Greater Spokane Incorporated (GSI) is pleased to announce the hiring of Ryan Arnold for the position of Entrepreneurship Program Director. This new position will be responsible for the leadership and guidance of the local and regional entrepreneur ecosystem, and GSI’s Startup Spokane program.
An experienced entrepreneur, Ryan formed his own company, Sightline Energy, a consultant firm to the architecture and engineering industries to assist them in navigating the increasingly complex energy-efficiency and building-sustainability field. In addition, Ryan and a partner founded the Innovation Collective, a Coeur d’Alene-based entrepreneur-support organization that is focused on providing events and education, the alignment of community resources and the connection of local entrepreneurs to capital opportunities.
“Ryan’s hiring is an important step in the continued efforts to support and grow the regional entrepreneur economy,” said Steve Stevens, President & CEO of Greater Spokane Incorporated. “Nurturing our startups and assisting innovative entrepreneurs with the right connections to help them expand and thrive will bring more opportunities and jobs to our community.”
Launched in 2014, the Startup Spokane initiative at GSI includes educational opportunities, events, available co-working space at Share Space Spokane, and the new startupspokane.com website which was designed to provide connections and visibility for resources critical to entrepreneur growth.
“I have a passion and vision for building the entrepreneur ecosystem throughout the greater-Spokane region,” said Ryan. “While my initial efforts have been focused in the neighboring community of Coeur d’Alene, I have also worked with other regional organizations such as Startup Weekend Spokane, Connect Northwest, Spokane Angel Alliance, and the Spokane Area Workforce Development Council.”
“As its core mission to grow jobs and business investment, GSI has made entrepreneurship and promoting a creative business culture a priority,” said Linda Elkin, Board Chair of Greater Spokane Incorporated. “The initiatives that have been recently developed will now have the potential to be leveraged to their full capacity with the hiring of a dedicated Entrepreneurship Program Director.”
Ryan will officially begin his duties December 1, 2014, and will be a member of GSI’s Economic Development team.
Published Nov 10, 2014
