Kenny Chen is the Program Director of Ascender, a Pittsburgh-based startup incubator that also produces the annual Thrival Innovation + Music Festival. Kenny focuses on curating innovative programs and building relationships locally, nationally and globally. He also hosts startup competitions and speaks at conferences around the US. Kenny's career interests in cross-sector collaboration have led him to work in education, behavioral research, federal government, local government, nonprofits, foundations, economic development, and entrepreneurship. He was raised in Las Vegas, NV, graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Social Psychology, and worked in Washington DC, San Francisco, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou prior to moving to Pittsburgh.