The mission of Invent@NMU is to enhance student attraction, retention, and placement after graduation, and to support economic development throughout the Upper Peninsula.

Invent@NMU Student Teams

We provide our student employees with the opportunity to apply their education in real world situations, while simultaneously contributing fresh ideas to the product and business development process of our clients. Our student teams consist of individuals from a variety of educational backgrounds that may include business, design, engineering, and marketing. They collaborate with Innovate Marquette SmartZone’s professional mentors to help you navigate the best path to success for your idea, whether it is high-tech, low-tech, or no-tech. Collectively, these talented workers research competitive landscapes, design and make prototypes, create logos and packaging, build websites, source materials and manufacturers, and engage in marketing campaigns.

We may not have a position posted, but we are always looking for talented individuals with unique skill sets! We are always accepting applications.

Meet our creative student teams:

Mechanical Engineer Technologist

  • Aaron LaPierre

    Aaron LaPierre

    Aaron LaPierre

    Mechanical Engineer Technologist

    Aaron is a Junior at NMU, majoring in Mechanical Engineering Technology with a Mechatronics concentration. He is a member of the SAE Baja racing team at NMU. He enjoys working with his hands as well as computer design.

  • Anthony Mirabella

    Anthony Mirabella

    Anthony Mirabella

    Mechanical Engineer Technologist

    Anthony is one of the Student Mechanical Engineering Technologists here at Invent@NMU. He is currently a Sophomore at NMU studying Mechanical Engineering Technology. Anthony grew up building various wooden things with his father that sparked his passion for hands-on work and exploring new innovations.

Marketing Team

  • Micah Carroll

    Micah Carroll

    Micah Carroll

    Marketing Assistant

    Micah is one of our Student Marketing Assistants. He is a sophomore at Northern Michigan University studying Environmental Public Relations with a minor in Art & Design. When Micah isn’t in the office, he’s climbing rock faces in the forests surrounding Marquette. After graduation, Micah hopes to work on environmental campaigns, telling stories that promote the conservation of wild places.

  • Olivia Ruuska

    Olivia Ruuska

    Olivia Ruuska

    Marketing Assistant

    Olivia is one of our Student Marketing Assistants. When she is not in the office, she enjoys drinking coffee, going on hikes and spending time at her camp where she is able to be out on the lake and enjoy the sunshine. She is a senior studying Marketing and hopes to work as a social media manager in a city similar to Marquette after graduation.

Design Team

  • Aiyana Aldred

    Aiyana Aldred

    Aiyana Aldred

    Graphic Designer

    Aiyana is a Marquette native who is currently obtaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Graphic Design. During her free time, she enjoys hiking, listening to music, and spending time with her family. Aiyana is also an avid traveler who loves to experience new places and cultures, a passion that was cultivated after a summer spent traveling Europe. After graduation, Aiyana hopes to move out west to pursue a career as a graphic artist.

  • Grant Norris

    Grant Norris

    Grant Norris

    Industrial Designer

    Grant is our current Industrial Designer studying Human Centered Design at Northern Michigan University. With a background in graphic design and woodworking, Grant also grew up working on small engines. He serves as the ambassador for the Board and Ski Club and enjoys snowboarding, skateboarding, fishing, camping, and constructing road bikes. After he graduates, Grant wishes to pursue an experience building position at a well known product or furniture design firm while doing freelance work, of which he hopes to evolve into his own firm someday.

  • Maddie Arquette

    Maddie Arquette

    Maddie Arquette

    Graphic Designer

    Maddie is a Student Graphic Designer here at Invent@NMU, who enjoys spending her time hiking around Marquette or in the garden with her nieces and nephews. Maddie also enjoys sketching and writing out stories that teach people about different mythologies and histories. After graduation, Maddie wants to travel the world to study ancient cultures, and pursue a career that involves cultural and environmental preservation.

  • Tiffany Nutt

    Tiffany Nutt

    Tiffany Nutt

    Graphic Designer

    Tiffany is a non-traditional NMU student in the school of Art & Design with a concentration in Graphic Design. As a creative, she enjoys engaging in Marquette’s art scene and photographing the beauty of the area. As an adventurer, she enjoys swimming and hiking with her husband and pup. In addition to experience as a reporter, writer, and graphic designer, Tiffany runs an up-and-coming wedding + elopement photography/videography business based in Marquette, MI.

Project Management Team

  • Autumn Woosley

    Autumn Woosley

    Autumn Woosley

    Project Manager

    Autumn is a Student Project Manager here at Invent@NMU. She is currently a Junior at NMU and is earning a Bachor of Science Degree in Management. In her free time, she enjoys being with friends and family as well as watching sports like NMU Hockey. In the future Autumn would like to work for the United States Government.

  • Cat Stenberg

    Cat Stenberg

    Cat Stenberg

    Project Manager

    Cat is a non-traditional senior studying Marketing. In her spare time she indulges in the practice of yoga and exploring the great outdoors. She is very passionate about environmental sustainability and self-sustainability. Her plans after graduation are flexible and open to the growth and opportunities she will endure over her last year of undergrad.

  • Josh Gosseck

    Josh Gosseck

    Josh Gosseck

    Project Manager

    Josh is entering his junior year as a Finance and Risk Management major with a concentration in Corporate Finance and Investments and a minor in Military Science. He is an Army veteran and is an active member in NMU’s ROTC program. His plan after graduation is to pursue a career in banking and serve part-time as an Officer in the Army National Guard. He enjoys spending his time with his wife and two dogs enjoying the outdoors and traveling.

Management Team

Our management team is comprised of professionals who are passionate about the development of student talent, entrepreneurial support, and the expansion of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Marquette and the Upper Peninsula. Their diverse backgrounds, experiences, and networks lead to a wide range of capabilities and knowledge around product development and the entrepreneurial process.  

Meet our management team:

  • Ray Johnson

    Ray Johnson

    Ray Johnson

    Executive Director & Innovate Marquette SmartZone CEO

    Ray Johnson has over 20 years of start-up industry experience, with a duel role as the CEO of Innovate Marquette SmartZone and Executive Director of Invent@NMU. Ray has been involved in his own start-ups and has also coached and mentored other entrepreneurs in helping to launch new startups and has secured over $100 million in financing for new businesses. His own businesses have generated almost 200 international patents and trademark filings. Before moving to Marquette, Ray was a faculty-lecturer at the University of Colorado’s Deming School for Entrepreneurship and Director of the CU-Cleantech Center. In his free time Ray enjoys golfing, biking, and traveling.

  • Chad Leisenring

    Chad Leisenring

    Chad Leisenring

    Event Coordinator

    Chad is a Math and Computer Science guy with a love for the arts and the outdoors. An NMU grad, Chad is hoping to work on his Masters and would love to one day be a college math professor. In his downtime, Chad explores Marquette and the surrounding wilderness with his fiancé and two guinea pigs, Ludo and Luna.

  • Jason Schaen

    Jason Schaen

    Jason Schaen

    Project Management Lead

    Jason is the Project Management Lead at Invent@NMU and Innovate Marquette SmartZone, and oversees all of the projects that come through our door. He was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, and is a 2017 graduate of NMU. In his free time, Jason loves doing a variety of outdoor activities such as hiking and biking. As an avid sports fanatic, he enjoys playing softball with friends and watching various sports.

  • Kylie Bunting

    Kylie Bunting

    Kylie Bunting

    Marketing Manager

    Kylie is another one of our Marquette natives, and carries her Yooper background with pride. After graduating in 2011 from NMU, she moved to Chicago and worked for 8 years in the public relations industry. In 2018, Kylie moved back to Marquette with her husband and became the Marketing Manager for Innovate Marquette SmartZone and Invent@NMU. She is an avid sports fan, founder of Barley’s Angels U.P., and teaches dance at New Attitudes Dance Studios. Kylie enjoys camping, four-wheeling, boating, and watching Bravo TV in her free time.

  • Paulette Perttunen

    Paulette Perttunen

    Paulette Perttunen

    Operations & Finance Manager

    Paulette is a Marquette-born NMU graduate who is the Operations and Finance Manager for Innovate Marquette SmartZone and Invent@NMU. She enjoys traveling and is looking forward to finding her roots while exploring the Finnish Arctic Circle. During summer free time, you can find her at her family’s cottage in Big Bay where she finds peace and serenity from beautiful Lake Superior. Long winter nights you will find her in front of the TV watching the train wreck that is Bravo TV with her bulldog, Marty the Meatball, and Charlie the cat.

  • Rachel Barra

    Rachel Barra

    Rachel Barra

    Program Manager

    Rachel was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula and is the Program Manager at Invent@NMU and Innovate Marquette SmartZone. She graduated from Northern Michigan University in 2016 with a degree in Entrepreneurship, prior to which she worked at Invent@NMU as a student Project Manager. Outside of work Rachel participates in competitive target archery, is learning Soo Bahk Do, acts as the awards secretary for the regional field archery association, and is on the board of Connect Marquette, Marquette’s young professionals network . She enjoys a good book and playing or listening to music, often with her two adorable cats curled up somewhere nearby.