meet the team

Jim Hart

AIA Chairman

Jim Hart is based in Knoxville, TN, and serves as the Chief Operating Officer and Chairman of the Appalachian Investors Alliance. Jim is also President/CEO of HBS Group, Inc.

Hart previously served as the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of World Marketing Company, providing contracting and supply chain solutions to Fortune 500 consumer food product manufacturers to serve their Department of Defense clients. His experience in business operations, supply chain management, financial modeling and data management systems in a high-growth environment are leveraged in his HBS Group, Inc. management consulting business. His clients include angel groups and venture funds seeking active portfolio management, M&A advisement, and diligence services for private equity transactions.

Hart holds a B.S. in logistics and transportation and Master of Business Administration from University of Tennessee. He has traveled and done business in over 25 countries. He is an early stage investor and mentor to startup companies, and believes entrepreneurship drives the economic diversity that promotes sustainable communities.

Tina Dowd

AIA Treasurer

Tina Dowd is the co-founder of Sundance Vacations, a wholesale travel company based in Wilkes Barre, Pa.  Unlike the steep growth trajectory of venture startups, Tina’s company took years before landing on the Inc. 500/5000 list of Fastest Growing companies for three consecutive years. “Our business path was completely different from the startups I encounter through Startup NEPA. We self-funded the growth of our business, re-investing profits to launch new locations or hire more staff.  We definitely took the slow road.” 

“A wise friend, Attorney Alan Kluger, gave us business and life advice that we have applied to our career.  He raised a question for us to ponder about the value of a super successful business if the price to pay is not spending time with our children and family.  We have applied our strong work ethic to our company but we have never hesitated to take time off for school assemblies, school sports and plenty of vacations as a family.” 

The success of Sundance Vacations is definitely a result of a prolonged, consistent focus on company culture. Her employees regularly use the words “like family” to describe the prevailing feeling at the company. Tina’s vision for maintaining a focus on culture has led to the company being honored with many awards including one of the 50 Most Engaged Workplaces by Achievers, named to the Best Places to Work list in multiple states and over many years, and a Pride of Place Award and Healthy workplace award from the Chamber of Commerce.  

“The advice that I would offer to other entrepreneurs is to embrace change and innovation. At Sundance Vacations we are willing to turn a lot of knobs to find an incremental gain that cuts expenses, increases production or improves the experience for our customers and employees.” 

Mike I. Green

AIA Secretary

Mike Green of Morgantown, WV serves as AIA’s Chairman of the West Virginia Growth Investment Fund and Managing Director of Mountain State Capital SBIC, providing mentorship and funding to entrepreneurs and early stage companies.   He began his career in 1969 as a mathematician, cryptanalyst and software developer at the National Security Agency. In 1979,  Green moved to the private sector and held senior executive positions with a number of successful technology companies.

Green served on the West Virginia state Board of Education beginning in 2009, and served as the Board President from 2015 to 2017.  He is a director in several organizations, including the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation and the Appalachian Investors Alliance.  Michael Green holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Boston University and a master’s degree in numerical science from Johns Hopkins University.

Gene Bressler

AIA Director

Gene Bressler is the current Chair of the Upper Cumberland Investment Alliance, an AIA-network fund located in Cookeville, TN. Gene has over 35 years of diverse experience in several business with 25 years of executive management and leadership for various automation & technical organizations, Gene has provided a focus on strategic planning, organization structure, sales leadership and follow up. Growth has been led through organic customer acquisition as well as growth through acquisition. Private Equity funding has also played a role in his experience with over four transitions in his career. Improving bottom line performance by crafting creative solutions to business problems in economic and cross-cultural environment has been a mainstay.

Gene holds a Bachelor of Science from Illinois State University, and lives in Cookeville, TN with his wife Cathy.

Louis Berman

AIA Director

Louis Berman was born in Louisville, KY and earned a Bachelor Degree in Mass Communications and Business Administration from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY.

He has spent his entire professional career in sales. For the past 44 years, Mr. Berman worked in the Retail Insurance Industry, most recently at Assured Partner as the Senior Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions. Assured Partners purchased his former Agency Neace-Lukens in 2011. Assured Partners grew to $3.5B in revenue and over 12,000 employees and is being acquired by AJ Gallagher.

Mr. Berman has been active at both WKU and EKU over the past 40 years and recently established the Berman Center for Professional Sales at EKU. Louis and his wife Maribeth currently have resides in KY and Naples Florida.

Eric Fischer

President & CEO

Eric began his career as a Material Scientist with a multi-national electrical connector and cable manufacturer, responsible for failure analysis on finished product and quality control of raw materials.  He then transitioned to sales within the company, calling on customers in the networking and telecommunications sectors in Silicon Valley.  Eric has a wide array of experiences including financial analysis, lending, insurance, employee benefits, failure analysis, engineering, and sales. Mr. Fischer holds Series 7/66 licenses, as well as producer licenses for life and health insurance.  He graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Metals Science and Engineering and from Saint Mary’s College of California with a master’s degree in Business Administration.

Jim Hart

Chief Operating Officer

Hart previously served as the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of World Marketing Company, providing contracting and supply chain solutions to Fortune 500 consumer food product manufacturers to serve their Department of Defense clients. His experience in business operations, supply chain management, financial modeling and data management systems in a high-growth environment are leveraged in his HBS Group, Inc. management consulting business. His clients include angel groups and venture funds seeking active portfolio management, M&A advisement, and diligence services for private equity transactions.

Hart holds a B.S. in logistics and transportation and Master of Business Administration from University of Tennessee. He has traveled and done business in over 25 countries. He is an early stage investor and mentor to startup companies, and believes entrepreneurship drives the economic diversity that promotes sustainable communities.

Steve Mercil

Fund Management and Formation 

Steve Mercil is widely recognized as “the most prolific angel group founder in the nation.” He oversees creating new angel funds for the Appalachian Investors Alliance network of micro-venture funds. He’s founder and CEO of RAIN Source Management, LLC, and since 1998 has created over 35 seed- and early-stage investing funds capitalized between $1 and $3 million, across 14 states, involving over 600 accredited investor members. Collectively, these funds have invested in excess of $40 million in over 100 companies, creating over 4,500 jobs and prompting $750 million in follow-on investment by other funds.

Mercil is also a principal in the $15 million InvestAmerica NW venture group, and General Partner in Invest Northwest fund focused on middle-market and later-stage companies. Earlier in his career, Mercil was an equity fund manager for the not-for-profit Minnesota Technology, Inc. He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds, and as a director and Treasurer in the Angel Capital Association. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in statistics and measurements from the University of North Dakota.

Jeremy Turner

Fund Manager and Director of Education & Outreach 

Beyond his work with AIA and EPIC, Jeremy has served as a Business Coach, Curriculum Advisor, and Faculty member for the West Virginia Governor’s School of Entrepreneurship since the school’s inception in 2016. In addition, Jeremy has served as an Executive-in-Residence and an entrepreneurship instructor within the Lewis College of Business at Marshall University, and as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Marietta College. He has also operated as Co-Founder at Huntington, WV’s first coworking space, CoWorks, and has assisted Marshall University in the launch and annual refresh of the West Virginia Innovation and Business Model Competition (WVIBMC). Jeremy serves on the Board of Advisors for the Marshall University Lewis College of Business Division of Marketing, MIS and Entrepreneurship, the Marshall University Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation (iCenter), and the Board of Advisors for the Entrepreneurship Program at Marietta College.

Jessica Bledsoe

Investor Coordinator

Jessica Bledsoe is the Investor Coordinator for AIA. Jessica is a dynamic leader dedicated to empowering communities and driving economic growth. An accomplished entrepreneur, Jessica has played a key role in two successful tech ventures, RCN Technologies and Pav*r, the latter being honored as a Kentucky Startup to Watch. Beyond tech, she’s co-founded a direct-to-consumer wine brand, a wholesale spirits distributor, and a popular food truck.

Jessica’s passion lies in supporting Kentucky’s entrepreneurs and businesses, helping them reach their full potential and achieve success.

Originally from southeastern Kentucky, Jessica earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communication from the University of Louisville. After nearly two decades in Louisville, she returned to her hometown of London, KY, bringing a wealth of experience and a strong desire to make a positive impact. 

Outside of work, Jessica enjoys hiking and traveling with her husband, Adam, and their golden retriever, Boone, and unwinding with a good book on her front porch.

Erik Bergvin

Business Analyst 

Erik Bergvin is based in Crossville, TN, and serves as Business Analyst for the Appalachian Investors Alliance. 

Recently named one of the Most Influential COOs in The Healthcare Industry to Follow by Insightscare Magazine, Bergvin has helped lead a thriving medical practice. His work in healthcare has led to expansions and year-over-year growth. His expertise in working with business incubators, early-stage venture capital firms, healthcare acquisitions and operations, and aviation marketing has been a welcome addition to AIA. He continues to work in the Upper Cumberland mentoring small businesses and believes in the importance entrepreneurs have in growing local communities.

Bergvin holds a B.A. in Political Science from The University of Tennessee and a Master of Business Administration from the Edinburgh Business School.

Deanna Maestas

Fund Manager and Corporate Strategy 

Deanna serves as a Fund Manager and Corporate Strategy, where she supports fund members in achieving their investment objectives and contributes to the organization’s strategic planning initiatives.

Prior to joining AIA, Deanna led commercial strategy for Fortune 50 companies in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) and medical device sectors. She spent the majority of her career at Johnson & Johnson, where she held key leadership roles including Head of Commercial Strategy for the MedTech division and Head of Global Customer Strategy for the Consumer business.

Deanna brings deep expertise in commercial strategy, strategic partnerships, and growth execution. Her ability to identify opportunities, assess risks, and shape mitigation plans adds valuable insight to investment evaluations and portfolio support.

She currently serves in a board member and board observer capacity for several early-stage companies and advises emerging CPG and Healthcare companies. Deanna holds a BA from the University of New Mexico, an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and a Certificate in Entrepreneurship from Cornell University.