MEET OUR MENTORS 

Brahm Rhodes is a Co-Founder + General Partner at Malaika Ventures, Founder + General Partner at Backed x Black Capital, and Founder + Managing Partner at Red Tail Ventures. He brings more than two decades of experience as an operator, mentor, educator, and investor to help build and scale.

Jagruti Bhikha is an angel investor and Client Engagement Leader at Infosys. She is passionate about startups. She loves building them and finding investors who believe in them.

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Jayme Johnson is CEO of 
Worthy Marketing Group, a boutique agency she founded in 2011 that supports top entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and coaches with the launch of their brands, nonfiction books, and online programs.

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Julia Van de Walle is a COO and corporate attorney who specializes in venture fund formation and all aspects of private fund operations and legal matters. She enjoys solving problems, analytical thinking and building long-term relationships with clients and colleagues.

Kristine Mudd is a Designer, Educator, and Entrepreneur who believes in creating services and products to improve the lives of people and the planet. She is currently teaching at SVA Products of Design and NYU Tandon. She has also taught at Parsons/New School and Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Kyle Hermans is CEO and Co-founder at Be Courageous, the award-winning global boutique business consultancy, unlocking the breakthroughs necessary to build and transform the world's most ambitious and couregeous leaders and brands.  

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Melissa McCool, LCSW, is a Psychotherapist and the Chief Product Officer at Ellipsis Health. She is also the former Founder of Stellicare, a behavioral health startup. In 2017, Melissa and nine other female founders created Fair Funders, to help underrepresented founders raise capital. 

Mike Jbara is an investor and the CEO of music tech startup MQA Ltd. and serves on its board of directors. Before joining MQA in 2016, Mike held several executive roles within the Warner Music Group including President of WEA Corp and ADA, Head of Studios and Digital Operations, and EVP, Technology. 

Rachel Bassignani is an experienced and highly sought-after Silicon Valley Coach, and Founder of talent development firm, theCATALYST. Her primary focus is on leadership and organizational development for individuals, teams and businesses. 

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Rodrick Miller is recognized as one of the foremost economic development leaders in the US. He is the President and CEO of Ascendant Global, an economic development firm focused on providing bold growth solutions to help economies sustain themselves, gain jobs and obtain private investment.

Stephen Price is an Entrepreneur and Investor who successfully bootstrapped his way to three acquisitions. As the former CEO of CoFoundersLab, he has mentored and advised hundreds of founders in the startup ecosystem, and has consulted for multiple globally recognized brands.

Veronica Juarez is a venture capitalist focused on companies that have an impact for low-income and vulnerable communities. As the former VP of Social Enterprise for Lyft, she built Lyft’s public policy team, enterprise business, and many of their social impact programs. 

She also manages gift giving for The Juarez Family Foundation.