We’re collaborators. We’re integrative thinkers. We’re experimentalists. We’re generalists. We’re experts. We’re facilitators. We’re communicators. We’re dreamers. And we’re doers.
We want to help companies who are working to solve the world’s problems. There are so many challenges facing us today – creating a sustainable environment, developing alternative energy, providing affordable healthcare, educating our children, ensuring a livable wage. On a macro or micro level, in our neighborhoods, regions, states, countries, or world, we all need to apply our unique skills to come up with viable solutions. It’s what gets us up in the morning.
Howdy, Partner!
Andrea Wittchen, Partner
For thirty years, Andrea Wittchen has successfully pursued two parallel career paths—as an entrepreneur and business executive and as a professional musician. By applying her creative/artistic skills and her rational/analytic skills in a complementary manner, she has brought innovation to all of her endeavors.
Andrea likes to grow things. Not just the usual stuff—flowers, vegetables, children—but more exotic stuff like companies. In fact, iSpring is the fourth company that Andrea has been instrumental in growing. The other three companies—a real estate management firm, a consulting/software design firm, and an engineering consulting firm—are all still operating successfully. Her responsibilities in each situation included infrastructure design and implementation, strategic planning, financial controls, administrative design and management, human resources, and marketing. She has handled the varying challenges posed by start-up operations and rapid growth companies as well as established organizations.
In recognition of her accomplishments and many contributions to Pennsylvania’s business community, she was honored in 2007 as one of the state’s Best 50 Women in Business.
Andrea’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Music degree from Jacksonville University with high honors, a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester and an M.B.A. from Lehigh University. She is well-known throughout eastern Pennsylvania as a professional harpist and she has taught at Lehigh University in both the music and business departments. She holds a certificate in strategic management from the American Management Institute and is a member of the Institute of Management Accountants.
Samantha Wittchen, Partner
After years of searching for the perfect combination of analytical and creative work, Samantha Wittchen has found her niche in sustainability. A talented designer, engineer and creative thinker, Samantha uses a design methodology to tackle big, multi-disciplinary problems and find solutions that improve our lives and the world around us. She has served clients in the manufacturing, financial services, real estate and non-profit arts, education and human services sectors in guiding them through process, service, and information design projects from concept to completion.
Her professional path through process improvement, engineering consulting, financial services and education informs her design-based approach to problem-solving and allows her to bring a breadth of experience and depth of technical knowledge in several different fields to her work. As an engineering consultant, she has worked on a number of manufacturing projects that range from designing new processes to choosing appropriate vendors and equipment for implementation to educating employees on new procedures. Her ability to synthesize and interpret disparate types of data makes her a strong addition to any business team.
Samantha holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia. Committed to sustainability in all its forms, she manages the website for RecycleNOW Philadelphia, a civic campaign to improve recycling throughout the city. She also writes a column on recycling challenges in the City of Philadelphia for GRID Magazine, a monthly publication focused on sustainability in the region. Equally dedicated to improving the cultural and civic landscape of Philadelphia, Samantha serves on the board of directors for Flashpoint Theatre Company and Making A Progressive Philadelphia. She is also currently the Professonial Associate for harp at the University of Pennsylvania.