Executive Director Clare Leinweber Announces Retirement, Colleagues Reflect on Her Impact

Clare Leinweber, Tsai CITY’s Executive Director, recently announced her plans to retire at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. Since joining Yale in 2019, she has played a pivotal role in shaping Tsai CITY into the thriving hub of innovation and entrepreneurship it is today. What drew her to the role was not just the potential to support innovation but the opportunity to build something truly transformative. Because the center was so new, “It was a great opportunity to have a lasting impact,” Clare reflects. “You're coming in, things are still fresh, people are very open to ideas, and it's just a very different type of opportunity than coming into something that's already well established.”

One of the most significant aspects that attracted Clare to Tsai CITY was its positioning under the Office of the Provost rather than as part of a specific school–ensuring that it remained accessible to all Yale students interested in innovative thinking. Under her leadership, Tsai CITY has not only grown in size but also deepened its impact on student entrepreneurs, faculty, and the broader Yale community.

Defining & Operationalizing Tsai CITY’s Mission

At its core, Tsai CITY exists to inspire students to develop innovative solutions that create meaningful change. But when Clare first arrived, the center was still defining how to bring that mission to life.

Before Clare came on board, Kassie Tucker, Deputy Executive Director, recalls Tsai CITY as “a plethora of opportunities, but with no real vision or direction for the future.” Clare changed that by aligning programming and strategy with the mission, helping the team channel its energy into a focused approach. “She brought everyone back to the mission as written and made sure everything we built tied into that mission,” Kassie explains. “And we really blossomed from there.”

Joe Tsai (‘86, LAW ’90), whose vision led to the founding of Tsai CITY, recognized Clare’s key role in shaping its impact. He reflects:

"In founding Tsai CITY, I wanted Yale students from all backgrounds and disciplines to be able to walk in the door to explore, build and innovate. Clare played an instrumental role in shaping and fulfilling Tsai CITY’s mission to inspire student innovation in solving real-world problems. She developed programs for learning, experimenting and mentorship. Clare is leaving an indelible imprint on the culture of innovative thinking at Yale and I am extremely grateful for her leadership of Tsai CITY over the past six years."

Under Clare’s direction, Tsai CITY experienced strong growth and transformation. Margaret Cartiera, Innovation Director at Yale's Center for Biomedical Innovation and Technology (CBIT) and Venture Advisor at Tsai CITY, describes Clare as a “phenomenal” leader. “What I appreciate is that she's so knowledgeable, but she also has this bias toward action. She's not afraid to roll up her sleeves and sit with the team and brainstorm with them, or to open her door and work with students and mentor them. She’s very action-oriented in translating big ideas and making them happen.”

Her leadership resulted in significant growth and impact, including:

A 239% increase in student venture teams–growing from 59 to over 200.
The expansion of the mentor network from 239 to 632 alumni and industry professionals.
Tsai CITY becoming a two-time GCEC (Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers) award winner (2021, 2024) for excellence in innovation education.
The opening of a new, expanded physical space, fostering a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The team expanded significantly, adding four new staff positions to better serve student innovators.
The launch of Pathways, a set of offerings designed to create space for a diverse range of innovative thinkers to access the center’s resources, programs, and mentorship opportunities.

Creating a Culture that Embodies the Mission

While metrics tell one side of the story, Clare’s impact goes beyond numbers. She cultivated an inclusive and collaborative culture that shaped how students and colleagues experience Tsai CITY.

“What stands out about Clare and her leadership is her principled commitment to inclusivity and how it shows up in the culture of the place, not only in the center's student programming but as a place where the team comes to work every day,” says Jorge Torres, Lecturer at Yale Engineering and Entrepreneurship Fellow at Tsai CITY. “Tsai CITY is a place of hospitality and welcome for students, faculty, and staff, and this is very much the result of Clare's leadership and her vision of what the center can and should be.”

This culture-building extended to student engagement and support for student-led initiatives. Frances Pollock (MUS ’25), a Venture Advisor, first connected with Tsai CITY while developing the Midnight Oil Collective to help artists build sustainable careers. As a musician, she wasn’t sure she’d fit in at the center, but she says, “They made me feel so warm and welcomed, and Clare went out of her way to make sure that we were taken care of as burgeoning entrepreneurs.”

Similarly, Seth Goldin (YC '26), former president of the Yale Entrepreneurial Society, worked with Clare during the development of LAUNCH, a pre-orientation program focused on helping incoming students navigate the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The student-led program was a huge undertaking that found deep administrative support in Tsai CITY. Seth says, “I appreciated Clare’s willingness to engage with student initiatives and her genuine commitment to expanding entrepreneurial opportunities at Yale.”

Exemplifying Great Leadership for Her Team

Beyond her work with students, Clare worked to build a team that exemplifies Tsai CITY values. “If you want to be a center that encourages students to experiment, to not be concerned about failing, to not be concerned about being perfect, then you have to have an organizational culture that allows those same things,” she explains.

This philosophy helped Tsai CITY’s staff grow into a strong, interdisciplinary team that adapted quickly to challenges–including the rapid pivot to virtual programming during the pandemic.

Abby Winslow, Director of Operations and Technology at Tsai CITY, has been with the center since its inception. She describes Clare as “an advocate—for me, for the center, and for our students.” She adds, “Clare always reminds us that we have equal decision-making power and a voice in shaping the future of this place.”

Clare’s leadership has also impressed faculty members like Anjelica Gonzalez, Tsai CITY Faculty Director. “She is an inherent educator,” Anjelica says, “A person who is so dedicated to the work she does that she wants to make sure that the people who are working with her, [and] for whom she's working...also have the opportunity to grow and give as much as they want to, to make sure that they’re a success.”

Joseph Zinter, Managing Director at the Center for Engineering Innovation and Design (CEID), echoes this sentiment, calling Clare “an inspiration to many, including me.” He shares, “As Executive Director of Tsai CITY, she built an incredible team whose work has fundamentally reshaped Yale’s landscape of innovation and entrepreneurship. She has established Tsai CITY as a welcoming, vibrant, and thriving community—one that empowers students to think boldly and create meaningful change. Her leadership has impacted countless students, equipping them with the skills and confidence to turn their ideas into action.”

What’s Next for Clare—and Tsai CITY?

After years of working closely with Yale students, many of whom took a gap year during the pandemic, Clare now plans to take a gap year of her own. “I’m thinking of it as a nomadic year to travel, work on personal projects, and catch up with friends and family,” she says.

As Tsai CITY prepares to search for Clare’s replacement (we’ll have more details on that soon), the departing executive director shared some advice for her successor: “Lean into Tsai CITY’s broad mission.” As a first step, she recommends going on a listening tour to get to know others in the center’s ecosystem, including the team and the students, and listening to their feedback.

With Clare as a leader, Tsai CITY has done amazing work and received multiple awards—and she’s excited to see what comes next. “Going forward, what do we want to be known for? What are the other things we’re going to be reaching for or want to be recognized for? I think that’s something the new ED will have to think through as the center continues to grow in reputation,” she says.

The center’s future is bright, and as Clare moves on, her colleagues are grateful for the time they shared with her. “I think her presence will be missed by a lot of people,” Margaret Cartiera says. “She has just been so instrumental at the center and on campus.”

One thing is certain: Clare’s legacy will continue to influence Tsai CITY for years to come.

Stay connected with Clare on LinkedIn.