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Startup opportunities the focus of computer science colloquium

September 26, 2016 - By Kim Delker

The University of New Mexico Department of Computer Science will be holding a colloquium titled “Opportunities for You: In and About the New Mexico Start Up Ecosystem,” featuring both the president and chairman of the New Mexico Angels.

The talk will be 2-3 p.m. Wednesday (Sept. 28) in Centennial Engineering Center, Room 1041. The speakers are John Chavez, president of the New Mexico Angels, and George Boerigter, founder and chairman of SoundOff Signal, a Michigan-based manufacturer of specialized transportation lighting for police, fire, EMS and Department of Transportation clients. Boerigter is also chairman of the New Mexico Angels.

Boerigter and his team have won numerous awards, including World Trader of the Year and SBA Exporter of the year. SoundOff does business in all 50 states, more than 30 countries worldwide. In 2007 they moved to New Mexico for the majority of the year. Boerigter is sponsor of the Anderson School of Business Breakfast Series, a member of the Albuquerque Economic Forum, and is an investor in several New Mexico-based start-ups. He became chairman of the board of the New Mexico Angeles in 2016. He encouraged the foundation the New Mexico Angels Start-Up Factory model. He also has served as a board member of Preferred Produce, the New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation and was the vice chairman of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra board. He continues to serve on the board of Opera Southwest.

 
Chavez has been an angel investor since 2003 and president since 2008. He also is the managing director of Phase One Ventures, a start-up fund out of Santa Fe, and managing director of New Mexico Start-Up Factory I and II. Outside of the Angels, he is president of Tafoya and Brainerd Partners LLC, a nationwide business development consulting firm. Prior to his work in consulting, Chavez was appointed secretary of the Taxation and Revenue Department by New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. During his six-year tenure as tax secretary, he also served as president of the Federation of Taxation Administrators for a year.