UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND · PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT / ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION

Built a university innovation function from the ground up.

I was hired in the fall of 2020 to lead UNE’s makerspace — at the height of the pandemic, when hands-on, in-person work was barely possible. Within six months, the role had grown into leading the university’s newly created Office of Innovation.

The opportunity was bigger than a physical space. Across the university, students, faculty and staff had ideas for doing things differently, but there was no function dedicated to helping those ideas become experiments, programs and action.

The challenge

Innovation meant something different depending on where you sat. Students wanted opportunities to create and build — even as access to shared, hands-on spaces was constrained. Faculty were rethinking curriculum for a suddenly remote and hybrid world. Healthcare educators wanted better ways to teach. University leaders were tackling complex organizational challenges accelerated by the pandemic itself.

The challenge was to make innovation practical and useful across those very different contexts, while building enough momentum that people wanted to participate.

What I did

I built the function around human-centered design, experimentation and practical problem-solving.

I launched the Shaw Innovation Fellows, Innovation Showcase and Healthcare Story Slam; redesigned the makerspace with students; and built partnerships across academic, clinical and administrative teams.

I also brought innovation methods directly into other people’s work, designing and facilitating sessions for faculty, staff, nursing and other health-professions students, and university leaders working on challenges ranging from curriculum and DEI to healthcare education.

The work increasingly crossed institutional boundaries. A collaboration with Southern Maine Healthcare brought UNE innovation students together with hospital educators to help turn a new approach to clinical training into an interactive escape-room experience.

The result

A NEW OFFICE OF INNOVATION
What began as leadership of a makerspace expanded within six months into a university-wide innovation function and my promotion to Director of Innovation.

83 APPLICANTS FOR A NEW FLAGSHIP PROGRAM
The first Shaw Innovation Fellows program generated significant student demand and helped attract new philanthropic support.

FIVEFOLD INCREASE IN DONOR SUPPORT
A lead donor increased his commitment fivefold in a single year as participation and momentum grew.

INNOVATION BEYOND CAMPUS
UNE students helped Southern Maine Healthcare bring a new approach to clinical education to life. The resulting escape-room training experience was used more than 100 times.

RECOGNIZED BEYOND UNE
Named one of Maine Magazine’s 23 Mainers of the Year in 2022 for leadership in innovation.

“Thank you for such an amazing event. It was phenomenal on so many levels. I can’t imagine a better way of celebrating UNE’s work in innovation. Everyone I spoke with was blown away.”

President · University of New England