Star City Six – Christina Oldfather
The Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development (LPED) is a public-private collaboration charged with fulfilling Lincoln’s economic development goals. Christina Oldfather is the director of innovation and entrepreneurship at the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development.
Tell us a little about your business.
My area of focus is creating and supporting infrastructure to help entrepreneurs and innovators flourish. We do that through community building efforts like StartupLNK, a digital platform to connect with all things startup in Lincoln, and through direct support to grow early stage startups via the LaunchLNK grant program. We also work with our fellow entrepreneurial community-building organizations to collaborate and create opportunities in our city.
Tell us a little about your family.
My family consists of my husband David, our daughter Hadleigh, and our dog Phoenix. David works as a facility manager and keeps busy outside of work playing hockey and softball. Hadleigh is getting ready to graduate from preschool and will be embarking on her continued academic career as a kindergartner. She also loves to tell jokes and perform magic tricks. Phoenix is a Catahoula Leopard dog and mostly lays around the house in anticipation of dinner time. In addition to my full-time work for LPED, I also teach Jazzercise dance fitness classes a few times a week. As a family, we love to go fishing, golfing, or just hang out in our backyard.
What local nonprofit organization(s) are you passionate about or involved with, and are there any special reasons why?
There are so many nonprofits doing good work in our community, but those closest to my heart are Rabble Mill, the Child Advocacy Center, and Camp Summergold. I enjoy giving my time and skill to organizations that help children, create opportunity, and give them a path forward that they wouldn’t have had otherwise. Rabble Mill provides economically and culturally disadvantaged youth with the belonging and purpose they need to grow and reinvest in their community. They accomplish this through a variety of programs, including The Bay, Skate For Change, and Hear Nebraska. Through these initiatives, kids have access to skating, art, music, online programming, and, most importantly, culture and community. I am extremely proud to serve on the Board of Directors of this amazing organization. In addition, I recently joined the Board of Directors of the Child Advocacy Center (CAC). This nonprofit makes a difference for children and families by serving victims of child abuse. The CAC creates a safe and supportive environment through interviews, evaluations, advocacy, and more, all of which is so important to creating hope and healing for those children. Finally, Camp Summergold is a summer camp for girls that is designed to help them find their voice and discover their strengths. It instills confidence and creates new opportunities and relationships for the girls that attend. I have served on the Board of Directors and look forward to continuing to support this great program.
What is your favorite book or the last good book you read?
In the fiction category, one of the last good books I read was Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens—a great story that draws you in! I read the entire thing in one sitting. I’m also currently reading It’s About Damn Time by Arlan Hamilton, who went from being homeless and sleeping on the floor of the San Francisco airport to founding Backstage Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to funding underrepresented founders.
What is your favorite TV show?
The Unsolved Mysteries reboot!
What is your favorite restaurant?
Schillingbridge Cork & Tap House, The Oven, Piedmont Bistro by Venue, Isles Pub & Pizza, and Piezano’s are all at the top of the list.
If our readers would like to contact you, how should they do so? – (402) 436-2374; coldfather@selectlincoln.org; www.startuplnk.com / www.selectlincoln.org.