1776 adds K Street Capital’s Penny Lee to executive team

Incubator and seed fund 1776 announced Wednesday that it has made another executive team hire (recall, 2016 was a big year for high-profile hires at 1776). This time the company is bringing on a Chief Strategy Officer — and has named Penny Lee to the role.

Always thrilled to welcome a new team member! Great to have you on board, @pennyleedc #LifeAt1776 https://t.co/7H9wh6FnA3

— Union (@JoinUnion) February 15, 2017

You may know Lee as the chair of K Street Capital, a local angel investor group. She’s also been an advisory board member for 1776 since 2013. Now she’s stepping into a more front-and-center role — according to a press release she’ll “lead all operations across the Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland region.”

“The startups and jobs of tomorrow are being impacted by what the DC region does today,” Evan Burfield, cofounder and CEO of 1776, said in a statement. “Penny brings a unique background of skills within the political and angel investing arena to harness this market.”

Specifically, Lee has knowledge of the startup world (as an angle investor) and of the political and regulatory sphere (from past roles like senior advisor for communications to Harry Reid, etc.). This aligns perfectly with 1776’s “startups meet highly regulated government” ethos.

“It’s a pleasure to join such a dynamic organization at a key time for startups and entrepreneurs globally,” Lee said in a statement. “I have become convinced that the worlds of politics and startups are inextricably linked and believe that my experience of the past 20 years can be helpful.”