Staff

Prior to joining the University of Oklahoma, Jeff addressed growth and entrepreneurship in a variety of roles and institutions, across a spectrum of industries.

As President of Superior Silica Sands, an early-stage mining company, he oversaw a capital expansion that doubled capacity and introduced new products for the oil services, golf course, and industrial sand industries.

As an Associate Principal with McKinsey & Co., a global management consulting firm, he provided senior leadership counsel to a wide variety of manufacturing, financial, and energy businesses in capital project evaluation and execution, transaction due diligence, and strategic planning. A leader within the energy practice, Jeff was a firm expert in operational excellence and front-line change programs in energy and mining. He was McKinsey Pittsburgh's liaison to the Pittsburgh Technology Council, and business plan screener for the city of Pittsburgh's "Enterprize" business plan competition.

Earlier in his career, Jeff served in the U.S. Navy as a submarine officer, with tours of duty aboard the USS Ohio (Blue) SSBN-726, Trident Training Facility (Bangor), and the NATO submarine command staff. He is a graduate of the Naval Nuclear Power School, a graduate level program in nuclear reactor plant theory and operations.

Jeff is a graduate of Rice University, with degrees in Electrical Engineering (solid state electronics focus) and Economics. He holds a masters degree in Applied Physics from the University of Washington (with a focus on nano-engineering), and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University with majors in finance, accounting, and strategy.

As the University Programs Director at I-CCEW, Cassandra works to fulfill the organization's mission of advancing innovation and entrepreneurship at the University of Oklahoma and across the state. Specifically, Cassandra supports the student internship program, which employes ~80 OU students per year, conducting consulting-style engagements with real-world clients. 

Cassandra also served as the Founding Director of OU Startup Programs, launching OU-specific Incubator and Accelerator programs through a grant funded by the U.S. Economic Development Coalition. Cassandra also previously worked with I-CCEW as a Location Director and Fellow specializing in interdisciplinary teams in Norman and Tulsa, helping create sustainable impact through technology commercialization and social entrepreneurship. 

Cassandra graduated from the University of Oklahoma, Tulsa in May 2015 with an MPA and a concentration in Public Policy. She also has a B.A. in Public Relations from OU with a minor in Political Science and a concentration in Environmental Policy. While at OU, Cassandra worked as a research assistant for the Center for Risk and Crisis Management studying spent nuclear fuel policy, contributing to a yearly report for Sandia National Laboratories.

Claire joined the I-CCEW staff in August 2021 and is excited for the opportunity to work with entrepreneurs on high-impact, real-world problems that drive innovative solutions across the state and the nation. Prior to working at I-CCEW, Claire was with Tulsa Public Schools as a teacher, project manager, and strategy partner. Claire is a graduate of The University of Oklahoma, with a B.S. in Secondary Education, Masters in Educational Administration, and Doctorate in Education & Policy Studies. 

As a fellow, Sarah Eltell works to support I-CCEW's student internship by guiding teams and their team leaders through their client-facing consulting work. Sarah has had experience in I-CCEW as a consulting associate and team leader, working on the software business accelerator and energy development team, respectively. That experience allowed her to take on the Fellow role to now help teams successfully complete their projects.

Sarah graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.B.A in Entrepreneurship & Venture Management, with a Finance minor.