Board Chair, Global Institute on Innovation Districts
Tom is board chair at The Global Institute. He is employed by Wexford Science + Technology as senior vice president for innovation and economic development. In this role, he guides Wexford’s implementation of its Knowledge Community strategy across its stakeholders globally to position Wexford’s research park developments as critical hubs in the regional innovation ecosystem. As part of The Global Institute, he was co-author of the recent paper “The evolution of innovation districts: The new geography of global innovation.”
Tom is an engaging speaker who has recently delivered keynote addresses at the Association of University Research Parks, the Austin Chamber of Commerce, the Society for Research Administration, and the NATO Industry Summit. In his remarks, he discussed creating innovation ecosystems, as well as helping universities, research institutions, cities, regions, and federal governments leverage their research and technologies into knowledge-led economic development.
Additionally, Tom is an innovation advisor to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade – Canada, helping Canadian companies expand their operations into the United States and assisting U.S. companies in developing Canadian partnerships and markets. He also serves as an advisor to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on global innovation.
Previously, Tom served as executive vice president and chief of staff at Broadwing Inc., an NYSE-listed telecommunications company, providing executive leadership in the areas of corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and innovation. Before that, he served as special assistant to United States Senator Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), providing advice on foreign policy issues. Tom also provided policy advice to the Reagan administration and developed a research methodology that has become a standard at Congressional Quarterly magazine.
Vice-Chair, Global Institute on Innovation Districts
Julie is vice-chair of the board at The Global Institute. She is also president and founder of The Global Institute, where she is currently leading a Global Network of 45 innovation districts worldwide with the ambition to advance them—both individually and collectively—as leaders in this fast evolving practice. To support the Global Network and other districts elsewhere, she is leading a team of researchers in the development of cutting-edge analysis on districts including their R&D strengths and specializations and their combined assets that create innovative and inclusive places. Julie is also playing a leading role in GIID Europe, a new not for profit organization designed to support district and other innovation geographies advancing in and across Europe. She is a prolific urban researcher and is co-author of the papers “The rise of innovation districts: A new geography of innovation in America” and “The evolution of innovation districts: The new geography of global innovation. Her most recent research, “Why Governance Matters: An analysis on how innovation districts ‘Organize for Success’,” focuses on the imperative for innovation districts to organize for success, including effective governance. Julie is regularly requested to deliver keynote addresses in large, highly visible, events to elevate emerging global trends and demonstrate how the hyper-local geographies of districts are actively responding.
Julie has over 25 years of experience advancing cities and urban areas. For over the past decade, she served as a non resident senior fellow at The Brooking Institution. She is also a visiting scholar for the Esade Business School’s Center for Global Economy and Geopolitics. Julie has co-authored several papers on the changing role of innovation and place, including “Innovation spaces: The new design of work” and “Advancing a new wave of economic competitiveness: The role of mayors in the rise of innovation districts.”
A trained city planner, Julie served as a deputy planning director for the District of Columbia, where she developed the city’s long-range plan. She earned a master’s degree in city planning from MIT and holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational communication from Northeastern University. Julie has received several planning awards from MIT and the American Planning Association for her work.
Treasurer, Global Institute on Innovation Districts
Pamela is vice president and treasurer at The Global Institute, where she manages GIID’s strategic partnerships with organizations and funders. She is executive director at Open House New York, where she extends the principles that OHNY stands for and celebrates—openness, access, and diversity—to neighborhoods across the city. Working in the United States and internationally, she has designed and implemented numerous high-profile and high-impact initiatives for urban resilience, economic and community development, and competitiveness. Her work helps cities and communities persevere and prosper in the face of a growing list of threats linked to climate change, economic instability, and inequality.
Previously, Pamela served as executive director of The American Assembly at Columbia University in New York, where she incubated pioneering work on America’s middle neighborhoods. She was also part of the founding team for Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities, where she led the effort to develop resilience strategies through community-based approaches and public-private-civic partnerships. She launched the Global Cities Initiative at The Brookings Institution to help American metro regions pivot their economies toward increased engagement in world markets. Earlier in her career, Pamela played an instrumental role in establishing LSE Cities and managing the Urban Age program at the London School of Economics. She also created and managed the American Institute of Architects’ Center for Architecture in New York City.
Other projects include the Africa Center in New York and the Resilient Communities program at New America, where she was a senior fellow. Pamela was also a nonresident senior fellow with the Metropolitan Policy Program at The Brookings Institution. She has written for numerous publications and was assistant editor of The endless city, which was cited as best innovation and design book by Business Week. She was a producer for the documentary film Urbanized. In addition to a master’s degree in urban planning from Columbia University, Pamela holds degrees in economics and literature (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of Maryland.
Board Secretary, Global Institute on Innovation Districts
Carrie is board secretary of The Global Institute. She serves as chief growth office at the Greater Washington Partnership, where she advances the Partnership’s position with relevant constituents and drives broader awareness and support for the organization’s initiatives.
Prior to joining the Partnership, Carrie was senior vice president for development at the Atlantic Council, where she oversaw day-to-day development operations and provided strategic guidance on issues relevant to the Council’s overall direction. Carrie is a development professional with more than 20 years of experience with some of Washington’s leading policy and advocacy organizations. She brings more than two decades of recognized experience in strategic fundraising from corporations, foundations, and high-net-worth individuals. Carrie has extensive development experience, with work ranging from development directorships to external affairs to political fundraising. She spent more than 10 years at The Brookings Institution, where she most recently served as the deputy director and external affairs officer for the Metropolitan Policy Program, helping to build the program, provide strategic direction, and manage operations. She has also held directorships at the American Cancer Society Foundation and the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City.
Carrie earned a bachelor’s degree, with a major in political science, from the University of Mary Washington, and she attended the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive Education program in state and local leadership.
Board Member, Global Institute on Innovation Districts
Bruce is a member of the board at The Global Institute. He is director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation at Drexel University in Philadelphia, which aims to deepen and accelerate the burgeoning field of metro finance. He is also co-founder of New Localism Advisors, which helps cities design, finance, and deliver transformative initiatives that promote inclusive and sustainable growth.
Bruce was the Centennial Scholar at The Brookings Institution from January 2016 to March 2018, where he focused on the challenges and opportunities of global urbanization. He assumed this role after 20 years at Brookings, where he founded the Metropolitan Policy Program. Bruce is a prolific, globally renowned author and opinion-shaper in the field of urban and metropolitan growth and redevelopment. He is co-author of two papers on innovation districts: “The rise of innovation districts: A new geography of innovation in America” and “The evolution of innovation districts: The new geography of global innovation.”
Before joining Brookings, Bruce served as chief of staff to U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros and was senior counsel and then staff director for the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs. Bruce is co-author of The new localism: How cities can thrive in the age of populism and The metropolitan revolution: How cities and metros are fixing our broken politics and fragile economy. He is a graduate of Brown University and Yale Law School.
Board Member, Global Institute on Innovation Districts
Eitan is a member of the board at The Global Institute. He lately took on a role of Deputy CEO of CardiacSense, a medical device company dedicated to creating long-term monitoring solutions for patients, using a combination of sensors, AI and big-data analysis. Eitan previously served as CEO of Road2, a value-added start-up-hub based in Haifa, Israel.
Prior to taking up his Road2 post, Eitan held senior management positions in several publicly traded companies. He was Vice President of Business Development at Kamada and Chief Operating Officer at PolyPid. He also held a senior operations and business planning position in Biosense Webster (a Johnson and Johnson Company) and several business development and strategic alliance positions with Lumenis.
Eitan started his career as a commercial lawyer, gaining over 13 years of experience as a legal practitioner specializing in the hi-tech and medical device arenas, in international transactions, venture, capital funds, investments, corporate law, and mergers and acquisitions. In his legal capacity, he was partner in a major law firm and served as legal counsel to Elbit Ltd.
Alongside his business activities, Eitan has led Friendly Angels Club, an angel investment group that boasts several IPOs, M&A and significant venture capital up-rounds.
Eitan holds an L.L.B. degree from Haifa University and a master’s degree in Business Management from Haifa University Graduate School of Business.
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