Natalia Martinez-Kalinina

General Manager of Cambridge Innovation Center Miami
Founding Director of Awesome Foundation Miami
Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp Cohort 1

Reach out to Natalia on LinkedIn

The Leader

Natalia is an organizational psychologist, strategist, and technologist focused on merging innovation, entrepreneurship, and community impact. Her passion hinges on creating communities that are true ecosystems. In addition to leading the expansion of the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) to Miami, Natalia is part of The Awesome Foundation MIAMI, the local chapter of a global network of grassroots micro-grant giving hubs that, cumulatively, have awarded more than $1.6 million globally to small, local ideas. Natalia is a regular contributor to outlets such as The Huffington Post, the World Economic Forum, and La Nacion. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and Government from Harvard University and an M.A. in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University.

Recent Wins

Fully launched CIC Miami (2017)
Appointed by Florida Governor Rick Scott to serve on the Governor’s Commission on Community Service
Created series of regional partnerships, doubling The Awesome Foundation's fiscal impact

The Bold Idea

Provide high-quality, flexible office and coworking spaces where clients have access to hundreds of diverse entrepreneurs, service providers, investors, and mentors while CIC-supported events draw thousands of innovators from across the global startup community to CIC.

The organization

Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) is the oldest and largest convener of startup activity in the United States, and their focus on creating inclusive innovation ecosystems expanded to Miami. With a vision to bridge the nation's second largest health district with the rest of Miami's thriving innovation corridor, combining co-working, flexible offices, and laboratory spaces layered with robust programming, advising, and community-building initiatives. Believing Miami can grow to become the Alexandria of the modern-day Western Hemisphere, CIC Miami has set out to build a collaborative, inclusive, and value-adding center of gravity with a strong focus on what it will take to make Miami a true regional hub for entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic development.

The Awesome Foundation is a global community advancing the interest of awesome in the universe. Each chapter supports awesome projects through micro-grants, usually given out monthly. These micro-grants, $1000 or the local equivalent, come out of pockets of the chapter's "trustees" and are given on a no-strings-attached basis to people and groups working on awesome projects.