Kevin Golinghorst, who recently retired as St. Louis District commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is joining the T-Rex downtown entrepreneurship center.
Nonprofit T-Rex said Golinghorst will begin next week as its geospatial director, overseeing its operations around geospatial technology. He is joining T-Rex as part of a corporate fellowship through Hiring Our Heroes, a national program that helps military members in their transition out of service. Golinghorst served in the U.S. Army for 27-plus years, according to a press release.
“Kevin’s years of service and dedication to his country and community throughout his tenure with the United States Army and the Army Corps of Engineers demonstrate not only his character, but his curiosity and excitement to take on new challenges to solve hard problems,” Patty Hagen, T-Rex president and executive director, said in a statement. “Kevin’s reputation in the community and region precedes him, and we are excited to see how he is able to drive the mission of the Geospatial Innovation Center at T-Rex and foster St. Louis as the global center of geospatial innovation, collaboration, and excellence.”
In addition to a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Golinghorst holds a master's in defense geographic information from Cranfield University in the U.K., a master's in military art and science from the School for Advanced Military Studies, and a master's in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He will work at T-Rex as its geospatial director between September and mid-November as part of the Hiring Our Heroes program amid his “search for full-time post-military employment,” Golinghorst’s LinkedIn profile said.
He joins T-Rex, located at 911 Washington Ave., as it has put a focus in recent years on boosting St. Louis’ geospatial technology sector, opening its Geospatial Innovation Center in 2020. The Geospatial Innovation Center, which spans 16,000 square feet on T-Rex’s fourth floor, houses operations for several geospatial companies. T-Rex has also signed a partnership intermediary agreement with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and is home to Moonshot Labs, NGA’s first unclassified innovation center, a 12,000-square-foot facility at T-Rex.
"I am extremely excited to be joining this dynamic team at T-Rex as part of a fellowship in transition from the U.S. Army. I look forward to continuing learning about, leading the integration of, and helping to leverage the great geospatial capabilities of academia, industry, and government agencies for good in the region and for our nation,” said Golinghorst. "I look forward to assuming the duties of those who have served in this capacity before me but also shaping the activities, events, and partnerships in the future that will continue to support innovation and entrepreneurial efforts here in St. Louis."
T-Rex says it is home to nearly 200 companies and innovation groups. The nonprofit, whose legal name is Technology Entrepreneur Center Inc., reported revenue of $1.74 million and expenses of $1.82 million in 2021, according to its most recent IRS filing.
