Fall 2015 Letter from the Executive Director
The Year Ahead
(2015 – 2016 Event Lineup)
The changing technology landscape creates enormous opportunities and challenges for policymakers and entrepreneurs. Across academia, government, and industry, Silicon Flatirons plays a unique role in supporting and analyzing these changes through thought leadership, hands-on engagement, and developing the next generation of talented “T-shaped” professionals, that is, those who are trained across multiple disciplines.
For the year ahead and beyond, I am excited by what Silicon Flatirons has on the agenda. On the innovation front, we will examine the topic broadly at our November 6th conference and take deep dives into energy and health care at later events. On our technology policy track, we will examine broadband policy, spectrum policy, the industry structure of the digital broadband ecosystem, and copyright policy. We will also continue to propel entrepreneurship on campus and in the community through the New Venture Challenge, a new Global Entrepreneurs in Residence program, Startup Colorado, and the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network all being supported by Silicon Flatirons’ Entrepreneurship Initiative.
To support our growth, Silicon Flatirons has added to our talented team. Working with Anna Noschese, who is now our Managing Director, we recently added Kelly Brown as our new Marketing Director (to spearhead our marketing and outreach efforts) and Sara Schnittgrund as our new Director of Student and Alumni Programs (to manage our summer internship programs, student initiatives, and alumni engagement). We also have two new Fellows joining the team, Brad Revare, who is the new Executive Director for Startup Colorado, and Andy Marchant, who is the new Executive Director of the New Venture Challenge and who will oversee the Global Entrepreneurs in Residence program.
For me personally, this will be an important year, as I will return to the faculty after my term as Dean ends in June 2016; after that transition, I will continue to lead Silicon Flatirons, spearhead our campus entrepreneurship initiative, and devote more time to teaching and scholarship (the details on my transition are here).
As you review our plans for the year ahead, please feel free to suggest ways that we can elevate our mission to provide policy leadership, prepare students, and catalyze entrepreneurship. We welcome your thoughts, engagement, questions, and concerns over the year ahead and beyond.
Cheers,
Phil Weiser
Executive Director
Silicon Flatirons Center