Kim Fredericks, PhD, (she/her/hers) is a Principal Consultant at NYSTEC. She has worked in the entrepreneurial community for the last ten years. Her focus has been on start-up and small business acceleration and commercialization. Her work has been focused on the interchange of student and community, with college students playing an active role in economic development through assisting local businesses to grow. She also plays an active role in mentoring students in their field to expand their professional networks and job opportunities. As a frequent consultant, author, mentor, judge, and leader in strengthening public and private partnerships to make both businesses and communities thrive. In addition, she is an advisor and strategic/tactical partner in numerous nonprofits, incubators, accelerators, university entrepreneur programs, internship programs, and business plan competitions. This work has included being involved with IgniteU for the past six years, involved in the New York State Business Plan Competition, StartUp Weekend, Restart Workshops, and other small business ventures.