Leadership and Staff

Michelle Bolas joins NCI after serving as Chief Innovation Officer at UNC Chapel Hill and Executive Director of Innovate Carolina, where she led the University’s innovation strategy. She brings 25 years of experience working with leaders in higher education, business, industry, and government to design and develop comprehensive environments that foster creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. For the past ten years, she also led UNC’s Innovation Roadmap, working closely with leaders, faculty, and students to imagine and implement new programs and initiatives that have significantly increased the impact of Carolina innovations. At NCInnovation, Michelle is responsible for developing and enhancing university partnerships and research commercialization activities. She works with partner universities across four regions of the state to optimize their applied research portfolios and support NCInnovation's efforts to commercialize research outputs.

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Ms. Bourne has master’s degrees in Higher Education Administration and Integrated Science and Technology. For over 18 years, she held senior leadership roles at James Madison University, first as Director of Technology Transfer and then as Director of Technology Innovation and Economic Development. Ms. Bourne also founded and led James Madison Innovations, a 501(c)(3) corporation to manage intellectual property. In those roles, Ms. Bourne supported commercialization efforts for James Madison University researchers. She also led initiatives to create a regional angel investor network and strengthen the community’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Ms. Bourne leads NCI’s work in the Charlotte region, anchored by UNC Charlotte.

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Mrs. Coneybeer has more than 15 years of experience navigating complex research and innovation efforts for the University of North Carolina System, community colleges, and corporate partners. She holds a master’s degree in Horticulture Science from North Carolina State University. She most recently served as Director of Mentorship and Research for the North Carolina School of Science and Math’s western campus. Before that, she worked in the biosciences industry and academia. Ms. Coneybeer leads NCInnovation's work in the West region, anchored by West Carolina University.

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Mr. Davis is an entrepreneur and advisor to startup companies with extensive experience in technology transfer and venture capital. Over the course of his career at UNC Wilmington, he held multiple roles within the technology transfer office and ultimately led the office, spearheading research commercialization and innovation initiatives. Additionally, he has expertise in later-stage funding, having directed a reputable accelerator program focused on highly scalable startups during his time in the venture capital industry.

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Michelle Fiscus serves as the strategic lead for communications, marketing, and public relations at NCInnovation, where she oversees brand strategy, messaging, and stakeholder engagement. With 25 years of experience, she blends data-driven decision-making with the human element of storytelling to build meaningful connections and inspire action. She advises senior leadership on communication best practices, provides direction during crisis situations, and ensures consistent branding across all channels.

Fiscus has consulted with businesses across North Carolina for more than five years and brings a wide perspective from her work with public school districts, private education, and national marketing agencies. Her career began in media with Hearst Argyle, iHeart Media, and Cox Media, where she honed her ability to translate complex information into compelling narratives.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication from Wake Forest University and applies insights from Cognitive Neuroscience, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and Behavioral Economics to her leadership and communication strategies.

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Elise Fisher earned her bachelor’s degree from Appalachian State University and her master’s degree in public policy from Drexel University. She has a breadth of experience in managing projects both in the private sector and at national nonprofit organizations. After earning her master’s degree, Elise supported the world-renowned Penn Wharton Budget Model at the University of Pennsylvania. At NCInnovation, Elise is on the organization’s research programs team as the project manager.

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Ms. Hall is responsible for NCInnovation’s finance and accounting practices and performance, financial reporting and grant management, corporate development functions, and relationships with third-party investment manager(s). She is also responsible for NCInnovation’s human resources, information technology, facilities, and related vendor management. Ms. Hall, a licensed CPA with 30 years of experience in public and private sector accounting, led the Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina’s finances, investments, and operations as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for 17 years.

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Dr. LaKeya Hardy serves as the NC A&T Hub Director at NCInnovation, where she collaborates with research faculty and leadership across North Carolina’s public universities in the Piedmont Triangle and Triad regions to advance the commercialization of academic research. With a Ph.D. in Microbiology & Immunology, Dr. Hardy brings extensive experience in securing, managing, and leveraging federal and foundation grants to support research translation, educational programming, and workforce development. She has successfully led multi-million dollar grant procurement efforts, including NIH R25 awards and foundation partnerships, while designing and managing complex training and professional development programs for scientists at all career stages. A published researcher and experienced program director, Dr. Hardy is passionate about building sustainable innovation pipelines that connect scientific discovery with real-world impact, while fostering inclusive access to STEM careers.

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A native North Carolinian, Carly earned her bachelor’s degree from UNC-Chapel Hill, studying organizational development and information systems, and her master’s degree in Commerce from the University of Virginia. Carly has worked with companies large and small on brand management, marketing, and advertising campaigns. She’s an entrepreneur herself, co-founding a North Carolina-based business. As Director of Programs and Strategic Initiatives at NCI, Carly provides day-to-day project and program management to optimize the organization’s performance. With a hand in everything from policymaking to strategic planning to operations, Carly is the team’s utility player, making sure the trains run on time. Carly enjoys traveling and spending time with animals at Chatham Animal Rescue & Education, where she helps oversee foster placement.

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Dr. Hopper holds a PhD from Duke University in bioanalytical chemistry and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from UNC-Chapel Hill. She served as Director for Programs and Grants at the Institute for Convergent Science at UNC-Chapel Hill in her immediate past role, where she helped plan and establish the institute, assembled research teams, and developed proposals to secure funding for research, innovation, and other programs. Before that, Dr. Hopper held a variety of roles in higher education research administration, program development, and graduate education, including serving as Research Director for the UNC System. Dr. Hopper leads NCInnovation’s Statewide Innovation Grant program and directs the design and oversight of the organization’s internal and external research efforts. 

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Mr. Judge has over 20 years of experience in economic development, entrepreneurship, technology transfer, strategic management, and workforce development. He holds an MBA and Six Sigma Black Belt from Winston-Salem State University and, most recently, led the Division of Business and Industry as the Associate Vice President of Corporate Education and Economic Development at Alamance Community College. Before that, Mr. Judge spent 13 years as a Senior Licensing Associate and Director of Outreach and Technology Transfer at N.C. A&T State University. Mr. Judge leads NCI’s work in the Piedmont region, anchored by N.C. A&T State University.

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Erica Shrader has nearly two decades of experience in public policy, economic development, and partnership engagement. Since 2011, Ms. Shrader has worked for the Office of President Pro Tempore Phil Berger in multiple roles, including Senior Policy Advisor, Chief Budget Advisor, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, and Director of Strategic Initiatives, where she helped develop some of North Carolina’s most impactful policy measures. Before that, Ms. Shrader worked on Capitol Hill as Senior Legislative Assistant for Congresswoman Virginia Foxx.

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Mr. Walsh has nearly a decade of experience as an accountant in the financial services, commercial insurance, and nonprofit industries. Before joining NCInnovation, he was a senior accountant at the Research Triangle Foundation, overseeing property accounting, financial reporting, and audit support. At NCInnovation, Shane maintains the organization’s accounting systems, financial controls, budgeting, and other key business functions.

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Mr. Welch, who holds a master’s degree in public administration and is currently working on his doctoral dissertation, has spent nearly two decades in leadership roles in higher education and state government. Mr. Welch previously served as the Senior Director of Business Strategy at Central New Mexico Community College, where he led the implementation of strategic initiatives focused on bridging the divide between academia and the workforce. He later served as Chief of Staff at the New Mexico Higher Education Department. After relocating to North Carolina, Mr. Welch served as Program Director at an award-winning economic development and startup accelerator at ECU and, most recently, led the North Carolina Senate’s oversight activities as the Senate Majority Staff Director. Mr. Welch leads NCI’s work in the East region, anchored by ECU.

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Dr. Wyrick has spent much of his accomplished career at UNC Greensboro, where he most recently served as Chief Innovation Officer. Dr Wyrick has deep experience in applied research and innovation, and he’s a national leader in public health education, specifically the development and optimization of behavioral interventions. He has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications and has been a principal investigator on dozens of applied research projects spanning eight countries. At NCInnovation, Dr. Wyrick grows university partnerships, oversees faculty outreach, and strengthens NCInnovation’s regional ecosystem support for university technologies.

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