Myrriah Chavez Tomar is a Business Connector and Innovation Leader with expertise in academic research, industry startup-research, technology commercialization, economic development, and state government. She holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from The University of Colorado, Anschutz School of Medicine and a B.S. in Biochemistry from The University of New Mexico. Myrriah has served in several leadership capacities: Executive Director, Office of Innovation Commercialization, New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology as a senior staff member on NMT President’s Cabinet and leader for entrepreneurship and economic development; Director, Office of Science & Technology, State of New Mexico, Economic Development Division, Santa Fe; and, Intellectual Property Technical Advisor at Rice University Office of Technology Transfer in Houston, TX.