​The week of November 16th-November 20th is Global Entrepreneurship Week, and a few individuals are teaming up with the Community Education Center (CEC) to host a local event called “Innovate Elk County Week.”  Throughout the week, work-at-home professionals are invited to join a preview of a co-working/makerspace. Co-working spaces are shared work environments where professionals work independently, yet share office resources and collaborative ideas. Similarly, makerspaces are spaces for professionals to create products, share resources and expertise, and develop networks for innovative ideas. “These spaces are popping up around the world and they result in a really supportive and innovative work environment that an individual cannot get just by working alone from home,” says Travis Lesser, a St. Marys native and Entrepreneurship Instructor and Experiential Learning Entrepreneurship Coordinator at Penn State. Shared work space will be available from 8:30am to 6:00pm each day throughout the week of November 16th at the CEC in St. Marys. Between 6pm and 8pm Monday through Thursday, there will be various events, presentations and workshops related to entrepreneurship. Lou Radkowski, himself a work-at-home professional for a global IT company, is working with Lesser to promote the event. Radkowski says “This region’s economy was built with a fierce entrepreneurial spirit, and, not surprisingly, makerspaces are great economic drivers for rural areas. This week is a preview of what we hope to one day have as a permanent space.” New Leaf Initiative is one example from the State College area which has been operating this model for a number years. Lesser, also a small business owner,  is a member of New Leaf Initiative and is partnering on their behalf with the CEC to hold events during Global Entrepreneurship Week. For more information, visit facebook.com/groups/innovateelkcounty or call the CEC at 781.3437.