The Blue Economy and Regional Partnering in the Great Lakes with Alaina Harkness

Water rock star Alaina Harkness, Executive Director of Current and CEO/Principal Investigator of Great Lakes ReNew, provides a phenomenal look at water’s place in economic development, building regional partnerships, and so much more. Plus, Reese Tisdale discusses hydrogen in this month’s Bluefield on Tap segment.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• Alaina’s background in foundation work and economic development
• Current’s mission and why it was formed
• How Alaina scaled Current up
• What Alaina means by ‘Blue Economy’
• How Alaina linked water and economic development
• Why Alaina thinks now is the time to accelerate investment in the water sector, especially in the Great Lakes
• How water has morphed from an afterthought to a driver in economic development
• How the Great Lakes ReNEW came together to create regional partnerships
• How R&D, Commercialization, and Work Force elements came together to form the basis of the regional partnerships
• How the Great Lakes ReNEW’s workforce development initiative is coming together
• What’s in store for Great Lakes ReNEW
• How the cooperative grant structure from the National Science Foundation works

Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:

• Alaina’s Linkedin Profile
• Current’s website
• Great Lakes ReNEW’s website

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