Thea Chase, managing director of the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is in her last week at the HotHouse as she prepares to head east to Colorado where she will join the Telluride Venture Accelerator as its new director. Chase, who started at the CIE in 2010 and helped lead the establishment of the Cal Poly Small Business Development Center for Innovation in 2011, has been a significant force in deepening the entrepreneurial ecosystem and connecting Cal Poly to local business and government. A little further south, former Air Force and United Airlines pilot – and Leadership SLO Class XXI alum – Liz Ruth, was recently named legislative assistant to newly appointed 4th District County Supervisor Caren Ray. Ruth most recently served on the Arroyo Grande Planning Commission and was recruited by Ray to work alongside her on local policy issues.