I am entertaining the idea of maintaining a log of interesting moments from my work with SVTG. But first, a little bit of context:
I've begun my first week of work with the Sustainable Valley Technology Group (SVTG) in Medford Oregon. The Executive Director, Heather Stafford, will be leaving at the end of the week and she has been training me so that I can support the organization afterwards. I will stepping into a new role we are calling program manager and there is a lot of information I need to pick up in my first week of training to make sure I can support the organization in the way that it needs.
I'm very proud to be working with such a great organization. The mission of this organization is integral to the community and there are a lot of wonderful people involved in community building with whom I will get a chance to work. This is a great opportunity for me to have a hand in shaping the community and support the local businesses that make the Rogue Valley such a wonderful and unique place to live.
There are many exciting programs in the works. Our Accelerator program takes companies that need a little extra help and pairs them with mentors and funders and puts them through a twelve week program with seminars and goals to be met. The Accelerator gives these companies the tools they need to succeed, mentors and networking and funding opportunities they may not otherwise have. The best part is that these are local businesses so we all benefit from the successes - for example my favorite soda, Wiley's Rootbeer, comes from Wiley, a recent graduate from the program.
SVTG also has a B.A.S.E. Camp program which is similar to the Accelerator except instead of working with businesses, we work with high school students to teach them the basics of entrepreneurship. At the end of the term-long program, the students will have a chance to present their business ideas in a 'pitch' to a scholarship committee. We have teamed up with IBM on this project and once we have implemented this syllabus and shown how a business accelerator program and a large corporation can team up with local schools, IBM will have an outline to share throughout the country with other community Accelerators to get the syllabus we designed into circulation at other schools.
These are just a few of the exciting projects in which I will have a chance to be involved.
