Bertha Jimenez Ph.D.

Co-Founder / Entrepreneur / Mentor / Professor /

Bertha is a multifaceted social entrepreneur, mentor, and professor. She began her journey with a Ph.D. from NYU, focusing on co-curricular programs in higher education to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset. Her comprehensive understanding of the entrepreneurial ecosystem—encompassing universities, incubators, venture capitalists, and more—comes from this deep-dive academic work. Post-Ph.D., she co-founded RISE, a startup that innovatively repurposes beer industry by-products into healthful flour, partnering with international brewery giant AB-InBev and earning numerous accolades. Even as the CEO of RISE, she found fulfillment in mentoring emerging startups and fostering women in business, leading her to teach entrepreneurship and innovation management at NYU.