Introducing the Connectors: Erica Quinn
Erica brings creative energy and a passion for collaboration to everything she does in Happy Valley. Most days, she can be found falling in love with cross-sector arts projects across Pennsylvania, weaving her bike through local alleyways, paddling the Lehigh River, porch-sitting with her three cats in Lemont, reading tarot cards, or lighting up the dance floor at Manny’s.
Out Front of the Parade: Lessons from Mimi Barash Coppersmith
By Greg Woodman Most of us are happy to be in the parade. Or content to watch the parade. We enjoy the music, the fellowship, the energy of marching together. But very few want to step out front, where the spotlight shines, where the risks are highest, and where the critics are loudest. Mimi Barash […]
A Celebration of Creativity: The First HappyValley Maker Faire
Last weekend, something truly extraordinary happened at Axemann Brewery. The first-ever HappyValley Maker Faire brought together curious kids, seasoned engineers, creative artists, garage inventors, and everyday tinkerers for a hands-on, high-energy celebration of creativity and community. As someone who has spent a career in business and marketing, I have seen my fair share of expos and trade shows. But this was different. This was alive. It was a living network of community and connection, a space where people didn’t just attend—they belonged.
Introducing the Connectors: Luke Massaro
Luke Massaro was born and raised in State College before heading off to Bucknell University, where he earned his degree and played football for the Bison. After seven years in the Rockies, living in Colorado and Montana, Luke returned in 2018 with his wife, also a State College native, to put down roots, raise their two children (now ages 5 and 7), and build community in Happy Valley.
Research Cuts at Universities Around the Country Have Happy Valley on High Alert
A national squeeze on federal research funding is forcing America’s universities into difficult choices, and Penn State is squarely in the crosshairs. Across the country, institutions are pausing projects, shrinking graduate cohorts, and merging departments. In Happy Valley, the implications extend well beyond campus, touching everything from local jobs to the innovation economy that has long defined this region.
Introducing the Connectors: Ellen Matis
Ellen Matis is the founder of Hello Social Co., a children’s book author, and a proud advocate for life-first business. Deeply passionate about libraries, she serves on the Schlow Library Board of Directors and is committed to using community storytelling as a way to keep small towns vibrant and on the map.
The Town Square Social Experiment: Building Connection in Happy Valley
This is not just another website and soon an app. It is a social experiment.
Imagine catching up with a neighbor at the post office or swapping stories with a friend on their porch. In those old town squares, everyday conversations were the glue of community. Not perfect, sometimes awkward, but always real and valuable.
Happy Valley Becomes America’s Saturday Showcase
This past Saturday, under a more beautiful Blue and White sky than the most emotive artist could paint and with perfectly temperate “football weather” to defy even Grantland Rice’s fertile imagination, Penn State kicked off a season widely expected to evolve into a championship chase, one universally agreed upon as a campaign of consequence for the Nittany Lions and their head coach.
What Penn State Can Learn from Cracker Barrel’s Branding Misstep
When Cracker Barrel quietly updated its branding in August 2025, it likely anticipated a modest refresh—not a full-blown crisis. But the removal of Uncle Herschel, the iconic image of an elderly man seated beside a barrel, sparked immediate backlash. Customers called the update “sterile” and “soulless.” Investors panicked, wiping nearly $100 million off the company’s market value.
