About Cecilia
“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” “Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.”
~ Brene Brown
Liminality …
is the condition of being on a threshold or at the beginning of a process. With interests and involvement in more than one sphere, this ability offers an opportunity to drift between trades, organizations and focuses seamlessly.
Combined with a natural instinct to connect and link, I work to introduce and bond to create intersections, collisions and serendipity for a more enriching and beneficial relationship for everyone. Impactful networking, building and rebuilding community, improve communication and processes are at the center of my work.
I am passionately involved in efforts towards inclusion and work for belonging both socially and professionally. Multicultural and multilingual.
About Cecilia
“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” “Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.”
- Brene Brown
Liminality …
is the condition of being on a threshold or at the beginning of a process. With interests and involvement in more than one sphere, this ability offers an opportunity to drift between trades, organizations and focuses seamlessly.
With deep roots in multiple spheres; global and local, organizational and communal, strategic and relational, I move fluidly across contexts, connecting dots that others might not see as connected.
My instinct is to bridge: to introduce and bond, to create the intersections, collisions, and serendipity that make relationships more enriching for everyone involved.
At the center of my work is engagement, not surface-level networking, but the kind of sustained, cross-cultural connection that helps people and communities rebuild, communicate better, and fully inhabit the spaces they share. Passionately committed to inclusion. Multicultural. Multilingual. Perpetually in motion.
Cecilia Wessinger is a consultant, advisor, and community weaver with more than a decade of experience bridging connections across borders, cultures, and contexts. She currently serves as a Global Advisor with the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) and previously led GEN's global community as Director engaging directly with leadership teams across countries spanning nearly 200 nations and territories to deepen cross-border collaboration and expand meaningful participation.
Before joining GEN, Cecilia consulted with the Kauffman Foundation and designed mastermind workshops and cohorts internationally. She is a core team member of the ESHIP Alliance and serves on the Executive Board of the Institute for Work and the Economy. Her certifications in cultural competency and unconscious bias facilitation inform an approach that is as rigorous as it is human.
Cecilia's work centers on bridging the gaps that keep connection at arm's length helping communities deepen engagement, helping organizations build cultures people can actually inhabit, and helping individuals find traction in environments shaped by difference. She has spoken, facilitated, and curated panels at major global convenings including the OECD, the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, The Next Web, Inventures, and the ESHIP and SBA Innovation Summits.
She has also served as a judge and supporter of pitch competitions for SXSW, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the U.S. Department of State's Global Innovation through Science and Technology program. Beyond her global work, Cecilia has served on more than a dozen nonprofit boards spanning arts, education, and entrepreneurship, including the Startup Champions Network.
A former travel industry professional, Cecilia has lived, worked, and traveled extensively across the world. Her favorite person is her son JD, who is currently charting his own global adventures. Bruce Springsteen remains a close second.
“Diversity is being invited to the party, inclusion is being asked to dance.” ~Verna Myers
Taking it further to say, “inhabiting the party means you help shape the playlist and dance like no one is watching.”