A UC San Diego alumni and second generation Latina, Alexa-Rae Navarro, is the Executive Director of Startup San Diego, the official non-profit supporting the San Diego startup ecosystem. 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. Alexa-Rae served as 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. She has a Master’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles Luskin School of Public Affairs. In her free time, she enjoys the adventures of motherhood alongside her husband and Bulldog, Bella.