Aazia ("Aaz") Mickens-Dessaso is the Founder and CEO of Full Circle Venture Studio, a corporate innovation partner to the world's leading technology organizations. Through portfolio analysis, experiment design, concept development, and capacity building, Full Circle Venture Studio helps Fortune 500 companies and national research institutions unlock value in their dormant intellectual property. Prior to Full Circle Venture Studio, Aaz served as Techstars' Executive Director of Ecosystem Development for Hampton Roads, the Director of the Office of Innovation at Zel Technologies, and the Director of Reaktor, the incubator at The National Institute of Aerospace. She has been named one of five Emerging Global Entrepreneurs by the White House and Top 40 Under 40 by Inside Business, while providing thought leadership for organizations including World Economic Forum, Climate Reality Leadership Corps, and Cox Business. Aaz studied Economics at UNC Chapel Hill, Art Direction at Miami Ad School. Aaz and her family call Hampton, Virginia home.