Fort Worth Innovates

About Fort Worth Innovates

Fort Worth Innovates, a podcast powered by the Fort Worth–Tarrant County Innovation Partnership, shines a light on the entrepreneurs, researchers, and leaders shaping the future of Fort Worth. Each episode shares the stories of the innovators that are driving bold ideas and breakthrough solutions across industries, showcasing how Cowtown is becoming a hub for creativity, collaboration, and growth. Learn more about the Fort Worth-Tarrant County Innovation Partnership at https://fwtc-innovate.com/ (https://fwtc-innovate.com/) Email us at fwinnovates@gmail.com (mailto:fwinnovates@gmail.com) for an idea on a guest or innovation to feature. Follow us on social media @FortWorthInnovates to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes.

Publisher

Fort Worth - Tarrant County Innovation Partnership

Category

news · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

9 Sept 2025

Latest episode

6 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

25 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   6 Oct 2026

   Reimagining Foster Care: Why Fort Worth is the National Model for Social Innovation

   What does innovation look like when the problem isn’t a new technology or product, but a system that affects the lives of children and families? In this episode of Fort Worth Innovates, host Cameron Cushman sits down with Dan Vogel, founder and CEO of Flourish Fund, a philanthropic collaborative working to catalyze large-scale social innovation. Dan brings a unique perspective to innovation, with a career spanning government, management consulting, global development, philanthropy, and social impact. He shares how those experiences shaped his approach to solving complex problems and why he believes meaningful innovation often starts by listening closely to the people closest to them. A major focus of the conversation is Flourish Fund’s work to reimagine foster care in the United States, with Fort Worth serving as one of four pilot cities where the organization is testing new approaches that could eventually be replicated across the country. Dan explains why Fort Worth stood out from more than 30 cities they considered, pointing to the city's combination of resources, strong nonprofit and government organizations, and a collaborative culture that makes it possible for people to work together and get things done. The conversation also explores Flourish Fund’s Fort Worth Innovation Challenge, which is supporting new approaches to strengthening families and supporting kinship families like relatives and other trusted adults who step in to care for children who might otherwise enter foster care. Throughout the episode, Dan challenges the traditional definition of innovation and makes the case for more experimentation in the social sector while recognizing the responsibility that comes with experimenting on systems that affect real people's lives. Learn more about Flourish Fund here: https://www.flourishfund.org/ (https://www.flourishfund.org/) Learn more about the Fort Worth Tarrant County Innovation Partnership here: https://fwtc-innovate.com/ (https://fwtc-innovate.com/) About Fort Worth Innovates Fort Worth Innovates explores the people, ideas, research, businesses, and technologies shaping the future of Fort Worth and North Texas. The podcast is produced by Kendel Rogers and sponsored by the Fort Worth Tarrant County Innovation Partnership, which is helping build the Switchyard Innovation District—where technology and research combine to build the future in Fort Worth. Subscribe, follow, and share Fort Worth Innovates to discover more stories about the people building what comes next.

2. 

   22 Sept 2026

   How Texas A&M Fort Worth Is Building the Future of Virtual Production & Creative Technology

   What happens when visual effects, video games, performing arts, immersive technology, and higher education come together in the heart of downtown Fort Worth? On this episode of Fort Worth Innovates, Cameron Cushman talks with Tim McLaughlin, Dean of Texas A&M University’s College of Performance, Visualization, and Fine Arts (PVFA) and Director of the Virtual Production Institute, and David Parrish, Director of PVFA in Fort Worth. The conversation explores how Texas A&M is expanding its presence in Fort Worth and building new connections between students, researchers, creative industries, technology companies, and the broader innovation ecosystem. The College of Performance, Visualization, and Fine Arts was formally established in 2022, bringing together programs in visualization, performance studies, dance science, music, theater, and emerging fields such as interactive media, computer graphics, and music technology. The college is now expanding that work into Fort Worth through its study-away program, industry partnerships, research, and new facilities planned for the Switchyard Innovation District. In this episode, we discuss: The evolution of Texas A&M’s College of Performance, Visualization, and Fine Arts and how programs that have existed for decades came together as a new college in 2022. Why Texas A&M brought visualization students to Fort Worth and how the city provides opportunities for internships, research, performances, and industry partnerships. The PVFA study-away program, which allows students to spend a semester outside College Station gaining experience through internships, other universities, international programs, or the Fort Worth campus. Career opportunities beyond Hollywood, including gaming, animation, visual effects, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, simulation, training, and other industries using immersive and interactive technologies. - Texas A&M’s relationship with Probably Monsters, the video game development company that helped provide an early industry connection for the Fort Worth program. The unique downtown Fort Worth facility where Texas A&M students share a building with a game development studio, including a digital studio classroom and teaching virtual production stage. The planned PVFA facility in the Switchyard Innovation District, which is expected to include a large virtual production stage, classroom and studio space, and a performance-capable black-box environment. And, in a bonus conversation, what it was really like working at Industrial Light & Magic, including Tim and David's experiences working on films such as Star Wars Episode I, The Lost World, The Perfect Storm, Galaxy Quest, and Jumanji. As Texas A&M continues developing its Fort Worth campus and the Switchyard Innovation District takes shape, PVFA represents one piece of a much larger experiment: bringing academia, technology, research, creative industries, and entrepreneurship into close proximity. And for Fort Worth, that could mean a growing role in the future of virtual production, immersive technology, gaming, animation, visual effects, performing arts, and creative technology.

3. 

   9 Sept 2026

   How Downtown Fort Worth Inc. Is Innovating for the City's Future

   What does innovation look like when you're transforming an entire downtown? On this episode of Fort Worth Innovates, Cameron Cushman sits down with Andy Taft, President of Downtown Fort Worth, Inc., to explore how collaboration, research, experimentation, and long-term vision are shaping the future of downtown Fort Worth. Andy shares the story of how Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. has helped transform the city's urban core over the past two decades and why innovation will be critical to Fort Worth's continued growth. The conversation covers Downtown Fort Worth's role in helping bring Texas A&M's expanded presence to downtown and laying the groundwork for the Switchyard Innovation District, as well as the importance of research and data in making better decisions about the city's future. Andy also shares one of Fort Worth's most unexpected innovation stories: how a persistent grackle problem downtown ultimately led to a data-driven series of experiments, a partnership with local falconers, and even a change to federal falconry regulations. The result became a natural solution that has since been adopted by other cities along the grackles' migratory corridor. The conversation also looks ahead at some of downtown's most ambitious projects, including the transformation of Burnett Park, General Worth Square, Paddock Park and Heritage Plaza, the proposed Canopy Walk connecting downtown to the Trinity River, the future of the former Central Library site, expanded transit capacity around the Switchyard Innovation District, and the continued development of Panther Island. Andy offers a compelling vision for Fort Worth's future: a city that builds on its history of entrepreneurship and innovation while creating a more connected, walkable, vibrant, and waterfront-oriented downtown. In this episode, you'll hear about: How Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. has helped transform the city's urban core Why Andy considers Fort Worth a city built on generations of innovation and entrepreneurship Downtown Fort Worth's early role in advancing Texas A&M's expanded downtown presence The development of the Switchyard Innovation District How research and data are being used to guide downtown development The surprisingly innovative solution to Fort Worth's historic grackle problem Why experimentation, measurement, and iteration are essential to solving complex problems The transformation of downtown parks and public spaces The vision for Heritage Plaza, Paddock Park, and the Canopy Walk What's next for the former Central Library site and downtown's future community arts center Planning for expanded transit capacity as downtown and the Switchyard Innovation District grow The future of Panther Island and Fort Worth's potential as a waterfront city Why public-private partnerships and civic collaboration are among Fort Worth's greatest innovations To learn more, visit www.dfwi.org (https://www.dfwi.org/) Fort Worth Innovates is produced by Kendel Rogers and hosted by Cameron Cushman, with support from the Fort Worth-Tarrant County Innovation Partnership and the Switchyard Innovation District.

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Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

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Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.