The Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance is pleased to welcome Ada Cuadrado-Medina as the inaugural Director of Communications and Engagement. This newly created position reflects RBIA’s commitment to actively stewarding the region’s story as its innovation ecosystem enters a new chapter of growth. Cuadrado-Medina joined the team in April 2026 to strengthen the region’s brand, deepen community engagement, and amplify the Roanoke-Blacksburg story to tech, life sciences, and entrepreneurial audiences across the region and beyond.

“I am absolutely energized by what I see here. The quality of life is exceptional, the innovation community is vibrant, and people are genuinely committed to building something meaningful today and for the long term. For many years, the story of this region was, ‘there are promising ideas and exciting research coming out of Roanoke and Blacksburg.’ But that story is evolving. This is now a place that is demonstrably good at growing and scaling ideas into successful businesses, and that is a narrative worth shouting from the rooftops. There is a deep culture of collaboration here that makes that possible, and I’m excited to help us tell that story far and wide.”

A narrative strategist and creative communicator with over 15 years of experience across nonprofit organizations, consumer packaged goods, food systems, and global finance, Cuadrado-Medina brings a proven ability to translate complex missions into compelling stories for diverse audiences. She has built her career bridging communications across stakeholders from different sectors, cultivating authentic relationships with members, partners, sponsors, and donors, and developing messaging strategies that resonate from grassroots community members to corporate partners and policymakers. Her experience leading portfolio-wide communications initiatives, managing consultants and creative partners, and supporting signature events positions her well to strengthen RBIA’s voice across the region’s growing technology and life sciences ecosystem.

Cuadrado-Medina studied graphic design and marketing at Marymount University and food systems and marketing at Chatham University’s Falk School of Sustainability. She is fluent in English and Spanish and has served the Roanoke region as a Spanish-language interpreter in healthcare and educational settings.

Outside her professional work, Cuadrado-Medina is a practicing eco-artist who teaches community workshops focused on upcycling materials into fiber art, a hands-on reflection of her belief that creative practice and storytelling can shift how communities connect with one another and with the places they call home. She lives in Roanoke with her family.

Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance unites a portfolio of organizations and programs including Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program (RAMP), Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC), and Common Wealth Angels all dedicated to tech-based economic advancement in the Roanoke Blacksburg region. Together, they form a full-stack network of support designed to accelerate innovation in the technology and life science industries and develop the Roanoke Blacksburg region into a nationally recognized hub for technology and biotechnology.

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