October Mentor in Residence Calendar
Check out our monthly schedule here and continue reading to see our full line-up of Mentors in Residence and their bios. Check back regularly as our schedule rotates.
Meet Our In Residence Mentors
Justin Strickland
CEO & Founder
Justin is the founder, CEO and driving force behind Accelerated Brands and Strickland Brothers 10 Minute Oil Change. Starting with a $35,000 home equity line of credit from his grandfather, Justin has expanded the business from a single location to over 260 locations nationwide, creating an average of 2.6 net new jobs per business day since 2022 and opening an average of ~64 new sites per year while building several local, community partnerships as well. Under Justin’s leadership, Accelerated Brands has been recognized as the fastest-growing business in the Triad for three consecutive years and is a four-time recipient of the Inc. 5000 award, as well as a two-time Inc. 500 recipient. Justin’s achievements have garnered attention from major publications, including Forbes, Entrepreneur and Inc. Magazines, and he has received accolades such as North Carolina Power Player and most notably – the 2022 Entrepreneur of the Year where he won the regional in Fox Theatre in Atlanta and attended nationals in Palm Springs in late 2022.With experience spanning several businesses and exits ranging from $5 million to hundreds of millions in market capitalization, Justin continues to shape the consumer services industry with a focus on innovation, growth, and community impact.
Lebone C. Moses
Investor & Startup Advisor
Lebone is a strategic business executive, investor and advisor, who is passionate about empowering leaders to build stronger, more sustainable businesses. She has a track record of identifying, advising and investing resources in high-performing startups led by underrepresented founders. For over a decade, she has advised startup founders on organizational strategy, investor relations, financing options, valuation and leadership development. An angel investor for over 10 years, Lebone has focused her portfolio on women and entrepreneurs of color and spent several years co-developing a Venture Capital fund focused on investing in African-American founders. Leveraging her passion for economic equity, she has co-founded multiple programs aimed at addressing wealth and equity gaps by equipping and empowering individuals, families and entrepreneurs with access to critical information and resources, including an Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition course. She is currently developing a fund focused on investing in both startups and acquisitions to fuel the success of underrepresented entrepreneurs.
Todd Johnson
Partner — FCA Ventures
Todd is a partner with FCA Venture Partners, focused on early-stage healthcare technology investing. He most recently was a Vice President with Wake Forest University overseeing a number of new initiatives for the university. He has spent the past 25 years in the healthcare field in various roles with early-stage companies, including having founded a cardiovascular services company, HealthTech, that subsequently merged with MedCath, then did an IPO and was a publicly traded company for several years, followed by a sale to KKR, a large private equity group. Todd serves on the Board of Directors of several FCA Venture Partners portfolio companies.
Chase Summers
CRO
Chase Summers is an experienced go-to-market leader specializing in helping technical founders bring early-stage, bootstrapped products to market and drive meaningful growth. As the first full-time hire and Head of Sales at Lucid Travel, Chase built the company’s initial go-to-market strategy and led early commercial growth, helping position the company for its eventual acquisition by HotelPlanner in 2023. In 2020, Chase joined Dataedo, a Poland-based data management software company, as the first commercial and first U.S. hire. He built the customer-facing functions from the ground up — including sales, customer success, support, and partnerships — helping grow Dataedo from under $500K to over $3M ARR in four years, all without outside funding.
Beyond his operating roles, Chase has consulted for companies ranging from solo founders to well-funded Y-Combinator backed startups. He also mentors with LaunchCLT and NC State’s Entrepreneurship Program.
Trinity Manning
CEO & Founder
Trinity Manning is a serial entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of OnceLogix, LLC a software company that specializes in web-based solutions for the Health Care Industry. Headquartered in Piedmont Triad Research Park,. OnceLogix, LLC developed one of the leading web-based tools used by the Behavioral Healthcare in the southeast.
Art DeBaugh
Trademark & IP Attorney
Art DeBaugh is an Intellectual Property Attorney with Ward and Smith, P.A. who helps businesses, marketing professionals, and entrepreneurs protect and strengthen their trademarks, branding, advertising, and promotions efforts, and intellectual property with effective, practical, and timely legal assistance. Partner working with a wide range of clients and industries both in the U.S. and internationally. Over 12 years in-house experience with a multinational Fortune 100 company, overseeing all IP matters and managing a team of lawyers and paralegals. Particular expertise in textiles, apparel, food, foodservice, household products, and consumer goods generally. Over 30 years of experience as an intellectual property attorney, with particular experience in transactional and litigation matters involving trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, advertising, marketing and promotions, celebrity endorsements, anti-counterfeiting, IP portfolio maintenance, and licensing.
Jody Cauthen
Grant Writer
Jody Cauthen the Director of Grant Operations at Integrity Continuing Education. She is a Passionate and diligent Fund & Friend Raising Professional with 25+ years of experience leading/directing teams and programs, delegating tasks, instructing/training staffs, and monitoring performance to ensure optimal productivity. Resourceful employee advocate and community liaison with an ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, streamline operational efficiency, develop goals, drive continuous process improvement, cultivate client rapport to improve engagement, and establish customer-focused policies and procedures. Results-focused, enthusiastic, high-energy, and creative team player and staff builder seeking to leverage background into an Advancement, Development, or Corporate Training role for a progressive and innovative private sector organization.
Jenn Henzel
Pitch Coach
Jenn the founder of ElePitch and a seasoned entrepreneurial advisor and pitch expert offering an individualized, no-nonsense approach centered around meeting clients where they are. Her coaching style is distinguished by how authentically invested she is in the success of her clients. She teaches, guides, and empowers entrepreneurs to be prepared for key opportunities like pitch competitions, sales meetings, thought leadership engagements, and investor sessions.
Leslie Speas
HR Consultant and President of InfluenceHR
Leslie Speas is a seasoned Human Resources executive with over 30 years of expertise in HR and organizational development. She serves as Founder and President of InfluenceHR Consulting, a firm dedicated to helping leaders and HR teams attract, retain, and develop talented employees.
Leslie holds a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology and possesses senior-level HR designations. Her leadership experience spans diverse sectors such as healthcare, manufacturing, technology, financial services, and nonprofit organizations. In addition, she is the author of the book, 7 Habits of High-Retention Managers.
Leslie is heavily involved in furthering the HR profession and serves as a District Director with the North Carolina Society for Human Resources Management. She and her husband, Tracy, reside in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Taryn Jerez
Owner, Go For It, Creative
Taryn Jerez is the owner of Go For It, Creative and a local messaging & business strategist with nearly a decade of experience supporting women-led creative businesses. As an industry speaker, small business cheerleader, arts advocate (and dedicated London fog enthusiast) she is passionate about helping entrepreneurs cut through the noise, clarify their message, and transform their creative passion into profitable, add-to-cart offers. Through her no-fluff strategies and personalized, high-touch support, Taryn equips clients with the confidence and tools to stop second-guessing their brand and build the successful, sustainable businesses they envision.