We have two exciting Innovation Fellow projects currently in motion: Samantha Farr with "Women Who Weld" and Bill Stough with "Sustainable Research Group." Farr and Stough make up our inaugural class of Innovation Fellows; they have both previously conducted successful research for REI Co-Learning Plans, and this program gives them the opportunity to turn their research into a real world implementation project.

Samantha's third installment of the free-of-charge Women Who Weld (WWW) program is set to be bigger and better than its predecessors. She now has access to welding space at TechShop Detroit and she provides transportation to and from TechShop for program participants. The workshop started on June 5th and will run through July 13th. Upon completion, Samantha and her co-instructor, Tylah, will explore the possibility of providing paid classes to further support the mission of WWW. The paid classes will offset the cost for unemployed and underemployed women in Detroit. For more information on Women Who Weld, visit womenwhoweld.org or email info@womenwhoweld.org. You can follow Women Who Weld on instagram at @women.who.weld and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/womenwhoweld

Bill has done extensive research on Triple Bottom Line (TBL) businesses and strategies. This approach emphasizes the equal importance of incorporating social and environmental efforts in addition to financial outcomes. Bill's first major step has been partnering with Duro-Last, Inc., and Iris Waste Diversion to launch the Great Lakes Bay Zero Waste Consortium. The mission of this group is to bring together Great Lakes Bay manufacturers, businesses, and institutions to work together to implement waste reduction strategies and investigate TBL operating principles. For more information, or to receive consortium updates, email ZeroWaste@iriswastediversion.com.