Daniela Santangelo

Daniela Santangelo is an accomplished entrepreneur and leader currently serving as the Founder & CEO of Freeway, where the focus is on enhancing Arizona’s innovation ecosystem to foster startup growth. Daniela holds multiple leadership roles, including Director of Community at StartupAZ and Ambassador for the Founder Mental Health Pledge, promoting mental healthcare within the startup community. With a background as a Lead Mentor at Techstars and a Startup Consultant at Daniela Nicole LLC, Daniela provides coaching to CEOs on network management, pitch optimization, and strategic partnerships. Daniela co-founded Shyft, raising over $30 million and impacting over 400,000 customers across 68 countries. Education includes a PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Capella University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.