ANNA — Anna High School junior Ashlie York and senior Nathan Bulle, along with their teacher Vicki Quinter, attended the Nov. 7, 2015, Believe in Ohio Southwest STEM Commercialization and Entrepreneurship Forum held at Wright State University.

Students were welcomed by Executive Director of the Regional STEM Collaborative Chad Watchorn, and Executive Director of Entrepreneurial Engagement Ohio John Klipfell. The morning keynote speaker was nationally Recognized Leader and Motivational Speaker Johnathan Holifield who asked students, “Will you be a competitor or a bench-warmer in the innovation world of the future?”

Breakout sessions included Dr. Robert Williams from the Air Force Research Lab, Dr. David Dunaway who is president/CEO of Ramco Electric Motors, Charysa Theodore from the Cornerstone Research Group, Jack Scott from Applied Systems and Technology Transfer, Rob Bondurant GIS consultant, Frank Beafore who is executive director of SelectTech GeoSPatial, Benjamin Sears from Sinclair Community College UAV Division, Kevin Klawon from the University of Dayton Research Institute, Dr. Augustine Urbas from Materials and Manufacturing Directorate with the AFRI, Brent Kiss who is a Human Factors Engineer at Wright State Research Institute, Dr. David Mollenhauer from the Composite Branch of the AFRI, and Dr. Veerarghavan Sundar who manages emerging products for UES Inc.

The closing program included Klipfell, Holifield and Wayne Hicks who is the executive director the for the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation. More information on the Believe in Ohio Entrepreneurship Program can be found at believeinohio.org.