For immediate release:
EDMONTON, AB, June 29, 2022 – The Edmonton Public Library (EPL) and Innovate Edmonton are delighted to announce a new partnership with a focus on encouraging and developing new entrepreneurs in the city. Edmontonians with big ideas will have access to a series of four classes and can seek advice from the first Innovator in Residence at the Stanley A. Milner Library.
“We are pleased to welcome entrepreneurial powerhouse and Innovate Edmonton CEO Catherine Warren as our first Innovator in Residence,” said Pilar Martinez, CEO of EPL. “There is a culture of innovation in Edmonton including at EPL, and we are looking forward to Catherine sharing her collaborative vision and invaluable knowledge in this role. We are excited to welcome Catherine to EPL as she supports and inspires entrepreneurs in our city.”
While in residence, Catherine Warren will be available on the second floor of the Stanley A. Milner Library. Budding entrepreneurs are encouraged to meet with Catherine one-on-one during her office hours and ask for insights, advice or feedback.
In addition to the residency, Edmontonians are encouraged to register for Innovation U: An Entrepreneurial Series which consists of four in-person and online classes focused on innovation and entrepreneurship basics. This program is adapted from Innovate Edmonton’s Startup Foundation to Preflight programs and aims to appeal to a broad audience. Taught by the Innovate Edmonton program team, each class can be taken in sequence or as a stand-alone session and is designed to build upon one another.
“Innovation is a team pursuit and we’re pleased to partner with the Edmonton Public Library to offer this one-of-a-kind public program and residency to inspire Edmontonians to explore their innovation potential,” said Catherine. “Edmonton’s award-winning library offers a whole toolkit for budding innovators, from Makerspaces, including game development studios and 3D printers, not to mention the latest books, data and business intelligence. As a tech entrepreneur and urban innovator, I’m especially excited to hear from Edmontonians and offer my support in taking the first steps on their entrepreneurial path—as we capitalize together on all the Library has to offer.”
This continues EPL’s long-standing record for developing award-winning library innovations, including awards for Capital City Records, outreach services, digital literacy, indigenous programming and more. EPL is also the first public library in North America to produce a vinyl anthology, a two-storey interactive digital wall, and was the first Canadian library to be named Library of the Year by Library Journal magazine and Gale Cengage Learning in 2014.
“The Edmonton Public Library has been a place for learning and development for many of us and I am happy to see that EPL and Innovate Edmonton are partnering to make innovation advice more accessible,” said Amarjeet Sohi, Mayor of Edmonton. “The Innovator in Residence program is another exciting initiative to support entrepreneurs looking to make the most of this city’s booming business ecosystem.”
The Innovator in Residence will serve a one-year term supporting EPL until June 2023. During Catherine’s residency, she aims to meet and nurture visionary entrepreneurs in Edmonton and support their diverse needs.
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About Catherine Warren
A champion of enlightened and digital economies, Catherine has lived and worked in Canada, the US, UK and Europe. She has served as a C-suite executive in publicly-traded companies, academic institutions and government-business enterprises. Over more than two decades as a tech advisor, Catherine’s international track-record includes mergers and acquisitions in media and entertainment, raising capital and liquidity events for tech companies, consulting to national media funds, hedge funds, crowdfunds and coaching executives on strategic growth, monetization and impact. Catherine has a bachelor’s degree in physics from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, with a focus on climate change, and a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York, where she did her original thesis work onsite at MIT covering the launch of its digital Media Lab. Read her full bio here: https://innovateedmonton.com/our-team/
About Edmonton Public Library
Edmonton Public Library (EPL) is proud to be 2014 Library of the Year! We’ve come a long way since 1913 when books were all you could find on our shelves … and we’re just getting started! Today, EPL carries everything you care about. We are Edmonton’s largest lender of all manner of information and entertainment. Our professionally trained staff take you beyond Google with the knowledge, discernment and desire to help you navigate a universe of information. The second most visited place in Edmonton, every year EPL hosts over 15.4 million in-branch and online visits across our 21 branches and website. We deliver our incredible content to you everywhere – in the library, at home or on your handheld device. Unmatched access and unrivalled value – that is today’s EPL. EPL is a registered charity and relies on donations to enhance services. Spread the words. www.epl.ca/give
About Innovate Edmonton
Headquartered in Alberta’s capital city, Innovate Edmonton leverages, unites and promotes home-grown innovation as a gateway to solving the world’s most pressing problems. We harness the power of the public and private sectors, ground-breaking academic research and purpose-driven investment to build a shared prosperity and open international markets. From sustainable climate solutions to public health and digital education, Edmonton is a leading global centre for inspiration, ingenuity and inclusion. Learn more about Innovate Edmonton and Startup Edmonton, a division of Innovate Edmonton.
