This episode features Bill Poole, Finance Director for the State of Alabama, and Cynthia Crutchfield, CEO of Innovate Alabama. These two Alabama leaders discuss how the State and Innovate Alabama support entrepreneurs, businesses, and commercialization. They share about the history of the Innovation Commission that kicked off new resources for Alabama citizens, what the future looks like for Alabama businesses, and the opportunities for support that lay ahead. 

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In this episode, we sit down with Todd Greer, Executive Director of Innovation Portal, a nonprofit incubator and innovation hub accelerating startup growth in the Gulf Coast Region. We discuss how to support small businesses and what it takes to nurture economic growth and draw similarities between Mobile and the other major cities across Alabama.

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Description:
In this episode, we sit down to talk with Sean Powers, PhD, Angelia and Steven Stokes Endowed Professor in Environmental Resiliency and Director, Stokes School of Marine Sciences, University of South Alabama. Over the course of this episode, we talk about his journey to Alabama and how Gulf Coast research and global fishery research inform conservation decisions and help our water systems thrive.

Dig into more information:

Dr. Sean Powers
https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/artsandsci/marinesciences/drseanpowers.html

University of South Alabama
https://www.southalabama.edu/

Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences
https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/artsandsci/marinesciences/

Coastal Fisheries Research
https://www.disl.edu/who-we-are/spowers/

Dauphin Island Sea Lab
https://www.disl.edu/

President Bonner, University of South Alabama
https://www.southalabama.edu/departments/presidentsoffice/

HudsonAlpha Educational Outreach (Neil Lamb, PhD & Kelly Easy, PhD)
https://www.hudsonalpha.org/education/

Mobile Tensaw Delta
https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/mobile-tensaw-delta/

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In this episode, we sit down to talk with Jo Bonner, President of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. We discuss President Bonner’s unique background and his goal to leverage South Alabama’s unique environment to attract talent, carve out a unique space in the academic landscape, and make a profound impact on the state and beyond.

Dig into more information:

Jo Bonner

https://www.southalabama.edu/departments/presidentsoffice/biography.html

University of South Alabama (USA)

https://www.southalabama.edu/

University of South Alabama School of Nursing

https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/con/dnp/

City of Mobile

https://www.cityofmobile.org/

Port of Mobile | Alabama Port Authority

https://www.alports.com/

Stokes School of Marine & Environmental Sciences

https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/artsandsci/marinesciences/

USA Health

https://www.southalabama.edu/aboutusa/usahealth.html

Mitchell Cancer Institute

https://www.usahealthsystem.com/locations/mitchell-cancer-institute

University of South Alabama Tech Park

https://www.southalabama.edu/departments/research/tech-park/whytechpark.html

Follow From Idea to Action: Stories from Alabama Innovators wherever you get your podcasts, or bookmark our website to catch new episodes as they release.

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In this episode, we sit down to talk with Joe Kirgues, co-founder of gener8tor, a venture capital firm out of Wisconsin. Even though he isn’t from Alabama, Joe and gener8tor are invested in success in the “flyover states” that are often overlooked in investment discussions. Take a listen to this episode as we discuss his background and what it means to start something new and invest in your backyard.

Dig into more information:

Joe Kirgues
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joekirgues/

Troy Vosseller
https://www.linkedin.com/in/troyvosseller/

gener8t0r
https://www.gener8tor.com/

University Wisconsin Law School
https://law.wisc.edu

Sconnie
https://sconnie.com/

Gener8tor programs around Alabama:
https://www.gener8tor.com/gbeta/huntsville
https://www.gener8tor.com/investment-accelerators/prosper-healthtech
https://www.gener8tor.com/gener8tor-bronze-valley-accelerator
https://www.hudsonalpha.org/innovate/agtech-accelerator/
https://www.gener8tor.com/skills/alabama

Growing Alabama Tax Credit / Innovate Alabama Tax Credit
https://innovatealabama.org/innovate-alabama-tax-credit/

gener8tor Healthcare Conference
https://www.gener8tor.com/conferences/healthcare

Follow From Idea to Action: Stories from Alabama Innovators wherever you get your podcasts, or bookmark our website to catch new episodes as they release.

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In this episode, we talk with Jason Green, PhD, Dean of The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) College of Business Administration. We talk about how UAH supports the next generation of the workforce, engages students with the mentality of “practice makes a professional,” and the value of engaging your local community.

Dig into more information:

Jason Greene, PhD

https://www.uah.edu/business/faculty-staff/jason-greene

University of Alabama at Huntsville

https://www.uah.edu/

UAH College of Business

https://catalog.uah.edu/undergrad/colleges-departments/business/

UAH Business Student Programs

https://www.uah.edu/business/orgs/business-student-organizations

UAH Finance lab

https://www.uah.edu/news/news/college-of-business-launches-new-finance-lab-to-give-students-hands-on-experience

https://uah.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/fma

DJ Hovermale, PhD

https://www.uah.edu/business/faculty-staff/dj-hovermale

UAH Cybersecurity Lab

https://www.uah.edu/news/news/uah-college-of-business-unveils-new-cybersecurity-lab-to-meet-challenge-of-cyber-threats 

https://www.uah.edu/ccre

UAH Invention to Innovation Center

https://www.uah.edu/i2c

Core Prototyping (Core 3D)

https://www.coreprototyping.xyz/

https://www.uah.edu/business/news/17002-uah-students-grow-3d-modeling-business-at-the-bridge

UAH Career and Internship Advisory

https://www.uah.edu/ahs/students/careers-internships

Discovery Life Sciences (formerly Conversant Bio)

https://www.dls.com/

The University of Alabama System

https://uasystem.edu/

Follow From Idea to Action: Stories from Alabama Innovators wherever you get your podcasts, or bookmark our website to catch new episodes as they release.

https://twitter.com/FromIdea2Action

In this episode, we sit down with Charisse Stokes, Executive Director at TECHMGM: an initiative to coordinate the efforts of many diverse partners around developing the tech and innovation ecosystem in Montgomery. We discuss what it means to plant roots in a new community, be comfortable with the uncomfortable, and how progress involves looking to those who came before you, opening doors for those behind you, and collaborating with diverse ideas.

Dig into more information:

Charisse Stokes
https://www.techmgm.com/about-techmgm/leadership-team/ 

TechMGM
https://www.techmgm.com/ 

Alabama Innovation Commission
https://innovatealabama.org/

Tidal IT Solutions
https://www.tidalits.com/

Montgomery, Alabama
https://www.montgomeryal.gov/live/about-montgomery

Tech Birmingham, Deon Gordon, President & CEO
https://techbirmingham.com/about/

Lab on Dexter
https://thelabondexter.com/
https://www.nps.gov/places/alabama-dexter-avenue-baptist-church-montgomery.htm

Getting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable Tedx Talk
https://www.ted.com/talks/charisse_stokes_getting_comfortable_being_uncomfortable

Alabama Power
https://www.alabamapower.com/company/about-us.html

Techstars
https://www.techstars.com/accelerators/alabama-power

The Alabama Collective
https://thealabamacollective.com/

Follow From Idea to Action: Stories from Alabama Innovators wherever you get your podcasts, or bookmark our website to catch new episodes as they release.

https://twitter.com/FromIdea2Action

In this episode, we sit down to talk with Jeff Helms and Russ Durrance of the Alabama Farmers Federation. We discuss the history of the Farmers Federation, how ALFA supports agriculture, farmers, and farming innovation in Alabama, and how a combination of grassroots and public-policy work supports farmers.

Dig into more information:

Jeff Helms
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-helms-8700939/
https://alfafarmers.org/contact/media-relations/

Russ Durrance
https://yellowhammernews.com/alabama-farmers-federation-names-russ-durrance-state-legislative-programs-director/

Alabama Farmers Federation
https://alfafarmers.org/federation/history/
https://alfafarmers.org/

Alabama AgCast
https://alfafarmers.org/news/alabama-agcast/

Young Farmers Division
https://alfafarmers.org/federation/young-farmers/

Women's Leadership Division
https://alfafarmers.org/federation/womens-leadership-committee/

ALFA Commodities / Commodity Directors
https://alfafarmers.org/federation/commodities/

Sweet Grown Alabama
https://www.sweetgrownalabama.org/

Alabama Farmers Agriculture Foundation
https://alfafarmers.org/resources/foundation/

Follow From Idea to Action: Stories from Alabama Innovators wherever you get your podcasts, or bookmark our website to catch new episodes as they release.

https://twitter.com/FromIdea2Action

In this episode, we sit down to talk with Darrell Ezell, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion here at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. We discuss his background, how his travels all across the world ultimately brought him back to Huntsville, and how DEI initiatives can help any organization strengthen its leadership.

Dig into more information:

Darrell Ezell
https://www.darrellezellphd.com/

HudsonAlpha Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
https://www.hudsonalpha.org/dei/

Schmidt Futures
https://www.schmidtfutures.com/our-work/task-force-on-synthetic-biology-and-the-bioeconomy/

Alabama A&M University
https://www.aamu.edu/

Union Theological Seminary
https://utsnyc.edu/

The University of Birmingham
https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx

US Department of State Bureau of International Organization Affairs
https://www.state.gov/bureaus-offices/under-secretary-for-political-affairs/bureau-of-international-organization-affairs/

Claremont Lincoln University
https://go.claremontlincoln.edu/clu-program/

Innovate Alabama
https://innovatealabama.org/

Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs
https://adeca.alabama.gov/

Office of Minority Affairs
https://aoma.alabama.gov/

BRIDGES program | Boosting Retention, Interest, & Diversity Through Guided Experiences in STEM
https://www.hudsonalpha.org/bridges/

Alabama Collective HBCU Initiative
https://aoma.alabama.gov/hbcu-initiative/

Follow From Idea to Action: Stories from Alabama Innovators wherever you get your podcasts, or bookmark our website to catch new episodes as they release.

https://twitter.com/FromIdea2Action

In this episode, we sit down to talk with Julian Waddell of Oakwood University and T.O. Guy. We discuss his background, how he became the Executive Director of OU Launchpad Entrepreneurship & Esports Center, and how an idea in college helped him launch T.O. Guy LLC which just celebrated 14 years of operation.

Follow From Idea to Action: Stories from Alabama Innovators wherever you get your podcasts, or bookmark our website to catch new episodes as they release.

https://twitter.com/FromIdea2Action