Photo by Morgan Laurie-DayCatherine Collins was recently named Vermont EPSCoR Diversity in Entrepreneurship Fellow at the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET). Catherine will be responsible for developing and sustaining a diverse community of entrepreneurs throughout Vermont. She will focus on skills development, mentorship and networks required to help start, fund, scale and sustain new technology based business ventures. Specific focus areas are developing capacity building and outreach programs to increase participation and exposure to entrepreneurship from students and alumni of Vermont Colleges and Universities, develop a greater representation of women and minority entrepreneurs and stimulate entrepreneurship capacity and activity across Vermont, including rural areas.
Catherine recently provided opening remarks at the Echo Center for CodeAcrossBTV's event: http://www.meetup.com/CodeForBTV/events/220309790/
Her remarks focused on "how we can create communities and spaces that focus on inclusion and work on access to resources from the get go".
The second annual CodeAcross BTV showcased many of the great community and civic projects that involve members of our community. Some of the projects are affiliated with Code for BTV, and others are from government entities, other organizations and individuals.
Catherine Collins, the VP of Entrepreneur Development at Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET), provided an inspiring keynote, and Lauren-Glenn Davitian, Executive Director of CCTV Center for Media & Democracy, was MC of the event.
Event partners included:
- Code for America
- ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center
- Leahy Center for Lake Champlain
- Girl Develop It Burlington
- Burlington Generator
- Found Line
- CCTV Center for Media & Democracy
- Big Heavy World
A recap of the individual demos is available below and at: http://codeforbtv.tumblr.com/post/111911351940/codeacross-btv-2015-demo-recap
Photos of the event are available at: http://codeforbtv.tumblr.com/post/111912869990/codeacross-btv-2015-photos
Photos of the specific demos are available at: http://codeforbtv.tumblr.com/post/111910904445/codeacross-btv-2015-demo-photos
App Demos
Valcour
Computer aided dispatch and records management system for police and public safety. Valcour is a thin client, cloud based system with over 100 Vermont public safety organizations now using it.
Food Rescue
The passage of Act 148, Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law, signals a positive change in how food scraps and waste are disposed of in a way that prioritizes feeding the hungry. The Food Rescue app asks the food donor a series of questions to determine whether the food is eligible for donation for human consumption.
Care Compare
As the cost burden shifts to patients, it’s important for them to be able to make informed decisions about obtaining treatment. Care Compare allows people to compare prices of common medical procedures in their area to make an informed decision about where to seek care.
GreenPrint
GreenPrint tells the end user of a public computer lab exactly how many pages they are about to print. Unintentional printing led to wasted toner and paper, and use of this app by Fletcher Free Library reduced both. This app has also been used at other libraries across Vermont.
Rent Rocket
Rent Rocket is intended to provide student and other renters with a suite of information on prospective rental properties, ultimately allowing renters to make informed decisions about where to live. Data points include energy costs per square foot, total energy use, rental rate, and access to public transit, among other possible points.
Shared Records
Shared Records is a case management app designed to improve outcomes for children placed in foster care in Vermont, although it can be used in a variety of case management settings. This app is an attempt to support social workers in an important piece of this puzzle: increasing school stability while placing children in the best possible foster homes that suit their particular needs. By providing social worker and resource coordinators with updated information at their fingertips, our hope is to improve long-term outcomes of youth in Vermont’s foster care system.
ReadiRead
ReadiRead is provides resources to parents who want to help their children master pre-K literacy skills. Participating parents receive personalized text messages three times a week suggesting activities they can do with their kids. Each activity is correlated with the child’s development and grounded in sound, evidence-based literacy education practices.
Modeling Stormwater
Developed entirely for and during the Esri/UN Global Disaster App Challenge 2014, Stone Environmental’s application was designed to help communities evaluate stormwater during weather events. The Stone team targeted stormwater issues because precipitation and associated damage are forecast to increase throughout the world, leading to increases in damage to infrastructure, personal property and normal operation of cities.
Big Heavy World Vermont Music Directory
An online listing of resources in the music industry in Vermont. It helps musicians and bands find the resources they need to make, market and play their music while increasing the strength of the music industry in Vermont.
Lakecraft
Lakecraft is a virtual world modeled in the computer game Minecraft using open Geographic Information System (GIS) data on the Lake Champlain watershed. By creating a digital elevation model of a watershed in its entirety and layering openly available GIS data, Lakecraft immerses its users in a rich 3-D environment based on natural boundaries and real geographic data, enriching understanding of the scale and function of a watershed through virtual, first-hand experience. Lakecraft is developed by ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center and a team of volunteers.
Catherine graduated from Middlebury College with a B.A. in Political Science and French. After working on various farms in Austria, Italy, Ireland and France, Catherine made her way back to her home state of Maine to work at the Maine International Trade Center. She returned to Vermont to work for Middlebury College’s leadership and innovation program – MiddCORE. As Associate Director, Catherine contributed to the expansion and scaling of the MiddCORE Immersion on two campuses as well as MiddCOREplus an internship program and a workshop series. In 2014 MiddCORE was awarded The Ashoka U-Cordes Innovation Award which recognizes high impact in education innovations.
Catherine is very excited about her new position with VCET and looks forward to working with entrepreneurs across Vermont. To reach Catherine, please email her at catherine@vermonttechnologies.com