Staff report
Bounce Innovation Hub in Akron has promoted James Hilton to a key leadership position.
Hilton is the new senior director of entrepreneurial services at the innovation hub at 526 S. Main St. He succeeds Christopher Mazziotto, who left at the end of December to pursue new opportunities, Bounce said in a news release.
Hilton is responsible for overseeing all entrepreneurial programming in the organization, executing strategies and delivering on key objectives, Bounce said. He reports directly to Chief Operating Officer Jessica Sublett.
“James’s startup and advisory experience, as well as his history with the organization make him an excellent choice for this role,” Sublett said in the news release. “As a tech startup founder, advisor and advocate, he has firsthand knowledge of what our entrepreneurs experience every day. We are confident that James will successfully lead our programming team to meet our organization’s lofty strategic goals.”
Carbon black clings to everything in Crafty Mart’s new second-floor space at Akron’s Bounce Innovation Hub, which is part of a former B.F. Goodrich tire factory.
The greasy, black dust often made from petroleum or tar is left over from decades of tire finishers using it to extend the life of rubber hitting the road.
Marissa McClellan, executive director of Crafty Mart, figured her group could clean up the carbon black themselves before opening a gallery in the 7,000-square-foot space, which also will serve as a permanent home for the group’s marketplaces.
But after the dust which covers the rafters, pipes and floors killed several Shop-Vacs and tore through Swiffer sweepers, the carbon black only seemed to spread.
Akron s I-Corps prepares entrepreneurs to fill a market need
Elyse Ball leads a pre-pandemic class at an I-Corps session in Akron.
Akron continues to get support for its startups from a federal program many people have probably never heard of: the National Science Foundation s Innovation Corps program, better known to participants as simply I-Corps.
It s been a sort of boot camp for entrepreneurs affiliated with the University of Akron and Kent State University for nearly eight years. We re able to accommodate about 25 companies per cohort, and we run three cohorts a year, said local I-Corps instructor Elyse Ball, who is also assistant counsel and project manager at the University of Akron Research Foundation (UARF), which coordinates I-Corps in the region.
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The Suburbanite
FYI
• The city of Green’s Drug Task Force is launching a scholarship for college or other continuing education for a Green Local School student impacted by drug or alcohol abuse. The Drug Task Force is currently seeking donations to the scholarship funds and plans to award a 2021 Green High School graduate the first scholarship award. Individuals and organizations interested in donating to the Green Drug Task Force Scholarship Fund may send checks to the Green Schools Foundation, PO Box 104, Green, Ohio 44232. Checks should be made out to the Green Schools Foundation (include Drug Task Force Scholarship in memo line). Green High School seniors interested in applying for the $1,000 scholarship may apply online at www.cityofgreen.org/DrugTaskForce. Application deadline is April 30. For more information about donating to the scholarship fund or applying, contact 330-896-6602 or communications@cityofgreen.org.