Natalia Martinez-Kalinina
Natalia is an organizational psychologist and strategist focused on merging innovation, entrepreneurship, and community impact. She focuses on creating connected communities and vibrant ecosystems, most recently by leading the expansion of the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) from Boston to Miami, seeking to deepen and nuance the conversation about entrepreneurship, and building tangible bridges to innovation hubs and Latin America. As part of this effort, she oversaw the core three-year old $4M business, in parallel with the master planning of an innovation district that requires setting a joint agenda between the public, academic, and private sectors in Miami. She has also connected extensively across the public and private sector in Latin America around entrepreneurship, inclusive innovation, and economic development.
Natalia is the founder of Awesome Foundation MIAMI, which has awarded $110K+ in grants to small, grassroots ideas across Miami. She is also the Founder of Aminta Ventures, an educational vehicle focused on educating and empowering professional and philanthropic women to become angel investors. Most recently, she has also authored a nonpartisan, grassroots initiative called Immigrant Powered. For this and other work, Natalia has been appointed to the Governor’s Commission on Community Service, a body that oversees the administration of $32 million in federal, state, and local funding to deliver high-impact educational and volunteer programs in the state of Florida.
Natalia holds a B.A. in Psychology and Government from Harvard University and an M.A. in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. She has been an immigrant, twice, and is of Cuban and Russian descent.