Florida Atlantic’s Tech Runway announced Thursday that Donald Kiselewski will take over as the chairman for its advisory board.

The private-public partnership operates under the FAU Division of Research and provides tech-related startups with mentoring and financial backing.

Kiselewski is the senior director of external affairs for Florida Power and Light, a position he has held since May 2005. Before FPL, he worked as a congressional chief of staff and an employee of the U.S. House of Representatives for 14 years, according to a release on the hire.

He received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Emory University and later received an MBA from FAU.

“We are thrilled that Don Kiselewski has agreed to serve as chairman of the FAU Tech Runway advisory board,” Rhys Williams, the managing director of FAU Tech Runway said in the release. “He is widely recognized as an accomplished civic leader with an impressive track record of driving institutions to new and greater heights.”

Currently, the program is set to receive $750,000 in state funding from the governor’s office.

According to the organization’s second annual economic report, Tech Runway has provided aid to 29 start-up companies since its launch. In the past two years, it’s  allowed for the creation of 205 jobs and 76 internships, as well as $8 million in revenue and $19 million in investment capital.

Ryan Lynch is the editor in chief of the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @RyanLynchwriter.