Elizabeth Lewis

JOHNSON CITY – Elizabeth “Liz” Lewis has been named the first assistant director of the East Tennessee State University Innovation Lab.

Lewis received her M.B.A. earlier this year from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University with a double major in entrepreneurship and corporate innovation and management.  While in graduate school, she organized many entrepreneurial events in conjunction with the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

After receiving her B.A. degree in business administration and Japanese studies from Illinois Wesleyan University, Lewis opened an English Conversation School in Kanazawa, Japan, where she facilitated cross-cultural communication and taught conversational and business-level English from 2004-10.  She then served as assistant to the president and manager of the Global Sales Division of Yamato Soysauce & Miso Co., Kanazawa, Japan, until 2013, when she returned to the U.S. to pursue her graduate studies.

“Liz comes highly recommended, and her unique qualifications in business, international relations, student incubation and entrepreneurship will prove invaluable to the economic impact we can make,” said Dr. Audrey Depelteau, director of the ETSU Innovation Lab.

Dr. William Duncan, ETSU vice provost for Research and Sponsored Programs, indicated that he looks forward to working with Lewis in promoting student entrepreneurship and recruiting new start-up companies to the Northeast Tennessee region.

The ETSU Innovation Lab is a high-tech business incubator whose mission is “To partner with entrepreneurs and investors to affect the successful establishment of technology-based start-up and spin-off companies in order to achieve technology transfer, create jobs, and enhance economic development within the region.”

It is one of 31 facilities worldwide that have received the prestigious Soft Landings Designation from the International Business Innovation Association (INBIA), formerly known as the National Business Incubation Association.  According to the INBIA, the Soft Landings Designation lets foreign firms know that the INBIA, the world’s leading organization advancing business incubation and entrepreneurship, has identified” the ETSU Innovation Lab “as having specialized programs and facilities for helping companies break into new markets.”