Travis Sheridan

Biography: Travis serves as Wexford’s first Chief Community Officer and works hand-in-hand with Wexford’s university partners, civic leaders and community groups in the Knowledge Communities we develop. His primary role is to ensure that Wexford is building inclusive communities in each of our cities and to lead the overall community engagement strategy, identify new partners and initiatives to add to the knowledge community portfolio, develop funding mechanisms to increase opportunities for under-represented innovators, and strengthen the connections between the Knowledge Community and the geography in which it resides. Previously, Travis was President of the CIC Venture Café Global Institute (VCGI) where he was responsible for the growth and expansion of the organization. He was also the founding Executive Director of Venture Café St. Louis – the first expansion city outside of Cambridge located at the Wexford’s property, @4240. In his role, Travis propelled Venture Café St. Louis to be the largest weekly event gathering for innovators and entrepreneurs in the United States. Prior to launching Venture Café St. Louis, Travis was the Assistant Vice President of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership where he ran an annual business plan competition, launched a biotech incubator, and managed a network of four additional business incubators. Travis is a community designer who uses innovation and entrepreneurship to drive community and economic development. He co-founded 59DaysOfCode and GlobalHack, two competitions that create community and build talent. At its height, GlobalHack was the world’s largest hackathon and attracted participants from around the globe. A frequent speaker, Travis honed his skills while doing standup for more than three years and is often called upon to speak on the topics of innovation, community design, economic development and leadership. Travis was appointed by St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson to serve