The Landis Family Fellowship at mHUB was established to give technical entrepreneurs access to the gig economy at mHUB where they can test and cultivate their technical and professional skills while validating their own business ideas. Each year, the fellowship recognizes innovators who embody creativity, technical excellence, and an entrepreneurial spirit — all while contributing to a stronger, more resilient innovation economy.
The 2025 Landis Family Fellowship cohort reflects a remarkable diversity of expertise, spanning product design, clean energy, automation, advanced manufacturing, and even music technology. What unites them is a shared mission: to transform bold ideas into tangible solutions that inspire and create impact.
Lisa Thomas is an accomplished engineer who is passionate about making the worlds of engineering and design accessible and exciting for everyone. She uses her social media channels as a platform to bring this passion to life, creating engaging content that ranges from in-depth tutorials on CAD design and DIY electronics to showcasing her personal journey and exploring real-world engineering challenges. Her content offers a unique and authentic look into the life of a modern engineer, inspiring her audience to build, create, and innovate. Beyond her online presence, Lisa maintains a thriving engineering consulting business.
At Lightning Lisa she offers specialized product development and technical assistance to a range of clients, including companies like educreds and Glance Vision. Her professional portfolio also includes a significant focus on sustainability, energy efficiency, and clean energy projects, due to her serving as an engineer in the public sector at the federal and state levels. She has managed initiatives to promote electric vehicle infrastructure and workforce; support cleantech, climate tech, and circular economy business ventures; and has been involved in solar energy projects that increase solar access and create renewable energy communities. In addition, during her free time she teaches STEM topics to K-12 students with organizations like the Detroit Tuskegee Airmen National Museum.
Lisa's dedication to her craft, both in her consulting work and online platforms, is driven by a desire to empower the next generation of innovators. Her unique combination of hands-on expertise and her ability to clearly communicate complex concepts makes her a leading voice in the industry.
Charles Steenstra is an engineer, designer, and entrepreneur based in Chicago with a passion for building at the intersection of hardware, business, and creativity. With experience ranging from high-voltage power electronics and aerospace systems to automated micro-factories and sustainable ventures, he thrives on turning ambitious ideas into practical solutions.
Charles has worked with companies like Tesla, designed complex converters for electric vehicles, and led projects that blend science, art, and entrepreneurship.
Outside of engineering, he explores world-building, storytelling, and hands-on crafts, always looking for new ways to connect imagination with real-world impact.
Driven by a passion for design and a knack for tackling complex mechanical challenges, Mike Boyle has built a career developing innovative products across the automotive and consumer industries. With nearly a decade of experience guiding projects from concept through production, Mike’s work blends technical expertise with a talent for bringing bold ideas to life.
Most recently, Mike served as a Senior Product Development Engineer at Radio Flyer, where he helped create award-winning strollers, ride-ons, and bike trailers. His contributions included the Red Dot Design Award-winning Momentum Jogging Stroller and the Flyer Duoflex Bike Trailer, which expanded the brand into new categories. His work on these and other children’s products led to multiple patent applications.
Earlier in his career, Mike was a Design Release Engineer at Stellantis (formerly FCA), where he managed the Jeep Gladiator hard top system through design, validation, and launch. He was also a member of the Chrysler Institute of Engineering, a leadership development program for top engineering talent.
An inventor on six awarded and five pending U.S. patents, Mike specializes in end-to-end product development, CAD, rapid prototyping, and design for manufacturing. His expertise spans consumer products, injection-molded plastics, and complex mechanisms.
Mike holds a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan–Dearborn and a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame. Today, through his freelance engineering practice, he partners with consumer product companies to provide flexible, high-impact product development support.
As part of the mHUB community, Mike looks forward to collaborating with innovative companies to transform ambitious product ideas into reality.
Michelle Singleton
Michelle Singleton is a dynamic and forward-thinking engineering professional with over 20 years of multidisciplinary experience spanning mechanical and industrial engineering, technical product development, and project management. Her diverse career has crossed multiple sectors, including logistics, manufacturing, food processing, and robotics/automation—giving her a comprehensive view of how to innovate in both legacy industries and emerging technologies.
Michelle holds a B.S. in Finance from Upper Iowa University and dual M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing Systems Engineering from the University of St. Thomas. This unique blend of financial acumen and technical expertise enables her to bridge the gap between engineering innovation and business strategy.
Throughout her career, Michelle has contributed to major organizations where she gained hands-on experience in hardware design, mechatronics, financial management, and cross-functional product development. Her ability to navigate both the technical and business sides of engineering makes her an asset to any innovation-driven team.
Currently, Michelle is proud to be a Landis Family Hartech Fellow at mHUB—a leading innovation center for physical product development. Her journey with mHUB began through her involvement with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Chicagoland Professionals Chapter, where she served on the board. That early exposure inspired her passion for entrepreneurship and deepened her understanding of how incubators like mHUB can empower the next generation of tech leaders.
As she transitions into entrepreneurship, Michelle is driven by a mission to create impactful, scalable solutions at the intersection of hardware and automation—while also serving as a role model and advocating for diversity in tech and engineering.
Justin DeLay is the Founder, CEO & CTO of ALAN Instruments, a Chicago-based music technology company on a mission to invent the world’s first intelligent instruments. His vision is to pioneer generative, co-creative workflows — tools that don’t just respond to musicians, but actively collaborate with them, amplifying human creativity in real time.
A serial entrepreneur and two-time graduate of the University of Michigan (BBA, M.HCI), Justin has co-founded and scaled multiple ventures, raised more than $8M in capital, and built teams at the intersection of technology, business, and creativity. He was a co-founder of TempoIQ, a TechStars-backed Internet of Things platform, and later served as a Director at Reverb, where he helped drive brand and product strategy during a critical phase of expansion. His career reflects a rare blend of engineering, product development, and marketing expertise — a foundation that fuels his ability to bring bold ideas from concept to market.
Justin is also the producer for Replicant, a leading Chicago-based dark wave act that has shared stages with top artists from around the world for more than a decade. This artist’s perspective grounds his approach to building instruments and reinforces his mission.
Proud to be carrying forward his family’s legacy of craftsmanship and making, Justin sees mHUB as the crucial enabler for ALAN Instruments’ success. At mHUB, he is focused on transforming prototypes into finished products and building a diverse team capable of scaling American-made innovation. Above all, Justin believes that instruments should inspire and enhance human creativity.
Follow their progress, connect with them on LinkedIn, and stay tuned for updates on their work throughout the year. To learn more about the Landis Family Fellowship and how it supports innovators shaping the future of hardtech, visit mHUB’s Fellowship page.