Category: Talent

Verge is pleased to announce the hiring of Jess Edwards as Director of Innovation Studio for the new biotechnology incubator in Roanoke. 

With robust experience in entrepreneurial ecosystem building, Edwards was previously the Principal of the Dan River Region Entrepreneur Ecosystem in Southern Virginia, where her work focused on implementing rural entrepreneurship and innovation primarily focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion with a hyper local lens. 

“We are excited to announce the launch of a new innovation studio and programming for early-stage biotech companies. With support from the Commonwealth of Virginia and the City of Roanoke, we are positioning the region to be a hub for life science companies to grow and thrive here,” said Erin Burcham, President of Verge and Executive Director of RBTC.

In her role, Edwards will be responsible for helping to create and expand acceleration programming that incorporates wrap-around services for companies to help them grow in the region. She will serve as an “ecosystem navigator” to connect local entrepreneurs to highly customized resources and help facilitate introductions to national and global networks. She’s also the regional coordinator and point of contact for the Johnson & Johnson Quick Fire Challenge, the first virtual accelerator collaboration with JLABS. 

Prior to working in Virginia, Edwards held the position of director of outreach and engagement for the Alaska Ocean Cluster Initiative, where her work focused on cultivating strategic partnerships, developing innovative programming and creating a statewide leadership summit to accelerate Alaska’s ocean (blue) economy development. Additionally, Edwards held positions to build and launch innovative coworking spaces for TRYP by Wyndham Dubai and Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. 

A graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo, Edwards holds a bachelor’s degree in political science. She is a WNY BETA finalist for “Best Buffalo Community Tech Contribution of the Year,” a recipient of “Buffalo 30 Under 30” award, and a “10 Extraordinary Minds Award in Sales, Marketing & Revenue Optimization” HSMAI Middle East awardee. She has served as a panelist or guest speaker at events all over the world, including the Nigeria Social Media Summit, the Dubai Lynx – International Festival of Creativity and MaRS Toronto. 

Her work focuses on strategically implementing innovative concepts to advance entrepreneurial ecosystems. 

Learn more about the Roanoke biotechnology incubator project.

A solid academic foundation is crucial, but new grads become professional powerhouses as they do hands-on work.  Internships are often the first professional experiences workers have. These relationships are designed to be mutually beneficial: students gain real-world experience while companies fill important gaps and gain fresh perspectives. 

One of the challenges both students and businesses face is making the right connections. Students can find it hard to know exactly what opportunities are available, while businesses remain in the dark about the tremendous talent available to them.

At RBTC, we’re in the business of making connections. Matching regional companies with top-notch talent is one of our missions, and we’re rolling out an initiative that will do just that.

Building a Regional Internship Ecosystem

RBTC is taking the guesswork out of internships by surveying all intern programs within our membership. The data we collect will allow us to match talent more effectively with need. To build our opportunity map, we’ve created a short survey for companies to report their existing internship programs and get the word out about their available opportunities.

The initiative is spearheaded by RBTC Technology Talent Strategist, Katie Conner: “The survey will allow member companies to gain more visibility for their existing internship programs through strengthened awareness by the top talent coming out of our region’s post-secondary institutions.”

Creating Valuable Connections

The survey pulls triple-duty. First, it will help remove the advertising burden from companies by serving as a prime resource for talent acquisition. Second, students will benefit from having a comprehensive inventory of available opportunities. Lastly, the regional ecosystem will grow now and into the future as we nurture and retain new local talent.

“There are so many opportunities in the region, and they are growing by the day,” Conner said. “The data from this survey is going to strengthen our innovation ecosystem by giving us a robust sense of firsthand experiences that support professional and personal growth and will allow us to capitalize on and retain talent through enhanced strategies.” 

Take the Survey Today

Get the word out about opportunities at your company and connect with bright new talent. The survey is brief — it takes only about 3 minutes to complete. Your contribution is an important part of building valuable connections in the Roanoke-Blacksburg technology community.