Karl Aspelund Ph.D., Associate Director, URI Honors Program; Associate Professor, Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design; Michael Woody, CEO, Trans-Tex LLC and Chair of the Rhode Island Textile Innovation Network (RITIN); Robert Finnegan, M.Ed., Head of Education and Workforce, Manufacturing USA Innovation Institute: Advanced Functional Fabrics of America

The RI Textile Education & Innovation Initiative is a partnership between the University of Rhode Island (URI), the Rhode Island Textile Innovation Network (RITIN), and Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) that aims to connect regional industry and local students. This session describes a pilot program this collaboration developed, where a specialized textiles seminar documents the operations and histories of local companies. Translating industry expertise into accessible educational resources, the program creates certificate-producing modules on local textile production. This initiative establishes a scalable pedagogical template for national replication, fostering a pipeline for the next generation of industry professionals.