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Applied Research Commercialization Hub

Partner: Oklahoma State University, University of Tulsa

The Green UAS initiative, led by the University of Tulsa, has now assisted 24 companies through its certification readiness pipeline, with the first successful certification recently completed by Wingtra. This milestone marks a critical inflection point for the program and highlights the growing strength of Tulsa’s defense innovation ecosystem. With robust university partnerships and increasing national alignment, Tulsa is positioned to accelerate throughput and reduce time to certification for trusted UAS technologies.

2025 Work & Results

Completed the first Green UAS Certification
Built pipeline of 24 additional companies to complete the certification process

Lasting Impact on Tulsa

300+ UAS and component companies
100 new firms in GreenUAS
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Kian Kamas

Head of Strategy & Initiatives

Kian Kamas is a passionate economic and community development practitioner, with over 15 years working in municipal government, government affairs, and economic development. Prior to joining Tulsa Innovation Labs as Head of Strategy and Initiatives, she served seven (7) years in the administration of Mayor G.T. Bynum, ultimately leading the creation of PartnerTulsa, the City of Tulsa’s economic development authority that was formed through the transformational merger of four (4) separate public entities. Following her work with the City and PartnerTulsa, Kian founded Valorem Public Private, an economic development consultancy focusing on economic and community development strategy and public and development finance. She started her career in municipal government with the City of Owasso, and subsequently spent six (6) years with the Tulsa Regional Chamber in various government affairs and economic development leadership roles.

Kian is passionate about solving complex economic challenges through public-private partnerships, leveraging public and development finance tools to drive economic opportunity. Kian holds a Masters in Comparative Public Policy from the University of Edinburgh, a Bachelors in Political Science from the University of Oklahoma, and is a Certified Economic Developer.

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Nishant Agarwal

Innovation Manager, Rose Rock Bridge

Nishant has vast experience in Management, R&D, and Entrepreneurship. Passionate about innovating solutions for climate change and sustainability. Working with a wide range of complex technologies in robotics, aerospace, automotive, O&G, and clean energy.

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Devon Fanfair

Manager, Rose Rock Bridge

As Manager of Rose Rock Bridge, Devon empowers a venture studio backed by Fortune 500 companies, designed to accelerate emerging technologies into real-world pilots and funded ventures. He works to surround high-potential startups with the capital, corporate access, and strategic support needed to land enterprise deployments and scale efficiently.

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Justin Carpenter

Director, Innovation Initiatives

Justin Carpenter is joining TIL as the new Director of Innovation Initiatives. He’s spent over a decade starting and supporting ventures in Tulsa, mostly in hospitality, tech, and consumer goods. A big believer in building things that last, Justin’s excited to help grow the kind of infrastructure that makes Tulsa a great place to launch and scale big ideas.

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Scott Cooper

Head of Business Attraction

A seasoned economic development executive with over two decades of experience advancing community growth, investment, and entrepreneurship in municipalities across the western United States. Known for his strategic vision and collaborative leadership, Scott has played a central role in driving economic revitalization and positioning cities for sustainable success. Most recently, Scott served as the Business Attraction Manager for the City of Scottsdale, where he led initiatives to attract new business, support existing industries, and enhance the city's economic competitiveness. His work in Scottsdale built upon a distinguished track record of results driven leadership in both small and large communities.

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Kenny Osborn

Manager, Innovation Initiatives

As a manager of innovation initiatives, Kenny helps drive strategy and success across the day-to-day execution of our initiatives and programs. He brings a wealth of experience in building systems, growing teams, and turning bold ideas into action. With a background spanning startups and global nonprofits, Kenny has led business development, operations, and go-to-market strategies to drive impact. He holds a Business Administration degree from Oklahoma State University and is a certified strategic planner through the Patterson Center.

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Tiffany Henley

Senior Associate, Grants Administration

As a senior associate of grants administration, Tiffany ensures our team executes our grant-funded programs and initiatives in compliance with requirements, with a knack for accurate and timely data that helps us evaluate impact. A graduate from the University of Oklahoma, Tiffany is a grants professional who brings more than a decade of experience stewarding relationships, managing special projects and evaluating impact. She has spent the last seven years working with nonprofit organizations to ensure opportunities to live, work, and thrive are accessible to all.

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Joanna Jeffries

Manager, Programming & Operations

As a manager of programming and operations, Joanna handles the planning, coordination, logistics, and successful execution of our team’s events.

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Clay Kindred

Manager, Marketing & Communications

As the manager of marketing and communications, Clay tells the story of how TIL and our partners are making an impact on the greater Tulsa region.. Clay is a marketing leader with over 20 years of experience in strategic marketing, brand management, and marketing automation and analytics with a focus on the energy and higher education industries. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri with an M.B.A from Oklahoma State University.

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Andra Pantelimon

Innovation Analyst, Rose Rock Bridge

As an innovation analyst for TIL’s Rose Rock Bridge initiative, Andra drives impact in energy and technology ventures. Prior to her role at TIL, she was a Data Product Analyst at Newton Energy Group and Technical Program Manager at Amazon. Andra holds a degree in human-centered engineering and design from Dartmouth College.

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Simba Gandari

Director, Higher Education Relationships

As director of higher education relationships, Simba works with our local education providers to explore innovative ways to train the talent of tomorrow. Simba brings more than a decade of experience in education, nonprofits and corporate social responsibility to the team. His most recent role with Harvard's Project on Workforce included a research project on the use of technology and labor market information in Community Colleges. A proud alum of Piedmont Technical College, Simba is a mover and shaker with a wealth of experience ready to serve the Tulsa community.

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Malachi Blankenship

Director, Capital & Commercialization

Malachi leads capital and commercialization strategy at Tulsa Innovation Labs, bringing over a decade of experience in venture capital and tech entrepreneurship. He oversees Rose Rock Bridge, TIL's deployment-focused program that connects corporate partners in aerospace, autonomous systems, energy, and other high-impact industries with technologies ready for real-world implementation. Before joining TIL, Malachi served as Managing Partner at ACT House and ACT Ventures, where he led early-stage investments and partnered with founders to drive company growth. He is an active angel investor and community board member. He holds a Master of Business Administration from The University of Tulsa.

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Tori Burris

Manager, Innovation Initiatives

As a manager of innovation initiatives, Tori helps drive strategy and success across the day-to-day execution of our initiatives and programs. Prior to joining TIL, Tori was on the original leadership team at Atlas School (previously Holberton Tulsa), a software engineering school in downtown Tulsa. She spent more than three years overseeing and representing the school's Career Services department to students, alumni, employers, and workforce partners while shaping the school’s approach to wholistic professional development. Tori previously worked on Route 66 Innovation at Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation. She is a graduate from the University of Tulsa with her M.B.A. and B.S.B.A in Business.

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MaryBeth Dewitt

Head of Operations

MaryBeth is the Head of Operations at Tulsa Innovation Labs. A change agent with more than 25 years of experience as a strategy and operations executive, MaryBeth has been integral to business initiatives that have resulted in significant revenue increases and operational efficiencies in both for-profit and non-profit environments. She has led multimillion dollar portfolios, utilizing her business expertise to launch new business startups in global environments. Before joining Tulsa Innovation Labs, MaryBeth worked as director of special projects for inTulsa, a non-profit dedicated to creating access to careers for Tulsans. MaryBeth holds a master’s degree of business administration from The University of Tulsa.

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Jennifer Hankins

Managing Director

Jenn is the managing director of Tulsa Innovation Labs. She joined the founding TIL team in January 2020 and brings more than 10 years of direct economic development experience to the organization. Working to convene stakeholders across multiple industries, she is responsible for setting TIL’s strategic direction, organizational mission, and most importantly, is responsible for leading a dynamic and high-performing team and the broad portfolio of work currently underway. Prior to joining Tulsa Innovation Labs, Jennifer was the vice president of Entrepreneurship and Small Business at the Tulsa Regional Chamber, where she helped grow the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem and managed the Chamber’s business incubator for high-growth startups. Jennifer also served as manager of business retention and expansion on the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development team. Prior to her time in Oklahoma, Jennifer worked in the Kansas City region for the Wyandotte Economic Development Council as investor relations coordinator and for Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph as development manager. She is a native of Kansas City, Missouri and holds a Bachelor of Political Science degree from Oklahoma State University.

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Hayden Hinchey

Senior Associate, Marketing & Communications

As a senior associate of marketing and communications, Hayden helps share our region's story of transformation into a tech hub where innovation thrives. She graduated from the University of Mississippi before embarking on a career in strategic communications and public affairs here in Tulsa, where she’s worked with a variety of clients, including government/state agencies and nonprofits.

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Lawrence Ganti

Director, Workforce & Talent

As director of workforce and talent and leader of the workforce intermediary, Lawrence oversees our efforts to build a regional talent pipeline driven by direct employer feedback and data. Lawrence is a senior operator with 30 years of experience leading organizations across the globe through transformations, transitions, and scale-ups. He has been a divisional CEO for Merck, where he led a team of 6,000 employees to deliver more than $2.5b in revenues. He has held leadership roles in Sales, Marketing, and Manufacturing with additional direct oversight for Finance, Human Resources, and Information Technology. Lawrence has also been the CEO of multiple start-ups across Advanced Manufacturing, Cyber-AI Software, and Agri-Tech. As the President of SiO2 Material Science, he led the scale up of 5 automated manufacturing sites under the Trump Administration’s Operation Warp Speed Initiative, deploying $250 million of US Department of Defense funding for Covid-19 response. Throughout his career, Lawrence has raised over $1.2 billion from Venture Capital, Private Equity, and Government Grants. He has lived and run organizations in North America, South America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia. Lawrence is the Entrepreneurial Leader in Residence at the World’s Leading educator for entrepreneurship – Babson College and is a Lead Mentor at Techstars and a Mentor at Endeavor. Lawrence calls Tulsa his home, where he aims to be a connector and facilitator in developing Tulsa into a future hub for Autonomous Systems, Cyber Security, Energy Tech, and Advanced Manufacturing.

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Makenzie Cochran

Manager, Place & Infrastructure

Mak leads Place and Infrastructure at Tulsa Innovation Labs, where she helps shape strategies that connect regional infrastructure, physical assets, and policy priorities to support Tulsa’s growing advanced industry clusters. Her work centers on building cross-sector partnerships and identifying opportunities that catalyze innovation and long-term economic growth. With a strong background in government affairs and policy engagement, she brings expertise in navigating complex policy landscapes and fostering collaborative coalitions. Mak holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from Oklahoma State University.

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Chase Beasley

Director, Government Affairs

As director of government affairs, Chase leads efforts to align public policy, economic development, and industry partnerships to position Tulsa as a hub for innovation and emerging technologies. With nearly a decade of experience in aerospace, workforce development, and government relations—including key roles at American Airlines—Chase has been instrumental in shaping policies that support workforce growth and economic expansion. He holds an Executive MBA in Aerospace and Defense and a BBA in Economics, Finance, and Energy Management from the University of Oklahoma.

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Allison Foster

Director, Strategic Engagement

As director of strategic engagement, Allison oversees functions across events, programming, marketing and communications, and operational integrity, ensuring our team shows up successfully across all engagements. She brings over 20 years of experience in event operations, account management, project management, and strategic relationship building. She is a highly organized individual who thrives in a challenging, fast-paced environment with the ability to successfully plan, manage, and execute large organizational projects.

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Caragan Tillman

Manager, Administration & Operations

As Manager of Administration and Operations, Caragan ensures our dynamic and high-performing team is empowered and enabled to do their best work within the organization. Her areas of focus include team member experience and culture, operational integrity, organizational communication and change management, performance management, and special projects. Prior to her role at TIL, as administrative services manager in one of Tulsa’s premier life plan communities, she managed the concierge team and served as strategic liaison for the C-suite and senior leadership team. She holds a BS in Leadership Studies from Oral Roberts University and is a Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) with 8 years of experience in the field.

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Allison Rhodes

Senior Associate, Events & Programming

As Senior Associate, Events and Programming, Allison (Alli) handles the planning, coordination, logistics, and successful execution of our team’s events. Alli brings a strong analytical background to her role, having spent three years as a data analyst and two years as an events and registration coordinator. She graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma.

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Alejandra Palomo

Senior Associate, Innovation Initiatives

As a senior associate of grants strategy & partnerships, Alejandra drives our approach to funding sources for programs and initiatives in the region. Prior to her role at TIL, she was a programs associate at TEDC Creative Capital, where she worked with small businesses and entrepreneurs start or expand a company through non-traditional lending programs. Alejandra holds a degree in Global Environmental Sustainability from Oral Roberts University and is deeply committed to promoting sustainable economic development in Tulsa.  

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Abisoye Ajayi

Manager, Workforce & Talent

As Manager, Workforce & Talent, Abisoye serves as a key member of the Workforce Intermediary designed to catalyze economic mobility through collaborative programming. She is a visionary leader who has dedicated her career to driving social innovation and digital inclusion in communities. She brings over a decade of experience in creating opportunities for underserved communities, and her innovative approach to economic and social development has established her as a recognized trailblazer in technology-driven transformation. Abisoye founded Pearls Africa Foundation, pioneering one of the region's first tech boot camps focused on empowering young girls and women. Under her leadership, the foundation has transformed lives through technology education, hands-on projects, and collaborative learning experiences. Her strategic acumen in building partnerships with US consulates, government bodies, financial institutions, and UN agencies significantly amplified the foundation's reach, and highlights her ability to forge strategic partnerships to achieve aligned goals.

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