Mary Lou Bourne established the Office of Technology Innovation and Economic Development (TI&ED) at James Madison University, in January 2005, and incorporated the intellectual property non-profit corporation, James Madison Innovations (JMI), in 2008.  She has been a liaison and key player in economic development for JMU at the local, regional, and state levels since 2013.

In her dual roles of Director of Technology Innovation and Economic Development and Executive Director of James Madison Innovations, she provides leadership over all aspects of moving university initiated innovations into the marketplace, including developing strategies for marketing, licensing and commercialization of intellectual property created by faculty, staff, and students, fostering economic development collaborations, and assisting in the establishment of start-up companies based on intellectual property developed at JMU. She facilitates economic development collaborations across the region and the state by making connections for innovators and entrepreneurs. Mary Lou worked with local business investors to create the Shenandoah Valley Angel Investors in 2015, a network of private investors that help fund technology startup companies in the Valley. She works closely with Shenandoah Community Capital Fund (SCCF) in Staunton and other economic development partners to strengthen the Valley’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

A Certified Public Accountant, Bourne is actively involved in a wide variety of programs that promote the economic development of the region.

• James Madison Innovations (JMI), Executive Director and Board Member
• Shenandoah Valley Innovation Coalition (SVIC), Chair 
• Shenandoah Valley Angel Investors (SVAI)
• Startup Shenandoah Valley (S2V) Steering Committee 
• GO Virginia Region 8 Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Advisory Committee, Chair
• Shenandoah Valley Technology Council
• JMU’s University Economic Development Council
• JMU’s Innovation Collaboration Creativity Entrepreneurship (ICCE) Council
• Virginia Innovation Alliance (VIA), Past Chair
• Virginia is for Entrepreneurs (VA4E) Board of Directors 
• Virginia Economic Developers Association (VEDA)
• Virginia’s University-Based Economic Development (UBED), Past Chair
• Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) Innovation Committee
• University Economic Development Association (UEDA)
• Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM)

Bourne received an MS in Integrated Science and Technology from James Madison University in 2004 where her graduate research in identity theft culminated in a system dynamics model entitled “The Dynamics of Identity Theft: A Comparison of Symptomatic and Systemic Solutions”. In 2020, Bourne completed JMU’s online graduate certificate program in Cyber Intelligence. Bourne’s previous work experience includes project management and information systems implementation as Controller at Bridgewater College, Associate Director of Administrative Information Systems at Virginia Tech, and The Mountain Institute, an international non-profit organization.

M.S. James Madison University, Integrated Science & Technology

Ma.Ed. Virginia Tech, Higher Education Administration

B.A. Bridgewater College, Business Administration