Meet April Baserga, New Director of Development at the Orfalea College of Business

As the new director of development for the Orfalea College of Business, April Baserga will help raise money for multiple impact hubs – programs that prepare students to have a positive impact on communities.

One of those hubs is the Cal Poly Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, which provides students and recent alumni with financial resources, work spaces and a variety of initiatives that help launch startups.

“This is an exciting time because the business school has been working on the Hatchery, the Incubator and the Summer Accelerator — all these incredible CIE programs,” Baserga said. “And we’re just trying to amplify those now so all students know that they’re available to them.”

Baserga, who graduated from the University of Colorado with a communications degree, has a background in hotel and hospitality consulting and event management, most recently working as director of events at Rod and Hammer’s SLO Stills in San Luis Obispo. A certified mediator and restorative justice facilitator, she has also worked in Hawaii, Toronto and New Zealand.

We talked to Baserga about her new role, her background and life on the Central Coast.

How can donors have an impact on their communities by supporting the college?

There are a lot of initiatives going on right now, but, in particular, the CIE building downtown that’s being built on Chorro Street to create a hub for students, community members, and business leaders to connect, collaborate, and expand innovation and entrepreneurship on the Central Coast. Some of the businesses that are successfully launched from that location will create local jobs.

And then there’s the Real Estate Initiative, which aims to create housing solutions. So we are trying to really use the resources available in our alumni and donor pool to ensure that we’re addressing societal needs in a full, cyclical way.

The Cal Poly CIE features numerous programs and events to help startups, including the annual Demo Day. (Courtesy Cal Poly CIE)

What kind of impact can CIE have on the public?

Everybody’s really passionate about empowering the next generation of thought leaders regardless if their idea actually turns into a multimillion dollar business. Getting them prepared to be a thought leader and getting them out there and making things better for the greater good is our main goal.

Tell me a little bit about your background and how that will help you in this role.

I was born and raised in the Bay Area, down the street from the heart of Silicon Valley. I watched the campuses for Google and Facebook literally be built.

So being around innovation on a global scale and being exposed to that from a very young age has always impacted how I see the world

After university, I got into luxury hospitality, sales and events and traveled globally. I lived in Santa Cruz, New Zealand, Toronto, Canada, Hawaii. I’ve been able to work with high-net worth individuals for a very long time, so I think my skills in sales are definitely transferable.

Most recently, working at Rod and Hammer for the last seven years, I’ve actually worked with business owners that operate businesses in this community. So I was able to see firsthand the struggles, the challenges, the red tape, what they needed support with and how our community reacts and responds to new ideas and new business ventures.

You worked in Canada, then moved to Hawaii. What was that change like? And did you sell your winter coats?

That was a welcome transition. I loved living in Canada. But I am a West Coast girl — fifth generation Californian — so the winters . . . I did two, that was enough.

Previously, I had only worked in big cities in LA, San Francisco, Toronto, Canada, these major metropolis areas. So transitioning to Hawaii definitely prepared me to work in a smaller community.

Coming from a big community like Toronto, you kind of use your competition’s weaknesses to close a sale. When you move to Hawaii, everybody is related. Everybody knows each other, and it keeps the conversations and sales approach really honest, and I really enjoyed that, that learning curve from going from big city sales to smaller community sales.

What was your coldest day in Toronto

I think negative 30 days, negative 20 maybe. But there were days where they wouldn’t even let you outside because it was a health risk.

That must have seemed like a dream to go to Hawaii after Toronto.

Toronta has no shortage of culture. You’d get on the subway and maybe you could hear upwards of 10 different languages spoken within a 30 minute subway ride.

It was a clean city. It was a safe city.

You studied abroad in Africa?

I went to West Africa, to Ghana, as an undergraduate. I ended up studying and doing a dissertation on a multi-generational, intra-ethnic conflict. It was so sad, and that’s really where my passion for mediation, restorative justice and conflict communication came from.

I was a little young for that experience. I don’t think I understood the gravity of going to Cape Coast Castle, where the transatlantic slave trade started. It was a heavy day as a 19-year-old. You know, I think going back now, I would be able to experience it a little bit differently.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I am the mother of two adorable little children. My son is six, and my daughter is three. She currently thinks she’s a baby otter. So I have a lot of mother otter activities that I have to do with her — freezing cold baths, combing her hair with my fingers, cracking open her food.

We love to go to the beach. I am very grateful that we live in wine country by the coast.

Do you have a wine recommendation?

Patelin de Tablas Rose by Tablas Creek is my favorite wine of the moment.  I think Tablas Creek has always been a leader in the local wine making community, and I truly appreciate a provencial- style rosé; this wine goes with all the yummy Central Coast seafood.  

What’s your favorite place in the county?

My boyfriend recently introduced me to the Elfin Forest boardwalk.  Man, that is a hidden gem of a walk — totally underutilized, in my opinion. I rarely run into people on it, and it looks different every day. Tide’s up, tide’s down. Maybe you can see the Rock, maybe it’s too cloudy. And it’s just quiet.

You can reach April by email at abaserga@calpoly.edu or by phone at  805-801-1421.

By supporting the Orfalea College of Business, you can help students have a positive impact on communities.

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