Strategic planning, building a workable implementation plan, program design, curriculum and instructional lesson plan development, train the trainer facilitation, organizational innovation capability building in systems thinking, external innovation, open innovation methodologies, problem solving, RFP writing, networking, external ecosystem cultivation, business development, and partner development.

Taught courses in Geography, Planning, and Sustainability and Environmental Science as a member of the School of Earth and Environment faculty. Designed, wrote, and established the initial phases of a new Bachelor of Arts (BA) program in Regenerative Food Systems (RFS) based on holistic interdisciplinary, experiential student learning outcomes. Designed and developed a strategic 5-year farm/greenhouse facilities plan with associated start-up costing and financial protocols. Led university reviews and approval processes with the Senate Curriculum Committee, Provost Office, and President’s Office. Championed university deans and faculty across colleges and departments (College of Science and Math, Humanities, Exercise Science and Nutrition, Communications, Business and Entrepreneurship) in support of collaborative curriculum development and implementation.

Recruited to focus on leading daily volume sourcing planning and new product innovation portfolio across $7B NA market sector, along with instituting supply chain plan and developing emerging talent for this multinational food and confectionery producer. Managed 35 professionals in global matrixed organization at $6M cost center and $18M innovation investment budget through all aspects of business development and product commercialization. Managed 200+ projects inclusive of cross-functional alignments (Marketing, R&D, Finance, Engineering, Procurement, Operations), stage-gate method optimization, resource allocation, and market evaluations.Led teams through significant organizational restructuring, change management, and talent selection while integrating Agile strategies to enhance engagement and reduce commercialization time-to-market. Organized and facilitated “courageous conversations” sessions at Mondelēz to promote equity learning and build empathy of racial injustice.

Designed and led an external innovation team and managed across the 70-20-10 sustainable core, breakthrough, and disruptive technology-enabled product platforms worth $1B+ top line revenue over a five-year outlook through ideation, prototyping, testing, and pilot line production. Managed 14 senior engineers, program managers, and $2.2M budget in delivering external innovation, partner development, and R&D in lab setting. Liaised with marketing, engineering, legal, and procurement to ensure project alignment. Negotiated and secured contracts with multiple suppliers, as well as 4 university collaborative research and licensing agreements.

Recruited to optimize product mapping, technology rollout, and research initiatives for this manufacturer of branded consumer food products. Fostered skill set development for team of innovation entrepreneurs and food scientists in establishing an Open Innovation process to resolve a wide range of technical challenges and integrate methods with product development stage-gate practice. Led diverse portfolio of 50+ food technology projects as solution sourcing expert. Presented at national and international conferences. Established creative problem-solving method and training. Created and trained colleagues on frame-breaking, problem-solving innovation capabilities from continuous improvement and human-centered tools (root cause analysis, why-why, design thinking, lean-six sigma) converting market insights into profitable technology and product-enabled opportunities. Developed and delivered training with hands-on working sessions to develop skills of colleagues across R&D.

Recruited to build a new capability, team, program, tools, and resources instantiating a new consulting service start-up organization called the IDEA Lab in service to the Air Force Research Labs (AFRL); the US Department of Defense military technology and innovation development division of the Air Force. Contextualized Open Innovation processes with scientists and engineers of AFRL including technical landscaping (patents, publications, and other research), strategic planning, technology assessments (TRL/MRL analysis), and garnered new unconventional partnerships outside of the traditional military industrial complex. Hired and managed new team of innovation practitioners during hyper-growth in organizing and delivering emerging technology development programs across the IDEA Lab’s services. Established and updated techniques and processes to maintain peak creativity, knowledge management, and external networking. Delivered new technologies and capabilities to solve defense challenges worth $100M+ in investment.

Hired to create start-up technology practice at this boutique management consulting firm founded in 2007. Delivered $4M in new start-up sales across five large-scale initiatives in 18 months at inception, while creating technical product and service platforms (technical road maps, functional analyses, business case proformas), hiring, training, and managing team to support hyper-growth.Clients included: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, General Mills Inc., Kraft-Heinz Company, Wright Brothers Institute/Air Force Research Labs/US Department of Defense, Johnson & Johnson/Vistakon Inc., Molson Coors, John Deere, Procter & Gamble and others.

Designed and led science curricula and inquiry-based learning plans for courses including AP Chemistry, College Prep Chemistry, Physics, and Physical Science. Impact included student college entrance, student mentoring, coaching, and preparation for the workforce.Designed and led teacher, peer-level professional development in technology integration into lesson planning. Established technology integration methods for lesson planning and facilitated teacher training and lesson building programs. Represented teaching staff in school transformation coalition, examining student learning impact in converting traditional class scheduling to flexible, block class scheduling.