Mr. Sacasa leads the Council’s International Economic Development team  overseeing all international recruitment, incoming delegations, and the International Committee resulting in substantially increasing the number of completed job-generating business projects.

Prior to his current role, Mario served as Consul General of the Republic of Nicaragua in Miami with Jurisdiction over Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina.  From 1995 to 1997, Mario Sacasa was also Dean of the Miami Consular Corps. Under his leadership the Consular Corps strengthened its institutional relationship with Florida’s authorities at all levels, as well as with the Greater Miami Area’s Chambers of Commerce, Offices of Tourism and Economic Development Organizations.

Mario has also been active in the Private Sector in the areas of Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and Urban Development.  Prior to that, he was part of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington, D.C., where he started his career as a Loan Operations Officer.

Volunteer Activity

Mario remains active as Associate Member of the Miami Consular Corps, and currently serves as Treasurer of the Corps. Mario also participates in numerous other business and cultural organizations and has written a variety of articles on socio-political issues, especially on Latin America and the Caribbean.

Awards & Recognitions

He has received numerous recognitions including the Keys to Miami-Dade County and the City of Coral Gables; the Consular Corps of Miami; Special Decoration from the Ruben Dario Association in Chile the Ruben Dario Cultural Institute in Miami and several Bi-National Chambers of Commerce

Education

Sacasa holds a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies and Development Banking and a Bachelors in Foreign Service and International Economics from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Christine Johnson is charged with leading recruitment, retention, and expansion efforts for the technology and innovation sector. Her work involves supporting the entrepreneurial landscapes by leveraging resources and brokering relationships to foster the community’s growth. Ms. Johnson’s career spans more than 10 years furthering local and national entrepreneurial ecosystems, including a significant stint as a team member in various capacities at the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) –  one of the nation’s leading technology-based economic development organizations and funders of seed/early-stage companies, as well as the south’s most active startup investors.

Recognition
Ms. Johnson has been seen and heard on multiple outlets and forums, including National Public Radio (NPR), WPFW 89.3 FM (DC), The Mario Armstrong Show on Sirius/XM Radio and WYPR, Miami Herald, SxSW, Washington Business Journal, National Summit on Building 21st Century Urban Innovation Ecosystems at Rutgers University, Google Tech Inclusion Summit in Washington DC, and Black Enterprise. She was voted one of the Top 10 Most Powerful Women in DC Tech Startup Community in 2012.

Volunteer Activities
Christine is a Member of the Technology Advisory Group for Miami Downtown Development Authority, and the Technology Advisory Committee for Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, as well as Board of Advisor for Manifezt Foundation. Past appointments include: Board Member, The Association for Women in Communications South Florida Chapter; National Advisory Board, Digital Harbor Foundation; Ambassador, Emerging Technology Center (ETC) Incubator; Advisory Board, The America21 Project; and National Advisory Council Member, National Association for Blacks in Bio (NABB).

Education
She holds a B.A. from Notre Dame of Maryland University, a private, woman’s university in Baltimore, MD.

Personal
In addition to being passionate about her work in the entrepreneurial community, she is a published poet, champion of the healing arts, and former member of an Afro-Cuban folklore dance company.