About
Our Story
Penn State Brandywine LaunchBox (est. 2021) is a signature program of Invent Penn State, a Commonwealth-wide initiative to spur economic development, job creation, and student career success. As one of the university’s 21 Innovation Hubs across the Commonwealth, Penn State Brandywine LaunchBox provides programs and resources for early stage entrepreneurs, small business owners, and creatives. We are located on Penn State Brandywine's campus in Media, PA.
Learn More here: invent.psu.edu
Our Team
Tony Mattei
Director of Entrepreneurship and Digital Marketing at Penn State Brandywine | Brandywine LaunchBox
Tony Mattei is the Director of Entrepreneurship and Digital Marketing for Penn State Brandywine and serving as the Brandywine LaunchBox Director.
Tony has been an instructor of adult training and education programs, teaching website development. Additionally, Tony taught adolescents in website development and interactive online gaming.
Tejas Chigurupati
Digital Marketing Intern | Brandywine LaunchBox
Tejas Chigurupati serves as a Digital Marketing Intern for the Brandywine LaunchBox. Tejas uses his experiences as the founder and CEO of Panic Lock LLC, a business with the goal of making school lockdown devices accessible for people with disabilities, to assist in the day-to-day tasks involved with the Brandywine LaunchBox. Tejas helped establish the Entrepreneurship Club at Penn State Brandywine and currently serves as the President.
Philippe Latour
Marketing and Special Events Intern | Brandywine LaunchBox
Philippe Latour serves as the Marketing and Special Events intern for the Brandywine LaunchBox. Philippe used his experience from the Brandywine LaunchBox to become Founder and CEO of Legendary World LLC, an eco-friendly and sustainable clothing company. A clothing company that creates clothes using eco-friendly materials such as recycled cotton and polyester. Besides Legendary World LLC, Philippe serves as the Vice President of the Entrepreneurship club at Penn State Brandywine, member of Brandywine THON, member of B.E.A.S.T (Brandywine Events and Activities Student Team) and is a New Student Orientation Leader at Penn State Brandywine. His Major is Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship with a minor in Finance.
Jaclyn Gallo
Program Instructor
Jaclyn Gallo is the program instructor for Idea TestLab. She is also the Founder and Owner of Clarity and Action Consulting, a two-time best-selling author, and a TEDx speaker.
Meaghan Daly
Advisory Committee Chair
Meaghan Daly is the CEO of Meaghan Paige LLC. Meaghan’s ready-to-wear designs have been showcased at New York Fashion Week, featured at London Fashion Week, and published in the pages of British Vogue Magazine. Her designs have been sold in multiple Philadelphia stores and at a handful of local Philadelphia area art festivals. She is currently the President of the Penn State Brandywine Alumni Society, Committee Chair of LaunchBox for the Penn State Brandywine Advisory Board, and Coach with the Brandywine LaunchBox. Meaghan’s professional experience ranges from marketing, sales, and even design. She is committed to mentoring others around the topics of entrepreneurship and clothing design.
Jonathan Savage
Advisory Committee Member
Jonathan Savage is the Advisory Committee Chair for the Brandywine LaunchBox. He has over 35 years of leadership experience in the public and private sector. Jonathan is currently a Vice President for Business Development at Pennoni Associates, a 1300-person engineering firm headquartered in Philadelphia, where he oversees and assists in the development annual revenues of over $250 million.
David Rosenberg
Advisory Committee Member
David Rosenberg is an Advisory Committee Member for the Brandywine LaunchBox. He was a Principal and Executive Vice President at Environmental Compliance Services (ECS), responsible for all corporate marketing, public relations and government affairs activities (ECS was sold to XL Capital Inc., a publicly held company in 1999). As a retired entrepreneur, David serves as a father, grandfather, philanthropist, and non-profit board member.
Christopher Halliday
Advisory Committee Member
Chris graduated from Penn State University with degrees in Chemical Engineering and in Biochemistry. Chris also served as Captain of the Penn State Cheerleaders during his undergraduate senior year. Chris passed the patent bar shortly after graduating. However, instead of becoming a full-time patent agent, Chris decided to go to law school to explore alternative career paths. There, he obtained his J.D., an LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law. A bit later he also obtained a second LL.M. in Trial Advocacy (from Temple Law School). Chris had brief stints in the state Attorney General’s Office and then as a public defender before changing directions again to pursue intellectual property law. In his current practice, Chris counsel’s clients on strategic intellectual property issues in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemical, medical device, battery, catalysis, and food science areas.
Shawn Manderson
Advisory Committee Member
Shawn Manderson is an Advisory Committee Member for the Brandywine LaunchBox. He currently serves as the Vice President of Enterprise Risk Management at ADP, Inc. and previously held positions at Ernst and Young, ARAMARK, and FMC Corporation. As an alumnus, Shawn continues to serve the alumni community locally at Penn State Brandywine and broadly at University Park as a member of the University’s President’s Club (Edwin E. Sparks circle) and a Life Member of the Alumni Association.
Dr. Mo Paknajed
Advisory Committee Member
Dr. Mo Paknajed is an Advisory Committee Member for the Brandywine LaunchBox. He started at CTDI engineering in 1983 and currently he is serving as the Director of Engineering. His team (including Penn State interns) is responsible for designing automated test platforms to support the telecommunication and cable industries across the world. He is committed to share his knowledge and experience with young people through workshops and seminars to prepare them for a successful career in a technical field.
Michael Gambol
Advisory Committee Member
Michael Gambol is an Advisory Committee Member for the Brandywine LaunchBox and a Financial Advisor with Alex.Brown Inc. in Philadelphia, PA. He has the dual responsibilities of taking care of his clients as well as managing the overall business operations of the group. He spent his early years in the business at TD Ameritrade before moving on to BlackRock Inc., where he managed part of its U.S. Wealth Advisory business.
Mark Trabbold
Advisory Committee Member
Mark Trabbold is an Advisory Committee Member for the Brandywine LaunchBox. He currently serves as the Senior Vice President of the Strategic Initiatives Group at Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Mark leads the development and implementation of strategies and projects focused on growing the business. He previously served as the Vice President of Research and Development for CertainTeed Corporation, a North American building materials manufacturer, where he was responsible for research, development, engineering, and new business integration bringing numerous products to commercial success worth over $100M, annually.
Joe Kernen
Advisory Committee Member
Joe Kernen is an Advisory Committee Member for the Brandywine LaunchBox and a Senior Partner at DLA Piper, a global business law firm with more than 4,500 lawyers across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Joseph represents corporate clients in commercial and class action litigation, and counsels and defends employers in employment controversies. He previously served as Managing Partner of the Philadelphia Office and Chair of Philadelphia Litigation.
Philip Stoops
Advisory Committee Member
Philip Stoops is an Advisory Committee Member for the Brandywine LaunchBox and a Principal at Agile Management Group. He has over 20 years of revenue-generating experience in identifying strategic avenues that have strengthened new and existing business initiatives for industry and franchise leaders such as AT&T, Sky Zone Franchise Group, Smash My Trash, Amazon, and The FrontDoor Collective.
Thomas Gailey
Advisory Committee Member
Thomas Gailey is an Advisory Committee Member for the Brandywine LaunchBox and a Principal at GaileyMurray Communications. He is an accomplished entrepreneur and marketing and communications professional with a track record of success in corporate, agency and government settings. In his 30 years of experience, he has helped launch products, build reputations, complete deals, elect candidates, solve crises and grow companies.
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Our Impact
7
Community Programs Since 2021
200+
Early Stage Entrepreneurs, Small Businesses, and Creatives Served Since 2021
10+
Community Partnerships Since 2021
$200K+
External Funding Received Since 2021