ABOUT LISA
Lisa Smith has more than 30 years of national and international economic development project experience ranging from innovation strategy development, entrepreneurial ecosystem building, and programs for accessing early-stage capital, to incubator feasibility assessment, design, and management.
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She is currently working with U.S. State Department International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) initiatives to accelerate international entrepreneurship development. Her international experience also includes the development of the technology incubator strategy in the U.S. for Scottish Development International, the national economic development agency for Scotland. This work led to the launch of Scotland’s US incubator network, the Scottish Technology and Research (STAR) Centers. She also worked in tourism promotion and international air service development in the Washington, DC area.
Lisa provided initial management support or led the management teams for the Scottish Technology and Research (STAR) Centers at Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology, the Fairfax County BioAccelerator, the Frederick Innovative Technology Center, the Bowie Business Innovation Center and the Harford Business Innovation Center.
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Prior to founding North Star Innovation Partners, Lisa served for nine years as Vice President and Director of Marketing for ANGLE Technology, an international technology commercialization and consulting firm, based in the UK.
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Lisa launched and managed five business incubation programs in the Washington, DC-Baltimore, MD area, including the Bowie Business Innovation Center (Bowie BIC) at Bowie State University. This is the only business incubation program in Maryland located at a historically black academic institution and the only incubation program in the state co-located with an office of the Maryland Women’s Business Center (MWBC).
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​Ms. Smith is a frequent speaker at regional and national industry events sponsored by organizations such as the Maryland Business Innovation Association (MBIA) and the International Business Innovation Association (InBIA), formerly NBIA. She currently serves on the InBIA Board of Directors.
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​She has written frequently on business incubation program development and entrepreneurship. Lisa contributed to two InBIA best-selling publications: Developing a Business Incubation Program and A Practical Guide to Business Incubator Marketing.
She is a member of MBIA and InBIA. A Maryland native, Lisa earned a master’s degree in business from The American University Kogod School of Business in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor’s degree at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C.
