The last few weeks have been nothing short of transformational.
It was a season of deep listening, bold imagination, and creative collaboration across our city and beyond. It’s humbling to be around so many talented people and have such a supportive community. I am eternally grateful to each one of you.
We had the privilege of learning alongside community leaders, city officials, artists, designers, and educators, all working together to shape a more human-centered future.
From partnering with the Sierra Club to reimagine the future of the Historic Gas Plant District/Tropicana Field (a $6.8 billion redevelopment plan), to delivering and learning from so many talented people at the AI and Creativity Symposium, to launching new cinematic storytelling tools, we’ve been hard at work aligning innovation with what The School of Creativity and Innovation does best, by helping others create their future through the power of human ingenuity.
This edition celebrates bold innovation moments that reflect the ethos of The School of Creativity and Innovation: creativity as a civic act, and power skills as the infrastructure of transformation.
Community Design Sprint – Historic Gas Plant District/ Tropicana Field Redevelopment
We co-hosted a powerful Community Design Sprint with the Sierra Club, engaging residents, city leaders, developers, investors, and designers in reimagining one of St. Pete’s most historically significant areas. Featured by BayNews 9, this sprint served as a living lab for citizen innovation and participatory design. Many great ideas emerged that I hope make their way into the plans for the redevelopment. The main takeaway was St. Petersburg’s residents envision a city built on belonging, where progress means inclusion, where creativity fuels sustainability, and where the spirit of community defines success. If you are interested in learning more, check out the Baynews 9 segment.
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AI x Creativity Talk– Protect The Human Spark @ Ringling College of Art & Design
For two engaging days, more than 100 artists, designers, and educators convened to discuss and explore how AI is impacting art and design education, as well as the creative economy. The days were packed with deep insights into multiple perspectives on how AI is being used and not used in the creative process. Whole new methods and approaches are being developed, and the output is part experimental and part revolutionary. Day 1 Reflection Day 2 Reflection
We delivered a thought-provoking keynote on how to Beyond the Algorithm: Preserving the Human Spark in a world of AI. The talk explored how educators, artists, and designers can center the human spark in a tech-driven world.
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Lavender Fields Forever – Award-Winning Short Film
As Associate Producer, I’m proud to share that Lavender Fields Forever won:
🏆 Best Cinematography
🏆 Best Music/Sound
🏆 Best Editing
🏆 Best Director
🏆 Best Overall (Shorts 7–12 min)
at the Show Low Film Festival.
It was a celebration of emotional storytelling and creative collaboration. Big congratulations to Amelia Bartlett and team for their vision and hard work in making this happen. Look forward to what other awards you will pick up on the film circuit.
Improv for Collaboration – Upcoming State College of Florida Faculty Workshop
On deck: a 1-hour immersive workshop at State College of Florida focused on improvisation for student engagement. We’ll explore how spontaneity, trust, and collaboration can reignite classrooms and teaching practice.
Coming Soon: Evaluating Your Creativity – Online Course
We’re launching the Evaluating Your Creativity: Unlock Your Hidden Advantage course, our signature framework that helps learners assess and unlock their creative potential across a four-pillar framework. More than 2,000 learners have already gone through this program. A free trial experience will be available soon. Stay tuned!
More Highlights You’ll Love
Podcast Feature – How to Change the World w/ Catherine Alonzo
We explored jam band innovation, community-centered leadership, and the surprising power of openness in sparking real change.
Upcoming Speaking and Lab Events –
We’re hitting the road with new talks focused on creativity, innovation ecosystems, and leadership for the future.
Sora Cinematic Promos – AI-Powered Storytelling
We’re now creating stunning mini-cinematic series to tell the stories of in education, leadership, and civic design. Check out our Mini-docuseries we are building.
Call to Action: Let’s Build Together
Want to bring a Power Skills session, keynote, or design sprint to your organization?
We’re now booking for Spring 2026.
Let’s co-create something transformative.
Grateful for our community,
Steve
Founder
📩 [email protected] or www.stevediasio.com
🌐 www.theschoolofcreativityandinnovation.com
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