Leadership Team

Ezunial (Eze) Burts III

Director of Duality

In this role, he serves as the director for Duality — overseeing all aspects of program operations, providing a full spectrum suite of services and critical venture support resources to position quantum startup companies for success. He leads Duality’s financial strategy, performance, donor stewardship, and long-range business planning. He is also responsible for cultivating strategic relationships with key partners, mentors, venture capitalists, corporations, and other stakeholders.

Preeti Chalsani, PhD

Deputy Director of Duality

In this role, she helps set the accelerator’s strategic vision while providing the technology context to the accelerator and build relationships with corporate partners, mentors, quantum startups, partners, and stakeholders. She also serves as the director of industry partnerships for quantum information science in a joint position with the Polsky Center and the Chicago Quantum Exchange.

Lisa Hearon

Associate Director

Lisa helps support all aspects of the Duality program.

Abigail Prescott

Director, Marketing and Communications

In this role, she creates and implements strategies to foster external awareness of the Duality program, startups, and mission. She also leads all marketing and communications strategies at the Polsky Center.

Devin Wideman

Senior Associate Director, Marketing and Communications

In this role, he creates and implements digital marketing and communications for Duality program and startups among a wide variety of audiences. He also leads all digital marketing and communications at the Polsky Center.

Melissa Fassbender

Senior Associate Director, External Relations and Science Communications

In this role, she develops strategic communications for Duality and supports all external brand-building opportunities and events that connect Duality startups with the business, corporate, investor, government, and academic communities. She also leads science communications for the Polsky Center.

Darwin Minnis

Associate Director, Media Relations and External Communications

In this role, he leads all media relations for Duality and develops successful external communication strategies to generate local, national, and global coverage of Duality and its startups.