Weeks before Ashley Stowe, Ph.D., MBA, was named ORAU Chief Growth and Partnerships Officer, he was among nearly 100 leaders from across Tennessee who participated in the inaugural Porter Development Initiative Fellows Academy.
Stowe’s participation in the PDI Fellows Academy happened to be great timing. Academy participants explored what it will take to turn the state’s competitive strengths into shared, sustainable growth. At ORAU, a similar effort was also being planned: combining the company’s business development, government services, and research and university partnerships organizations into a single unit focused on strategic growth and partnerships.
Ashley Stowe, back row center, was among senior leaders from across Tennessee to participate in the inaugural PDI Fellows Academy in Nashville.
“There is so much potential, with the talent across the state of Tennessee and within ORAU, to make a difference for our communities,” Stowe said. “When we align our efforts, we can truly amplify our strategic competitiveness and impact.”
The Academy, held in June at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management, brought together senior leaders from business, higher education, economic development, government, philanthropy, healthcare, workforce development and nonprofit organizations across Tennessee.
Organized into regional delegations, the PDI Fellows examined the strengths and challenges of their communities using Professor Michael Porter’s internationally recognized competitiveness framework and U.S. Cluster Mapping methodology. They explored economic and demographic data, analyzed industry clusters and worked together to develop regional Competitiveness Action Plans designed to move ideas from discussion to action.
For Stowe, the Fellows Academy was an opportunity to build on momentum already underway in the region.
“In the 20 years I’ve been living and working in the Knoxville/Oak Ridge area, we have always had the raw materials for amazing economic success, but we have been fragmented in our efforts and priorities,” Stowe said. “In the last few years, I’ve seen our communities align in a way we have not before.”
That alignment will be critical as the region works to capitalize on the nuclear renaissance.
“We have to continue focusing on working together to realize the nuclear renaissance and not only lead the nation, but the world,” Stowe said. “The Tennessee Leadership Action Platform and PDI Fellow Academy is a room of leaders that can help make that happen.”
Throughout the four-day Academy, participants engaged with national experts and distinguished faculty through case discussions, keynote presentations, panels and collaborative workshops focused on innovation, workforce development, entrepreneurship, cluster development and regional implementation.
Ashley Stowe presented on economic development in the Knoxville-Oak Ridge region during the PDI Fellows Academy.
The nuclear sector is a major opportunity for Tennessee that also has its challenges.
“As part of the Academy, we reviewed and evaluated economic and demographic data across leading industries and sectors. The nuclear sector, perhaps obviously, rose to the top,” Stowe said.
The opportunity extends beyond nuclear facilities themselves. Participants discussed the need to build a broad, robust nuclear supply chain and develop the workforce needed to support continued growth.
At the same time, conversations among Fellows reinforced that Tennessee’s economic future will not be built around a single industry. Nuclear, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, health care and other emerging sectors are interconnected, creating opportunities for collaboration and innovation across regions.
That spirit of connection may ultimately be one of the Academy’s most important outcomes.
“It’s an honor to represent ORAU as one of the 100 leaders from across Tennessee,” Stowe said. “It is humbling to read the resumes of my peers in the Academy. We had real and honest conversations about the challenges and opportunities and are now a ready network that we can call upon as needed.”
The Academy was designed to be more than a four-day leadership experience. Each regional delegation left Nashville with a Competitiveness Action Plan identifying priority initiatives for strengthening regional competitiveness. Those plans will now move into implementation through the Global Action Platform-Porter Development Initiative Competitiveness Action Network, which will connect regional leadership teams, share best practices, provide technical assistance and track progress over time.
For the Knoxville-Oak Ridge delegation, that work has already begun.
“I am excited that my peers from Knoxville and Oak Ridge have already connected since we left Nashville to continue working together,” Stowe said. “It is the beginning conversation, definitely not the last.”
As Tennessee looks toward its next chapter of economic growth, the Academy offers a model for what can happen when leaders move beyond individual institutions, industries and communities and begin thinking collectively about what is possible.
“The Academy was designed not simply as a leadership program, but as the launch of a statewide movement dedicated to strengthening Tennessee’s long-term competitiveness and shared prosperity,” said Dr. Scott T. Massey, Chairman and CEO of the Global Action Platform and Senior Associate of the Porter Development Initiative.
The challenge now is to turn that shared vision into action and to ensure that Tennessee’s regions are not simply competing for the future but building it together.