About Us

Cara joined the Venture College as the Marketing and Communications Manager in 2020. Since then she has taken on the role of Director, and is passionate about supporting entrepreneurs throughout their startup journeys. Cara’s prior experience includes: supporting an early stage startup, coordinating a large capital campaign, working for a large tech firm, and coaching.

Cara graduated from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and International Affairs, and a Business minor. After graduating, she worked in the corporate world in Seattle, but was excited to move back to her hometown here in Boise.

Ask Me About: Opportunities to collaborate, serving as a judge or mentor, sponsoring an event, and more!

Having worked in private creative agencies and public institutions, Holly brings extensive marketing, communications, and project management experience to Venture College. Her dedication to working with rising entrepreneurs is fueled by a collaborative spirit and passion for design thinking.

Holly holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of New Hampshire, with minors in Architectural History and Studio Art. Creative activities include watercolor and encaustic painting, and textile sculpture.

Ask Me About: The Venture College Incubator, pitch competitions, entrepreneur resources, and more!

Studying Illustration with a minor in Visual Design, Jeana is excited to apply their skills with Venture College. Jeana has been part of the College of Innovation and Design team since March 2024 as the Lead Event Assistant for The SPACE.

Jeana is currently a 5th year at Boise State and is graduating at the end of the 2025 spring semester. Originally from Reno, Nevada, Jeana is also passionate about marching band as a color guard member and coach, and also enjoys sewing, embroidery, and painting.

Kent Neupert is the Faculty Lead of the newly launched Resort and Hospitality Management program, an online created in response to requests from Idaho’s resort and hospitality industry for training for future managers and workforce in this vital industry.  Dr. Neupert is also the Research Lead for the NSF I-Corps Desert-Pacific Region Hub team at Boise State University, which provides commercialization training taking innovations to the market.  Kent’s primary research questions are in the areas of entrepreneurship, business strategy and location. His research has been published in top international journals and he has co-authored several best-selling cases and books. A Boise State faculty member for 23 years, Kent teaches in areas of business strategy, entrepreneurship, and international management in graduate and undergraduate business programs. He has taught in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, China, Spain and New Zealand and served in administrative roles in domestic and international settings.

Rick teaches New Venture Creation and Managing an Emerging Company to senior-level students and has developed a series of three entrepreneurial courses (Introduction to Startups, Customer Development, and Minimum Viable Products) for the Department of Computer Science. This series is being expanded to include other Engineering Departments.

Rick Ritter founded and manages New Ventures Lab, Inc (NVL). NVL is a hybrid virtual co-working facility located in Meridian, ID that is focused on “Turning Ideas into Businesses”. Prior to founding New Ventures Lab Inc., Rick served as the CEO/President of Idaho TechConnect, Inc. for eight years, Director of Technology Outreach at Boise State’s Technology and Entrepreneurship Center (TECenter) on the BSU West campus for four years. Rick received an ICON Award in 2018 and was named as a CEO of Influence in 2011 by the Idaho Business Review. He has worked extensively across the state with individuals and companies assisting them to discover the economic value of their ideas. Rick has more than 20 years of business incubation/assistance/commercialization experience. He has started and successfully operated five businesses (technology, construction, real estate development, consulting, non-profit). He has experience in federal and state government, university, non-profit and private sector arenas. Mr. Ritter has completed all coursework for an MPA degree from Boise State University and holds a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from the University of Idaho. He resides in Meridian, Idaho with his wife, Terri. He has four grown children, thirteen grandchildren and two great grandchildren (so far).