PROVIDENCE – A prominent leader in the local startup community is stepping down from her position with Venture Cafe Providence and District Hall Providence.
Tuni Schartner will step down as executive director of the organization on Sept. 10, leaving a role she took on at the beginning of 2020, shortly after the 8,000-square-foot innovation space opened within the Wexford Science & Technology building.
Schartner, who in a previous interview described herself as an “economic gardener” for the state, is best known for leading the development of Innovate Newport, a technology and coworking space in Newport.
In an interview on Friday, Schartner said the departure was a function of shifting management of the operations.
“I feel like I did what I was called on to do,” Schartner said. “My job there does not really exist anymore.”
Venture Cafe Providence and District Hall Providence have, until now, been managed and operated by the nonprofit Innovation Studio, formerly known as Venture Cafe New England. Innovation Studio expects to hand the reins of the operation to Venture Cafe Global Institute and Cambridge Innovation Center Providence early this fall.
Innovation Studio said that it is realigning its organization in an effort to make its principle mission inclusionary innovation. As part of that realignment, it will undergo an organizational review and realignment of the Rhode Island Innovation Studio team.
Daniel Enríquez Vidaña, president of Innovation Studio, will lead Venture Cafe Providence in an interim capacity following Schartner’s departure. The organizations anticipate an uninterrupted transition of services as responsibility for the operation changes hands.
Whether any kind of permanent executive director will stay on to lead the operation remains unclear. Schartner said she thought the Providence space might follow the model adopted by the Venture Cafe in Warsaw, Poland, which does not have a designated director for that site specifically.
As for what’s next for Schartner, she had not formally committed to a new gig.
“I am not the kind of person to go look for a job,” she said. “I am kind of a wild card.”
Schartner planned to expand and formally incorporate her small-business consulting firm as a limited liability corporation in the state. She was also looking to expand her services to help at-risk and underserved demographics, including single moms, the homeless and “at-risk” young adults.
“I am honored to have led the Innovation Studio Providence team these past 19 months as we’ve supported, and grown, our community of entrepreneurs and innovators,” said Schartner in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to support Venture Cafe and District Hall Providence as VCGI assumes responsibility, as well as look forward to supporting the great work Innovation Studio will continue to do in Rhode Island democratizing entrepreneurship and working to build equitable pathways for all.”
VCGI was founded in 2009 by Tim Rowe, CEO and founder of the Cambridge Innovation Center, and co-founders Aubree Lawrence and Carrie Stalder.
“CIC and VCGI are always exploring new concepts and enhancements to existing initiatives, in this spirit we’ve identified an exciting opportunity to streamline the management of Venture Cafe & District Hall Providence,” said VCGI President Zara Crichton. “Our partners at Innovation Studio share the goal of maintaining a deep, sustained impact in the Rhode Island area for years to come, and expect to continue to collaborate to achieve that.”
