Something clicked in Atlanta.
Four months after their first gathering in New Orleans, the inaugural Ecosystem Futures Fellowship (EFF) cohort reconvened, this time at Georgia Tech, Tech Square, in Atlanta, Georgia, hosted by The University Financing Foundation, Inc., for their second On-Campus Immersive Experience (OCIE).
What began as bold ideas is now becoming action plans, refined through two days of immersive sessions focused on community partnership development, peer-led feedback, and ecosystem growth strategies. Fellows engaged directly with innovation leaders, explored funding pathways, and gained tools to strengthen collaboration between their campuses and local communities.
The fellowship is a year-long VentureWell initiative, supported by The Lemelson Foundation, that brings together teams of faculty and university leaders to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) ecosystems within higher education. Through immersive programming, communities of practice, and $35,000 in grant funding for each team, the fellows design action plans that embed I&E into institutional strategy—advancing inclusive innovation, expanding access for underrepresented innovators, and translating research into real-world impact.
“They came in with draft action plans,” said Jaime Wood-Riley, senior program officer at VentureWell. “But in Atlanta, you could see the shift. They were in the deep details of the work—rethinking strategies, challenging assumptions, and reshaping their plans in real time.”
The convening placed fellows inside one of the country’s most vibrant innovation hubs, exposing them to how the Atlanta innovation ecosystem collaborates among university, industry, and government partnerships. Immersive experiences took place at Georgia Tech’s Flowers Invention Studio, to advance student discovery into tangible solutions; Georgia AIM, focused on a vibrant collaboration in AI innovations between state and institutional partners; and the Johnson STEM Activity Center, which demonstrated how a community-based STEM activity center in Atlanta builds advancements in ecosystem development. But what resonated most wasn’t the facilities—it was the clarity of direction and mission.
Reframing the Work
Designed as a working session, the Atlanta convening focused on peer feedback, community engagement, and refining institutional ecosystem action plans, living documents that outline how each university will embed innovation and entrepreneurship into its operations, culture, and community partnerships. Panel discussions during the two-day workshop included insights from innovation ecosystem leaders representing Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, Emory University, Atlanta Tech Village, Verizon, the Georgia Tech Strategy Energy Institute (SEI), the Georgia Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), and Biolicity.
Throughout the week, fellows experienced a series of pivotal moments—insights that reshaped their understanding of their institutional missions and communities.
One defining moment came during a conversation with Kory Murphy, a program officer with The Lemelson Foundation. As fellows honed their institutional strategies for ecosystem growth, Murphy posed a deceptively simple question:
“Who else cares about your problem?”
For the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff team—focused on addressing food insecurity in their rural community—that question became transformative.
“That one question reframed how they thought about partnership,” said Wood-Riley. “It wasn’t just about identifying stakeholders or funders; it was about finding a shared purpose.”
In Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where many residents face limited access to fresh, affordable groceries and the local region has been designated for food-access interventions, fellows used that insight to rethink how to engage their community. “If everyone in your town cares about the problem, they’re part of the solution,” Wood-Riley added.
“At VentureWell, we’re practicing trust-based philanthropy by listening as the work unfolds and letting fellows lead. It gives our fellows more agency and the support they need—not the support we think they need.”—Jaime Wood-Riley
Similar breakthroughs unfolded across teams. The Purdue University Northwest fellows, originally focused on student commercialization pathways, began reframing their work through a lens of social sustainability.
“When Professor Alexandra (AJ) Moran from Purdue and I talked, she said: ‘We’re in a city hit hard by industrial decline. If we help students start businesses, we’re lifting people out of poverty.’ And I told her—that’s your story,” Wood-Riley said.
That shift—from internal reflection to outward collaboration—was a recurring theme throughout the week. What stood out most in Atlanta wasn’t just sharper plans—it was changed mindsets. Fellows spoke about moving from isolation to alignment, from asking “What can I build?” to “Who can I build it with?”
From Competition to Collaboration
The fellowship’s collaborative design also prompted deeper connections across institutions. At one point, Arizona State University’s Donald Siegel shared that he initially saw other teams as competitors for the same funding pools. By the end of the convening, he was planning collaborations with several of them.
“That wasn’t even one of our stated goals,” said Wood-Riley. “It just happened naturally because of how the fellowship is structured. That’s ecosystem thinking in motion.”
Those moments, both spontaneous and intentional, defined the cohort’s energy in Atlanta.
“In New Orleans, we dreamed together,” Wood-Riley reflected. “In Atlanta, we built trust. You could see them starting to own the work.”
Anchored in Trust
That trust-based philosophy isn’t incidental; it’s built into the fellowship’s design. Trust-based philanthropy is a model that emphasizes equity, transparency, and partnership between funders and grantees. Rather than imposing rigid grant requirements or prescriptive outcomes, it focuses on shared learning, mutual accountability, and shifting decision-making power to those closest to the work.
“At VentureWell, we’re practicing trust-based philanthropy by listening as the work unfolds and letting fellows lead,” said Wood-Riley. “It gives our fellows more agency and the support they need—not the support we think they need.”
Mike Brizek, director, Programs, Higher Education Ecosystems, at VentureWell, emphasized how that approach supports lasting change. “Grants are a starting point, not the endpoint,” he said. “True innovation depends on building internal capacity as much as securing external funding.”
Brizek emphasized that the fellows are developing the kind of institutional scaffolding that enables ecosystems to thrive beyond a single funding cycle. Their work—spanning policy reform, cross-campus coordination, and stakeholder alignment—is what makes innovation sustainable.
Courtney William, dean, Dillard University, agreed with Brizek’s take.
“Our team is already in the process of setting up meetings with local small business incubators to help propel our project forward,” Williams said. “We’ve also already met with university leadership regarding policy.”
Reinforcing the Momentum
For many fellows, the Atlanta convening reaffirmed why they joined this journey in the first place.
“This has been truly transformative,” said Kimberly Haynie of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. “The last year has been demoralizing for many university faculty and staff. This work reminded me of the broader impacts of colleges and university initiatives. It’s really inspired me to continue to push for entrepreneurial innovation at my institution despite financial constraints.”
Fellows also found power in peer feedback.
Brooke Lahneman of Montana State University noted: “Peer feedback was excellent. [You get to] see others’ projects and build connections, as well as make us reflect on our own plan.
Wood-Riley saw that momentum as validation. “The Atlanta convening wasn’t about finishing the work—it was about deepening it,” she said.
Looking Ahead
The next On-Campus Immersive Experience will take place in Portland, Oregon, in the spring. The focus will shift to implementation, including grant writing, project launches, and building frameworks for long-term sustainability.
“By April, they’ll be ready to take these plans off the page,” said Wood-Riley. “Atlanta gave them the clarity to see what’s next.”
From New Orleans to Atlanta, and soon, Portland, the Ecosystem Futures Fellowship is proving what’s possible when higher education leads innovation from within: vision turning into velocity, and collaboration becoming culture.
Learn more about the Ecosystem Futures Fellowship and how it’s shaping the future of innovation in higher education.