Francesca de Quesada Covey has spent over 15 years bridging technology and government to drive real-world outcomes — from the White House to Silicon Valley to the communities she now serves at Knight Foundation.

As Vice President of Community Impact, she oversees a $300M+ portfolio investing in 26 cities across the country.

Before Knight, Francesca served as Chief Innovation and Economic Development Officer for Miami-Dade County — negotiating $50M in non-tax revenue, delivering $25M to 120+ small businesses, and securing $23M to launch the ClimateReady Tech Hub. She also co-founded the Miami-Dade Innovation Authority, the first public-private vehicle of its kind to fund startups solving civic challenges.

Earlier, she served in the Obama White House building federal-private sector partnerships, then spent nearly a decade at Meta scaling global products and leading blockchain partnerships for the Libra Association — securing $75M in commitments and exceeding fundraising targets by 170%. She went on to manage a $150M venture portfolio of 79 early-stage companies across three continents.

Francesca holds degrees from Columbia University and Sciences Po Paris. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she lives in Miami-Dade with her husband and two daughters.