Contact Entrepreneurship Team

Dr. Mark Hilton

Program Manager, Entrepreneurship

Dr. Mark Hilton is a scientist turned entrepreneur. After earning his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, he became the Program Manager of Entrepreneurship at the Wond’ry, in addition to co-founding his own medical device company, Optomar Technologies, where he is the COO. Mark has a passion for working with “deep technologies” and with a focus on “Inclusive Innovation.” When not working, he can be found working out in the gym or the pool. Mark also enjoys spending time with his wife, Michelle, and Pokemon, Zelda and One Piece.

Kyle Caruso

Program Coordinator, Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Kyle Caruso is a national award-winning innovator with 10+ years of working with startups in various roles -- including innovations at MIT and the launch of an incubator at West Liberty University. Caruso is a Regional I-Corps Program Instructor at Vanderbilt University. In addition, Caruso is currently expanding his product design and engineering expertise as a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University.

Destane Garrett

Program Coordinator, Biomedical Innovation

Alexa Papanikolaou

Mid-South Hub Coordinator

Shannon Ware

Lead Regional Instructor

Shannon Ware is a dedicated professional with a passion for nurturing innovative startups and small businesses. With an entrepreneurial journey spanning 9 years in Nashville TN, Shannon partnered in founding and led a successful marketing and data consulting agency called The Virtual Collective. She also launched a separate venture called Her Data Method, an online course tailored to women business owners, emphasizing data collection and effective strategy development. Through a successful crowdfunding campaign on iFundWomen, Shannon funded this course and further utilized it as a platform for speaking engagements and educational events, focusing on critical aspects like crafting a Value Proposition, identifying Customer Segments, and data-driven content development. Since 2018, Shannon has led around 20 I-CORPS regional cohorts at Vanderbilt University and is the lead instructor for other entrepreneurial programs at Vanderbilt’s innovation center, The Wond’ry.