WHO WE ARE
District Hall is the world’s first free-standing public innovation center. We are the living room of Boston’s innovation community: a place where people can work, exchange knowledge, build meaningful relationships, and make their ideas happen.
Our Mission
We are fostering a strong, supportive, and accessible innovation community in Greater Boston. We build, strengthen, and connect individuals and communities of innovators while expanding access to resources, programming, and networks.
Our Values
Venture Café NEw ENGLAND
We are a program of the Venture Café Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit. Our mission is to broaden, connect, and support the innovation community through a public network of spaces and programs to help anyone with an idea succeed. To learn more about our other programs, please visit venturecafefoundation.org.
What We Do
Event SPACE
District Hall offers versatile event spaces designed to inspire creativity, foster collaboration, and make great ideas come to life. From conferences to hackathons to brainstorming sessions and workshops, District Hall is a place to create connections and bring innovation to life. Learn more about hosting an event at District Hall.
FREE, Public WORKSPACE
Innovation spaces exist all over the city, but they are often out of the public eye: behind security guards and up elevators, often requiring membership. Our public lounge is a free, public work and meeting space, equipped with free WiFi, integrated power tables, and writeable walls. Learn more about our public lounge.
ProgramS + Resources
District Hall is a platform for the innovation community to do things that have never been done before. Our programs and resources are designed to bring together diverse perspectives, build deep and meaningful connections, and develop effective and insightful solutions. Learn more about our programs + resources.
OUR TEAM
DANIEL VIDAÑA
Director of District Hall, Acting Director of Roxbury Innovation Center
Dan is the Director at Venture Café Foundation’s District Hall Boston and Acting Director of Roxbury Innovation Center. Dan brings a true passion for engaging diverse entrepreneurial communities, with over 25 years of experience merging leadership, creativity and business insight with solid non-profit, start-up, consulting and corporate experience. Dan has held senior executive operations roles for market leaders such as Apple Inc., Universal Electronics, VeriFone and e-commerce marketplace ProvideCommerce. Dan holds a B.A. in Spanish from Santa Clara University, with a concentration in International Business and Latin American Studies. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, the movies and baseball games.
TARA ATWOOD
Senior Program Manager at Venture Café Foundation
Tara is the Senior Program Manager at Venture Café Foundation’s District Hall and Roxbury Innovation Center. She brings a diverse background to the foundation from experience working with and consulting for Fortune 500 companies, to being the founder of two businesses, Amber Blue Skincare and Tara Atwood Wellness. Tara’s deep interest in Entrepreneurship, lead her to studying the effectiveness of Entrepreneurship as a tool to alleviate poverty in underdeveloped countries and communities. This passion encouraged her to travel to 27+ countries engaging in entrepreneurial cultures and communities around the world. She has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a focus in Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainability from Baruch College Zicklin School of Business in New York City and a B.A. in English and Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In her free time, she enjoys sailing, meditating, kayaking and traveling. She is also a Meditation + Yoga Teacher and Sound Therapist.
CHRISTIAN APPIA
Program Coordinator at Venture Café Foundation
Christian is the Program Coordinator at Roxbury Innovation Center and District Hall. He helps provide program support, data analysis, and data reporting in order to create a better experience for Venture Cafe affiliates. You can find him helping plan and set up for events, crunching numbers, and helping create efficient business processes at District Hall and the Roxbury Innovation center during the week. In his free time, he enjoys reading, going to shows and art museums, and writing. Christian received both his Bachelor’s Degree in Sustainable Community Development and his Master’s in Regional Planning from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
Rachael Reints
Event Sales Manager at Venture Café Foundation
As the Event Sales Manager, Rachael leads the booking of meeting and event spaces at District Hall and Roxbury Innovation Center. You can find her setting up rooms, giving site tours, and connecting with members of the innovation community. In addition to her love for attention to details and organization, Rachael enjoys exploring the outdoors, including camping, kayaking, and playing field hockey. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a minor in Hospitality Management from Endicott College.
Jenna LaRiviere
Event Coordinator at Venture Café Foundation
Jenna is the Event Coordinator at District Hall and the Roxbury Innovation Center. She has strong non-profit project management experience working in museums and libraries and aims to bring joy to people through her work. In her spare time, Jenna enjoys painting, hiking, and traveling. Jenna holds a B.A. in Archaeology from Dickinson College and an M.A. in Museum Studies from the University of East Anglia.
Linda Lazo
Operations Coordinator at Venture Café Foundation
Linda is the Operations Coordinator at Venture Café Foundation’s District Hall and the Roxbury Innovation Center. She has strong project management experience from her previous role in a large construction project in Cambridge. In her current role, you’ll find her doing data analysis, managing, developing, and improving facility systems, and ensuring the daily operations of both District Hall and Roxbury Innovation Center go smoothly. Outside of work she enjoys exploring the city, trying new restaurants, exercising, cooking, and visiting her family in Los Angeles. Her current goals include attending graduate school and owning a home. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Wellesley College.
Maya bose
Marketing + Community Outreach Co-op at Venture Café Foundation
Maya is responsible for creating the weekly newsletters and marketing collateral, along with managing the social media platforms for District Hall and the Roxbury Innovation Center. She became interested in entrepreneurship from a young age as she watched her father start and grow his own business. Maya’s future goal is to become an entrepreneur as well. She is a third-year undergraduate student at The Northeastern University D’Amore-McKim School of Business. Maya is currently pursuing a B.S. degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and a minor in Political Science.
RUTH SAUNDERS
Head Of Corporate Partnerships and Philanthropy at Venture Café Foundation
Ruth is Head of Corporate Engagement and Philanthropy of Venture Café Foundation New England. Ruth holds an MBA from INSEAD and a master’s from the University of Cambridge. Please contact Ruth Saunders to sponsor at 1(860)-287- 2000 or email at Ruth.saunders@vencaf.org.
OUR IMPACT AT A Glance
District Hall’s unique model allows us to reinvest revenue from site fees back into the community through free, public workspace and discounted event space.
900+
events + meetings in 2018
“District Hall is a public, ground-level, accessible space – it’s truly a physical representation of how we best interact with people. We want to foster a creative, inclusive outlet to approach problem solving, and District Hall is the perfect place to do that…The ethos of this space really captures the philosophy of being a public innovation space.”
$1 Million
invested into the community in sponsored event space in 2018
“District Hall’s story is one that highlights that power of what we’re able to achieve when we collaborate. It’s about people coming together to make something for the community at large.”
Read the full 2018 impact report here.
95000+
visitors in 2018
“As a first time entrepreneur, starting a business can be an intimidating process, but having a welcoming, free co-working space that is open to the public helps to remove a huge barrier. This has enabled me to make helpful connections and learn a ton from other entrepreneurs at various stages of their businesses.”
OUR SPONSORS
Operating our space and fulfilling our mission would not be possible without our generous sponsors and community partners. Interested in supporting our work? Get in touch here!
FOUNDING TEAM
Founding Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
In-kind Sponsors
