Society of Innovators at PNW marks 20th year with 2025 induction
In 2025, the Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest celebrated a remarkable milestone — its 20th induction, recognizing the thinkers, creators and changemakers who are shaping the future of Northwest Indiana.
During the past two decades, more than 550 individuals and team members have earned the title of “innovator.” These leaders of invention represent a powerful cross-section of industries, disciplines and communities throughout the Region.
“For 20 years, the Society of Innovators has been a catalyst for pride, possibility and progress in Northwest Indiana,” said Jason Williams, Society of Innovators CEO. “When we started, few people were even using the word ‘innovation’ to describe our Region. The Society helped change that conversation by celebrating local innovators, building connections across industries and showing that bold ideas can emerge from anywhere and from anyone.”
Indeed, what began in 2005 as a storytelling and recognition platform has evolved into something far more impactful. Founded by John Davies, the Society initially aimed to highlight the groundbreaking work of local individuals and companies, proving that bold ideas don’t just come from Silicon Valley or big cities — they can just as easily emerge from Hammond, Valparaiso or Gary. The seeds of innovation planted years ago have become the roots of a regional movement that continues to grow.
“We have shined a spotlight on hundreds of individuals and teams whose creativity has strengthened businesses, inspired students and helped our communities see themselves in a new way,” Williams said. “In many ways, the Society gave Northwest Indiana permission to dream bigger.”
That dream now includes hands-on work with educators, entrepreneurs, companies, youth and community partners to shift from solely recognizing innovation to actively building an innovation ecosystem.
“We are focused on building the next 20 years of impact,” Williams said. “This includes deepening partnerships with schools, businesses and civic organizations. It also includes expanding our role in youth entrepreneurship and workforce development and continuing to champion innovation as a driver of economic growth and community vitality.”
As the Society of Innovators welcomes the Class of 2025, it celebrates those making a difference today and reaffirms a bold vision for the Region’s future.
This year’s four team and individual honorees are shaping the way people of all ages across the Region stay connected, work and learn. The seven advocates of innovation are creating a culture of innovation.
Advocacy work
For the 2025 Advocates for Innovation inductees, innovation isn’t just a buzzword — it’s a mindset that fuels progress and solves real problems.
“An innovative culture pushes against complacency and stagnation of thought and action,” said Jose Valtierra, one of the original champions of the Society of Innovators. Valtierra believes that fostering creativity is key to long-term growth.
“It is critical that we always strive to provide an environment that encourages people to think and act creatively,” Valtierra said.
For entrepreneur, media host and AI specialist Gloria Morris, innovation is inseparable from regional progress.
“Advocating for innovation is about advocating for the future of Northwest Indiana,” Morris said. “It’s the engine that solves our toughest local challenges and keeps our economy competitive.”
That forward-thinking approach also drives community-wide transformation.
“The chain reaction of innovative mindsets and perspectives is vital to adding vibrancy and momentum to any community,” said Clarence Hulse, Economic Development Corp. of Michigan City executive director. “While change is often shunned and feared, it is the only real avenue to true innovations.”
Motivation
The drive to build a culture of innovation in Northwest Indiana is personal and rooted in a desire to uplift others.
“I want my students to leave me better people than when they arrive,” said Kristina Fleming, Hanover Central High School business teacher. “This means being able to think for themselves and not add to the problems of the world, but to be the ones who make the world a better, kinder place.”
For Eric Sera, Munster High School business teacher, it’s about opening doors.
“As a first-generation college graduate from a working-class background, I know the transformative power of opportunity,” Sera said. “My motivation is to give students the tools and confidence to see themselves as innovators who create value, not just consumers of what already exists.”
And for Karaline Cartagena Edwards of EDCMC, innovation is a path to meaningful change.
“Progress cannot happen without that feeling of unease behind real change,” Edwards said. “I am motivated to take those difficult steps when I see the impact innovation has on our city’s momentum and spirit.”
Results
For advocates of innovation, their results speak volumes — both in measurable outcomes and lasting cultural shifts.
“I’ve seen students pitch on international stages, win recognition and most importantly, develop an entrepreneurial mindset,” Sera said. “The biggest result is watching them break barriers and realize they can be problem-solvers and agents of change.”
Morris echoes that sentiment.
“A measurable win is seeing a new venture get its start through a connection on my platform,” she said. “But the real reward is the cultural shift — when someone hesitant becomes a leader. That’s the ripple effect.”
For Hulse, innovation has fueled economic and community transformation.
“The Vibrant Michigan City Initiative has pushed us to look at development through a new, inclusive lens,” Hulse said. “Seeing new projects take shape and new leaders emerge is both inspiring and energizing.”
Additional advocate inductees include Michigan City Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch and Debera Hinchy, Lowell High School business educator.
Team Inductee
EarthWise
(Valparaiso)
Team Members: Scott Severson, Annmarie Severson
Innovation: Thriva — the product of a proprietary system that transforms cow manure into organic nitrogen fertilizer
EarthWise’s innovation redefines what’s possible in agricultural sustainability.
The Valparaiso-based company is being inducted for its innovation that transforms waste into growth and challenges into opportunity. In partnership with Bos Dairy, EarthWise has developed a process that converts cow manure into an organic nitrogen fertilizer they’ve named Thriva.
“This invention takes manure and extracts the most important nutrient in manure: nitrogen,” said Annmarie Severson, EarthWise cofounder. “Everything on the planet that’s green needs nitrogen to grow.”
Scott and Annmarie Severson founded EarthWise 28 years ago, bringing strong backgrounds in science and agriculture to the table. Both graduates of Purdue University, their academic work laid the groundwork for innovation. Scott Severson’s deep roots in agriculture helped them understand the practical needs of their clients.
The foundation of EarthWise’s innovation lies in both vision and necessity. With a focus on science and sustainability, the team turned a common agricultural waste into a valuable asset.
“The invention and product is a culmination of seeing a need in the Ag industry as well as a dream of creating a product,” Annmarie Severson said.
Thriva is not only a triumph of environmental stewardship but also a practical solution for modern farming. It provides a scalable, on-farm method of nutrient recycling that can be applied to both dairy and pork operations. The resulting fertilizer supports organic crop production and even home gardening, while creating a new revenue stream for farmers.
“Not only did we make a product but the potential cost savings on manure handling is huge for dairy and hog farms,” Annmarie Severson said.
Receiving the Society of Innovators award is a milestone for EarthWise. The recognition represents decades of dedication and hard work.
“It’s a huge shot in the arm for a small business,” Annmarie Severson said. “And the innovation we affectionately call MARG, stays true to our mission of being stewards of the earth.”
Team Inductee
WJOB
(Hammond)
Team Members: Ben Cowart, Jim Dedelow, Peter Kruowski, Sam Michel
Innovation: JEDtv Sports Network, a 24-hour channel to broadcast small college and high school sports
WJOB is being recognized for changing the game in local sports broadcasting.
The WJOB team developed JEDtv, an innovative streaming network dedicated to high school and local college athletics. They call JEDtv a “mini–Big Ten Network or ESPN for the Region.” It fills a long-standing need in Northwest Indiana sports coverage.
“We knew there was a void in coverage,” said Sam Michel, chief operating officer. “As sports fans, you see all the attention D1 and pro athletes get. We knew there was an appetite locally for someone to fill that.”
From Friday night football to small college basketball, the network doesn’t just stream games — it elevates them.
“The most important part is quality,” Michel said. “We separate ourselves by not just broadcasting the games, but making it look like what you see on your TV on Sunday afternoon for football or any other sport you might watch already.”
The vision came from a love for sports and an understanding of what fans want.
Michel’s background as a coach, sports official and journalism graduate positioned him to help bring this dream to life. The team’s connections to local athletics programs helped forge the relationships needed to get schools and businesses on board.
“My life has been sports since I was a kid,” Michel said. “The passion to know what it’s supposed to look like and the relationships we already had made it come together.”
Being honored by the Society of Innovators is a major achievement.
“It means a lot to be recognized,” Michel said. “We’ve been working hard on this for the last six years. People are tuning in a ton, and businesses are starting to realize the benefit of working with us and the schools.”
Rooted in the Region and built by those who call Northwest Indiana home, JEDtv is more than a network — it’s a community movement giving local sports the spotlight they deserve.
“We’ve grown up here,” Michel said. “There are a lot of special people and athletics programs that make this the perfect place for our sports network to thrive.”
Individual Inductee
Sean Liu
(Valparaiso)
Innovation: PingCares Watch, a senior-focused smartwatch that combines emergency response, wellness monitoring and social connection into a single, affordable device
When Sean Liu founded PingCares, he wasn’t just starting a company — he was solving an overwhelming personal problem.
“When COVID was ramping up, I became increasingly worried about my grandparents in China,” Liu said. “The long distance and my tight schedule made it hard to always check in on my elders, and I deeply needed some peace of mind.”
Liu had prior experience founding a wearables company. He knew the capabilities of products like the Apple Watch and FitBit, but they weren’t easy enough for his grandparents. He was struck by how difficult existing health and safety tech was for the people who needed it most. That challenge became an inspiration. At the time, Liu was a student at the University of Chicago. He recruited his classmates to build and launch a smartwatch of their own.
The result is the PingCares Watch — a cellular-enabled smartwatch designed specifically for seniors in their 80s and beyond. The device doesn’t require a smartphone, setup or technical know-how. With features like automatic fall detection, one-touch emergency calling and real-time health monitoring, it’s a safety net and a lifeline. The data collected is shared with family members and health care providers, offering a critical layer of support and reassurance.
“My innovation is important because it provides ease to call for help in the most urgent situations, like a fall at nighttime when you live alone,” Liu said. “So far, we’ve been able to help save six lives from the PingCares Watch. Also, because of its ongoing monitoring of vitals, steps and mood, family members, like myself a few years ago, can easily keep tabs on their loved ones and have peace of mind from afar.”
Liu’s journey from an engineering student at the University of Illinois to an MBA student at the University of Chicago, and now a part-time public health student at Harvard, has given him the tools to bridge technology with compassionate care.
“It’s wonderful to be recognized by the Society of Innovators for the value and uniqueness of my product,” Liu said. “As founder and CEO of PingCares and a new resident to Northwest Indiana, such a prestigious award adds credibility for us in the eyes of local consumers and organizations that we consider forming partnerships with.”
Liu said he met his wife, Naomi, in Northwest Indiana. They lived in Chicago for about 10 years, but with the arrival of a new baby girl, they moved to Valparaiso to raise their family.
“I love my life in Northwest Indiana for how family-oriented and principled the people here are and am now a happy Hoosier.”
Individual Inductee
Joseph Podgorski
(DeMotte)
Chicago Additive
Innovation: AMOS line of 3D Printers, a field-ready manufacturing platform for the front lines
Joseph Podgorski is being honored for his rugged line of 3D printers built to serve the needs of the U.S. military and beyond.
AMOS (Additive Manufacturing Operational System) isn’t your average desktop 3D printer. It’s engineered for deployment — whether that’s on the front lines, in mobile field units or within heavy-duty research and production environments. With a precision motion system, durable construction and use of off-the-shelf components, AMOS delivers military-grade reliability at a fraction of the cost of other systems — think $10,000 vs. $50,000.
“The additive manufacturing landscape is crowded with desktop 3D printers, yet very few are truly deployable, and even fewer are American-made systems that meet the operational needs of our Department of Defense and government clients,” Podgorski said.
The concept took shape after an individual at NIWC Pacific based in San Diego approached Podgorski.
“He shared that he had been developing his own concepts to answer the call he was hearing directly from the war fighters he supported but needed help moving beyond the conceptual and testing phases,” Podgorski said.
They co-developed AMOS to answer the growing demand for low-cost, high-performance drone and component production across all branches of the armed forces.
Podgorski’s journey into 3D printing began in 2009. Self-taught, he began building custom printers in 2015 and launched an additive manufacturing business in 2017.
“There was no defined path to follow, just curiosity and persistence,” Podgorski said.
Recognition from the Society of Innovators is profoundly meaningful.
“Entrepreneurs pour everything they have into their work because that’s what it takes to make a splash,” Podgorski said. “But at the end of the day, the splash isn’t the finish line, it’s just the beginning. Real impact comes from the waves and ripples that follow, where change is created, shared and adopted. This recognition is part of those waves, and I’m deeply grateful to be among the few who get to make them.”
Though Podgorski’s work has national impact, his heart remains local.
“From the very beginning, I knew that if I was able to build something meaningful, I wanted to do it here,” Podgorski said. “Northwest Indiana has a rich history of hard work, resilience and manufacturing strength, and I believe it deserves a role in the next industrial revolution.” •
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