Cate Costa is a well-rounded professional with over a decade of experience in philanthropy, economic development, and entrepreneurship, working across the corporate, government, and nonprofit sectors. Her expertise lies in program design, implementation, and evaluation, with a focus on advancing racial and gender equity through sustainable impact.

Costa's academic background includes a Master of Business Administration from Howard University, where she also served as Center Lead for the Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. She also studied Growing the Minority Business at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Critical Social Thought from Mount Holyoke College.

Her extensive professional experience includes Vice President at JPMorgan Chase & Co., Deputy Director of Business Enterprise Program at State of Illinois Department of Central Management Services, and Director of Entrepreneurship at Chicago Urban League, among others. She has also founded her own consulting firm, Venture Catalyst Consulting.

Costa's passion for advancing racial and gender equity through entrepreneurship is evident in her work, and she has a proven track record of designing and implementing programs that leverage multinational and multi-disciplinary organizational assets to achieve sustainable impact.