This Women’s History Month, the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) is celebrating leaders who expand opportunities and open doors for others. April Baserga, director of development for the Orfalea College of Business with a philanthropic focus on the CIE, is doing exactly that. 

Baserga serves as the center’s frontline fundraiser, building relationships with alumni and supporters to advance key initiatives. Chief among them is the CIE Impact Campaign supporting the center’s new downtown hub at 1144 Chorro St., a future home for community collaboration, startup founders and local entrepreneurs. 

For Baserga, fundraising is about more than meeting campaign goals. It is about ensuring that entrepreneurship feels possible and accessible to every student through a new space designed to foster opportunity. “Entrepreneurship can feel intimidating,” she said. “It can feel like a path reserved for people from strong economic backgrounds. We want to cultivate a strong CIE program that supports students from every background and academic discipline so they feel encouraged, not discouraged, to follow their ideas.”

She references programs like the Summer Accelerator, which provides $10,000 per team that is fully philanthropically funded as proof of what is possible when support systems are strong. “We want all students to feel like they can apply for one of our programs regardless of their financial situation,” said Baserga. 

Donors play an essential role in making that access possible. Whether contributing their time through mentorship or their resources through philanthropy, supporters help ensure that the CIE can continue empowering students to test and build their ideas. 

April Baserga (center) chatting with people at Cal Poly’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) Summer Accelerator program pitch during Demo Day 2025 at Rod & Hammer Rock. Photo by Ruby Wallau for CIE

Before joining Cal Poly, she worked in luxury hospitality and global event sales with the Four Seasons, following earlier experience in food, beverage and wedding planning. That background continues to shape how she approaches fundraising today through relationship-building and connecting people with opportunities. 

“I’ve always loved working with iconic, well-established brands,” she said. “Cal Poly is celebrating 125 years of impact, and with the CIE now more than 15 years strong and moving into a new flagship space downtown, we’re really cementing its legacy within the university and across the region.” 

Eight years ago, she moved to the Central Coast and began working for a large hospitality firm, serving as a consultant and business developer as they launched multiple regional brands. Through that work, she collaborated with the CIE on events like AngelCon, Demo Day and Innovation Quest, gaining firsthand exposure to the center’s public impact. When her current position opened, she pursued it intentionally because she knew it would allow her work to be deeply rooted in the community she now calls home. 

“What really drew me to this position was that I would get to focus on continually supporting the efforts of one of the university’s most impactful interdisciplinary programs,” she said. 

Baserga also credits the strong women around her for shaping her experience at Cal Poly. She points to Kelly Dye, assistant dean of development for the Orfalea College of Business, who brings decades of fundraising experience, and Karen Tillman, former interim executive director of the CIE, who she considers a powerful example of what it means to be a successful woman in leadership. 

Beyond current fundraising initiatives, Baserga is focused on broadening awareness of the CIE’s interdisciplinary reach to ensure that students and faculty across campus understand that entrepreneurship at Cal Poly is not confined to one college or major. 

Her commitment to Cal Poly is long-term. Rather than a stepping stone, the CIE is a place she intends to grow alongside. “I am committed to this project,” she said. “I want to stay as long as Cal Poly will have me. I’m not going anywhere.” 

Outside of her work at the CIE, Baserga is a mother of two young children and loves spending time at the beach, swimming and exploring with her family in Grover Beach. For her, Women’s History Month is a reminder to lead by example for her children while celebrating the accomplishments of the women around her.