Innovate South Central Indiana – Bloomington

John Fernandez is building the future of innovation in Indiana—one startup, one partnership, one breakthrough at a time.

As CEO of The Mill, John leads Bloomington's most ambitious effort to transform the city into a nationally recognized innovation hub. He's spearheading the development of The Trades District, a dynamic innovation hub in Bloomington's certified tech park that's attracting entrepreneurs, investors, and game-changing ideas.

John's career spans the highest levels of business, technology, and government. As Dentons' Global Chief Innovation Officer, he pioneered new approaches to legal innovation and led Nextlaw Ventures—the world's first global legal tech venture fund—backing cutting-edge companies reshaping an entire industry.

His commitment to innovation-driven economic development took him to Washington, where he served as President Barack Obama's Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. There, he launched federal initiatives that changed how America thinks about innovation-based growth, helping communities nationwide unlock their economic potential.

A two-term mayor of Bloomington and a nationally recognized voice in economic development, John has spent decades proving that strong communities are built through bold ideas, strategic partnerships, and unwavering support for entrepreneurs. He knows firsthand that transformative change happens when public and private sectors work together—and when leaders are willing to take calculated risks on the next generation of innovators.

Tina Peterson serves as the President and CEO of Regional Opportunity Initiatives (ROI), a position she has held since the organization’s founding in 2015. In her role with ROI, Tina works collaboratively with organizations to advance economic and community prosperity across the Indiana Uplands, an 11-county region in southwest central Indiana. Through regionally relevant and demand-driven initiatives, ROI focuses on industry cluster strategies, education, workforce, and quality of place as essential determinants for regional success. ROI serves as the regional lead for IEDC’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) for the Indiana Uplands, managing more than $60M to catalyze economic growth in the Uplands region. 

Tina is also President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, an organization powered by giving and committed to addressing the community’s most pressing needs and compelling opportunities. In addition to serving as a reputable and innovative grantmaker, the Community Foundation works with its partners to incubate and accelerate forward-looking strategies for community development.

Tina currently serves as a member or an advisor on several regional, state, and national boards including the Applied Research Institute, Inc., the Uplands Science and Technology Foundation, the Community Advisory Board for the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, IU Ventures, the Crane Regional Defense Group, Indiana Philanthropy Alliance, CDFI Friendly Bloomington, Bloomington Dimension Mill, and the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.

Pete Yonkman is president of Cook Group and Cook Medical in Bloomington, Indiana. He has been with the company for 21 years, starting in 2001 as in-house counsel. Pete has served in a variety of roles for Cook, including leading one of the local manufacturing sites and as executive vice president for 10 business units. Pete was named president of Cook Medical in 2014 and in 2015 added the role of president of Cook Group.

Pete is a born and bred Hoosier originally from Crown Point, Indiana. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Indiana University with degrees in psychology and philosophy and graduated with his law degree from the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University in 1998.

Pete is passionate about finding unique opportunities to help Hoosiers reach their full potential.

In 2017, he convened stakeholders working on substance use disorder to help align, coordinate, and foster collaboration in the community. The group launched Indiana’s first 24/7/365 crisis center, providing first responders with an option other than jail or the emergency room for those in mental health or substance use crisis.

In 2020, Pete and Cook Medical began a unique collaboration with the community surrounding 38^th Street and Sheridan Avenue in Indianapolis that resulted in a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and a community-owned grocery store in an area considered a food desert. Through this partnership, over 100 new jobs were created, and residents will have access to a fresh food source.

As a graduate of Indiana University, Pete is a proud supporter of IU student athletics and is the creator of Hoosiers for Good and Hoosiers Connect. Both organizations are now considered leading models of how universities can successfully navigate the new world of NIL in college sports.

Pete also served as executive producer on So Cold the River, a feature film based on the book by New York Times best-selling author and Indiana native, Michael Koryta. The film was created by Pigasus Pictures who have filmed and produced five movies in Indiana and are seeking to create a vibrant filmmaking ecosystem in the state.

His leadership philosophy is that businesses are the missing engine needed to drive meaningful and lasting change. He believes that companies have the responsibility to use their core business operations, expertise, and resources to improve the communities where they operate.

Pete lives in Bloomington with his wife, Janell, their two boys, Leo and Vic, and at last count two dogs, three barn cats, one horse, four chickens, and two peacocks.