2024 ACG Maryland - What the Tech? A Spotlight on Baltimore’s Emerging Technology Ecosystem

Christy Wyskiel is the Senior Advisor to the President of Johns Hopkins University for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. In this role, she also serves as the Executive Director of Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, a division of the university responsible for technology transfer, corporate research partnerships, and company incubation. Since her appointment in 2013, Christy has transformed the culture of commercialization at Johns Hopkins, opening 43,000 square feet of FastForward innovation space to support startup companies, facilitating the creation of more than 200 companies, and generating over $700 million in university revenue from licensing and industry collaborations. Johns Hopkins University startups have raised nearly $5 billion in venture capital during her tenure. Christy is a fierce advocate for the future of Baltimore and the role that Johns Hopkins can play in populating the city skyline with companies borne and grown locally. She teaches a popular graduate level class at Johns Hopkins in Entrepreneurial Finance.

Christy is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor, with over 30 years of experience, primarily focused on the life sciences and healthcare industries. Prior to her role at Johns Hopkins, Christy co-founded two Baltimore-based startups and served as a formal and informal advisor to many others. Prior to that, Christy worked as an institutional investor and has a long track record of successful investing in both public and private companies.

Christy has been influential in an array of city- and state-level initiatives and organizations dedicated to economic growth, innovation ecosystem building, and equity. Most recently, Christy co-founded UpSurge, an initiative focused on Baltimore’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. She also co-chairs Baltimore’s Next Generation Investing Event, an organization she co-founded in 2009, which has raised over $2 million for K-12 education initiatives in Baltimore City. Christy serves on the boards of the Abell Foundation, the Maryland Economic Development Commission, and the Governor’s Life Science Advisory Board.

Christy has a BA from Williams College and an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University. She lives in Baltimore City with her husband and her cat, as her two children have flown from the nest. In her free time, she enjoys studying Italian, Baltimore’s farmers’ markets, biking, yoga, watching the Orioles win, Pilates and reading historical fiction.