Four Years as Executive Director

February marks the four-year anniversary since I accepted the role as the Executive Director of MTC. The organization I was hired to lead and the organization I am currently leading share the same mission and focus, but they differ significantly in terms of operations and execution.

FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 State Appropriation | $3M | $1M | $3M | $16M | $16M Grant Programs MOBEC | $1M | $1M | $1M | $2M | $3M Physical Infrastructure | | | | $1M | Spring Regional Nodes | | | | $300k | Spring TOTAL | $1M | $1M | $1M | $3.3M | $3M Direct Investments IDEA Fund | $1M | $1.5M | $1.5M | $4.5M | $7.1M Innovation Centers & MEP | $1.5M | $1M | $1M | $1.25M | Special Projects Adv Manufacturing | | | | $15M | Mayfield Ent Center | | | | | $2M TOTAL | $3.5M | $3.5M | $3.5M | $24M | $12M

The organization’s increase in state funding, coupled with our remarkable expansion of programmatic activities in recent years, can be directly attributed to the statewide strategic initiative we embarked upon. The initiative resulted in the release of the Catalyzing Innovation Report in 2022, which presents ambitious strategies and recommendations for Missouri to become a frontrunner in innovation and entrepreneurship compared to our peer states.