Through her work in the public, private and academic sectors, Maura O’Neill has created entrepreneurial and public-private solutions for some of the toughest domestic and global problems.  Maura has founded four companies (energy efficiency and curbside recycling, electricity customer info systems and billing, e-commerce and digital textbook platform), served as Chief of Staff in the U.S. Senate, appointed President Obama’s first Chief Innovation Officer, US Agency for International Development ($22 billion Agency budget). Maura co-led USAID Forward, the Agency’s major reform initiative as well as oversaw over 600 global public-private partnerships including mobile money; supply chain elimination of ingredients/packaging from virgin forests; water and health interventions; gender equity and entrepreneurship. Maura is most well known for adapting venture capital and drug discovery methods to development by co-creating the Development Innovation Venture Fund.  Maura served on the White House Innovation Cohort assisting the Administration in innovation across the federal government and an official USG representative to many international meetings including COP 15 (climate), G8 Impact Investment Forum, RIO+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development.

 

In addition to advising early stage companies, Maura is Distinguished Teaching Fellow at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley and serves as a Faculty Director at UC Berkeley Executive Education. New Venture Finance, Blockchain Strategy, DC Immersion and Executive Leadership are among her most popular courses.  Examples of her awards include three-time winner of the Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching at UC Berkeley as well as the Greater Seattle Businessperson of the Year.

 

Maura has a Ph.D from the University of Washington where her research focused on narrow-mindedness and the errors it leads to in science, medicine, business and political decision-making. Maura also has M.B.As from UC Berkeley and Columbia University. She also is the founding Vice Chair of the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women, the public charter school featured in the award-winning film, STEP. More information: www.mauraoneill.com