The Utah Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Initiative (UAMMI) recently announced that Chanel Flores is joining the organization to serve as Deputy Director beginning January 01, 2021. During the transition, Ms. Flores will continue to serve as the Aerospace, Manufacturing & IT Director for the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) where she has worked since 2017.
In her new role, Ms. Flores will lead UAMMI’s implementation of the Utah Defense Manufacturing Community (UDMC) programs and contribute to the Small Business Administration Regional Innovation Cluster programs (SBA RIC), both of which are federally funded programs designed to help grow the advanced manufacturing and materials industry thrive in Utah. She will support key partnerships with industry, trade organizations, investors, academia, and government leaders to optimize growth and proactively address Utah’s needs in the advanced manufacturing and materials ecosystem.
Ms. Flores will also bring expertise gained from her accomplishments at GOED such as: playing an instrumental role in adding Advanced Manufacturing as Utah’s 7th strategic industry cluster, leading efforts to officially designate Utah as a Defense Manufacturing Community by the Department of Defense and advocating for the future of advanced air mobility in Utah by leading a recent study which analyzed the economic development impacts of air mobility implementation on Utah communities.
“UAMMI is very fortunate to have Ms. Flores to join our team,” said Dr. Tulinda Larsen, Executive Director UAMMI. “Chanel brings tremendous leadership experience of bridging the gap between public and private sectors. She has a proven ability to build the necessary relationships for unprecedented partnerships and has been an ambassador for the aerospace, defense, and advanced manufacturing industries thus helping to propel the sustainable growth of Utah’s rapid-growing, high-tech industries,” Dr. Larsen added.
Prior to her time at GOED, Flores served as the employer and continuing education manager for Davis Technical College where she was responsible for Custom Fit training, employer private training and continuing education. In addition, she has served in various roles with BBSI and Management and Training Corporation. Flores has more than a decade of experience in technical education.
Ms. Flores currently serves on the executive board for the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) Utah Chapter and was awarded the SAMPE 2020 Young Professional Emerging Leadership Award. She also serves on the advisory board for Women Tech Council and Weber State University’s Communications Department.
She received a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Communication, with an emphasis in training and development from Weber State University and a Masters of Strategic Communication from Westminster College.