Dale Fickett is an Instructor of Entrepreneurship at the Robins School of Business, University of Richmond, a top 20 undergraduate business school. He provides policy guidance to the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, is the lead organizer for Techstars Startup Weekend Richmond, host of the Robins Entrepreneur Series, and a contributing author at Forbes Business Council. He also serves as an Independent Investment Advisor, and CEO & Founder of Open Trellis – a Fintech product to expand access to small business credit. This is an initiative of RVA Works, a Virginia public charity, that Fickett founded and where he serves as President. It provides educational and financial services to people facing social and economic barriers to business ownership. He has lectured and conducted research on entrepreneurial finance, combinations of explainable AI and blockchain technologies, as well as developmental economics. His current work is focused on barriers to entrepreneurship, and the commercialization of small business credit for income mobility. Previously, he served on board appointments at the Virginia Catholic Conference, and for Virginia's Secretary of Commerce & Trade. He has founded multiple ventures, and served as a strategy consultant for Accenture's European Financial Services practice leading global transformation programs in the banking sector. He holds a B.S.B.A. cum laude from LaSalle University, and an M.B.A. magna cum laude from Villanova University. His passion is being a father and his missionary work supporting rural Haiti.