Thanks for reading— I’m Christa Freeland, and I mostly go by “CS”! I'm an overachieving Texan with an atypical “portfolio career,” obsessed with true leadership and exceptionalism in our great state. I value original thought, unmatched work ethic, courage, intellectual horsepower, of course a Texan frontiering spirit.

INNOVATION: For 15 years I've worked in multi-disciplinary and highly innovative roles, mostly in downtown Austin. The majority of last decade I worked at what was Austin’s first venture studio, then later a startup accelerator and an angel investor network. I cofounded a local and then state trade association focused on the startup / venture / innovation community. In just less than 4 years it’s the largest network and the only statewide association for innovation featured in the Texas State Governor Greg Abbott’s five year economic development plan, “Bigger. Better. Texas.” here.

STATECRAFT: I’m passionate and skilled in innovative statecraft, having taken on several leadership roles in government advocacy. I recently created in Feb 2026 and launched in March 2026 America House, which is hosted during SXSW and welcomes 20+ innovation ecosystem leaders mostly from across the country to deliver breifings at the Texas State Capitol about their states.

I stay active and connected federally and nationally as a US Chamber of Commerce Fellow, American Enterprise Institute Leader (via their Leadership Network Cohort 2025), U.S. State Department Professional Fellow, and former Texas Association of Business Board Member. I’ve also been a member of the American Association of Political Consultants starting in 2017, and am a sought-after hired gun after having produced and executed several multi-award winning campaigns for Texas mayors & state legislators in highly critical and successful races. See more about that here.

EXPERIENCES: Below are Texas’ two sister signature experiences I founded and co-created with 100+ organizations across the state, the Texas Venture Gala & Texas Venture Fest.