Tracy Lea serves as the Director of Innovation2Market at Arizona State University’s J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute in Scottsdale, AZ. In this role, she co-founded and led the university's flagship Venture Devils program, which supports over 1,300 student, faculty, alumni, and community-led ventures with mentorship, funding, training, and innovation spaces. Under her leadership, ASU startups have raised over $60 million in external funding and filed more than 40 patents to date.
Currently, Tracy oversees the faculty-focused commercialization track within E+I, engaging over 130 faculty-led ventures through a targeted pipeline approach under the Innovation2Market (I2M) umbrella. Her strategic leadership was instrumental in launching the Inventors series, a mentor cohort venture development program tailored to accelerate the commercialization of ASU intellectual property. In its first year, this track has already unlocked $2 million in new seed funding from faculty founders. Tracy also co-created the Faculty Impact Network, which provides structured programming through mentoring, networking, pitch competitions, and the Lab 2 Launch tech showcase—now a premier event uniting ASU stakeholders, including FSE, InvestU, and Skysong Innovations.
Tracy is known for architecting innovative programming that bridges institutional silos, de-risks early-stage technologies, and fuels the journey from ideation to commercialization. She’s launching the I2M open incubator and venture studio pilot in early 2026, in addition to a full suite of support to spin out ASU IP. She has led the expansion of the Venture Devils program by over 300%, creating new verticals such as Retail Devils, MedTech, Social Impact, and Venture Devils+, and managed over 10 venture funding tracks, deploying nearly $500,000 in seed capital annually. Her oversight of 45+ Venture Mentors, appointed as faculty associates, has been crucial to scaling ASU’s entrepreneurial impact across disciplines.
An active public speaker, Tracy has shared insights on inclusive innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems at national and international conferences. She has also taught Entrepreneurship + Value Creation, a cross-listed course between the W. P. Carey School of Business and the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
Outside of ASU, Tracy serves as a Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy Reserves, currently cross-assigned to VR-57 in North Island, CA. A 15-year Navy veteran and two-time Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal recipient, she was named 2024 SELRES Sailor of the Year at VR-57 and 2016 Navy Reserve Junior Sailor of the Year for the Southwest region. Previously, Tracy served with the electronic attack squadron VAQ-209 in Whidbey Island, WA.
Tracy holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing, an MBA from ASU, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Innovation in Global Development at ASU’s College of Global Futures. Prior to her work in higher education, she spent nearly two decades as a top-rated Phoenix radio personality, talent manager, and owner of Dreamcatcher Recording, a full-service studio and entertainment business specializing in artist development and strategy.