We kick off season 4 of the InnovateCT podcast with an absolutely unique experience. When was the last time you visited somewhere and saw something that was nothing like you had ever seen before? That is the feeling you will have when you visit the American Mural Project in Winsted, Connecticut. This 5 story, 120 foot long mural is dedicated to the…

Season 3, episode 5 of the InnovateCT Podcast features Nick Villagra and Andrew Fotta from the Connecticut Science Center. These two STEM educators share information with us about some of the resources they offer at the Connecticut Science Center including their brand new podcast and other virtual resources for both educators and students. Podcast …

Season 3, Episode 4 of the InnovateCT Podcast features Jennifer Murphy from the University of Connecticut's Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. As the director of this organization, Jennifer shares the mission of CCEI and discusses some of the fantastic programs available to students at UConn. We also discuss how CCEI is support…

Season 3, Episode 3 of the InnovateCT Podcast features David Noble, Director of The Werth Institute at the University of Connecticut. We discuss David's background, his role at UConn and the purpose of The Werth Institute. We also discuss why entrepreneurship and innovation is so critical to the University of Connecticut and the state of Connecticu…

Season 3, episode 2 of the InnovateCT podcast is a webinar I hosted with 2 amazing educators discussing how helping students understand their interests impacts their future careers. Our hope is this discussion provides you with some ideas during the COVID-19 situation and the difficult situation we all find ourselves in. These experts, Elizabeth Ra…

Season 3, episode 1 of the InnovateCT podcast is a webinar I hosted with 4 amazing educators about distance learning best practices. Our hope is this discussion provides you with some ideas for distance learning during the COVID-19 situation and the difficult situation we all find ourselves in. These experts (Melissa Thom, Michaela Durand, Taylor W…

We had the opportunity to speak with Rachel Smith, Technology Integration Instructor at Newtown Middle School during the 2019 CECA CASL conference in Hartford, CT. It was fantastic to hear about Rachel's work in the classroom as well as her work with artificial intelligence outside the classroom. She is part of a group of educators working on devel…

Season 2, Episode 5 was recorded at the CECA CASL 2019 conference in Hartford Connecticut. We had the opportunity to sit down with Melissa Thom, middle school librarian in West Hartford. Melissa shares her career journey to becoming a librarian before we dive into all things libraries and books. You can find more of Melissa's great work on her webs…

We are back with season 2, episode 4 of the InnovateCT podcast. This episode we have the opportunity to speak with Elizabeth Radday, Research Specialist at Skills 21 at EdAdvance. Skills 21 delivers programs that increase academic achievement, lead to improved 21st century skills, impact students interest in STEM, and help students collaborate with…

We took a little break for the summer, but are now back with a fantastic guest. Patrica Gans is the executive director of Random Hacks of Kindness Jr. This organization brings young people hands-on learning experiences where they can apply technology to achieve a social good. Patrice started RHOK Jr. to help promote STEM education and coding with 4…

Episode 2 of our 2nd season of the InnovateCT Podcast features Paul Holzer. Paul is the Executive Director at Achieve Hartford. Their mission is to close the opportunity and achievement gap in Hartford and build a viable talent pipeline for our region and state. We learn about Paul, the organization and how you can get involved. Check out the link …

Welcome to Season 2 of the InnovateCT Podcast. Episode 1 of season 2 kicks off with our guest host Rana Arshed Hafiz. She interviews the Director of Holberton School New Haven, Nadine Krause. They discuss the innovative new Holberton School in New Haven, CT and how to address the tech talent shortage in Connecticut. To learn more about Holberton Sc…

Episode 22 of the InnovateCT Podcast features Mark Mathias, Founder and President at Remarkable STEAM. Mark is also the creator of the Westport Maker Faire. He discusses education in Connecticut, the future of learning and the Westport Maker Faire with our guest host Rana Arshed Hafiz. To learn more about the Westport Maker Faire, follow the link b…

Episode 21 of the InnovateCT Podcast features Kate Haydon, Director of Academy Development at NAF. NAF is a national network of education, business, and community leaders who work together to ensure high school students are college, career, and future ready. Kate is responsible for helping schools become NAF academies across the United States. In t…

Episode 20 of the InnovateCT Podcast features Jackie Heftman, Board of Ed Member for Stamford Public Schools . The interview is conducted by our guest host, Rana Arshed Hafiz, educator and community worker in Connecticut for over 20 years. We learn about the Stamford school system as well as the challenges our state faces around inequality and educ…

Episode 19 of the InnovateCT Podcast features Dr. Colleen Palmer, Superintendent of Westport Public Schools. Dr. Palmer was also named Superintendent of the Year in 2016 by CAPSS - Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents. The interview is conducted by our guest host, Rana Arshed Hafiz, educator and community worker in Connecticut f…

Episode 18 of the InnovateCT Podcast features Jaquelynn Garofano. Jackie is a PHD scientist, program manager of a very prestigious leadership development program and STEM enthusiast.We hear about Jackie's career story from high school to her current position. We learn about her passion for STEM and giving back to people in the STEM field.Jackie sha…

Episode 17 of the InnovateCT Podcast features Regan Allan, Programs Coordinator at the Stamford Public Education Foundation. The interview is conducted by our guest host, Rana Arshed Hafiz, educator and community worker in Connecticut for over 20 years. They discuss a wide variety of topics affecting the state of education here in Connecticut.…

Episode 16 of the InnovateCT podcast features Nicholas Julian Caplan. Nicholas is involved in many different initiatives related to education and innovation in Connecticut and we thrilled he made the time discuss all 4. Check out the websites below for his different projects.https://www.launchisland.com/ - Launch Island - Entrepreneurship For Amazi…

Episode 15 of the InnovateCT Podcast features Riley Fitzpatrick who is a high school student here in Connecticut. Riley shares his experience with the Skills 21 program https://www.skills21.org/about and how it led him to start his own business called Humansite https://twitter.com/Humansight_

InnovateCT speaks with Jonathan Moore and Ryan O'Conner about OPIM Innovate at UConn and the power of academic/industry partnerships. Learn more by following the link below. https://innovate.business.uconn.edu/

InnovateCT speaks with Tony Vengrove, founder of Miles Fitch Innovation and Makery Coworking. We discuss his career, passion for innovation and how he is helping Connecticut. Learn more about Makery Coworking by following the link below!http://www.makerycoworking.com

Patrick Whalen from the Nutmeg Institute sits down with InnovateCT to discuss storytelling, film making and creators in Connecticut.He shares how he and his two partners created Nutmeg Institute and how they inspire the creators of tomorrow with the storytellers of today.Follow the link below to their website if you would like to hear about future …

In episode 11 of the InnovateCT Podcast we shift our focus to the Makerspace movement and speak with Devra Sisitsky of MakerspaceCT.Devra is the driving force and founder of this new makerspace in downtown Hartford scheduled to open this winter!Learn more by listening and following the link below.https://makerspacect.com/…

To celebrate 10 episodes of the InnovateCT Podcast we sat down with David Salinas. David is the visionary behind The District in New Haven and recently announced the Holberton School will be setting up their 2nd school in his facility! In this in depth interview, we hear about David's past, why he launched The District and how the Holberton School …

We are back with Episode 9 of the InnovateCT Podcast! Excited to share our interview with Caroline Smith and Margaret Lee, co-directors of Collab, an accelerator in New Haven, CT. These two Yale graduates are doing big things for Connecticut and helping grow our innovation ecosystem. Enjoy the interview!If you would like to learn more about Collab,…

Episode 8 of the InnovateCT Podcast features Aasta Frascati-Robinson, passionate creative & exploratory technologist. We explore her background and what drove her to be a technologist. She also provides some fascinating insight into the code-a-thon/hack-a-thon world and provides us with an overview of her latest event she hosted at Upward Hartford.…

In Episode 7 of the InnovateCT Podcast, John Murphy, professor at the University of Connecticut shares with us the history of the Digital Media and Design program. We also discuss the innovative activities this program is doing to prepare their students for life after college.http://dmd.uconn.edu/

In Episode 6, Derrick Draughn, owner of DCI Resources discusses his company and how he is training the next generation of tech talent in Connecticut. www.dciresourcesllc.com

In Episode 5, we have the pleasure hearing from Dr. Jessica Fitzgerald, Assistant Principal at Pathways Academy of Technology & Design. We discuss her high school Pathways, magnet schools, NAF academies and more. I also have her dive into some of the innovative initiatives occurring at Pathways.www.pathwaystotechnology.com…

Episode 4 focuses on the UConn Technology Incubation Program (TIP). We get to hear from Nicole Baccaro, program manager of TIP and learn how UConn is helping promote innovation in Connecticut.Follow the link below to view the TIP website.https://tip.uconn.edu/

In this episode we sit down with Ellen Festi from South Windsor High School. We discuss the South Windsor High School Industry Advisory Board that was created to focus on experiential learning with a goal to educate and expose students to a variety of careers, jobs and industries by partnering with faculty, alumni, parents, community leaders and bu…

We had the opportunity to speak with Jason Prignoli who recently participated as a judge at the Connecticut Invention Convention.

For our inaugural InnovateCT podcast, our guest is Bryan Wright. We discuss innovation in schools, changes in technology and the different ways students are now learning.

Welcome to the InnovateCT Podcast