ABOUT

Hudson Lab Ventures.

After a history of launching startups and corporate ventures, Cate and Stacey revisited the education system as parents and saw areas for improvement. Why did schools continue to prioritize memorization and testing when it wasn’t preparing students to thrive in the world of work? As entrepreneurs, they set out to provide an education that instilled in children a growth mindset and an appreciation for teamwork, lifelong learning, and one’s own unique set of strengths. They founded Hudson Lab School in 2017 and watched young students creatively tackle real-world problems as they developed incredible collaboration, communication and critical thinking skills.

Meanwhile, Stacey’s venture studio Co-Created developed its proprietary Applied Entrepreneurship curriculum for corporate executives to help companies identify new innovation and business opportunities, launching 110+ new ventures and creating over $10B in enterprise value.

Hudson Lab Ventures was launched to bridge innovation across school and work, giving students the opportunity to learn the innovation process while tackling real company challenges for companies.

Meet the Team

  • Stacey Seltzer

    Stacey Seltzer is a partner at Co-Created, which has launched 110+ new ventures and created $10B+ in enterprise value for global multinational corporations since 2011. Co-Created runs programs for established companies such as LEGO, Newscorp, Verizon, Kaplan and Coca-cola identifying new innovation and business opportunities and creating new adjacent businesses through a proprietary lean incubation process. A startup junkie, Stacey has also worked with numerous startups from Managed by Q to Barkbox, CuteCircuit, Joost and others. Stacey received an MBA from Columbia Business School and a bachelor's degree from Brown University.

  • Philip Petersen

    Philip Petersen

    Philip is an entrepreneur and product developer at heart - over the past 20 years working at various levels of venture and product development - from strategy and business, to creative, marketing and development - and as a cofounder of Prehype he is creating structures that allow corporations to act in innovative ways to build new businesses. Philip also acts as advisor for several entrepreneurs in their endeavors to start their next venture.

  • Cate Han

    Before founding Hudson Lab School, Cate Han helped startups raise over $100M in early stage capital and worked with entrepreneurs to build company value through mentoring, strategic planning, practical problem solving, and fundraising. Cate began her career as a Quantitative Analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. She co-founded Launch Collective and Learning Pods and set up the finances for Managed by Q. Cate is a Chartered Financial Analyst. She earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from Barnard College.

  • Jerome DuVal

    Jerome DuVal

    Jerome leads Boston’s innovative civic-tech nonprofit that develops technology that brings transparency to the affordable housing market and promotes housing equity. Jerome brings a wealth of experience working across the non-profit, government, and private sectors. He has led numerous complex, high impact initiatives that drive economic growth and regional development in New York, Ohio, and Washington, DC. Jerome is acclaimed for his innovative approach to housing development, regional collaboration, and data-driven strategies. In his previous role as Executive Vice President and Executive Director at Empire State Development (ESD), Jerome oversaw New York State’s compliance and management of Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs) in state contracting. HIs leadership resulted in over $6 billion in contracts awarded in only two years to MWBEs, surpassing the Governor’s 30% utilization rate goal for the first-time in the program's 35-year history.

  • Joe Ferraro

    Joe Ferraro

    Joe has spent over a decade in innovation and new product development in a myriad of industries ranging from video games, oil & gas, CPG and banking. Previously, he worked at IDEO as a Team Lead and Business Designer tackling problems such as systemic food waste in grocery stores, developing go-to-market strategies for the world's largest social media platform and future-proofing an auto collision repair firm navigating disruption.  He also designed an internal innovation consultancy within Silicon Valley Bank and developed pet wearables at Nestle Purina. Roughly 1 million years ago, he served in Afghanistan with the US Army's 101st Airborne Division.

  • Owen McFadzen

    Owen McFadzen

    Owen is a startup strategist and innovation facilitator with over 15 years of experience working with founders, accelerators, and corporate venture teams. Originally from Australia and now based in Copenhagen, he helps teams navigate uncertainty, test ideas, and move from concept to execution. He has advised and mentored startups across industries, serving on multiple boards and focusing on practical, hands-on support. His work emphasizes critical thinking, fast iteration, and building with purpose. Beyond startups, Owen is a father of three and a strong advocate for progressive education. He has collaborated with institutions like the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design, Hyper Island, and the Kolding School of Design, bringing his expertise in strategy and problem-solving to students and emerging entrepreneurs.

  • Sukhwa Kweon

    Sukhwa Kweon

    Sukhwa Kweon is a leader of a business consulting company, Artinlabs, specializing in helping tech companies (bio, environmental, and IT) target new markets. She has over 15 years of experience as a marketing and application support manager in global companies like Thermo Fisher Scientific and ABSCIEX. Before that, she spent 10 years in lab management and project lead roles at an analytical research institute. She completed her PhD course in GeoEnvironmental Chemistry and holds a master's and bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Korea University.

  • Brian McDonald

    Recipient of the 2019 STEMX Curriculum Design Award, Brian McDonald combines the worlds of engineering, design thinking, and entrepreneurship in the classroom. At the Design Lab at Scarsdale High School, Brian has collaboratively designed a cohesive, authentic, and experiential STEAM program integrating experiential learning and self-reflection. Brian has a BS in Technology Education from SUNY Oswego and an MS in Humanistic and Multicultural Education. 

  • Kristine Mudd

    Kristine Mudd

    Kristine is a designer who enjoys the discovery, play, analysis and exploration that is part of her daily practice. A designer, entrepreneur and educator, Kristine has worked with teams to build new ventures, products and services for organizations, startups and large companies across healthcare, education, e-commerce and other verticals. Her experience in user research, user experience, service design, prototyping, and visual design help her collaborate with teams to achieve outcomes. She has worked with Co-Created and other innovation teams, to create new ventures. Kristine is passionate about education and sharing design knowledge. She teaches graduate students at SVA Products of Design and SVA Interaction Design as well as NYU Tandon. Previously she has taught at Parsons/New School and Minneapolis College of Art & Design and led workshops for clients.

  • Swetha Tandri

    Swetha Tandri

    Swetha Tandri has always known her calling was in education and entrepreneurship. By age 20, she combined her love of math and music to grow her business, Melodies for Math, to over 70k followers, and have landed tens of thousands of $$ in brand deals, tutoring services, and digital products. Now she is a co-owner and influencer at d’Skills, where she is building an ecosystem of AI-powered students and businesses to make massive impact. She didn't wait to graduate or land a traditional job. She saw an opportunity, took a leap of faith, and created something unique and impactful while at the SAME TIME, majoring in computer science at the University of Texas.

  • Sophia Patznick

    Sophia Patznick

    Sophia is an entrepreneur and AI innovator who specializes in building custom automation solutions for businesses. At just 18, she has already founded her own successful baking business and expanded into AI development, helping teams streamline workflows with intelligent bots. With a passion for problem-solving and efficiency, Sophia merges creativity with technology to build solutions that make a real impact.