Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

BSC 2022 Judges

Ed Leonard

He is a Cal Poly Pomona alum of the Computer Science department.
Leonard is the Co-founder and operating partner of Bred Ventures Inc. Bred ventures is a technology incubator focused on building unique product solutions in the health & wellness space.
Prior to Bred Ventures, Ed founded and served as President of DWA Investments Inc, a technology incubator funded by DreamWorks Animation that focused on the commercialization of technology innovation developed in the making of animated films.
Ed served in a variety of technology leadership roles at Disney Feature Animation and most recently as the Chief Technology Officer for DreamWorks Animation, where he played a pivotal role in the studio’s business growth
 
In his nearly twenty-year entertainment industry history, he has had a material contribution to twenty-one of the top fifty animated films of all time. Ed has been recognized by Fast Company as #23 on the list of “100 Most Creative People” and #5 on the list of “10 Most Creative People in Movies and Television."

Sanjaya Amarasinghe

President & CEO Copp Industrial Mfg Inc which is an Aviation and Aerospace Component Manufacturing Company
He is a Cal Poly Pomona alum of the aerospace engineering department.
He has worked in the aerospace industry for over 24 years for large OEMs like Rockwell Collins, Zodiac Aerospace, and Ducommun. He became a business owner by acquiring Copp Industrial Manufacturing in 2018. He launched an EV charging start-up in 2021, to join the supply base for the emerging EV charging infrastructure in the US. He launched a new B2C e-commerce business in 2022 for premium consumer products, which utilizes his current manufacturing capabilities. His long-term plan is to be a successful California-based manufacturer that can be a part of the current reshoring efforts to bring manufacturing back to the US.

Joseph Schroeder

He was a CEO at Financial credit Union before becoming the CEO of San Diego Metropolitan credit union and then he became the CEO of Ventura county credit union. He currently serves as the Deputy Mayor of Ventura County District 7.
He is a Cal Poly Pomona alum of the Political Science department. He graduated cum laude. He practiced commercial litigation and made partner in just three years in the firm that became Mills & Schroeder. He was co-counsel in the famous trials. He started his own firm in 1993. Then he worked for Kring & Chung and NM Law as senior litigation counsel. He has several 7 figure and even 8 figure verdicts or settlements. He is a highly sought out speker and he has mentored several young attorneys over the years who are now partners at various firms. In his community work, among many other duties, he has been the Director of the California Highway Patrol Foundation for 29 years. He is also the Chair of the Scholarship Committee that has given out over $15 million in assistance to thousands of college students.

John Schroeder

He is a Cal Poly Pomona alum of the Political Science department. He graduated cum laude. He practiced commercial litigation and made partner in just three years in the firm that became Mills & Schroeder. He was co-counsel in the famous trials. He started his own firm in 1993. Then he worked for Kring & Chung and NM Law as senior litigation counsel. He has several 7 figure and even 8 figure verdicts or settlements. He is a highly sought out speker and he has mentored several young attorneys over the years who are now partners at various firms. In his community work, among many other duties, he has been the Director of the California Highway Patrol Foundation for 29 years. He is also the Chair of the Scholarship Committee that has given out over $15 million in assistance to thousands of college students.

Shana Richardson

Shana Richardson is CEO of Ser Technology, which provides integrated, automated credit marketing, risk management, and member credit education solutions designed to help credit unions serve their members’ needs.
She is passionate about the positive role community financial institutions play in consumer finance. Ser Tech works with thousands of institutions and collaborates with partners and strategic alliances to continually deliver value to its clients. During Shana’s tenure, to grow from a startup to supporting more than $1 billion in loan growth per year.
Delivering socially responsible financial services is Richardson’s life’s mission. She supports domestic and international microfinance initiatives through the Global Women's Leadership Network as a founding corporate member, for which she was honored with the 2017 Athena Award from GWLN, presented to individuals who make outstanding contributions to women's leadership in the international credit union movement.

 

Amber Freund

Amber Freund serves as the CEO at RISA, a leading structural engineering software in the United States. She is also a California Licensed Civil Engineer and a Cal Poly graduate (Architectural Engineering). She earned her Masters's in Civil Engineering from UC Irvine with an emphasis on Structures.  She worked in design for a few years before moving to the structural software industry where she has been for close to 20 years.  Amber is active in the community and is passionate about promoting STEM among children. She is part of the STEM initiative team at Girl Scouts of Orange County which promotes science and engineering to girls across Orange County. 

Jess Hartmann

With over 40 years of experience in private companies, public companies, and government agencies, Hartmann has held positions from CEO, COO, VP of Marketing, and CIO in organizations including Jenny Craig International, New Horizons Computer Learning Centers, and Thermo Electron.  His experience is rooted in a fast-paced technology-driven organizations focused on serving customers and growth.  As an entrepreneur, in 2007 Hartmann relaunched ProMAX Systems, a worldwide provider of Video Editing Technology for the film and video industry, and currently serves as owner and CEO.  Now as a Vistage Chair, he works to bring a significant impact to organizations by developing leaders to lead with purpose and leverage.