About Us

Our “Grow from Within” strategy focuses on creating industry-relevant skills programs, supporting entrepreneurs, helping existing firms expand and innovate and strengthening local assets that improve the economic prospects of local workers and industries. This is an approach that prioritizes the skills, infrastructure, capital and innovation needs of existing industries and emphasizes creating value and income in the economy through increased productivity and trade, especially from our advanced industries.
We seek to bring these resources into an innovation district to reduce transaction latency and increase the frequency of interaction among like-minded individuals.
At InnovateABQ a special emphasis is placed on creating access points which are culturally comfortable to Burquenos (someone from Albuquerque). The physical embodiment of these access points may be one of our unique doorways, but also include portal programs which may be located within in Albuquerque’s rich and diverse communities. The goal is to allow anyone seeking to improve their income or living standard to become part of our Innovation Community and access new ideas, skills, capital and mentorship within an infrastructure that increases their chances of success.
InnovateABQ does not seek to displace the many well-established programs innovation and entrepreneurship support programs that already exist in Albuquerque but rather to help align their services in an intentional way to reduce duplication, increase efficiency, improve the likelihood of outside investment in our community and provide access for all to Albuquerque’s Innovation Economy.
Our Team

John Freisinger
Exec Director, Innovate ABQ
John Freisinger, former head of the now-defunct Technology Ventures Corp., will take over Oct. 3 as the first executive director of Innovate ABQ, the high-tech research and development hub taking shape at Central and Broadway in Downtown Albuquerque.

John Sanchez
Lieutenant Governor, State of New Mexico
The Honorable John Sanchez, Lieutenant Governor, State of New Mexico.

Jeff Apodaca
Site Investor
Jeff Apodaca

Carlos Perea
Site Investor
Carlos Perea

Lonnie Talbert
Bernalillo County Commissioner
Bernalillo County Commissioner, District 4

Charles Wellborn
Former President, STC.UNM
Former President, STC.UNM

Richard Larson
Executive Vice Chancellor
Executive Vice Chancellor, Vice Chancellor for Research, UNM Health Sciences Center

Patricia K. Collawn
President and CEO, PNM Resources
President and CEO, PNM Resources

Kathy Winograd
President, CNM
President, Central New Mexico Community College

Terry Laudick
Nusenda Credit Union, CEO
Nusenda Credit Union, CEO

Dr. Waneta Tuttle
Site Advisor
Dr. Waneta Tuttle