The Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance is pleased to welcome Chip Bobbert, new Director of Innovation, to the team. The Director of Innovation is a new position, and Bobbert began the role on February 2 with a focus on working across the RBIA portfolio of organizations and programs to lead regional innovation strategy, founder and investor engagement, and cross-sector partnerships that advance technology and life science commercialization in the region.

“We are excited to launch the new Director of Innovation position, and there isn’t anyone better suited to lead the charge than Chip. His comprehensive experience in innovation, technical education, entrepreneurship, and academia perfectly positions him to capitalize on the momentum technology and life science innovation is gaining in the region,” said RBIA CEO Erin Burcham.

An innovation and entrepreneurship leader of more than 25 years, Bobbert brings a wealth of expertise in building programs, funding initiatives, and leveraging emerging tech to solve real-world problems. His interests and skillset combine startups, higher education, workforce development, capital, and ecosystem design. A sought after thought-leader, Bobbert is a frequent speaker and advisor on Industry 4.0, entrepreneurship, and the infrastructure required to move ideas from research to market. 

Prior to joining RBIA, Bobbert served as the founding director of the Colopy Entrepreneurship Program at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. He designed and launched an interdisciplinary entrepreneurship initiative that spanned curriculum, co-curricular programming, mentorship, and early-stage venture support. His focus throughout was building systems that supported students on their commercialization journey. 

Bobbert deepened his understanding of advocacy and funding during his time as a national-level funder in Washington, DC, with Stand Together, a philanthropic non-profit supporting innovative solutions to big problems. In that role, he collaborated with universities, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and nonprofit leaders to advance initiatives in career and technical education and emerging technologies. His work encompassed efforts to better align technical education with entrepreneurship and regional economic growth. 

Before moving to policy advocacy, Bobbert spent nearly a decade at Duke University as a senior technologist and innovation architect, where he built one of the largest and most recognized applied innovation and prototyping programs in higher education. Under his leadership, the program became a national model for hands-on innovation, earning recognition as a Top 50 innovation lab by Newsweek. 

Outside his institutional roles, Bobbert is the co-founder of Construct3D, a national conference and nonprofit focused on innovation centers, makerspaces, and applied technology ecosystems. 

Bobbert holds a graduate degree in Instructional Technology and is a United States Marine Corps veteran. 

Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance unites a portfolio of organizations and programs including Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program (RAMP), Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC), and Common Wealth Angels all dedicated to tech-based economic advancement in the Roanoke Blacksburg region. Together, they form a full-stack network of support designed to accelerate innovation in the technology and life science industries and develop the Roanoke Blacksburg region into a nationally recognized hub for technology and biotechnology.