AVONDALE, LA – As part of the ongoing Prosper Jefferson series, the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission (JEDCO) and the Jefferson Chamber have teamed up to present a seminar on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at the JEDCO Conference Center, 701A Churchill Parkway, in Fairfield, Louisiana, from 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
The seminar will highlight a variety of lending and investment options available in the Greater New Orleans region.
Lending experts will cover topics including:
• Angel investment
• How to prepare for a meeting with investors/ lenders
• Startup competitions
• Gap financing
• Tax incentives for growing businesses
Speakers will include:
• Mike Eckert, NO/LA Angel Network Chairman, is originally from Chicago where he began his professional career in media and media technology. Eckert’s career brought him to New York City and Atlanta. He was on the launch team of The Weather Channel and served as its president and CEO. He also served as chairman and CEO of Pathfire, a technology start-up that became a leading provider of digital media and asset management capabilities to large media companies. In the summer of 2013, Eckert moved to New Orleans to be closer to family.
He has been an active angel investor, angel group leader and LP in venture capital funds since the late 1990s. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of the national Angel Capital Association, serving as chair of its Public Policy Committee and of its Strategic Planning Activities. He is also chairman of the NO/LA Angel Network, and is a member of the Investment Committee of the New Orleans Start-Up Fund. Prior to moving to New Orleans, Eckert was chairman of the Atlanta Technology Angels, a top ten angel investment group nationally.
• Shafin Khan; director of technology commercialization, New Orleans BioInnovation Center; oversees the center's commercialization program and its consulting team of life science experts, providing technical assistance and programming aimed at growing the life sciences industry and knowledge-based economy in the region. Shafin earned his J.D. from Loyola University of New Orleans and gained his B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University. Additionally, he has four years of life science research experience, performing research at the LSU Health Sciences Center.
• Alberto Queral, JEDCO director of finance, has been with JEDCO since 1995 where he oversees JEDCO's finance program, which provides loans for acquisition of fixed assets, working capital and initial inventory for Jefferson Parish-based businesses, both new and established. Prior to his employment at JEDCO, Queral worked within the banking industry for approximately 15 years, where he developed commercial banking experience, including both consumer and commercial lending. He is also fully bilingual in English and Spanish, a skill that allows him to serve the Parish's Spanish speaking constituency.
Queral has also completed courses in financial accounting, management, economics, business and other general studies while following a business administration curriculum at UNO. He graduated from Leadership Jefferson, a program of the Jefferson Chamber. Until 2014 he assisted and lectured students from UNO's ExCel course, a business program with the purpose of preparing persons with disabilities from across Louisiana start businesses.
• Kate Moreano, JEDCO economic development manager, oversees JEDCO's Economic Development Services department, which has a focus on retention and expansion of local businesses in Jefferson Parish. This is accomplished through facilitating business development programs on state and local levels, such as tax incentives and workforce development programs. While dedicated to assisting existing Jefferson Parish businesses, the department's efforts also include the recruitment of new businesses to the area. Moreano has been with JEDCO since 2013.
Moreano is a 2016 graduate of the Leadership Jefferson program and the recipient of a 2016 Millennial Award in Economic Development. She currently serves on several committees focused on economic development, strengthening JEDCO's partnerships with the Jefferson Chamber and Harvey Canal Industrial Association. Before joining the JEDCO team, she was an Intern Architect for a large architecture and design firm in Biloxi, Mississippi. Moreano graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with a Bachelor's degree in Architecture and the University of Southern Mississippi with a Master's degree in Economic Development.
Admission is free, and the event is open to all businesses and entrepreneurs.
