Alexa Schmitz is the CEO and Co-founder of REEgen, a rare earth biomanufacturing start-up based in Ithaca, NY. Alexa developed the technology for efficient recovery of rare earth elements using engineered microbes as a postdoc in the Barstow Lab at Cornell University, where she also received her PhD in Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology. Shortly after co-founding REEgen in 2022, Alexa was awarded an Activate Fellowship, which supported the early development of the start-up through non-dilutive funding and intensive entrepreneurial training. When not answering endless emails and talking to investors, Alexa enjoys playing violin with the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, paddleboarding on Cayuga Lake, and renovating her historic NY home.