lisa Katz, president & founder, Adelant Consulting,

A staunch and proven advocate for Michigan’s innovation ecosystem, Lisa is advancing policy, education and storytelling to attract and retain strategic startups and investment to the state from around the world. Throughout her career, Lisa has developed regional innovation strategies grounded in talent, entrepreneurship, and cluster-based economic development.

She has extensive nonprofit leadership and philanthropic experience, and has helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars in public investment for regional transformation efforts. Her work has been recognized by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development and the U.S. General Accounting Office. Lisa serves on numerous nonprofit boards and is conversational in Spanish.

She has a Master of Public Administration (University of Michigan) and a Bachelor of International Relations with a Certificate in Latin American & Caribbean Studies (Michigan State University). As a Rotary International Ambassadorial Fellow, she undertook additional graduate studies at the Latin American Faculty for Social Sciences in Buenos Aires, Argentina.