Cecilia Wessinger
Director for Global Community at the Global Entrepreneurship Network
Cecilia Wessinger is the Director for Global Community at the Global Entrepreneurship Network. She serves as the primary interface between GEN and its leadership teams in nations around the world as they seek to nurture more robust ecosystems and build GEN’s brand and presence in those economies. Prior to joining GEN, Cecilia was a consultant with the Kauffman Foundation, Future Agro Challenge and has led small group mastermind workshops and cohorts around the world. She has extensive experience mentoring and advising startup founders, ecosystem builders and organizations. As a certified Cultural Competency and Unconscious Bias facilitator, she moves conversations beyond diversity and inclusion to connecting, engaging, and belonging. Cecilia has served as a speaker, facilitator and panelist at innovation- and entrepreneurship-focused events such as Shift, Tom-Tom Festival and ESHIP Summit. She has judged and supported pitch competitions for SXSW, U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of State's Global Innovation through Science and Technology program. She currently serves on the executive board(s) of the Institute for Work and the Economy and Startup Champions Network, and has served on over a dozen non-profit boards in her local community ranging from the arts to education and entrepreneurship. She is a former travel industry professional who has lived, worked, and traveled throughout the world.