INSTRUCTOR: Deb Frey

Mayor of the DaVinci Vault

Named Vice President of the popular counter-culture think tank, DaVinci Institute in 2003, Montana native Deb Frey has transitioned from Director of Social Media to Mayor of The Vault, the Institute’s new coworking facility headquartered in Louisville, Colorado.

Coworking is the popular new trend in social workplaces designed for people who work from home, independent corporate staffers, telecommuting professionals, freelancers, consultants, coaches, and  entrepreneurs.

The Vault is a facility that caters to both the working and social needs of this kind of community.

“I’m well versed in the types of relationships that can be built through social media, and it’s hard to replace the face-to-face interactions that happen inside a coworking space,” says Deb.

Deb is a “shirt sleeves” administrator at the Institute, referring to herself on occasion as the “chief, cook and bottle washer.”

In addition to being Mayor of The Vault, her responsibilities include: Member Relations, Marketing, Online Networking, Event Planning and Project Scheduling.

Deb richly enjoys working with the Institute’s many members and meeting the diverse professionals who attend speaker’s events that have featured talks by such science luminaries as Robert Zubrin (author of Energy Victory); journalists including the Denver Business Journal’s editor Neil Westergaard; and pioneering entrepreneurs Dave Lester of Treeless Systems LLC and Scott Tibbits, CEO of Starsys Research Corp, as well as many others. “Their enthusiasm for what they do is contagious,” Deb said.

When she can steal time away from other duties, Deb also serves as a contributing editor to the Impact Lab, the DaVinci Institute blog billed as “a laboratory of the future human experience.” Through her work, Deb is evolving as an expert in the latest trends in research, news reviews, topical studies, and all the “crazy stuff” ignored by mainstream media.

INSTRUCTOR: Michael Sitarzewski

Founder and CEO of HyperSites.com

Michael Sitarzewski is a veteran entrepreneur with a specific focus on web based software and services. His internet startup career began in 1994 by co-founding an internet apartment search product, and continues today with companies in the web based website development and podcast streaming spaces. He understands the intricacies of the technology industry and considers helping people understand and leverage that technology his life's work. Michael is currently President of HyperSites (winner of the 2006 Colorado Inventor Showcase Software Company of the Year Award), and CEO of Callisto.fm. He also hosts several podcasts on technology and social media. You can find Michael at http://msitarzewski.com.

INSTRUCTOR: Rob McNealy

Coaching entrepreneur on his Startup Story Radio podcast and blog

Rob McNealy is one of Colorado's best known Twitter Celebrities. He is also a small business, entrepreneurship, and startup junkie. His passion is using social media to evangelize about small businesses, and coaching entrepreneur on his Startup Story Radio podcast and blog.

Rob earned a BS in Geography and Marketing from Central Michigan University, as well as an MBA from Colorado State University. He believes that education is important, but not essential to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

A native of Metro-Detroit, Rob has a diverse background with more than two decades of proven experience in marketing, management, and sales. And besides spending many years in the corporate world working for companies such as Ford Motor Company, Pilatus Business Aircraft, and Yazaki North America, he has started and run more than five small businesses.

His most recent small business accomplishments include starting a flooring company in the Metro-Denver area called Natural Wood Floors, LLC. To complement that company, Rob is also the host of the Ask A Floor Guy blog and podcast where he helps people solve their flooring problems, as well as interviewing leading experts in the flooring industry.

In addition to running Natural Wood Floors, along his wife Kristie McNealy, MD, Rob also co-founded Contrived Media, Ltd., a social media marketing company, which specializes in medical and pharmaceutical marketing.

Rob and Kristie are both ambitious entrepreneurs and enjoy the flexibility of working for themselves so they can spend more time raising their three children and enjoying life.