Idaho TechConnect is a newly chartered private non-profit organization established to implement part of the commercialization strategy in the Idaho Science and Technology Strategic Plan, a roadmap document for developing Idaho's technology sector developed by the Governor's Science & Technology Advisory Council.
The nine-member TechConnect board is made up of members from each of the state's four regional TechConnect boards, representatives from the Idaho Board of Education and the Idaho National Laboratory, and three appointed by the Governor to be at-large members.
The Governor's appointees to the TechConnect Board are:
- Con Paulos, Con Paulos, Inc. (Jerome)
- Mike Ryan, Vice President of Engineering for Premier Technology (Pocatello)
- Barbara Ueckert, Principal of Milo Creek LLC (Coeur d'Alene).
ITC will focus on identifying and assisting individuals and very early stage companies in their efforts to commercialize science and technology based innovations and inventions.
"Technological innovations often form the foundation of great new opportunities for business and industry," Kempthorne said. "We will do everything we can to bring the many innovative ideas that originate in Idaho into the mainstream marketplace so consumers and producers can benefit."
The new ITC appointees join other board members representing northern, western, southern and eastern Idaho, who were appointed by TechConnect's Interim Board of Directors. They are Mike Wilson, Interim Executive Director of the University of Idaho Foundation; Melanie Rubocki, Esq., Counsel to the firm of Perkins Coie LLP; Dr. Jerry Beck, President of the College of Southern Idaho; and Ms. Nancy Bergmann, Economic Development Program Manager for INL.
Other at-large board members include Ray Barnes, Director of Technology Transfer and Commercialization at the Idaho National Laboratory (Interim Board Chair) and Dwight Johnson representing the Idaho State Board of Education.
