Tag: US Innovator Panel

Innovation is all around us and I have recently had a chance to listen to a number of people share how they are contributing to change in their organisations. In this post I will be highlighting the key takeaways from the discussion which will be focused on the role of community, the concept of disruption and the advantages of thinking fast.

The Power of Community Engagement

Katie from The Gathering Place explained a very practical lesson on the importance of community in innovation. When the park was first built in an expensive area of Tulsa, it sought to be a place for everyone. But their initial attempt, for instance, through one-time cultural events was not effective. They then understood the need to build strong ties, not just by organizing events once in while.

Therefore, they decided to change the strategy and provide different activities that would be interesting to different categories of people. This made the park to become a place that anyone could feel comfortable in. In due course of time they marked the park’s fifth anniversary by telling the stories of the people who made it a success. The conclusion: innovation is most effective when it is based on the real needs of the community.

Technology Shapes Innovation

The panel also discussed how technology has changed the way we work and communicate. During the pandemic, many companies had to find new ways to engage their customers or clients. One of the panelists explained how they had employed Skype and Vimeo to engage with their clients despite the fact that they were based abroad. This not only maintained the operations but also provided a way to grow the business.

Key Takeaways for Aspiring Innovators

As undergrad students and future professionals, I think this is a much needed experience and it is essential to embrace the lessons learned from these experiences. Here are some actionable takeaways I personally have gathered from this lovely panel:

Engage the Community: Foster genuine relationships with community members. Listen to their stories and experiences, and involve them in the innovation process to create meaningful connections.
Embrace Disruption: View disruption as an opportunity for growth rather than a challenge. Be open to restructuring and adapting to new circumstances to remain competitive.
Leverage Technology: Utilize technology to enhance engagement and storytelling. Explore innovative tools that can elevate your organization’s impact and reach.
Cultivate a Supportive Culture: Encourage a culture of innovation within your organization. Empower employees to share ideas, take risks, and collaborate freely to inspire creativity.

Conclusion

I believe this panel ingrains the message that: innovation is only truly created from someone that has utmost dedication, adaptability, and a willingness to learn from both successes and failures. Using the their passions to foster a culture of engagement, understanding community needs, and embracing disruption, organizations can pave the way for innovation that drives growth and impacts society for the better of everyone. It is only through this can someone create something meaningful, something that not only grows but also makes a real impact.

Time and Its Process in Understanding Innovation

By Aidan Jordan

On February 17, 2025

In Arezzo Innovation

Innovation is everywhere, constantly changing, progressing and regressing ideas and technologies within society today and throughout history. Last Monday, February the 10th, myself along with a few of my peers–Sterling Foster, Ramey Brinkman, and Ashtyn Caldwell–sat down and interviewed four different individuals, chosen by Dr. Elaine Steyn, about the importance of innovation and the role it has played in their own careers.

Katie Richie, the Brand and Partnership Manager for Gathering Place, a privately funded non-profit park in Tulsa, Oklahoma, spoke a lot about the impacts innovation has had on herself, the success of the Gathering Place, and some of the challenges that can accompany innovation and change. She began by telling us her inexpressibly gratitude for the Gathering Place and all it has done for her, being her first and only job so far in her career out of college. As a result of this being her first job and joining on the ground floor, she spoke to us about some of the challenges that came with this. The first initial challenge that came with the Gathering Place became the location of the site, being located “in a very affluent area of Tulsa. It’s a safe and wonderful area of Tulsa. But the issue with that is that it did not make it feel like everybody was, like, welcome in the park.” She tells us that this can be attributed to the “broken history, especially when it comes to race, and diversity was not a thing that was celebrated here.” She tells us that they first combatted this challenge by first hosting cultural events that “I don’t want to use the word pandering to specific audiences, but that’s what it really came to feel like. Which was a lot more inauthentic than we had predicted.” She explains how different groups only felt welcome during those special events, which was the opposite intention of the park but also a “beautiful way to just learn about how the community responds to these different invitations.” To combat this she tells us that “The solution was to include people based on demographics other than race and culture.” Including people in ways that connected them through other areas rather than cultural is where they saw the most success. She goes on to explain that “sure, it took five years to get there, but that’s part of being innovative and starting something new is just responding to the changes that you see.”

This story is important to understanding innovation through the lens that it takes time and that the answers don’t always come immediately. Although there were multiple different innovations made and the solution was not always clear, by seeking new ideas, innovation will prevail. This can be achieved by understanding the importance of patience and responding to changes in the creative process.

Armand McCoy, currently a faculty member in Advertising at Gaylord College and serves as Executive Director/Faculty Advisor to Lindsey + Asp, with a very long resume working with Trifecta Communications, United Nations Foundations, and local government of the City of Moore; spoke to us about his experience with innovation and change within his career. Part of understanding innovation is seeing where it has gone wrong, as I highlighted with Richie’s experience at the Gathering Place, for McCoy where he has seen innovation gone wrong is when you misunderstand/misinterpret the culture. He spoke a lot on “the importance of in innovation, taking the time to.. make sure…are all the right people at the table?” When making decisions, as he discusses, taking the time to really step back and look at situations through multiple perspectives, understanding the potential success and pitfalls of a new idea, is crucial to understanding innovation. He tells us to “slow down, do your research, read the tea leaves. And now if you like something a whole lot, you know, sit on it for like two or three weeks and if you still feel good about it, if everything sizes up, then you can march forward.”

Through both Richie and McCoy we can broaden our understanding of innovation, understanding that it is not an overnight process or always a eureka moment. The importance of the community and culture cannot be understated, as understanding their perspective is crucial in the innovative process. To understand this process, according to Richie and McCoy, it takes time and often you wont get it right on the first, or maybe even the second try, but through this trial comes the true process of innovation.

Innovation in an Equilibrium

By Ashtynn Caldwell

On February 17, 2025

In Arezzo Innovation

Human beings have been innovating throughout the entirety of documented history. The idea of documenting history is an innovation in itself… even if the pioneers of the idea didn’t realize it at the time. Each piece of the past hints that humanity has always been shaping itself. From carvings in stone to written correspondence, there has always been the need to sculpt the world in a way that hadn’t been thought of before.

Innovation occurs for a variety of reasons. It is arguably an innate part of human nature, but it is more likely occurring due to a desire for growth or in response to external pressures. In any case, it is a new perspective that institutes some sort of change. But what happens when an organization fails to consider all of the possible impacts their innovations will have on themselves, their company, and society as a whole? Last week, I attended a panel discussion on innovation featuring four creative minds from varying backgrounds. Each individual produced a unique perspective on innovation, but they all seemed to gravitate toward a particular topic: What happens when innovation gains momentum and builds upon itself?

Panel member Katie Richie shared her experience. Katie is the Partnership Manager for the Gathering Place, a nonprofit park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Gathering Place aims to serve as a cornerstone for the community and support the mission of equal opportunity for all. Katie was a member of the opening team for the project. The work she contributed helped launch the idea of the park into its current physical state. Since the Gathering Place is unique, there was nothing to compare it to and no way to predict the outcome. The opening team only had the context of their community and their collective goals to guide them.

It can easily be said that the city of Tulsa has a broken history, particularly when it comes to race. One mission the Gathering Place set out to accomplish was to find a way to fill those cracks in Tulsa’s foundation.

“Diversity was not a thing that was celebrated [in Tulsa]… the Gathering Place was a really unique opportunity to find a way to MEND that… but because of the location of the Gathering Place, that mend was a lot more difficult than expected.”

Katie explained that the Gathering Place is situated in a fairly affluent neighborhood in Tulsa, which initially made it feel like the park wasn’t for everyone. The team quickly worked against this narrative.

“So the immediate idea for that was to host different cultural events that felt like an open invitation to different areas of the community… The [other] solution was to include people based on demographics other than race and culture. So maybe we host a painting class or a fitness class… and we saw that be wildly successful with our five-year anniversary celebration.”

This is an example of innovation being used to combat an existing issue and work towards some sort of change. The team was able to adapt to the problems they faced by developing creative solutions. However, Katie also informed us of an instance in which the team implemented an innovation before fully considering the potential outcomes.

“I think another huge challenge in innovation is the momentum of it. You can get so excited around the momentum at the beginning of an innovative idea that you don’t think in the long term…”

“…When our park opened, we decided to do 100 days of events. It was the big kickoff… all of these things had momentum and a beautiful community impact… but what does this mean for our employees? Do we have the staff to work 100 days of events? What does the turnover look like during this period? What does this mean that we’ve now establish a community expectation… but will we have the budget long term to support an expectation like that?”

This perfectly encompasses the idea of innovation spurring innovation. The team at the Gathering Place created a beautiful idea and enacted it; however, it created unexpected shockwaves. To set a precedent and go from daily events to less frequent events could have created a natural void of energy and community engagement. While the innovation was positive, it pushed the organization towards a system they weren’t sure they were prepared to support.

“So however excited you are to get the needle moving, make sure you have just as much bandwidth to actually follow through on moving it, or else that’s a really quick way for innovation to die and for those new ideas to not get to come to life.”

Ultimately, the 100 days of events was a huge achievement for the park and fast-tracked the Gathering Place to success. The challenges presented spurred the team toward even greater innovation. Luckily this scenario was a positive one, but Katie’s story sparked a conversation among the panelists. If this had occurred on a greater scale with a larger margin of error, how devastating could the resulting impacts be?

The truth is, that scenario is happening on a larger scale right this moment with the development of Artificial Intelligence. Ashley Coffey, the CEO of Coffey & Consult, added her input on the topic of AI:

“Can you try to excel toward innovation too quickly?… These companies, and the world right now, are racing towards innovation without asking the questions of impact on humanity…as we interact with these tools that are innovative, [we need] to ask ourselves what are we trying to accomplish? What is the long-term impact?”

This is not to say that technological advances are not useful. Each panel member was able to provide an example of technology having a direct positive effect on their organizations. It certainly is a helpful tool. The problem stems not from the application of the tool but from the lack of understanding of its implications.

This collection of stories gives context to the purpose of innovation. Human-kind has used innovation as a direct source of growth and problem-solving for centuries. In turn, varying reactions to innovative implementations can push even greater change as a result. Being able to consider the results of varying perspectives before enacting a new plan helps to prevent unwanted or adverse outcomes. If society as a whole cannot slow down and consider the implications of emerging innovations, then there is no way to measure the threats that loom. The opposing forces of the desire to change and the ability to do so should not outweigh each other; rather, approaches to problem-solving through innovation should be seen as an equilibrium, carefully balanced to support our collective humanity.

The Innovation Push

By Ramey Brinkman

On February 16, 2025

In Arezzo Innovation, Ramey Brinkman

Innovation is the driving factor behind society. Because people are innovative, new technologies are made, problems are solved, and the way we live our life changes. Innovation isn’t something that always just comes naturally, however. Leaders in our world are constantly looking for ways to innovate and find new solutions. Leaders in Oklahoma shared how they used and adapted to innovation throughout their own professional and personal lives.

“You have to move fast in the media,” said Ryan Welton, a digital media expert. “Leverage influence internally to make innovation happen.” New ideas and innovation aren’t always well received by the people within the company you are trying to innovate. Existing mindsets and ideas often resist change, making it challenging for new concepts to take hold.

Welton noted that he moves independently, sometime’s “asking for forgiveness rather than permission.” This approach emphasizes innovation’s need for bold action-pushing forward with new ideas, despite pushback someone may receive. If he hesitated, it is possible to miss opportunities for ground breaking possibilities. This sentiment was repeated multiple times, noting that change can be resisted both internally, and externally by the community.

Katie Ritchie, the brand and partnership manager for The Gathering Place in Tulsa explained how important community is for an idea. “A brand is a community, nothing to do with visuals, everything to do with people.” Ritchie’s words reflect how innovation needs to occur externally throughout the community: how it is possible to foster connections through innovation. At its core a brand, a brand is built by the community it serves. The Gathering Place, the largest privately funded park in U.S. history would not be successful without the community that it serves. While the Gathering Place is a beautiful park, the innovative success within wasn’t with the looks, but the community engagement. Ritchie explains that this didn’t happen overnight. “Took 5 years to get there, but you just respond to the feedback you see,” she said.

Effective innovation requires patience and feedback to get it right. Ritchie explained how some of her goals with the Gathering Place weren’t sustainable, and she had to consider the feedback of the community to finetune community events at the park. Armand McCoy, a faculty member at the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, explains that to fix this issue you have to, “Sit on [innovation] for 2-3 weeks then march forward, impulse is not the way.” Different from Welton’s bold approach of moving fast, both McCoy and Welton recognize the need for thoughtfulness when it comes to innovation. Balancing urgencies with strategic planning ensures that ideas are turned into long-term successes.

True innovation is a balancing act. Innovators must balance the needs of the community, the consumer, and the company to make sure that innovation is successful and long term. Welton says that, “[Innovation] cannot be forced.” In order to be truly innovative, it is important to understand the needs of the community. True innovation isn’t just a moment of inspiration-but a process that must combine feedback, patience, and bold action.

Katie Ritchie’s Innovative Approach to the #1 City Park in America: Gathering Place

By Sterling Foster

On February 11, 2025

In Arezzo Innovation, Sterling Foster

When she was 22 and freshly out of college, Katie Ritchie landed her first job. Doing what, you ask? She joined the opening team of an ambitious new project in Tulsa, Oklahoma: a park called Gathering Place. She watched as an idea transformed into a plan, then into a thriving destination that now welcomes millions of visitors each year. “That was an incredibly unique experience to start off my career with,” she said.

But as the saying goes, growing pains were inevitable. One of the park’s challenges stemmed from its location, which is situated in an affluent part of Tulsa. The issue, as pointed out by Ritchie, was that “it did not make it feel like everybody was welcome in the park.” And for a place called Gathering Place, that was a problem.

To counteract this predetermined idea that it was only for certain groups of people, the team had the immediate idea to host different cultural events that felt like “open invitation[s]” for different communities.

Ritchie: “I don’t want to use the word ‘pandering’ to specific audiences, but that’s what it really came to feel like–which was a lot more inauthentic than we had predicted. It was meant to be this unique invitation, but the result of that was…these different community groups felt like that was the only time they were welcome in the park instead of ‘This is your first invitation for a taste, but now you’re welcome here all the time!’ So that was quite unexpected but also a beautiful way to just learn about how the community responds to these different invitations.”

Ultimately, the solution was to create events that brought people together based on shared interests and demographics other than race or culture. Whether that be a painting class or a fitness course designed for the older population, Gathering Place found huge success in these new programs that seemed more welcoming to the general public. A couple years ago, the park celebrated its 5th anniversary, and these types of events were a big part of a fun way to commemorate Gathering Place’s birthday.

Ritchie: “But that’s part of being innovative and starting something new is just responding to the changes that you see.”

However, innovation doesn’t always mean replacing tradition. Sometimes, it enhances it. At Gathering Place, technology isn’t used to overshadow nature but to highlight its beauty. When I asked Ritchie how she sees parks evolving in the digital age, she emphasized the role of social media in encouraging people to step away from their screens and experience the world firsthand.

Ritchie: “A few of my favorite things when it comes to social media is just highlighting the beauty of a real-life experience. That moment of pause, of, ‘Oh, wow, look at the world that exists off of the screen!’ And I really think that that’s the beautiful thing you can create through social media when it comes to any kind of travel destination or natural attraction or green space, is creating a pause to make people shut their phone and go out and experience the pause in real life.”

At Gathering Place, social media isn’t purely about engagement. It’s a bridge, leading people away from their screens and into the park itself. In an era where technology often competes for our attention, Ritchie’s approach reminds us that sometimes, the best way to connect is to disconnect–and I think that’s extremely innovative.

The Gathering Place team also understands that innovation is not always about technology; it’s also about people. Gathering Place was built to be a park for all, but how do you ensure that a space truly feels inclusive? That’s where community engagement plays a crucial role.

When asked how community feedback drives innovation, Ritchie’s answer was clear: a brand isn’t just something that exists online.

Ritchie: “A brand is a community. A brand has legs. That’s the way I always think about it. Brand building has nothing to do with visuals and everything to do with people and making people really feel like they are part of something.”

For Gathering Place, this meant identifying the community members that weren’t already part of the conversation. Through school outreach programs and initiatives that brought the park to the community, rather than waiting for the community to come to the park, the team worked to ensure that Gathering Place wasn’t just a park people could visit, but a park they could feel involved in.

To celebrate this, they launched the Five Years of Gathering Place: A Park for All campaign. Inspired by the wildly successful Humans of New York, it invited people to share their personal stories and experiences at the park over the years, turning digital engagement into something deeply personal and real.

Ritchie: “That was really bringing that beautiful touch of humanity into a digital space, but then also into a physical space. It let people see that they were part of the park, not just invited to hang out here sometimes.”

At its core, Gathering Place thrives because of the people who make it their own. And through intentional efforts to engage with the community, Ritchie and her team have helped transform the park from just a physical space into something much more: a living, evolving story, shaped by the very people who walk through it every day.