Jenn Smith leads food and ag startup programs for Cornell’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement, including the Grow-NY program, an annual $3M competition for innovative, early-stage, high-growth potential businesses working anywhere in the agrifood system. Through CREA she co-directs an ag tech hardware accelerator and runs a Dairy Product Innovation initiative and activities supporting the cultivation of Upstate New York’s regional agrifood ecosystem. In her role she draws on her background in entrepreneurship in the food and farming space and subject matter expertise in craft beverage market development, gained while the Executive Director of the New York Cider Association and the New York State Distillers Guild.