InnovateCT

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 American worker and is a must see for people of all ages including children. The project is the work of artist, Ellen Griesedieck. Ellen has a passion for storytelling, sharing people's career stories and education. All of this comes together at the American Mural Project which will be opened officially as a museum in spring of 2022.

In this episode we sit down with Ellen and her director of development, Mimi Madden to discuss how this amazing piece of art came to be, what their plans are for the future and how they are empowering and inspiring children through their school programs. Educators should absolutely look into the American Mural Project as field trip or as a place to recommend to your students for additional extracurricular activities.

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.  

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 supporting the broader innovation and education ecosystem in Connecticut.  

If you want to connect with Jennifer or learn more about CCEI, please follow the links below.  

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 Connecticut.  

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 Radday and Ashley Pereira discuss how helping students understand their interests impacts their future careers. 

You can learn more about Liz and Ashley including their organizations by following the links below.  

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 peers from different backgrounds.

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 4th through 8th graders through one day events called hack-a-thons. In this episode we learn how Patrice's career path took her to RHOK Jr. and how you can get involved with this great organization. Follow the link below to learn more about RHOK Jr. 

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 to their website below and enjoy the podcast!

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 School New Haven, follow the link below: