Originally published by the Daily Sentinel. Read the full article here. (November 29, 2025)
Story by Sean Mills Daily Sentinel.
The GI generated $4.9 million in tax revenue, and for every $1 it spent on labor, a total of $1.33 was invested back into the Mohawk Valley, officials said.
“We knew there were good things happening, but we hadn’t figured out yet how to measure it. That one took me by surprise,” said Heather Hage, a Utica native who took over as president and CEO in 2021.
“We’ve been measuring ourselves all this time by participation in programs and dollars invested in various things, which non-profits and organizations measure, but we recognize in the work that we do that there’s all this other goodness that we perceive that comes from it, so we decided to pause and do a more careful study of both the social and the economic impacts of our work here at Griffiss.”
Working with students
Hage, a 2002 graduate of Hamilton College, said she was invited to do a fellowship with the school this past year and that involved working on a large project with students, so she decided to track GI’s financial impact from 2024. Four students and one supervising economics professor then took up the challenge to dig into GI’s bookkeeping over the summer to get actual calculations and produce a final Economic Impact Report.
“The students had an awesome experience getting to learn the inner workings of a local organization and put what they’re learning in economics and government at Hamilton into practice,” explained Hage.
“We were very transparent. We opened up our books and all of our programatic budgets and project documentations for the students to ingest, and then they determined the scope and the methods of analysis that they would use.”
For 2024, the Griffiss Institute supported 164 jobs in the Mohawk Valley, hosted 197 skill and knowledge development internships, facilitated 228 partnerships between the Air Force Research Laboratory and universities and industry firms, and invested $800,000 in eight early-stage start-up companies, according to the report.
What is the Griffiss Institute?
Formed by New York state in 2002, the Griffiss Institute was originally designed to work alongside Rome Lab to help bring its work and technology to the rest of the world. While that remains a strong focus, the GI has since expanded to include helping local start-up companies, hosting educational programs and internships for students, and much more.
“I would say that we are an independent, non-profit, non-partisan organization that is focused on advancing science, research and economic growth for our community through three things: we do talent development, technology transfer and translation, and venture development,” Hage stated.
The organization has 85 direct employees through most of the year, which swells to over 500 people in the summer with student interns and visiting faculty members.
“Once you’re looking at a new tech, it likely has a military application, that’s why the Air Force built it in the first place,” Hage explained about working with Rome Lab.
“Are there other opportunities either for this technology to be developed by an industry partner so that it can be most useful to the military, like turn it into a product, or is there a commercial application?”
Blueprint 2030
Alongside developing the 2024 Economic Impact Report, Hage said the GI is also looking to the future and has created a 5-year plan, entitled Blueprint 2030. The plan features strategic goals to both double down on what’s working and expand their reach.
“It’s really about leaning into our deep belief here at the Institute that science, research and education are the key to America’s national security and economic competitiveness. We see science as sort of a rallying and unifying cry, it’s a non-partisan issue,” said Hage.
“There’s a dialogue out there about how AI and all these tools are going to replace humans, but our focus here has been on how do we use that technology so that our humans can do the great work of humanity, of working with other people.”
Hage said they are “doubling down” on supporting young people and students who are interested in science and industry. She said they hosted 463 interns at 47 industry partners this past summer. They are also looking to develop more avenues to help start-up companies, including launching a venture studio model, which is a new form of incubator or accelerator.
Over the past two years, Hage said they have focused on fundraising through philanthropy and donations. She said GI receives about 90% of their funding from the federal government, and now they have set some “aggressive” philanthropic goals. They will also be adding more partnerships with local organizations in the Mohawk Valley.
The GI is also looking inward, she said, by solidifying their core values: integrity, merit, partnership, adaptability, curiosity, and teamwork.
“We aim to be a best place to work, and that has actually been one of the great joys of this job for me that I wasn’t expecting,” said Hage.
“This is my first time being a president. Creating and being responsible for and intentionally creating an environment, along with all the rest of our team, where people can come and learn and grow and serve our community and thrive, has been the most rewarding experience in my career, for sure.”
