Meet a mentor, win music festival tickets, get curious, and BUILD!
Find Your FORGE: STEAM FORGE
FORGE provides venture resources in several locations throughout Arizona. FORGE currently has three locations on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson. FORGE also maintains locations in downtown Tucson, Phoenix, and Yuma
Each week we will be featuring a different FORGE location and the resources available. This week, get to know our newest location – STEAM FORGE!
STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Mathematics) FORGE is our newest location on the University of Arizona campus. Located in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Building, Room 234, STEAM FORGE is strategically located to connect with students from the College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture, College of Engineering, College of Fine Arts, College of Humanities, James E. Rogers College of Law and Eller College of Management. STEAM FORGE is a place for students to explore ideas, develop entrepreneurial skills, and learn about venture creation. Join us for the Grand Opening celebration Thursday, November 16, 2022, 3-5 pm.
The space is also available for general use as a study and quiet space for faculty, staff and students when programs and events are not scheduled. Staff, student leaders, and mentors are on hand throughout the week during designated office hours below.
- Tuesday: 2:00 - 4:00pm
- Wednesday: 9:30am - 11:30am
- Thursday: 1:00pm - 3:00pm (Mentoring with Bill Waynick)
William “Bill” Waynick is our dedicated STEAM FORGE Mentor in Residence. A retired Colonel from the US Air Force with 30-years of dedicated service, Bill worked as the Director of Air Force CyberWorx, the service’s innovation hub for all things cyber. He is an industry-recognized CIO, Senior IT, Innovation, and Technology Director with experience providing large-scale enterprise-wide communication and collaboration services for the Department of Defense. Bill has proven success driving digital transformation across the US Air and Space Forces, leading hundreds of highly-trained IT experts in designing, developing, and delivering multiple transformational efforts serving hundreds of thousands of customers. Bill holds master’s degrees in Computer Information Systems, Military Operational Art & Science, and Strategic Studies.
Win Passes to Dusk
The DUSK Music Festival happens every fall right outside the door of our downtown location, FORGE at Roy Place. The two day lineup includes GRiZ, Young The Giant, Cannons, Nora En Pure, Zomboy, Aluna, Breakup Shoes, KennyHoopla, Kyle Walker, Slothrust , Spag Heddy, Alison Wonderland, NGHTMRE, Sofi Tukker (Hybrid DJ Set), 4B, Dillon Nathaniel, Dion Timmer, Inzo, Lauren Sanderson, Ranger Trucco, Royal & The Serpent and Sophie Powers. We encourage folks to come visit our downtown location to get to see first hand all that downtown Tucson has to offer. This Thursday’s Curiosity Club with the Made in Tucson Market celebrates the unique vibrancy that arts and culture brings to Tucson. The Made in Tucson Market organizers will talk about what it took to create one of Tucson’s largest, all-local art marketplaces and share what it means to find your place in the arts community. As part of our celebration of the arts in Tucson, we will be giving away TWO passes to the DUSK Music Festival at Thursday's Curiosity Club event.
Register Here for Curiosity Club
Native FORGE in the News
From left, Levi Esquerra, senior vice president for Native American Advancement and Tribal Engagement; FORGE founding director Brian Ellerman; and Rafael Tapia Jr., a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, vice president of programs at Partnership With Native Americans and mentor in residence for Native FORGE. Photo By: Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily Star
Thank you to the Arizona Daily Star for this great feature story on the Native FORGE program -
“Arizona’s Native American tribes are getting help fostering entrepreneurship among their members from the University of Arizona’s business accelerator.
Last week, Arizona FORGE (Finding Opportunities and Resources to Grow Entrepreneurs) picked the San Carlos Apache Tribe as the first participant in Native FORGE, a five-year effort to help advance Native American business startups across the state.
The program, backed with an annual $100,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and matching funds from the UA, will provide education, mentoring, coaching, exposure to the venturing process, readiness assessment tools and services and access to resources to scale up and launch a business.”
BUILD Day at TENWEST Impact Festival
Be sure to drop by on November 3rd from 5-7pm during the Happy Hour and Awards Celebration to visit with FORGE staff.
FORGE is proud to be a sponsor of the TENWEST Impact Festival Build Day on November 3rd presented by Startup Tucson and UA Center for Innovation. Come by from 5pm - 7pm during the Happy Hour and Awards Celebration to visit with FORGE staff. Part party, TENWEST returns in-person to Downtown Tucson for a week full of inspiration, conversation, demonstrations, and celebration! Festival passes are available online here.
UA Students and FORGE supporters can use the promo code UAFORGE for a 10% discount.
The BUILD Conference at the Tucson Convention Center from 9am - 6pm is for entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders & community supporters of local innovation. The day includes a Full-day Pitch Competition featuring 25 Arizona Companies pitching on 5 different stages for over $50,000 in prize money. Breakout sessions for entrepreneurs and investors including the first RAIN Investor Conference and business topics like mindfulness, cash flow, scaling and leadership, fintech and more
Be sure to get your passes and hear from over 20 featured speakers including seasoned investors and founders from all over the country.
Upcoming Events
- Thursday, October 27 - Curiosity Club with Made in Tucson market
- November 1st - 5th - TENWEST Impact Festival
- November 10th - Campus Spotlight
- November 14-20th - Global Entrepreneurship Week
- November 17th - FORGE Fireside with Allie Burns, CEO, Village Capital