Col. Dan Walls, 23d Wing commander, appointed the 23d Wing Innovation Council managers, March 25, 2021.

The 23d WG Innovation Council is a forum that provides strategic advice, advocacy and mentorship to the 23d WG Spark Tank program, an Air Force capstone innovation campaign.

“The council is going to be reviewing innovation initiatives at the unit and group levels, determining the merit and viability submitted by members for innovation plans,” said Tech. Sgt. Brett Sheffer, 23d WG Innovation Council chairman. “(We will) help the wing leverage opportunities to further leadership priorities.”

This enables Airmen to think outside of the box and come up with ways to make their day-to-day jobs easier while giving them a voice.

“We use things like the Spark Tank to reward those funds out to people,” said Tech. Sgt. Thomas Morris, 23d WG Innovation Council funding officer. “The Spark Tank is where people will present their ideas and there is a board that racks and stacks them and chooses the ones they feel most beneficial, and those are the ones that get funding.”

According to the council, their mission is to support the wing to make the process of new innovative ideas smoother for everyone involved.

Morris said they are looking forward to acquiring a lab that gives Airmen a location to speak with subject matter experts about their ideas and figure out the details, which will prepare them to present it to the council.

“We’re basically re-shifting and prioritizing the way information is flowing, that way we don’t have a single point of failure, so we don’t miss anything or have any good ideas go to waste.” Sheffer said. "(It’s) more of a collaborative effort versus one person running the show.”

Future goals for the Innovation Council are forever growing and the team openly welcomes new ideas. To learn more about the 23d WG Innovation Council, email [email protected].