Wayne Barz

Since July of 2000, Wayne Barz has managed the Ben Franklin TechVentures incubator program on Lehigh’s campus (2001 National Business Incubation Association Incubator of The Year). The incubator is currently home to 26 early stage technology companies and Wayne has managed Ben Franklin’s investment in and work with more than 50 tech start ups in the Lehigh Valley. Wayne is an active member of the National Business Incubation Association and coordinates a network of 10 incubator programs in northeastern Pennsylvania. He has nearly 25 years of experience in business and economic development, including: - 13 years managing business incubator programs in the Lehigh Valley - 6 years in private sector, managing economic development projects across PA, DE and MD. - 3 years managing projects and initiatives for Allentown Economic Development Corporation, including development of their Enterprise Zone and its revolving loan fund. - Provided early leadership to create several Lehigh Valley initiatives including Lehigh Valley Land Recycling Initiative, Lehigh Valley Technology Network, Northeastern PA Angel Network and others. - Former member of the Board at the Community Action Development Corporation of Allentown (1999-2008, Chairperson, 2003-2005) and serves on the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation Planning Committee (Chair of the Science and Technology subcommittee) - B.S., Economics, Lehigh University MBA (Management of Technology concentration), Lehigh University