Founding Partner of Upstart Co-Lab
Laura is the founding partner of Upstart Co-Lab. Upstart Co-Lab is disrupting how creativity is funded by connecting impact investing to the creative economy. Prior to launching Upstart Co-Lab in 2015, Laura was senior deputy chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; a consultant with McKinsey & Company’s Social Sector Office; and associate director at the Rockefeller Foundation.
Photo credit: Helga Sigvaldadottir
Global Creative Economy Council
Daniar Amanaliev – Kyrgyzstan
Co-founder and Band Master of ololo group, Chair of Kyrgyzstan’s Creative Industries Park Board
Omar Nagati – Egypt
Architect, Urban Planner and Co-founder of CLUSTER
Andrea Dempster Chung – Jamaica
Andrea Dempster Chung is the co-founder and executive director of Kingston Creative, an NGO that use…
Dwinita Larasati – West Java, Indonesia
Lecturer and Researcher at Industrial Design Program, FSRD ITB, Indonesia Tita is a product designer…
John Newbigin – UK
Mayor of London’s Ambassador for the Creative Industries John is the Mayor of London’s Ambassa…
Avril Joffe – South Africa
UNESCO Chair in Cultural Entrepreneurship and Policy, and Research Associate, University of the Witw…
Pearl Wang Haoqing – China
Associate Professor and Director, Center for Global Cooperation and Education Development, USC-SJTU …
Karen Brodie
Deputy Director at Creative PEC
Octavio Kulesz – Argentina/Italy
Director of Teseo Octavio Kulesz is a philosopher, digital publisher, and director of Teseo, one of …
Sara Pepper – UK
Co-Director of the Centre for the Creative Economy at Cardiff University Professor Sara Pepper OBE i…
Wakiuru Njuguna – Kenya
Managing Partner, HEVA Fund Wakiuru Njuguna is a seasoned expert in Africa’s creative industries, wi…
Kelly Wilhelm – Canada
Head of the Cultural Policy Hub at OCAD University Kelly Wilhelm (she/her) is a consultant and …
Eduardo Saravia – Colombia/Germany
Chief Economist at Sound Diplomacy Eduardo Saravia is a cultural economist with over 16 years of exp…
