Pitch Practice Event: Sharpen Your Skills and Get Expert Feedback!

Dr. Eva Garland is the founder and CEO of Eva Garland Consulting (EGC), a firm specializing in raising non-dilutive capital and providing accounting & advisory services for high growth companies. Since its founding in 2013, EGC has assisted over 3,000 clients in securing more than $2 billion in grants and contracts from federal agencies and private foundations including the NIH, NSF, ARPA-H, and DOD.​Under Dr. Garland’s leadership, EGC has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S., making the Inc. 5000 list for six consecutive years. Dr. Garland previously held positions as a faculty member in the Chemistry Department at North Carolina State University and as Vice President of Research & Development at Agile Sciences. She has served as an expert reviewer for the National Institutes of Health and the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and has authored several best-selling books on the SBIR/STTR grant programs.

JC Ruffalo is a Venture Partner at Cove Fund, a seed-stage venture capital fund focused on investing in high-potential startups across Southern California. At Cove, JC leads sourcing, diligence, and investment strategy for early-stage opportunities, with a particular focus on emerging tech, MedTech, and enterprise SaaS.He brings deep experience in venture finance, startup acceleration, and ecosystem building. Prior to joining Cove Fund, JC served as Director of LaunchPad and Investor Relations at Octane, where he advised hundreds of startups and helped them collectively raise over $2 billion in capital and achieve more than $2.6 billion in exits.In addition to his work as an investor, JC also brings firsthand experience as a startup founder, giving him a unique perspective on the entrepreneurial journey from both sides of the table. He is passionate about connecting founders with the capital, mentorship, and resources they need to scale successfully.

Dr. Rinehart is an anesthesiologist and CEO of Perceptive Medical inc., his third company as a founder. Formerly the Vice-Chair of Research in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care at UCI, he is a researcher in medical automation and machine learning with authorship on more than 100 peer-reviewed publications. He has additional served as a board member on several early stage med tech startups and participates as a member of the investment committee of the Cove Fund, a Southern California based seed-stage fund.

Damoder Reddy is investing in early-stage startups commercializing chemical and materials innovations. Currently serving as Board Chair at Chemical Angels. Involved in due diligence of life science companies as an LP at Cove Fund 3. Investing in early stage Cleantech, Hardtech and Medtech startups and seed stage start-ups commercializing chemical and materials innovations.