Center for American Entrepreneurship Names Rebecca Lovell of Seattle, WA as Chair of the Board of Directors

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Center for American Entrepreneurship (CAE), a nonpartisan research, policy, and advocacy organization, today announces that Rebecca Lovell of Seattle, WA has been named as chair of the board of directors, succeeding Blake Patton, founder and Managing Partner of Tech Square Ventures in Atlanta, GA.

With more than 20 years of management and operating experience, and over a decade running and supporting startups, Rebecca currently serves as Director at Create33, an entrepreneur center conceived by Madrona Venture Group. She was previously Director of the City of Seattle's Office of Economic Development, having progressed through leadership roles in the office, including serving as the City's first Startup Advocate. Prior to joining the City, Rebecca was GeekWire's first Chief Business Officer, Executive Director of the Northwest Entrepreneur Network, Program Director of the Alliance of Angels, and has been a committed Techstars mentor since the organization's Seattle launch in 2010.  Rebecca received her MBA from the University of Washington's Foster School of Business in 2006, has served on the school's Employer Advisory Board since 2008, and is currently an entrepreneurship instructor for the Technology Management MBA Program. 

"It is an honor to serve alongside this incredible board of directors, advisors, and team," said Rebecca Lovell. "This is an exciting and critical time for entrepreneurship in this country; for us to lead the way to a future of innovation and shared prosperity, CAE's rigorous research demonstrates it is incumbent on us to leverage every asset we have, including the incredible and diverse talent that has thus far been under-represented in startups. It's inspiring to see CAE's impact to date and I very much look forward to the next phase!"

"Rebecca was one of the first people I reached out to as I was organizing CAE in 2016," said John Dearie, CAE's founder and president. "She has been a tremendous asset to the organization since before our official launch, and I look forward to working with her as CAE's distinguished board and brilliant staff build on the success we've achieved to date enhancing policy circumstances for America's entrepreneurs."

"I also wish to express my sincere thanks to my friend Blake Patton for serving as CAE's first chairman of the board," Dearie continued. "As an entrepreneur and venture capitalist with deep expertise in technology transfer and commercialization of university-generated innovation, Blake has been an ideal first chairman, overseeing CAE's launch as an organization and our initial two years underway with great insight, skill, and generosity. I am delighted that he will remain an important part of CAE as a member of the board."

"Congratulations to Rebecca Lovell on being named as CAE's next chair," outgoing chairman Blake Patton said. "Rebecca brings tremendous experience, perspective, and expertise to both Seattle's entrepreneurship community and to CAE. It's been my great privilege to lead CAE through its launch and initial years and I'm thrilled that Rebecca has accepted the baton of leadership. I wish her good luck and stand ready to support and assist here any way that I can."

Brad Feld, Managing Director of Foundry Group in Boulder, CO, and a member of CAE's Advisory Council commented: "Rebecca Lovell is an inspired choice to follow Blake Patton's splendid tenure as CAE's first chairman because she is an entrepreneur's entrepreneur. As a founder herself, an advocate for Seattle's entrepreneurs, a long-time Techstars mentor, and now Director of the Create33 founders' space and an entrepreneurship instructor, Rebecca understands entrepreneurs, their mindset, and challenges. She will be a remarkably effective chair of CAE's board of directors and an important resource to policymakers."

About the Center for American Entrepreneurship (CAE)

The Center for American Entrepreneurship (CAE) is a nonpartisan, Washington, DC area-based 501(c)(3) research, policy, and advocacy organization.  CAE's mission is to engage policymakers in Washington, and at state and local levels across the nation, regarding the critical importance of entrepreneurs and startups to innovation, economic growth, and job creation – and to pursue a comprehensive policy agenda intended to significantly enhance the circumstances for new business formation, survival, and growth.

For more information, visit http://www.startupsUSA.org.

Follow CAE on Twitter: https://twitter.com/startupsUSAorg.

SOURCE Center for American Entrepreneurship