Francesca Ioffreda is Maryland’s first Chief Innovation Officer, appointed by Governor Wes Moore. She leads the first Bloomberg Philanthropies-supported innovation team at the state level in the U.S. to advance the Governor’s pressing priorities, particularly around increasing economic mobility and reducing childhood poverty. Throughout her career, Francesca has worked across sectors to lead large-scale economic growth, innovation, and workforce efforts. 

Most recently, Francesca founded Breakthrough Strategy Partners, a strategy consulting firm focused on economic development and opportunity. Previously, she was the Vice President for Inclusive Growth and Talent Initiatives at the Greater Washington Partnership; Engagement Manager and Chief of Staff for the firm’s Smart Cities practice at Deloitte Consulting; policy fellow for former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel; and a research Fulbright Fellow on economic mobility in Bogotá, Colombia, among other roles. She is also a Senior Advisor to the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at Brookings Metro. 

Francesca has a Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, and Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Relations from Claremont McKenna College.