Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick Visits NACET

We were very pleased to host Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick today as she announced a $200,000 appropriation for NACET in the 2010 House budget. The monies would go towards assisting incubation companies in the clean energy field through a project titled the Arizona Clean Energy Accelerator. The monies will help pay for high end training for the companies as well as begin to bring them together to explore collaboration possibilities. The Congresswoman toured the facility and then sat down with me in front of our clients and stakeholders to talk about the ability of incubators to create high wage jobs for our community. Many of those attending were also able to discuss their projects with the Congresswoman. We are exploring a possible East-West partnership through Congressman Shuler’s office to support joint research projects in the automotive industries between NACET and the Center for Business and Technology Commercialization at A-B Tech.