Staff & Faculty
Meet the Team
Zack Bennett
Director
Zack graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in 1999 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and headed off to Silicon Valley at the height of the dot com boom. He started his career as an engineer, management consultant and an executive at American Express. Not content with the success he found in corporate America, Zack turned to the fast-paced world of startups where he has founded and operated multiple companies and has had lots of failures, a few exits and one IPO. Zack is thrilled that his journey has brought him full circle as he returns to Mines as the Founding Director of the Beck Venture Center.
Todd McLean
Managing Director, Business Enterprises
Todd is dually the Managing Director of Business Enterprises for the Colorado School of Mines Foundation and the Managing Director of Mines Venture Fund Management, LLC which is responsible for the Mines Venture Fund 1, LP. He works with all stakeholders in the Mines entrepreneur and innovation ecosystem including alum, faculty, staff and students. Todd works with Foundation colleagues in due diligence and structuring unique business opportunities that generate alternative revenue to benefit the institution. He also is responsible for all activities pertaining to the Mines Venture Fund Management, LLC and leads the initiatives and investment process of the Mines Venture Fund 1, LP.
Todd has had success in growing companies, turnaround situations, venture investing and startup mentoring. He has been COO with two turn arounds resulting in one PE exit and one merger, SVP public company merger, founding shareholder of three companies with one PE exit. Todd has leadership expertise in management and operations excellence, finance, compliance, marketing, communications, business development and community engagement.
Jenny Goodhart
Community and Events Manager
Jenny brings a rich blend of events and higher education expertise to the Beck Venture Center. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Media Broadcast and a Master’s in Higher Education Administration from Appalachian State University.
Jenny’s event management experience started in music recording, where she managed a recording studio in Asheville, North Carolina. She gained valuable experience planning recording sessions and events while working with high-profile clients like Steve Martin, The Avett Brothers, and Widespread Panic. Her transition into higher education came as she pursued her Master’s degree, eventually taking on the role of Events and Production Manager at eTown Hall and Program Manager at the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, where she thrived in supporting entrepreneurial ventures through events.
Jenny is thrilled to integrate her entrepreneurial and educational interests at the Beck Venture Center!
Brian Tierney
Communication and Operations Manager
Brian attended the Catholic University of America in Washington DC where he studied World Politics, Philosophy and Classics. After graduating he entered an AmeriCorps VISTA program at United Way Worldwide in Alexandria where he joined the communications team. After several years at United Way he joined Amazon as a Communications Program manager as a member of their global IT team. After moving from Virginia to Colorado, Brian made the decision to join the Beck Venture Center team.