TiE Oregon Partners with The Lemelson Foundation to Support Entrepreneurs Across Oregon and Beyond
The Lemelson Foundation to be honored at TiE Oregon Annual Awards ceremony on March 20
PORTLAND, Ore., March 6, 2019 – TiE Oregon, a nonprofit organization focused on fostering entrepreneurship through mentorship, programming, and angel investments, today announced that The Lemelson Foundation, a leading funder dedicated to advancing invention in service of social and economic change, will receive a special award at the TiE Oregon Annual Awards ceremony on March 20. The award, in recognition of The Lemelson Foundation’s partnership and commitment to support TiE Oregon’s programs, will be presented at TiE Oregon’s Annual Awards event which celebrates entrepreneurial excellence and achievement within Oregon.
During the past several years, The Lemelson Foundation has provided critical financial support to the TiE Young Entrepreneurs Program (TYE) in Oregon. The foundation has also supported the TiE Global Summit bringing speakers and sessions on TYE and impact entrepreneurship to a global audience. Support from The Lemelson Foundation has enabled TiE Oregon to bring TYE into the classroom at multiple under-resourced Oregon high schools. Students in Benson Polytechnic, Reynolds High School, and Rosemary Anderson High School/POIC transformed their approach to learning as they envisioned themselves as inventors and entrepreneurs. TiE Oregon also provides professional development resources for teachers and TYE instructors, delivering Invention Education curriculum to students across the globe. TiE Oregon has joined a select group of organizations as a thought leader in invention and entrepreneurship education, a growing field in the U.S. and around the world.
TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) Oregon is a TiE Oregon initiative designed to inspire, challenge and empower students to become the next generation of entrepreneurs, business and community leaders. Experienced entrepreneurs and mentors teach high school students an invention and project-based curriculum that has a strong emphasis on design thinking and customer validation. The year-long program culminates in an annual State Competition which will be held this year in Portland on April 28, 2019. The winning team then continues on to participate in the Global TYE Competition. This year, the Global TYE Competition will be held in Boston on June 22, 2019. Last year, Team Melaknow from Corvallis, Oregon, won the best overall award at the 2018 TYE Global Competition.
“TiE Oregon is a critical partner for us in creating an Invention Education pathway for studnets across the state”, said Carol Dahl, Executive Director of The Lemelson Foundation. “Through the TYE invention and entrepreneurship experience students from diverse communities are discovering their potential as change-agents of the future. The global reach of the TiE organization provides a platform for encouraging students and young entrepreneurs more globally to address social and economic challenges.
“The Lemelson Foundation provides tremendous support to our TiE Young Entrepreneurs Program (TYE) and we wouldn’t be as impactful as we have been in changing young entrepreneurs lives without their partnership,” said Kari Naone, executive director of TiE Oregon. “We’re excited to celebrate our partnership with The Lemelson Foundation at our upcoming awards event and we’re looking forward to continuing our productive and rewarding work together in the years ahead.”
According to Nitin Rai, president of TiE Oregon and chair of TiE Global Board of Trustees, The Lemelson Foundation has taken a lead role in supporting TiE at the chapter level in Oregon and at a global level as well.
“I’m very thankful to The Lemelson Foundation for taking a pivotal role in supporting TiE, not only at the chapter level as a key supporter of TYE Oregon for youth, but also for being a catalyst for helping us create an invention-based curriculum that has now been adopted by 30 chapters globally. As a result, in 24 months, the number of chapters participating in the TYE Global Competition has grown by 53 percent from 19 to 29 chapters. Last year, three startup companies presented products with pending patents including the winner from TiE Oregon,” said Rai. “In addition, The Lemelson Foundation is supporting TiE Global’s initiatives in impact investing in underserved entrepreneurs globally at TiE Global Summit. We are extremely fortunate to partner with The Lemelson Foundation to promote entrepreneurship globally.”
The 2019 TiE Oregon Awards event is sponsored by Elevate Capital. Tickets to the May 20 event can be purchased here. For more information, visit: https://oregon.tie.org/old2/tie-oregon-annuals/
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About TiE Oregon
Founded in 2007 as a member-based organization, TiE Oregon supports Oregon-based entrepreneurs with mentorship, educational programming, and angel investment. TiE Oregon’s signature program, the TiE XL Entrepreneur Boot Camp, helps women, minorities, and veterans transform their business concepts into reality. TiE Oregon also supports a student entrepreneurship program, the TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE). TiE Oregon has 300 entrepreneur members and 80 Charter Members. For more information about TiE Oregon, please visit https://oregon.tie.org. Twitter: https://twitter.com/TiEoregon, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tieoregon