Meet the New Team Members at All Raise HQ!
Last year was a year of growth for All Raise. As Paige Hendrix Buckner took the helm as CEO, we launched a chapter in Miami, hosted a seven-city strategy tour where we spoke with hundreds of All Raisers, ignited our chapters and VC Cohort programs, and rounded out 2023 with the strongest VC Summit event in All Raise history. Our incredible industry volunteers and new team members who joined us in 2023 made everything we accomplished possible.
In Q4, we added five HQ team members: Brenton O’Hara, Kana Lee, Lindsay Eulenfeld, Lisa Barroca, and Sophia Cohen. This group stood out during the interview process for their various experiences and an important common thread: a deep alignment with the All Raise mission to propel the success of women and nonbinary investors, founders, and operators by changing the culture and composition of the venture capital ecosystem.
“I see an opportunity to play a vital role in supporting a mission and vision that I believe can generate meaningful, lasting impact.” ~ Brenton O’Hara
Brenton brings a decade of experience across business operations activities, including hiring, HR, culture, project management, and accounting/finance. Prior to All Raise, he served as the Operations Lead at The A.I. Education Project (aiEDU), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that creates equitable learning experiences to excite and empower students with A.I. literacy. Additionally, Brenton worked in operations roles with UCLA Center X, and the LA Opera. He holds a Master of Science in Management with a concentration in nonprofit management from Wilmington University, a Master of Music from the University of South Carolina, and a Bachelor of Music from East Carolina University.
“I have admired All Raise’s ability to elevate and amplify its message within the ecosystem. Being with a team that is collectively committed to a big goal and working for the societal good aligns with my life’s purpose to create a positive impact at scale.” ~ Kana Lee
Kana joins All Raise after more than five years with Touchdown Ventures, a corporate venture capital firm that manages more than 20 funds for large corporations. Kana led all marketing efforts including social media, newsletter publication, website operations, speaking engagements, owned content, and PR activities for the firm. She also curated earned media opportunities for the firm’s corporate partners and portfolio companies. Before this, her work included management roles focusing on marketing, business operations, creative problem solving, and storytelling at SBE Restaurant Group, ZGF Architects, and Special Olympics World Games. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Communication Arts and an Asian Studies minor from Allegheny College and is a candidate for a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University.
“As I started to dig further into the history of gender discrimination in Silicon Valley, I was blown away by the wide-spread systemic issues plaguing the founder-funder ecosystem. That’s what excites me about the work at All Raise. Not only do we have an opportunity to shine a light on the disparities and call for change, we have real momentum for action. I truly believe All Raise is able to drive cultural shifts.“ ~ Lindsay Eulenfeld
After retiring from being a dancer and working in the arts, Lindsay dove deep into working with startups over the last decade. As an operator for more than six years with TabbedOut, a mobile payment startup for the hospitality industry, she built and led the account management department, managed large corporate and strategic partners, and worked at the intersection of product and technology to deliver new products and integrations. Lindsay then moved into the nonprofit space at MassChallenge, where she worked with early stage startups through a large-scale, global acceleration program. She built and launched the MassChallenge Texas accelerator and was promoted to build and lead the organization’s first Design Team, where they redesigned MassChallenge’s acceleration methodology. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Dance from the University of Texas at Austin.
“ I knew from the jump that I wanted to be a part of the future that All Raise is building…I know that we are moving the needle for female and nonbinary representation in tech. ” ~ Lisa Barroca
Lisa spent the last five years building virtual communities for startups. As the first community hire at Tempest (now Monument), a virtual addiction recovery platform with a feminist lens, she led the creation of identity-based community spaces. She co-led the research team that developed Tempest’s annual multi-tier membership, enabling a Series A raise. At Cultivate, a talent development studio, she led a community of professionals within large organizations committed to creating sustainable corporate change in areas ranging from DEI to product innovation. Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Florida International University and an Associates degree in Literature from American University.
“I get to work with the top investors in the tech ecosystem who are looking to build more equity in our society; this is my dream job.” ~ Sophia Cohen
For the past three years, Sophia worked at Her First $100K, a company focused on helping women take control of their personal finances and careers, where she flexed her project management and partnership skills while storytelling and community building with female entrepreneurs. She gained a great deal of experience from working with business operators and founders that will inform a level of empathy within All Raise Programs to support female and nonbinary investors. Sophia holds an Associate’s degree from South Seattle College, where she was on track to go to nursing school when she decided to pivot and explore financial education and equity.
Brenton, Kana, Lindsay, Lisa, and Sophia come from diverse professional backgrounds that add to building and fulfilling the All Raise mission. Collectively, they bring:
- Operational know-how within nonprofits and the education space
- Expertise in marketing and communications in venture capital
- Startup operations and systems design
- Startup fundraising and growth
- Social justice-based content creation
The breadth of lived experience adds to the skills of our powerhouse HQ team to further facilitate opportunities for women and nonbinary people in tech. The expanded HQ team aims to build off the foundations laid before them and create new intersections for connection within the All Raise community. The relationships that exist outside traditional investors and formal advisors are where diversity of people, culture, and backgrounds breed great success — a belief All Raise programming continues to emphasize. Or, as Lisa concluded: “Find community, find community, find community! You do not have to do this alone; there is strength, solidarity, and joy in numbers.”
Join us in welcoming these five new staffers to the All Raise team!
