Category: Under 40 Underserved Advisory Board

 PLSG Recognizes Advisory Board Member’s Selection to “30 Under 30” Class

Posted on by Delvina Morrow

 PLSG Recognizes Advisory Board Member’s Selection to “30 Under 30” Class

Carmelo Montalvo Serves on PLSG’s Under 40, Underserved Advisory Board

PITTSBURGH (July 31, 2018)—Carmelo Montalvo, a member of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG) Under 40, Underserved Advisory Board, was recently named by the Pittsburgh Business Times to its 2018 “30 Under 30” Class of civic and business leaders.

 

The Pittsburgh Business Times “30 Under 30” Awards, is an annual celebration of young professionals who lead their generation and our region’s organizations and business landscape forward. In its second year, the 2018 “30 Under 30” class represents the next generation of leaders comprised of young professional across a variety of sectors who are reinventing our region for generations to come.

 

As a young professional, and transplant to Pittsburgh, Montalvo saw the opportunities of staying in the region and calling Pittsburgh home. In 2016, while completing his master’s at CMU in Healthcare Policy & Management and serving as a Defensive Line Coach for Tartan Football, Montalvo decided that he wanted to make an impact in the region by lending his talents and expertise to a life sciences startup. In 2016, Montalvo joined PLSG portfolio company Forest Devices as their Director of Operations.

 

Forest Devices created AlphaStroke, the first stroke screening device that can be used by medical personnel in any environment. Presently, 50% of stroke patients go to the wrong level of care, or a hospital without stroke care, adding an average delay of two hours. Such swift treatment eliminates delay, which can lead to negative outcomes, disabilities, and roughly $50 billion in healthcare costs in the U.S. Currently, as the Vice President of Operations for Forest Devices, Montalvo has navigated the company’s growth, and he has been instrumental in successfully closing an oversubscribed seed round of $2.3M in funding for the company’s future operations.

 

“Carmelo has played a key role in the company’s development, managing the day-to-day operations and developing standardized practices for both our product and project-management activities”. Said Matt Kessinger, CEO of Forest Devices. “Ever since joining the team, he has been willing to put his head down and get his hands dirty to accomplish goals, learn new skill sets, and promote our culture.”

 

Montalvo has provided his time, knowledge, and expertise to help move the region forward and to help advance the vibrant and growing life sciences community for entrepreneurs here in Pittsburgh. He serves as a conduit within the life sciences ecosystem through his community service, specifically within the PLSG’s Under 40, Underserved Advisory Board. As an Advisory Board member, he advises the PLSG on how it can capture and share life sciences knowledge to improve the success rates of its younger companies and entrepreneurs in obtaining capital and de-risking their programs.

 

Montalvo is a 2013 graduate of North Carolina Central University and obtained a master’s degree in Healthcare Policy & Management from Carnegie Mellon University in 2017. He was born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in New Bern, NC, and currently resides in Brookline with his wife and daughter.

 

About Forest Devices

Forest Devices is a medical device startup located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are the creators of ALPHASTROKE, the first stroke screening device that can potentially be used by all medical personnel in any environment.  By re-purposing established technology, the team is developing a novel and objective stroke detection method. It would enable early and fast triage so stroke patients go to the appropriate level of care.  Providing a faster, safer, and cheaper alternative, over 2 million unnecessary emergency room CT scans could be averted every year. With thousands of deaths and billions in costs annually due to inadequate stroke detection, they are determined to become the new standard of care.

About the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG)

The Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG) is a comprehensive life sciences economic development organization. We are dedicated to advancing life sciences in western PA by building on the region’s strengths in research, clinical care and life sciences entrepreneurship. We serve our community by providing knowledge, connection, and capital to help companies grow, create jobs, and improve the health of all humanity. For more information, please visit: www.plsg.com.

Can you really create a “community?”

Posted on by Delvina Morrow

The United Nations defines community development as “a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems.”

Each of us, as individuals, plays a critical role in community development. It is up to each of us to help our communities to thrive and grow for the betterment of all members; to ensure that our region not only excels, but also truly makes an impact.

Since joining the PLSG I have found myself connected and rooted in a new community; the life sciences entrepreneur community.

While getting to know this community, I began attending Tuesday morning BioBreakfasts where I had the opportunity to meet Thomas Voigt. Thomas became a regular face and comforting friend in my explorations of understanding the life sciences community.  At Innovation Works, I befriended Terri Glueck who not only showed me the “the way,” but at each networking event, allowed me to follow her as she introduce me to each and every person she spoke with.  At every PLSG Open House, I knew that Cassie Ruane (founder of Mental Health Metrics, Inc.) would be there to share kind words on how much she enjoyed our events. At industry networking events I often met people who would share interesting stories about one of my colleagues that made me realize that our community may be small at times, but, as Margaret Mead once said, “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world.”

So, how are we, as a community, working towards changing the small yet mighty world we live in?

As an organization, we have worked hard to redefine how we connect and engage within our life sciences and entrepreneur community. It is our goal to further develop our community by creating transparent and high value community engagement activities for all while lowering the barriers of participation.

When you walk into the PLSG building today, there are notable changes that help to define us a community space. We have created a visually appealing meeting/event space, which not only showcases our impact by listing the 484 companies we have worked with, but also allows members of the community to see the sheer impact of the life sciences on our community.

As an organization, we have and will continue to redefine our events, making them more accessible and collaborating with other likeminded organizations and groups to ensure that each PLSG engagement is representative of the region we serve. We have hosted groups like the Young Nonprofit Professional Network of Pittsburgh for both board meetings and social events. We have hosted feminist maker space Prototype PGH for board meetings and have opened our doors to the ACHE of Western PA, the Fourth Gear cohort of 2018, Duquesne University, and many more local organizations.

We believe that it is our role, to help support a strong and vibrant life sciences community.

Thank you for being part of our vibrant and growing community.