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Our Team

Meet our team of researchers, practitioners, and field specialists who drive the day-to-day work of The Global Institute and execute its strategy.

Julie Wagner

President and Founder

Julie spearheads the strategic direction of GIID, which aims to position districts as crucial engines of their regional economies while solving highly complex global challenges. She has both designed, and actively implemented a triad of interconnected activities to advance the practice. This includes undertaking novel research on districts, orchestrating an impact-focused Global Network, and advancing strategic support of individual districts.

Pamela Puchalski

Vice President

As Vice President and co-founder of the Global Institute on Innovation Districts (GIID), Pamela leads on strategy and partnerships to drive impact for the growing number of innovation geographies we engage with around the world.

Chad Shearer

Director of Research

Chad drives the analysis of the distinct research and development strengths of innovation districts and the role they play in broader innovation ecosystems.

Laura Biancuzzo

Senior Research Associate

Laura is a Senior Research Associate at The Global Institute, where she leads interdisciplinary research efforts focused on the intersection of place and innovation within innovation districts. She recently completed a two-year study analyzing 23 innovation districts, uncovering new patterns and hidden advantages. Her global research, which spans national policies and evaluations of research strengths in Australia, Israel, and Europe, highlights her diverse expertise and her ability to navigate the complexities of the global innovation ecosystem.

Igor Ozeran

Global Network Manager

Igor is global network manager for The Global Institute, where his role is to shape and drive the success of the Global Network program, facilitating the program’s expansion and fostering a collaborative community of practitioners in 48 innovation districts across 14 countries.

Linda Ciampoli

Director of Partnerships

Linda fosters enduring partnerships with GIID to accelerate the growth and evolution of innovation districts. She is cultivating partnerships for GIID’s bi-annual Global Summits to support the call to convene and engage district leaders, changemakers, and stakeholders and for the organization’s longer objectives to advance districts globally.

Jonah Klein-Collins

Research Assistant

Jonah is a research assistant at the Global Institute, where his role is to analyze the distinct research and development strengths of innovation districts. His work uses spatial and statistical analyses to pinpoint innovation districts’ most prominent industries and areas of study, contextualize strengths within a district’s surrounding geographies, and characterize innovation ecosystems.

Sandra Gomez

Communications Director, Global Summit

As Communications Director for the Global Summit, Sandra leads strategic planning, media partnerships, and brand positioning to maximize visibility across diverse audiences. 

Camila Perez

Logistics, Global Summit

Camila is in charge of logistics for GIID’s first Global Summit, aiming to ensure flawless event execution and productive engagement with host partners.

Paola Caballero

Senior Program Manager, Global Summit

As the Senior Program Manager for the Global Summit, Paola oversees the planning and execution of major elements for the inaugural event in Monterrey, Mexico. Paola ensures seamless coordination and strategic alignment to deliver a successful summit in April 2025.

The values that inspire and drive our work

Independence

We pride ourselves on leading independent research and advanced practice. Findings and conclusions are exclusively based on data analysis led by The Global Institute.

Transparency

Unlike private firms, we seek to codify and communicate new insights and evidence to give cities, regions, and the districts within them, an even playing field.

Diversity

Women and minorities hold a limited number of positions in STEM fields that underpin advanced industries and most applied research. We’re seeking ways to change this balance.

Collegiality

We create a culture of fellowship and collaboration, where districts support each other—driving a new tier of highly-networked leaders.