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New Year, New Board!

By Michelle Garrett — January 20, 2016

The Innovate Pasadena Board of Directors recently held its first election and appointed seven new board members who will be instrumental in charting the course of the organization in the years to come.

Mike Giardello, Co-Founder of Innovate Pasadena and CEO of Materia Inc., was elected as President of the organization. “Pasadena has one of the most diverse innovation ecosystems in the world and Innovate Pasadena is proud to be a catalyst in growing this community. From entrepreneurs to investors and from corporations to academic institutions, Innovate Pasadena connects people and creates opportunities for collaboration.”

Joining Mike at the helm of the organization is Beth Kuchar, Partner at Rapture Studio, who will serve as Vice-President. Having been involved since the organization’s launch, Beth understands the long-term vision for Innovate Pasadena. "Pasadena is one of the most innovative cities that you never hear about. I believe in 2016 Pasadena will become part of the conversation as the place to be for entrepreneurs and innovators. I'm excited to continue to be a part of this amazing organization as we focus on educating, connecting, and inspiring our community."

The dynamic team, along with the rest of the founding board members, has been instrumental in launching Innovate Pasadena’s programming and marketing efforts which have included Innovate Pasadena’s signature events such as Connect Week and the idea 2 innovation series with Caltech.

In addition to the election of officers, the Board also elected several new board members including:

Maureen Crow, Communications Consultant

Marie Csete, President & Chief Scientist, Huntington Medical Research Institute

Raymond Ealy, Executive Director & Founder, STEAM:CODERS

Gladys Kong, CEO, UberMedia

Alex Maleki, VP of Business Development, Idealab

Jim McCarthy, CEO & Co-Founder, Goldstar Events

Vanessa Flores Waite, Director of Public Relations & Community, Spokeo

Board directors are elected for a two-year term with new board members elected at the organization’s Annual Meeting in September. A total of 27 board members currently serve the organization and represent a diverse swath of the Pasadena innovation community from academia and non-profits to business leaders and government.

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