Monica Wheat is a Strategist, Educator, and Venture Developer. She is the Managing Director leading Backstage Detroit and is the Founder + Executive Director at Venture Catalysts, a venture and ecosystem development group. Monica also serves as an Advisor + Entrepreneur-In-Residence at Grand Circus Detroit, where she's led projects focused on EdTech, corporate partnerships, and diversity + inclusion. She's the Founder + Executive Director of Digerati Girls, Inc./Digerati Kids, a non-profit that has helped over 7,000 Detroit-area students gain skills and an introduction to careers in digital technology and entrepreneurship. Monica is extremely invested in the Detroit startup community and similar emerging tech ecosystems. She's the Lead for Techstars Startup Programs including Detroit Startup Week and Startup Digest Detroit/Ann Arbor, and she's also Co-founder + City Director of Startup Boost Detroit, a global pre-accelerator.