A Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Southeastern Dane County

March 1st, 2023: You're Invited! Fab Lab Open House

The idea for Innovation Center Stoughton came from the success of Stoughton High School's Fab Lab and the desire to bring that experiential learning, creativity, and connection to resources to the broader community, especially Stoughton-area entrepreneurs and makers (and budding entrepreneurs and makers!) We continue to have a close partnership with the Fab Lab and invite you to join us at Fab Lab Stoughton's Open House on March 1st, from 4-8pm.

January 2023: Innovation Center Stoughton Hires Executive Director

1/2/23 Press Release: Innovation Center Stoughton (ICS) enters 2023 ready to hit the ground running after two years of hard work securing community participation and fundraising. ICS solidified their Board of Directors with dedicated and experienced professionals. The Executive Committee includes Mike Connor (President), Cary Bremigan (Vice President), Tim Swadley (Treasurer) and Carl Chenoweth (Secretary). Dr. Daniel Keyser (Superintendent, Stoughton Area School District), Sarah Ebert (President, Stoughton Chamber of Commerce), Dr. Tim Onsager (Retired Superintendent, Stoughton Area School District), and Greta Anderson (Owner, Layer Cake Shop) add their expertise as Board Members.

Innovation Center Stoughton’s commitment to building a resilient economy and community by connecting entrepreneurs to resources, leveraging technology, collaborating with local government, education, and business leadership, and program creation is secured with the addition of ICS Executive Director, Katrina Becker. “In 2018, we started having conversations with local employers and the school district about how the Fab Lab model could be expanded to build community resilience and help solve some of the challenges facing Stoughton, such as workforce shortages and support for entrepreneurs. Out of those discussions, Innovation Center Stoughton was born. With initial funding secured through generous donations from the Wahlin Foundation, City of Stoughton, and AprilAire and the addition of Ms. Becker, all of our planning can start taking shape.” shared Mike Connor, ICS Board President and founder of Fab Lab Stoughton.

Katrina Becker’s role as Executive Director is secured through Becker Professional Services, a community economic development consulting firm. Katrina began her relationship with ICS as a consultant to the Board of Directors beginning in March 2022 and brings experience in both nonprofit administration and entrepreneurship program creation and management. She will begin her role as Executive Director of Innovation Center Stoughton in January 2023. Ms. Becker expressed excitement for the coming year, “My husband and I will be relocating to Stoughton in the Spring. In the meantime, I’ll be setting up temporary office space in downtown Stoughton for ICS. I look forward to working with our community stakeholders while putting all of the pieces together for our first program offerings.”

Carl Chenoweth, ICS Secretary, shared more about what 2023 holds for the non-profit organization, “With Katrina on board, now will be the time to move forward with our strategic plan to build a network of resources to support our economic and workforce development commitment to this community. During this next year, our Board will be faced with the challenges of prioritizing potential programming options and implementing these programs to build a foundation for future growth.”  “It will not be easy but I look forward to working with all the community leaders on our board; along with our new Executive Director Katrina Becker.”