The 35th Annual Whitney M. Young, Jr. Memorial Conference

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New Venture Competition Judges

Paisley D. Demby

Founder and CEO, PBN Consulting, LLC.

Paisley Demby is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PBN Consulting, LLC., and has over 16 years of finance and strategic management experience.

Mr. Demby founded PBN in 1999 and the practice has grown to offer Venture Capital Advisory Services, Business Development, and Strategy Formulation for start-ups to large for-profit and non-profit organizations nationwide. He is widely recognized for his work in the business development arena helping develop innovative businesses in the media, technology, consumer products, nonprofit, entertainment, financial services, and life sciences industry.

In addition to his responsibilities at PBN, Mr. Demby has lectured at Taylor Business Institute, Drake Business School, and Medgar Evers College on subjects such as Organizational Business Development, Business Planning, Business Law and Oral Presentation.

Mr. Demby has facilitated workshops and panels at the New York Science Industry and Business Library, Queens Public Library, Georgia MicroEnterprise Network Conference, and Annual Diversity Initiative’s Tour for Success on topics such as Business Development, Capital Raising, Business Planning, Marketing, and Understanding Financial Statements.

Mr. Demby served on the Board of Advisors to IPORUSSIA, Inc., an International Advisory company providing consulting advice to Russian companies looking to complete IPOs in the US and London. Mr. Demby is actively involved in the small business development community serving as a judge for the Wharton Business Plan Competition, Brooklyn PowerUp! Business Plan Competition and the Queens StartUp! Business Plan Competition.

Mr. Demby has been employed by such renowned firms as Accenture, JP Morgan, Synergie Capital Group, IBM, General Motors, The May Davis Group, and Westinghouse.

Mr. Demby holds an MBA in Finance and Strategic Management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a BA in Engineering and Economics from Brown University

Scorpio Rogers

Managing Principal, Entrepreneurial Consultants, LLC

Scorpio Rogers is the founder and Managing Principal of Entrepreneurial Consultants, LLC, a management-consulting firm for start-up and growing entrepreneurial business. In this capacity he provides consulting services in the areas of: strategy and business plan creation; business principles training; technology evaluation and implementation; tactical management; business valuation; and financing facilitation. He has partnered with and consulted for various entrepreneurial organizations including the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, the Harlem Venture Group, the Women's Venture Fund and the William Jefferson Clinton Small Business Initiative where he was recognize by former President Clinton for his service.

Scorpio teaches Entrepreneurship, Marketing and other business courses at Westchester Community College and is a certified instructor for the National Federation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). Formally, he has been a consultant for American Express where he led several global business reengineering projects and for Anderson Consulting (now Accenture) where he managed projects for Fortune 500 companies and state government. He was the founder and CEO of Fraternally Your, Inc. a retail company that sold fraternal merchandise through multiple distribution channels.

Scorpio has a BA in Computer Science and Technology from Dartmouth College and a MBA in Management with concentrations in Entrepreneurship and Strategy from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He’s a certified Six Sigma Green Belt. He mentors youth in business as an active Life Member of the New York City chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and as a NFTE consultant. Additionally, he does volunteer work as a NYC Life Member of the National Black MBA Association, and he coaches little league baseball and basketball. He’s married with a son and daughter.

Samuel J. Patterson

President and CEO, Veridyne, Inc.

Samuel J. Patterson is President and CEO of Veridyne, Inc. (formerly Shepard-Patterson). He is a classic example of the American Success story. Born and raised in Yeadon, Pennsylvania, one of nineteen children, his parents instilled family values long before the phrase became chic. In 1982, after receiving a B.S. degree in Computer Science from Cheyney University, he began his career at the E.I. Dupont Company as a Computer Programmer Analyst. In 1985, Mr. Patterson received an MBA in Marketing from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. Mr. Patterson is also a graduate of Dartmouth University’s Amos Tuck School’s Minority Business Executive Program.

In 1986, Mr. Patterson co-founded Shepard, Patterson and Associates, Inc., an information management and technology consulting company. The company developed a substantial commercial customer base initially, and later expanded into the Federal, State and Municipal marketplaces. In 1995, Mr. Patterson became Chairman, CEO, and sole-owner of Shepard-Patterson and in 2001 changed the name to Veridyne, Inc. Today, Veridyne’s customers include Lockheed-Martin, Deloitte, Accenture, IBM, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Commerce, the State of Pennsylvania, the State of New Jersey, the City of Philadelphia, and the School District of Philadelphia.

Mr. Patterson’s professional and civic affiliations include the Wharton Alumni Association, the Cheyney University National Alumni Association, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, and the Men of BACA. Mr. Patterson’s board appointments include Innovation Philadelphia, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, African American Chamber of Commerce, Franklin Institute, and the Council of Trustees at Cheyney University.

Mr. Patterson has received numerous awards including “Entrepreneur of the Year” from Ernst and Young, an award for Technology Leadership from the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania, and was named “Minority Small Business Person of the Year” by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education presented Mr. Patterson with the coveted Ebberly Award for Community Service.

Mr. Patterson has a long history of charitable giving. Sam donated $250,000 to his alma mater, Cheyney University, which remains the largest gift from an Alumnus in the School’s history. In addition, Mr. Patterson donated $50,000 to Simon Gratz High School to establish a Robotics Institute. In 2003, Mr. Patterson established the Veridyne Private Foundation to assist in a variety of community outreach programs.

Sam is married to the former Deidre Lyons. The couple have two daughters and reside in Bryn Mawr, PA.