Our Team

Xin Liu Johnson

Serial entrepreneur Xin Liu Johnson founded Boston Tech Initiative with the aspirations to inspire young innovators to connect with the world around them in a meaningful way using the powerful tools of technology.

With a passion for bringing people together, in conjunction with her investing experience, Xin has successfully helped start over 30 companies. Within the investment industry, Xin is the founder and current President of InTeahouse, a global network of investors, government officials, and other stakeholders in China, US, Germany, Israel, and beyond. InTeahouse has hosted more than 500 companies at industry-specific Summits focused on AI, life sciences, fintech, and other innovation topics across the world.


Xin currently resides in Belmont, MA. Xin attended the University of Science and Technology in Beijing, China where she received a degree in engineering followed by a dual E.M.B.A. degree in Engineering from the University of Science and Technology Beijing, China, and the University of Texas at Arlington. Xin loves spending time with her four children, traveling, and trying new foods. She also enjoys running, sports and is a big fan of the Boston Red Sox. 

Hyuk-Jeen Suh

Hyuk-Jeen Suh is the General Partner of SkyRiver Ventures, a deep tech-focused cross-border venture capital fund investing in frontier technology companies in North America and Asia. He brings over 25 years of experience in the consumer electronics, biotech, finance, and semiconductor industries. 

Prior to SkyRiver Ventures, Hyuk-Jeen created and was the head of Samsung Ventures America’s east coast office, leading investments across many industries. Before joining Samsung Ventures, Hyuk-Jeen worked at J.P. Morgan investment banking in the Technology, Media, and Telecom group. Prior to J.P. Morgan, he was the global senior business development and marketing manager at MEMSIC, a semiconductor startup with clients in the automobile and consumer electronics industry.  He led the global marketing strategy which contributed to the successful IPO of MEMSIC. Prior to joining MEMSIC, Hyuk-Jeen was a senior research engineer at Sequenom, a biotech startup. He conducted research on DNA biochips and high-throughput bio instruments. He began his career at Intel Corporation as a process engineer, leading yield improvement projects for the Pentium microprocessor. 

Hyuk-Jeen advises startup companies and is a mentor at various startup accelerators in the U.S., Canada, and Asia. He is a guest speaker at universities including Harvard University, Yale University, and MIT. He serves as investor advisor to Yale University’s Office of Cooperative Research, startup mentor for the Blackstone Launchpad at Cornell University, and venture mentor at Northeastern University.

Hyuk-Jeen earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He earned his MBA from Yale School of Management. He holds a BS in mechanical engineering, BA in economics, and ME in electrical engineering, all from Cornell University.

Deborah Rose

Deb brings more than 30 years of leadership and management to InTeahouse and Boston Tech Initiative (BTI). She serves both as our Director of Operations and Communications and as the FIRST® Tech Challenge Delivery Partner.

Prior to joining InTeahouse and BTI, Deb served as the Director of Operations Support for FIRST®, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.  In her role Deb was responsible for overseeing the internal and external customer functions, setting strategic goals for her department, providing key Voice of Customer insights to leadership, and providing project management support to the FIRST family of programs, (FIRST® Robotics Competition, FIRST®Tech Challenge, FIRST®Lego® League). Deb and her team supported FIRST events and customers worldwide, which by 2019 grew to over 600K youth, 70K teams, and 3,700 events. Through her 19-year tenure at FIRST Deb has gained deep and broad knowledge of FIRST, its programs and participants, the mission and vision, and brings this to her current role as FIRST Tech Challenge Partner.  Deb is passionate about engaging youth in robotics and STEM-related activities, promoting collaborative, diverse and inclusive environments, and working closely with coaches, mentors, schools and youth-serving organizations to grow participation and serve their needs.

Deb hails from Wellesley, MA, and is a graduate of Wellesley High School. She attended Wheaton College in Norton, MA, where she received her B.A. in Physics.  Her hobbies include martial arts, playing the piano, surfing, and ‘All Things Blockchain Technology.’  Deb speaks conversational French and is learning Korean.

Matthew Segil

Matt brings over five years of experience as a math and science educator to Boston Tech Initiative (BTI). He serves as BTI’s Workshop Director and is responsible for developing and delivering curriculum for the BTI Builders program.

Matt earned his Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from the University of Vermont and a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Boston University. He holds teaching licenses in both middle school Mathematics and General Science

In addition to his work as an educator, Matt is a certified volunteer mediator with the MA Judicial Courts. He also founded and runs programming for a Boston-based interfaith group called The Bread Breakers. Matt has been nationally recognized for his interfaith leadership and has been invited to speak with both Interfaith America and the U.S. Department of Education.

Boston Tech Initiative

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Statement: Boston Tech Initiative believes all young people should have the opportunity to become science and technology leaders, and is committed to fostering, cultivating and sustaining a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
(857) 303-6635
info@bostontechinitiative.org