INNOVATE® Philadelphia

Citadel’s Member-Owned Growth Story in Philadelphia Innovation in financial services is often measured by speed: faster payments, faster approvals, faster digital access. For Citadel Credit Union, innovation begins with a more human question: how can financial services help people build stronger lives, businesses, and communities? That question is guiding Citadel’s...

In a city defined by its grit and passion, DeVal Lifecycle Support represents the strength of American manufacturing and the people who built it. Headquartered in the Tacony section of Philadelphia for more than 70 years, the company plays a critical role in supporting the U.S. Department of War, manufacturing...

For more than 40 years, Laboratory Testing (LTI) has inspected the parts that keep aircraft flying, Navy submarines diving, and defense platforms operational. The work is quiet, exacting, and non-negotiable. When an aircraft engine spins up at takeoff, or a submarine eases away from a pier on its first underway...

Cescaphe is a Philadelphia-based hospitality and events company known for transforming historic spaces into extraordinary venues and redefining what full-service event production can be. Founded with the vision of creating once-in-a-lifetime, distinctive events, has grown into one of the most respected and innovative hospitality groups in the region. Founded by...

Innovation as Civic Infrastructure in America’s First World Heritage City In a global landscape where cities compete for visibility, talent, and influence, innovation is often defined narrowly—through technology, startups, or commercial growth. The Global Philadelphia Association (GPA) offers a broader, more civic-minded model. Rather than innovating through a single product...

For more than a century, Rhoads Industries, Inc. has quietly evolved alongside the American industrial landscape. What began in 1896 as a small Philadelphia-based operation has grown into a key contributor to the nation’s maritime and defense infrastructure. The company’s origins trace back to Samuel Rhoads, whose early patents for...

SHIFT Capital’s Blueprint for Just Communities A Philadelphia-born B Corporation is rewriting the rules of real estate — proving that purpose and profit can build something greater than either alone. In the neighborhoods that have long been overlooked by conventional real estate investment, SHIFT Capital has spent nearly a decade...

As the nation celebrates its semiquincentennial, Penn Medicine’s Pennsylvania Hospital marks its own milestone anniversary year with a new museum. This immersive experience highlights the hospital’s unique role in the history of medicine—while still actively making history. For nearly three centuries, Pennsylvania Hospital has been at the forefront of innovation....

Philadelphia is the birthplace of American independence – a city where ideas of democracy, access, and public responsibility were first debated, documented, and declared. Two and a half centuries later, those ideals are sustained not only by words, but by infrastructure. Streets, sidewalks, schools, hospitals, transit hubs, and public spaces...

Finpay is the industry leader in pre-care patient engagement, specifically as it relates to enhancing a patient’s financial experience with their healthcare provider. It seems everyone in healthcare today is talking about re-thinking their Patient Financial Management strategy and the need to manage patient financial responsibility more effectively. Today in...

Since opening in 1992 under founder Dr. Emma C. Chappell, United Bank of Philadelphia (“the Bank”) has upheld its mission: driving economic inclusion and opportunity in urban communities. Philadelphia has always been a city of visionaries and entrepreneurs, but vision does not turn into a successful business without capital. As...

AIA Philadelphia is a membership association representing more than 1,800 architects, over 250 architecture firms, and more than 175 allied members, organizations that collaborate with architects across a wide range of disciplines, including engineering, construction, planning, and design technology. As the second-oldest chapter of the American Institute of Architects in...

Hunger is solvable, and one organization headquartered in North Philadelphia maintains that they know exactly how. Founded 40 years ago, Share Food Program is the leading hunger-relief organization on food bank in the Greater Philadelphia region. Though food distribution, education, and advocacy, Share serves around 500,000 individuals each month, more...

Philadelphia Youth Basketball (PYB) was launched in 2015 with a bold vision: to help young people build positive and powerful lives. PYB has spent the past decade leveraging the iconic game of basketball by building a holistic program, a robust organization, and a world-class Center that provides a comprehensive array...

How the African-American Chamber of Commerce of PA, NJ & DE continues to pave the way 33 years later About the AACC Founded in 1993, the African-American Chamber of Commerce of PA, NJ & DE (AACC) was born out of a burning need to innovate. After decades of persistent discrimination...

CARBON REFORM TURNS EVERYDAY HVAC INFRASTRUCTURE INTO A PLATFORM FOR ENERGY SAVINGS, CLEAN AIR, AND CARBON REMOVAL Most climate solutions feel far removed from everyday life. Direct air capture, industrial-scale carbon removal, next-generation infrastructure – these approaches matter, but they often feel inaccessible or years away from practical use. Carbon...

Vasowatch’s proprietary labor and delivery technology was born and raised in Philadelphia: created at the University of Pennsylvania and incubated by the Penn Center of Innovation Ventures. One of the company’s founders is a Labor and Delivery nurse with close to thirty years of obstetrics nursing experience. Another co-founder is...

For over two centuries, Philadelphia has served as the crucible of American medicine. From the founding of the nation’s first hospital to the birth of modern dermatology, the city has consistently redefined how we understand the human body. Today, a new chapter in this legacy is being written by MyMonitor.Ai,...

Our durable, low-energy Split Flap, Picture Flap, and Chroma Flap displays are designed to last for decades, and are crafted for spaces where permanence and presence matter. Founded in 2013, Oat Foundry was started by a group of engineering students from Drexel University. Fueled by the ambition to “build cool...

Philadelphia is home to some of the most respected hospitals and medical institutions in the country. And yet Black mothers in this city are still more likely to experience severe maternal complications, more likely to report feeling unheard, and more likely to navigate postpartum anxiety, depression, and trauma without sustained...

Philadelphia is universally recognized as the birthplace of American independence, the city where the Nation’s foundational documents were fiercely debated and boldly signed. Yet, intricately woven into the city’s DNA is another monumental birthright: it is the birthplace of the United States Navy. In the fall of 1775, a Continental...

As Philadelphia celebrates 250 years of innovation, independence, and impact, HiTouch Enterprises marks a milestone of its own — ten years of building experiences that move communities, elevate brands, and deliver measurable results. Founded in 2016 by marketing and event strategist Felicia D. Williams, HiTouch Enterprises has grown into a...

Economic impact has a standard playbook: count jobs, measure spending, calculate activity, and produce a number. Oftentimes this approach defines how cities, institutions, and developers tell their economic story, but it can leave out the most important part—the context of the place and the tangible day-to-day impacts on the community....

Engineering the Autonomous Garden Industrial revolutions rarely announce themselves. They begin quietly – inside laboratories, within algorithms, in the convergence of disciplines that once appeared unrelated. BESTMOW represents such a convergence. What appears, on the surface, to be a robotic lawn mower is in fact a distributed low-speed autonomous driving...