Our Team

Helping the Mountain West and America lead in quantum.

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Elevate Quantum Team

JESSI OLSEN

Chief Financial and Operations Officer

JESSI OLSEN

Chief Financial and Operations Officer

Jessi is a seasoned management consultant with a passion for driving sustainable growth and positive change through workforce and economic development initiatives. Throughout her career she has worked with both public and private sector organizations to develop strategies enabling them to capitalize on emerging opportunities in cutting edge technologies and manufacturing. In her work she has helped organizations navigate complex challenges such as upskilling, public-private partnership design, long term planning, operational excellence, among others.

SCOTT R. DAVIS, PH. D.

Facilities Co-Lead

SCOTT R. DAVIS, PH. D.

Facilities Co-Lead

Dr. Davis is a physicist entrepreneur with an emphasis on new technology transition from the laboratory to manufacturing. He has spent his career inventing, developing, and commercializing a wide variety of technologies. As a co-founder and VP of technology at Vescent he led the development of non-mechanical beamsteerers and oversaw the asset sale of that technology to analog Devices for the autonomous vehicles market. He came back to Vescent as CEO in 2020. Since then, he has been leading the development of technologies and products, such as compact laser systems for trapping and cooling atoms, compact and deployable frequency combs, miniature spectroscopic standards, and other tools aimed at furthering the development and deployment of quantum systems. He is a member of the QED-C Steering Committee as well as the Advancement Advisory Committee for CU Physics Department. He has over 30 papers published, has co-authored two book chapters, and has twenty-seven patents pending and/or issued.

DR. LINCOLN D. CARR

Special Advisor – Quantum Science and Policy

DR. LINCOLN D. CARR

Special Advisor – Quantum Science and Policy

Lincoln D. Carr received his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Washington, Seattle. He is an IEEE Senior Member, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a Kavli Fellow and a Jefferson Science Fellow of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow, a National Science Foundation Distinguished International Fellow, and an Embassy Science Fellow of the U.S. Department of State. He is an Honors Faculty Fellow and Payne Institute for Public Policy Fellow at the Colorado School of Mines, where he is a Professor in the Quantum Engineering Program and the Physics Department

ANJUL LOIACONO, PH.D

Chief Commercial Officer

ANJUL LOIACONO, PH.D

Chief Commercial Officer

Anjul is a passionate leader who fosters partnerships to accelerate commercial technologies in deep-tech industries. Prior to joining Elevate Quantum, Anjul was Vice President at Infleqtion where she launched the world's first commercial quantum matter service. Anjul spent over a decade at Thorlabs, the world's leader in optics and photonics products, where she held roles in Corporate Development, Strategic Marketing, and Product Development. While at Thorlabs, Anjul played a significant role in developing corporate strategies and leading acquisitions; contributing to over a 10x growth in the company during her tenure.. Anjul received a Ph.D in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University. She volunteers her time mentoring and working with industry organizations including Optica, SPIE, and QED-C. Anjul will never turn down an offer for tacos and coffee.

LUCY SANDERS

Workforce Co-Lead and EQWC Co-Chair

LUCY SANDERS

Workforce Co-Lead and EQWC Co-Chair

Lucy Sanders is the Founder and Executive in Residence of the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), a national organization focused on broadening participation in computing. With over 20 years of experience in R&D and executive roles at AT&T Bell Labs, Lucent Bell Labs, and Avaya Labs, she holds six patents in communications technology and received the prestigious Bell Labs Fellow Award. Lucy was inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame and the U.S. News STEM Leadership Hall of Fame. She also received the 2016 Bob Newman Lifetime Achievement Award from the Colorado Technology Association and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Colorado Boulder.

JAKE DOUGLASS

Workforce Co-Lead and EQWC Board Co-Chair

JAKE DOUGLASS

Workforce Co-Lead and EQWC Board Co-Chair

Jake Douglass is the Quantum Business Development lead at Sandia National Labs, where he works on a continuum of business development functions at Sandia, including program development, workforce development, strategic planning, communication, and partnerships. Jake has been working to build the quantum ecosystem for the past 6 years through national scale programs like the DOE-SC Quantum Systems Accelerator, where he leads workforce development efforts, through his role as Chair of the QED-C Workforce TAC, and now in working with Elevate Quantum. Jake is dedicated to building workforce programs that reach all communities and is passionate about creating new opportunities to engage for partners across the ecosystem.

Elevate Quantum Board

WENDY LEA

Co-Founder and Chair of Energize Colorado

WENDY LEA

Co-Founder and Chair of Energize Colorado

Wendy Lea is a seasoned leader-practitioner with a proven entrepreneurial and ecosystem-building background. Wendy fosters public/private partnerships to improve economic conditions at local and national levels.

In Colorado, Wendy serves on Governor Polis' Revenue Estimating Advisory Committee (GREAC) and leads TechHubNow! to showcase Colorado as a leader in advanced industries. She fosters a resilient and inclusive small business ecosystem as co-founder and Board Chair of Energize Colorado.

Nationally, Wendy contributes to the Center for American Entrepreneurship (CAE) advisory board and the National Advisory Council for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE), developing ecosystem strategies to bolster America’s position in national and economic security.

In 2023, Wendy received the Denver Business Journal’s Outstanding Women in Business Award and the Boulder Chamber’s Woman Who Lights The Community Award.

DAN CARUSO

Managing Director, Caruso Ventures

DAN CARUSO

Managing Director, Caruso Ventures

Dan Caruso is the Managing Director of Caruso Ventures, a family office that invests in high-impact, tech-enabled scaleups. Dan was the founding CEO / Chairman of Zayo Group, where investors enjoyed a $8.5B equity exit on a $1.0B investment. Dan was a co-founding executive of Level 3 and joined Metropolitan Fiber Systems (MFS) as it began to scale. All three exited for enterprise values > $10B. Dan also led the take private of ICG, which achieved a 25X return and led to the ideation of Zayo. Dan is an advocate for Colorado's entrepreneurial communities and serves on the boards of Endeavor Colorado and Colorado Thrives.

EVE LIEBERMAN

Executive Director, CO OEDIT

EVE LIEBERMAN

Executive Director, CO OEDIT

Eve is currently the Executive Director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, dedicated to making the state a robust, sustainable economic power-house. She has a strong background in public policy and strategy, including serving over ten years on Capitol Hill, and as the Chief Policy Advisor and Legislative Counsel for Governor Jared Polis for his first term. In that Office, she oversaw the passage of Free Full Day Kindergarten, implementation of universal preschool, and historic investments in transportation and economic recovery programs. Eve serves on the Executive Board of the Colorado Workforce Development Council and the Business Experiential Commission.

ALEX GREENBERG

Economic Development Adviser, New Mexico

ALEX GREENBERG

Economic Development Adviser, New Mexico

Alex collaborates to help boost a variety of industries – aerospace, film and television, intelligent manufacturing, outdoor recreation, sustainable and green energy, biosciences, sustainable and value-added agriculture, cybersecurity and global trade– through collaboration with stakeholders. Alex raised capital for the $100 million Fund III with CerraCap and previously worked at the Economic Development Department, where he administered grant programs, supported the State Small Business Credit Initiative and was active in hydrogen energy initiatives.

ANTHONY NEAL-GRAVES

Former Chief Information Officer, State of Colorado

ANTHONY NEAL-GRAVES

Former Chief Information Officer, State of Colorado

Tony most recently served as the Chief Information Officer for the State of Colorado, where he oversaw an expansion of broadband across the State and the expansion of access to digital government services. Before his work with the State of Colorado, he worked as senior executive leadership at Intel Corporation, Lucent Technologies, and AT&T Bell Laboratories.

BROOKS JOHNSON

Co-founder, TechHubNow!

BROOKS JOHNSON

Co-founder, TechHubNow!

Brooks co-founded numerous companies, including Accretive Asset Management, the original developer of the BulletShares suite of ETFs. He has extensive experience consulting for companies, from startups to Fortune 500s, aiding in complex negotiations and financial decisions.

MASSIMO RUZZENE

Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, CU Boulder

MASSIMO RUZZENE

Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, CU Boulder

Massimo Ruzzene is the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he leads efforts to advance the university’s research and innovation agenda. Massimo is a recognized expert in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics, specializing in metamaterials and wave propagation. He previously served as a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he contributed significantly to research in structural health monitoring. Massimo has secured major grants from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense, driving innovations in aerospace and defense. He is also a prolific author and speaker, with his work impacting both academia and industry. Massimo is dedicated to promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation, ensuring that CU Boulder remains a leader in research excellence.

JESUS SALAZAR

CEO, Prosono; Chair, Colorado School of Mines

JESUS SALAZAR

CEO, Prosono; Chair, Colorado School of Mines

Jesus is the co-founder and CEO of Prosono, a social-impact engineering company that drives commercially viable high-return electrification and decarbonization initiatives in the built environment. He currently chairs the Colorado School of Mines and has served on the boards or advisory bodies of Rocky Mountain Public Media, Pinnacol Assurance, CareerWise USA, and several other high-impact organizations.

DR. COLLEEN SIMPSON

President, Front Range Community College

DR. COLLEEN SIMPSON

President, Front Range Community College

Colleen is President of Colorado’s Front Range Community College. FRCC has the state’s most extensive optics technician training program, delivering key skills to support quantum technologies in the region. She most recently served as the Vice President of Student Services and Regional Learning Centers at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. She has a doctoral degree in educational leadership, administration, and policy from Fordham University.

DR. MALOU SLOT

Quantum Lead, Womanium

DR. MALOU SLOT

Quantum Lead, Womanium

Marlou is Head of Womanium’s Quantum Program, dedicated to advancing quantum computing, quantum sensing, and entrepreneurship and training the next generation of quantum leaders.

CORBAN TILLEMANN-DICK

Chair, Elevate Quantum; CEO, Maybell Quantum

CORBAN TILLEMANN-DICK

Chair, Elevate Quantum; CEO, Maybell Quantum

Corban is the Co-Founder and Chair of Elevate Quantum and Founder and CEO of Maybell Quantum, the world’s leading innovator in quantum cryogenics and infrastructure. Prior to Maybell, Corban was a Partner at the Boston Consulting Group leading their Quantum computing efforts.

DR. MATTHIAS TROYER

Technical Fellow and Corporate Vice President, Microsoft

DR. MATTHIAS TROYER

Technical Fellow and Corporate Vice President, Microsoft

Matthias Troyer is Technical Fellow and Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, working on the system architecture of quantum computers and their applications. After receiving his PhD in 1994 from ETH Zurich in Switzerland and spending time as postdoc at the University of Tokyo he has been professor of Computational Physics at ETH Zurich until joining Microsoft in 2017. Matthias is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and President of the Aspen Center for Physics. He is recipient of the Hamburg Prize for Theoretical Physics and the Rahman Prize for Computational Physics of the American Physical Society “for pioneering numerical work in many seemingly intractable areas of quantum … physics and for providing efficient sophisticated computer codes to the community.

ZACHARY YERUSHALMI

CEO and Regional Innovation Officer, Elevate Quantum

ZACHARY YERUSHALMI

CEO and Regional Innovation Officer, Elevate Quantum

Zach is Co-founder and CEO of Elevate Quantum. Previously a founding senior investor and EIR at Oxford Sciences Innovation, a >$1BN joint venture with Oxford University. He founded and helped run 6 companies at the intersection of life and physical sciences with an aggregate value of >$1bn.

DAN CARUSO

Managing Director, Caruso Ventures

DAN CARUSO

Managing Director, Caruso Ventures

MISSY DIEHL

Senior Director of Industry Engagement, CU

MISSY DIEHL

Senior Director of Industry Engagement, CU

Missy is a Senior Director supporting industry partnerships across CU’s Boulder Campus with a focus on the technology sector. Before her CU-wide role, she served as Director of Advancement for the Leeds School of Business, as well as corporate marketing and sponsorship roles.

BROOKS JOHNSON

Co-founder, TechHubNow!

BROOKS JOHNSON

Co-founder, TechHubNow!

Brooks Co-founded numerous companies, including Accretive Asset Management, the original developer of the BulletShares suite of ETFs. He has extensive experience consulting for companies, from startups to Fortune 500s, aiding in complex negotiations and financial decisions.

WENDY LEA

Co-Founder and Chair of Energize Colorado

WENDY LEA

Co-Founder and Chair of Energize Colorado

EVE LIEBERMAN

Director, CO OEDIT

EVE LIEBERMAN

Director, CO OEDIT

ANTHONY NEAL-GRAVES

Former Chief Information Officer, State of Colorado

ANTHONY NEAL-GRAVES

Former Chief Information Officer, State of Colorado

JESUS SALAZAR

CEO, Prosono; Chair, Colorado School of Mines

JESUS SALAZAR

CEO, Prosono; Chair, Colorado School of Mines

DR. COLLEEN SIMPSON

President, Front Range Community College

DR. COLLEEN SIMPSON

President, Front Range Community College

DR. MARLOU SLOT

Quantum Lead, Womanium; Research Scientist, NIST

DR. MARLOU SLOT

Quantum Lead, Womanium; Research Scientist, NIST

Marlou is Head of Womanium’s Quantum Program, dedicated to advancing quantum computing, quantum sensing, and entrepreneurship and training the next generation of quantum leaders. She is a condensed matter physicist at NIST combining research on Chip-Scale Atomic Clocks with strong expertise in Quantum Materials and Scanning Probe Microscopy.