consulting services for a diverse set of international clients in the technology sector.

Anthony received a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Santa Clara University in the San Francisco Bay area.

Jennifer “JJ” Snow is a retired Air Force Intelligence Officer and CEO of Snow Storm Advisory Services. In this role, JJ provides access for dual use startups and corporate boards looking to sell into the DoD, US Government, and Allied Partner nations. She help teams to grow by leveraging value-based relationships from her personal network (~25K) to create the widest market access possible and connect them with nondilutive capital opportunities with the USG/DoD to preserve equity and enhance early stage growth. She is a member of the Board of Advisors for LMI, Social Mobile and the JANUS group Advisory Board for the NATO Diana Accelerator. JJ also is on the George Kaiser Family Foundation Tulsa Innovation Lab Cyber Analytics Council and AAM Council.

JJ works across 90+ private sector investors (VCs, Angels and Family Offices), and several hundred public and private sector stakeholders, promoting strong, consistent growth and competitive moats (acquisition vehicles and policy points) that ensure each corporate client’s right to win..

JJ served as the Chief Technology Officer for AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force and the military Chief Innovation Officer for SOFWERX at Special Operations Command. She was the military representative for total force innovation and technology outreach bridging the gap between government and private sector, academic and non-traditional partners. In this role she reviewed, validated and recommended 2300 early stage technologies for investment, meeting 43 different requirement areas and resulting in $710M invested in innovative emerging tech and small business initiatives across the DoD, Interagency and USAF programs..

JJ served three combat tours with AFSOC, JSOC, and SOCOM/NCR in Afghanistan and Iraq and has held multiple leadership roles with special operations and special mission units. She is a distinguished graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School Defense Analysis Masters program, distinguished graduate of NSA’s elite JOCCP program and an alumni of the UVA Darden School Executive Course.

An economic development strategist with more than 30 years of domestic and international experience, Delore works with local and regional economic development groups, technology-driven companies and universities to create innovative, technology-based economies.

He is the co-founder, president and CEO of Praxis Strategy Group and co-founder of Praxis Africa, a network of development professionals with a demonstrated commitment and capability to implement sustainable development in their home country and in cooperation with other affiliates throughout the African continent. Affiliates are currently located in Ghana, Liberia and Tanzania. Delore has received eight Small Business Innovation Research awards from the USDA to develop tools and practices that rural regions can use to build competitive communities in a global, networked economy and has advised regional development organizations in Wales, England, South Korea and Africa.

Delore holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of North Dakota and a doctoral degree from Pennsylvania State University, where his work focused on the mobilization of territorial-based alliances for economic development.