Steven G. Zylstra serves as president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council, a role he assumed in 2007. He is responsible for strategy, operations, finance and policy development. Zylstra is a vocal spokesman for the value technology can provide in raising social and economic standards in Arizona; he was named “Leader of the Year, Technology,” by the Arizona Capitol Times and “Most Admired Leader” by the Phoenix Business Journal. From 2000 to 2007, Zylstra served as president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Technology Council and Catalyst Connection; he concurrently served as president and CEO of the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center and the Doyle Center for Manufacturing Technology. Additionally, Zylstra was president of the Pittsburgh Biomedical Development Corporation, an affiliated organization of the Pittsburgh Technology Council that invested in start-up biomedical and biotechnology companies. [NEWLINE] He serves on numerous committees and boards including the Arizona Advisory Committee of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition; Arizona Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee; Arizona Department of Education – CTE Quality Skills Commission; Arizona District Export Council Board; Arizona Science Center Board of Trustees; Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Business Information Systems Executive Advisory Board; Center for the Future of Arizona’s (CFA) Pathways to Prosperity State Working Group; EWI Manufacturing Innovation Center Advisory Board; Maricopa Community College Workforce Development Leadership and Innovation Council; Metro Phoenix Export Alliance; Sun Corridor Inc. Board of Directors; The Center for the Future of Arizona Advisory Council; The University of Arizona College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Board; University of Phoenix, College of Business and IT Advisory Council; and more. Zylstra holds a bachelor’s degree in automotive engineering technology from Western Michigan University. In 2011, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science in technology from the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, Arizona.
Steven Zylstra is a member of the Greater Phoenix Workforce Leadership Academy, Class of 2021-22. Click here to learn more about local leadership academies in the Economic Opportunity Fellows Network.
The Workforce Leadership Academies are part of the Economic Opportunity Fellows Network, a network of leadership and fellowship programs run by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program. Within this Network, EOP connects national and local leaders from across sectors — nonprofit, government, business, philanthropy, academia, and more — to advance policies and practices with the potential to help low- and moderate-income Americans thrive in today’s economy. Learn more at as.pn/eofn.
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