Members Categories: Leadership

Natalie serves as the Program Manager – Mentorship & Partnerships at the Innovation Space. In this role, she facilitates connections between founders and the Innovation Space’s mentor community, both through formal and informal mentorship programming. Natalie also supports strategic partnerships through external outreach to partner organizations in our entrepreneur ecosystem. Prior to accepting this role, Natalie earned her B.S. in Biochemistry from Rowan University and her M.S. in Environmental Metrology and Policy from Georgetown University.  Most recently, Natalie held assignments in the Product Stewardship and Regulatory department of Science & Innovation at DuPont. Earlier in her career, Natalie has worked for both federal and state environmental governance at the EPA and DNREC.

Rebekka Coakley is the Marketing & Communications Manager at The Innovation Space, where she supports program visibility, stakeholder engagement, and organizational storytelling. She brings experience in communications and content strategy across higher education, research, and innovation-focused organizations. She is particularly interested in communicating complex ideas clearly and supporting mission-driven innovation.

Catherine leads the Accelerator Programs at The Innovation Space, where she supports and advances early-stage founders in life sciences, clean tech, and advanced materials. She works closely with entrepreneurs, coaches, investors, and ecosystem partners to help startups de-risk their ventures, clarify their value propositions, and build the milestones necessary for investment readiness and long-term scale. 

Catherine brings more than two decades of experience at the intersection of technology, commercialization, and human-centered innovation. With her experience as Founder & President of ConvAI Partners, a technical innovation consultancy, and Vice President of Innovation & Entrepreneurship within a large health system, she has built and led cross-functional innovation programs that translated emerging technologies into deployable, real-world solutions. She has established corporate AI governance, guided product strategy from concept through launch, and aligned stakeholders across clinical, technical, and executive domains – experience that directly informs her work with founders navigating complex regulatory, market, and operational landscapes. 

Throughout her career, Catherine has specialized in customer discovery, product-market fit, ecosystem building, and structuring programs that balance scientific rigor with commercial viability. She is particularly passionate about supporting science-based founders as they move from breakthrough research to market traction, investment, and measurable impact.