Juanita Lee-Garcia
Executive Director
Upside Foundation
Juanita Lee-Garcia is currently the Executive Director of the Upside Foundation. For five years, she led Venture for Canada’s partnership, social innovation and marketing teams, scaling the organization by 3172% growth in expenditures on charitable activities as a key member of the leadership team.
Before her not-for-profit career, Juanita had a dual career in sales and academics. Previously, she worked in tech at Loopio in its bootstrapped stage and retail for Aritzia across sales management roles for over nine years.
She holds a BFA from Queen’s University, an MFA from Western University, and an MEd in Higher Leadership and Adult Education and Community Development from the University of Toronto, OISE. She has presented her academic research across Canada and the US.
Juanita is a Latinx refugee-migrant first-generation settler in Canada, an artist, and an educator interested in the intersection of innovation, philanthropy, and large-scale systems change.
Schedule
5 mins
St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts - Bluma Appel Theatre
Scale Up Stage Kickoff
As the startup landscape continues to experience volatility, and support for the ecosystem crumbles overnight, great companies are left fighting to survive. Learn from expert startup founders who have led, scaled, and navigated through black swan events to see how you can lay a strong foundation that weathers the storm. Join us as we kick off the Scale Up Stage!