Southwestern PA New Economy Collaborative
Build Back Better: A Year in Review
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
4-5 p.m.
The SWPA New Economy Collaborative invites you to join us online as we reflect on how a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented by the Build Back Better Regional Challenge is ensuring Southwestern PA is the place to be for robotics and automation. The hour-long program will center on a panel discussion between leaders of five regional projects focused on robotics adoption, commercialization, and workforce development. Learn more about the financial and business support services these projects offer to local manufacturers, startups, and entrepreneurs, and the training options available to students and workers looking to transition into the robotics and advanced manufacturing sectors.
PROGRAM DETAILS
Welcome
Farnam Jahanian, Ph.D.
Co-chair, SWPA New Economy Collaborative
President, Carnegie Mellon University
State of Robotics in Southwestern PA
Benjamin Pratt
Regional Economic Competitiveness Officer, SWPA New Economy Collaborative
Project Leads Panel
Small- & Medium-sized Enterprises Robotics Adoption
Matthew Holjes
Managing Director, Business Development, Catalyst Connection
The Robotics Manufacturing Hub & Innovation Accelerators
Tasha Miller
Programs Manager Technology Development, Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute
Expanded Pathways to New Economy Careers
Jennifer Lasser
Director of Workforce and Economic Development, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
The Robotics Factory
Kevin Dowling
Managing Director of Hardware and Robotics Factory, Innovation Works
Expanded Pathways to Entrepreneurship
Corey Turner
Executive Director, Expanded Pathways to Entrepreneurship, Carnegie Mellon University
Moderated by Jenn Apicella
Executive Director, Pittsburgh Robotics Network
Toward the Future & Farewell
Stefani Pashman
Co-chair, SWPA New Economy Collaborative
CEO, Allegheny Conference on Community Development
The Southwestern Pennsylvania New Economy Collaborative is an 11-county coalition of labor, nonprofit, and university partners advancing the region’s robotics and automation cluster through public-private-philanthropic partnership. The Collaborative was awarded a $62.7 million grant through the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge to fund five regional projects aimed at providing long-term opportunities in the growing robotics and autonomy industry for individuals, businesses, and communities in southwestern Pennsylvania.
