A UC San Diego alumni, Alexa-Rae Navarro, is the new Executive Director of Startup San Diego, the official non-profit supporting the San Diego startup ecosystem. The organization connects, educates, and inspires local founders and talent to grow the innovation economy and foster a cohesive and collaborative community. Startup San Diego envisions the Region as a thriving and inclusive global hub of innovation, producing and building meaningful and high-growth companies who re-invest and give back to the ecosystem for a more economically vibrant region.

Prior to running Startup San Diego, she spent the last eight years in Los Angeles working at the intersection of tech, corporate, education, non-profit, and public sectors, immersed in supporting the tech and startup ecosystem. Most recently, Alexa-Rae was the Sr. Managing Director of the Bixel Exchange, Center for Innovation & Tech at the LA Area Chamber of Commerce, focused on connecting talent to opportunity through entrepreneurship and talent development to ensure an inclusive L.A. technology ecosystem.

Her work focused on economic development impact, including building and scaling entrepreneurship and talent development programming. Alexa-Rae has worked with LA Based tech company/support organizations like Snap Inc., Riot Games, Grid110, and Techstars, to launch several pilot programs and partnerships to connect underserved and diverse community college youth and entrepreneurs to the tech sector. She has deep experience working with and managing Federal/State funding from institutions such as the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the California Governor’s Office of Business Affairs (GOBIZ). Her contributions have helped the Bixel Exchange to pave the way for unparalleled collective impact, providing 600+ predominantly underrepresented entrepreneurs with one-on-one mentorship, helped them to collectively raise $30+ million in investment, supported the creation of 1200+ jobs, placed 459 youth in paid internships, engaged 15,500+ underserved community college youth through work-based learning, and cultivated 60+ employer partners.

She has a Master’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles Luskin School of Public Affairs and a Bachelor’s in Urban Studies & Planning from the University of California, San Diego. In her free time, she enjoys the adventures of motherhood alongside her husband and Bulldog, Bella. She is also an avid advocate of mindfulness training and meditation.