Christy Wyskiel

Christy Wyskiel is the Senior Advisor to the President of Johns Hopkins University for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. In this role, she also serves as the Executive Director of Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, a division of the university responsible for technology transfer, corporate research partnerships, and company incubation under the brand ‘FastForward.’ Since her appointment in 2013, Christy has transformed the culture of commercialization at Johns Hopkins, opening 43,000 square feet of FastForward innovation space to support startup companies, facilitating the creation of more than 150 companies, and generating over $500 million in university revenue from licensing and industry collaborations. Johns Hopkins University startups have raised over $4 billion in venture capital during her tenure. Christy is a fierce advocate for the future of Baltimore and the role that Johns Hopkins University can play in populating the city skyline with companies borne, built and grown locally. 

Christy is a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and ecosystem builder with over 25 years of experience primarily focused on the life sciences and healthcare industries. Prior to her role at Johns Hopkins, Christy co-founded two Baltimore based startups and served as a formal and informal advisor to many others. Prior to that, Christy worked as an institutional investor where she had a long track record of successful investing in both public and private companies. 

In 2018, the Baltimore Sun named Christy as one of 25 Women to Watch. Christy serves on the Maryland Life Sciences Advisory Board, working across sectors to drive Maryland’s preeminence in the life sciences industry. Christy was one of the founders of UpSurge in 2021, a new initiative to create equity among startup founders from every background, ensuring they have financial support, mentorship and connections to the larger Baltimore ecosystem to accelerate their success. She also co-chairs Baltimore’s Next Generation Investing Event, an organization she co-founded in 2009, which has raised over $1,500,000 for four K-12 education initiatives in Baltimore City. In 2015, Christy served as a member of the Maryland Economic Development and Business Climate Commission, known as the “Augustine Commission.” In 2014, she was added to the Board of Trustees of the Abell Foundation and the Baltimore Development Corp.  From 2012-2014, she served on the board of the Maryland State Retirement Plan (MSRP), which oversees $3 billion in defined contribution assets of state employees. She was part of Leadership Maryland’s 2016 Class. 

Christy has a BA in Economics and German from Williams College and an MBA in Accounting and Finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University. She lives in Baltimore City with her husband and her cat. In her free time, she enjoys studying Italian, Baltimore’s farmers’ markets, biking, yoga, Pilates and reading historical fiction. 

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