When Kentucky Commercialization Ventures Licensing and New Ventures Manager Megan Aanstoos attended her first AUTM event in 2018, she felt a natural inclination to get involved in the nonprofit organization that supports professionals to develop academic research and drive innovation.
“AUTM is such a friendly and welcoming group of professionals. I've never felt unwanted or not part of the community,” said Aanstoos. “I think that's an important component of what we do - we are not a competitive group. We're a collaborative group.”
“AUTM is such a friendly and welcoming group of professionals. I've never felt unwanted or not part of the community."
Just a few months after attending her first event, Aanstoos was appointed site chair for the AUTM Central Region committee. She was then asked to stay on as program co-chair and helped plan the Central Region meetings for 2020/21 and 2022. During that time, she also helped form a new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) committee and was ultimately elected to be the committee’s first chair.
In addition to her committee work, Aanstoos is a founding member of the Diversity and Inclusion Special Interest Group and the Social Innovation Special Interest Group. She is an active participant in several other special interest groups, and in 2021 she received AUTM’s Volunteer of the Year award.
Aanstoos will officially step into her three-year role on the AUTM Board of Directors at the group’s annual meeting in Austin, TX this February.
“I felt like it was a natural next step from volunteering to continue my commitment to seeing the growth and diversity of the organization to join the board,” explained Aanstoos.
She follows in the footsteps of Kentucky colleagues and AUTM board members Laura Savatski (University of Louisville) and Ian McClure (University of Kentucky). Savatski concludes her board service as immediate past chair and McClure will step into the role of immediate past chair at the annual meeting.
Aanstoos is looking forward to expanding her involvement with AUTM and guiding the future of the technology transfer community as a whole.
"Technology transfer is on the cusp of something new and exciting and different, not just by definition of who we are, but as a profession."
“I think that technology transfer is on the cusp of something new and exciting and different, not just by definition of who we are, but as a profession,” shared Aanstoos. “We've been shifting from strictly patents to creating more holistic opportunities for entrepreneurs and innovators within their communities. That’s something I'm very excited to be able to be spearheading through the AUTM Board and to lead us into that next level of the profession.”
Contact Megan if you would like to learn more about AUTM and how to get involved with the technology transfer community at a state, regional or national level.