Storytelling in the Age of New Media

With over 15 years of experience in planning, launching, and promoting high-impact initiatives, Kristen has been instrumental in strengthening Philadelphia’s startup ecosystem. As Senior Director of Marketing at the Science Center, she is responsible for executing a comprehensive marketing and communications strategy that elevates the organization’s enterprise initiatives on local, national, and global scale.

Previously, Kristen was responsible for the University City Keystone Innovation Zone (UC KIZ), an initiative of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania providing tax credits and technical support to startups in the life sciences and tech sectors. Under her leadership the UC KIZ grew in geography, industry focus, and impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem with $14 million in tax credits leveraged by over 100 Philadelphia startups.

Kristen has a bachelor's degree from Penn State University and a Marketing Certificate from the Executive Education Program at The Wharton School. She received the 2019 Rad Award for Connector of the Year and was recognized as a 2019 Technical.ly RealLIST Connector. Kristen has served on the Amplify Philly Board of Directors since 2022 and previously served on the Resource Exchange Board from 2018-2024.

Diana works on grantmaking to support the MacArthur Foundation's participatory civic media and national journalism work, with a focus on professional nonprofit reporting.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Diana led and sunsetted the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund, a five-year, $20 million joint venture designed to strengthen local journalism at scale by supporting journalistic excellence and serving the information needs of communities. She worked in community-centered media at WHYY and Germantown Info Hub in Philadelphia. In her previous life in economic development, Diana served as Director of Partnerships and Outreach of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Philadelphia, a five-year, $20 million public-private initiative focused on strengthening businesses through revenue generation and local job creation.

Diana holds n MA in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design and a BA  in Urban Studies and French from Vassar College.

Diana proudly serves as a Maynard 200 Fellowship mentor and contributing editor for Root Quarterly, a print journal of art and ideas from Philadelphia.