Toone Named to US Advisory Council Studying Entrepreneurship and American Innovation

Eric Toone, vice provost and director of Duke’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative, was one of 30 national leaders named Monday by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker to serve on the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE).

Selected from a pool of more than 200 accomplished applicants, council members will offer recommendations for policies and programs designed to make U.S. communities, businesses, and the workforce more globally competitive.

“The members of NACIE provide important counsel to the Department of Commerce on the types of federal policies that will support entrepreneurship, innovation, and job-driven workforce training, all of which are critical to American competitiveness,” Pritzker said. “As ‘America’s Innovation Agency,’ we value the expertise of our private sector partners and appreciate the opportunity to incorporate their views into our policymaking process.”

NACIE, established in 2010, operates as an independent entity managed through Commerce’s Economic Development Administration Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

NACIE members, who will each serve a two-year term, have demonstrated expertise and experience in the areas of innovation, entrepreneurship, and employer-driven talent development. NACIE will convene four times each year, with its inaugural meeting for new members scheduled for October 2016.

"I look forward to working with this diverse group of leaders in innovation and entrepreneurship to advise Secretary Pritzker on the increasingly important role of entrepreneurship in our nation’s future," Toone said.