Dana Catron is Deputy Director of Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University, and serves as PI and director on multiple federal projects, programs, and initiatives focused on technology commercialization, R&D, and procurement, with an emphasis on SBIR/STTR programs and technology maturation. She is also the founder and director of the NM Clean Energy Resilience and Growth (CERG) cluster, funded through DOE. Ms. Catron has extensive experience and skills in technology commercialization, market validation, leadership, organizational and project management, strategic planning, program development and operations, grant writing and reporting, and grant management. She also serves as NMSU’s site director and is a member of the Internal Advisory Committee for the Accelerating Solutions for Commercialization and Entrepreneurial Development (ASCEND), which focuses on the commercialization of biomed tech out of research institutions. She has an outstanding track record of building and growing public private partnerships – particularly among academic and government institutions, such as the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and national laboratories. Dana received her bachelor’s degree in Animal Science (focus on bovine genomics) from Washington State University and a master’s and Ph.D. (in progress) in Rhetoric and Professional Communication from NMSU.