Aazia ("Aaz") Mickens-Dessaso

Aazia ("Aaz") Mickens-Dessaso is an independent innovation and placemaking consultant, and the creator of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Regional Landmark Initiative. Previously, Aaz held prominent roles such as Executive Director of Ecosystem Development for Hampton Roads at Techstars, Director of the Office of Innovation at Zel Technologies, and Director of Reaktor, the business incubator at The National Institute of Aerospace. She has been recognized as one of five Emerging Global Entrepreneurs by the White House and named to Inside Business's Top 40 Under 40. Aaz has also contributed thought leadership to organizations like the World Economic Forum, Climate Reality Leadership Corps, and Cox Business. She studied Economics, Policy, and Development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Art Direction at Miami Ad School, and is a Foreign Languages and Area Studies Fellow through the University of Florida. Aaz resides with her family in Hampton, Virginia.