About
Wendy Lea
Wendy Lea is a leading expert in economic growth through innovation and entrepreneurship. She advises national and state governments, public-private partnerships, and global enterprises on ecosystem development through entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology. Recognized for work across industries and regions, Wendy is a maximalist who creates vibrant startup innovation ecosystems that grow city, state, and regional economies.
Wendy is an advisory board member serving the Center for American Entrepreneurship (CAE) and a member on the National Advisory Council for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE)—a federal committee tasked with developing strategies that strengthen America’s ability to compete as the world’s leading startup nation and as the world’s leading innovator in critical emerging technologies.
Founder of TechHubNow!, Wendy is helping secure Colorado’s future leadership in technology, building an industry-led quantum ecosystem through the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Tech Hubs program. As co-founder and chair of Energize Colorado, Wendy mobilizes resources and relief for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofits, working with a team of inspired innovators from Colorado’s private, public, nonprofit, and academic communities to grow Colorado’s economy. Additionally, she serves on the Colorado Governor’s Revenue Estimation Revenue Estimating Advisory Committee (GREAC).
Wendy serves university innovation and entrepreneurship programs, including Miami University’s John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship and the University of Colorado Boulder’s Enterprise Corporation (CUBEC) and Engineering and Applied Science advisory boards.
Wendy is recognized for her work across industries and has been named a “Woman of Influence” in Silicon Valley and San Francisco. In 2018, she was honored with the Signal Excellence Award by Procter & Gamble and University of Cincinnati’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business Distinguished Service Award. She received an Outstanding Women in Business Award in 2023 by Denver Business Journal for advancing innovative businesses in Colorado.
Wendy is a graduate of the University of Mississippi in Business Administration and has lived and worked around the world. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.