HUTCHINSON, Kan. – StartUp Hutch will host its next Entrepreneurship Connections event on Tuesday, July 28, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Sandhills Brewing, 111 W. 2nd Avenue in Hutchinson.
Entrepreneurship Connections is a free networking event designed to bring together entrepreneurs, small business owners, community partners, and anyone interested in supporting Reno County’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
This month’s featured speaker is Tonya Witherspoon, founder of MindScapes. Witherspoon works at the intersection of infrastructure, workforce, and artificial intelligence, helping organizations connect investments that are often managed separately and turn them into systems that work together.
With more than 25 years of experience, Witherspoon has worked across Fortune 50 technology companies, higher education, AI ventures, and workforce development. Her background includes leadership roles with NetApp and LSI, work at Wichita State University, and serving as COO and CMO of an AI publishing company as revenue grew from $1 million to $100 million.
At Wichita State University, Witherspoon helped expand an industry-funded research model that pays student researchers for their work and strengthens connections between higher education and industry. Today, through MindScapes, she provides advisory services, diagnostics, program development, infrastructure support, and strategic briefings.
Her current work includes supporting the Central Region development of the nation’s first AI Registered Apprenticeship and Kansas’s first carrier-neutral internet exchange point. She has also been a featured speaker at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Big Bets for America and has provided testimony before the White House Domestic Policy Council and the Kansas State Legislature.
Throughout the evening, attendees will have the opportunity to connect with others in the local business community, hear Witherspoon’s perspective on the relationship between infrastructure, workforce, and AI, and learn more about upcoming StartUp Hutch programs and resources.
The event is free to attend. A free drink ticket will be available to those who register in advance. To register, visit StartUpHutch.com.
