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Experts
Kate Heuisler is the Deputy Executive Director for the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University, the world’s leading organization advancing public innovation in cities globally. With more than 23 years of proven expertise in global development and public sector innovation, Kate has translated strategy into real-world impact across 17 countries. She has managed over $100M+ in programs with government, corporate, and philanthropic partners, and provided advisory services to dozens of clients on public innovation, innovation ecosystem development, and organizational strengthening. Her work at the Center focuses on programmatic learning and the use of metrics to strengthen the organization and its partnerships, helping cities deliver meaningful results for residents in more than 200 cities around the world.
Prior to her work at the Center, Kate held senior leadership roles with DAI, a global development firm, where she helped institutions move from strategy to execution by establishing clear priorities, performance dashboards, adaptive management routines, and accountability systems that make progress visible.
Her past experience includes designing and leading major social impact programs across Africa, Southeast Asia, and the United States, including directing strategy and operations for a $39 million (USD) economic policy reform program in Mozambique and directing the $12 million (USD) United States Agency for International Development’s Development Innovations program in Cambodia, the country’s first resident-centered social innovation lab. In Cambodia, she led a portfolio of service delivery improvements that strengthened public-facing services for 1.6 million residents while building local capacity to test, learn, and scale what works. Earlier in her career, Kate led an institutional strengthening project in Timor-Leste, overseeing nationwide project planning and execution across all 13 districts in a newly independent nation.
Kate’s experience includes serving on the Advisory Board of the National University of Management’s Social Innovation Lab and mentoring and advising various innovation and startup accelerators.
Kate holds a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology and a Master of Science in Cultural Anthropology, both from the University of Pennsylvania.