Managing Director

Pronouns: she/her

Hazel Valdez is a nonprofit and operations executive holding various leadership roles and most recently, as the Executive Director of Portland Women in Technology (PDXWIT), a mission driven non-profit organization providing technology programs and resources for women and underrepresented communities in Portland, OR. Prior to that, Hazel was the Associate Director for the Oregon Bioscience Incubator(OBI) & OTRADI working with the executive director on various initiatives including working with entrepreneurs and early-stage bioscience and digital health organizations on their facility and resource needs (equipment, mentors, events, education, funding, etc.) as well as OBI’s DEI initiatives. 

Hazel has been part of the tech community for over 12 years. Hazel studied English at UC Irvine and holds a BA in Culinary Management from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. Hazel was previously the board secretary for Saturday Academy and is currently the Board Secretary for Women in Science PDX.

In her free time, she loves spending time with her wife Crystal, traveling, cooking, boxing (she’s a USA Boxing official), and spending time with their cat Maple.