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As Business Development Director, Deedee leads marketing and sales efforts for Jaia. She works to identify use cases within marine, education, and defense markets, and to grow a sales team to turn prospects into delighted customers. Previously, Deedee worked to build The University of Rhode Island’s innovation ecosystem through entrepreneurial and research programs such as URI Launch Lab, URI Research Foundation commercialization efforts, Rhode Island’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Polaris MEP), and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Prior to URI, Deedee spent 20 years focused on marketing strategy, operations, sales, and business development while growing startups in the software, energy, and data analytics industries. She is an alumna of Northeastern University's MBA program and earned biochemistry and psychology degrees from the University of New Hampshire. A true Rhode Island native, Deedee was born in East Providence to a dad who had just returned from years at sea and became the business force behind the Northeast Marine Pilots Association. Growing up on rivers, bays, and as sailing crew, she developed a passion for the ocean and the delicate balance required to keep the environment healthy. She has volunteered as a water quality citizen scientist for 18 years (which has also served as a convenient reason to get out in her kayak early mornings to collect water samples),and is thrilled to get to bring affordable water data to the world using JaiaBots.