OUR CREW
We are a team that believes in the hustle over the hype, that it’s just as important to be humble as it is to be hungry, that America is its most beautiful and prosperous when we utilize the contributions of all people.
Camelback Ventures was originally headquartered in New Orleans and has since evolved into a hybrid remote workplace since the global pandemic. We have team members who reside in New Orleans, the Denver area, Boston, Washington, D.C., San Diego, and Sacramento, as well as Fort Worth, TX. The Camelback team meets in-person several times per year to support programming, staff planning retreats, attend social impact conferences, our alumni regional events, and other convenings such as our annual Guardian Summit.
The Camelback Team
Shawna Young (She/Her)
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Shawna Young is a social impact entrepreneur, educator, and speaker who has dedicated her career to empowering individuals and driving social change. Currently she is the Interim CEO of Prior Ada Developers Academy, a nonprofit that has trained over 1,000 women and gender expansive people of color as software developers, since 2013. Prior to Ada, Shawna served as the executive director of the Scratch Foundation, Duke Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP), and MIT Introduction to Engineering and Science. She began her career as a science educator in North Carolina and also managed diversity programs at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
With a background in creating accessible educational opportunities for underrepresented communities, Shawna is an influential voice in education, equity, and social justice. As a visionary leader, Shawna has spent nearly 25 years nurturing talent and shaping the futures of thousands of aspiring changemakers. She received her BS in Chemistry from Howard University, MAT in Science Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, MBA from MIT, and Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from Boston University.
Cathy Yi (She/Her)
vice president | Development
As Vice President of Development, Cathy develops strategies to increase Camelback’s philanthropic support from diverse funders and partners. She is an accomplished fundraising professional with more than 20 years of experience at leading international, national, and community-based organizations focused on economic development, conservation, and social services. She has successfully forged creative and strategic partnerships between nonprofits and corporate, foundation, and individual donors that have resulted in lasting benefits for people and communities.
Cathy was born in South Korea and raised in central Ohio. She’s made the D.C. suburbs home for the last two decades. Her favorite things include butter, chocolate, and sugar which means she sometimes eats cake for breakfast. When not at Camelback, you can find her reading a book, cooking something delicious to share, or enjoying the outdoors.
Riyaz Gayasaddin (He/Him)
Vice President | program + talent
Born and raised in the Midwest, Riyaz cherishes his Asian-American identity and his journey to continuously better understand and live into that hyphen between Asian and American. His journey has taken him to his parents’ home country of India, classrooms in Baltimore, the chilly winters of Minnesota, and currently the snow-capped peaks of Colorado. He is passionate about developing individuals and teams, building culture, and shaking up the status quo by nurturing developing leaders who work through an equity lens to become the change agents of tomorrow. Outside of work, Riyaz is a foodie. He approaches food as he does life - seeking diversity, opportunities to connect with others, and a chance to have a good time over a shared meal. Riyaz was lucky enough to attend Macalester College and Johns Hopkins University and strives to never stop learning and growing.
Melvin Freeman (He/Him)
SENIOR director | data + Strategy
Melvin is a born tinkerer. From taking apart and rebuilding VCRs as a child to studying Applied Physics and Mechanical Engineering at Morehouse College and Columbia University, he has been obsessed with understanding how systems work and why they do what they do. His current vision is to use data and technology as tools to help organizations better understand their own operations and opportunities for greater impact.
After beginning his career in investment banking, Melvin set his sights on better understanding the education system and what it would take for ALL students to receive a high quality education. So he began leading data initiatives in K-12 school districts, higher education institutions, and nonprofits. As an independent consultant, he’s built dashboards, architected data warehouses, and used automation to seamlessly integrate data across disparate systems. Most recently, he led the data strategy work at KIPP DC where he modernized the infrastructure to provide near real-time access to reports/dashboards for the 1,000+ teachers and staff. In his free time, Melvin enjoys stepping away from the computer to spend time with his family and getting his hands dirty on a home project.
Tania Dall (She/Her)
VICE PRESIDENT | MARKETING + COMMUNICATIONS
“If I’m going to go to bed exhausted at the end of a work day, I want to drift asleep knowing I’m making a positive impact in the world – however small.” -Tania on why she was eager to join the Camelback Ventures ‘Ruthless for Good’ crew and its mission. Constant growth and seeking out new challenges is what drives Tania in both work and play. She spent a decade and a half working as a broadcast journalist in various markets across the United States – fueled by the desire to give a voice to the voiceless. After a fruitful career, Tania chose to transition into communications + marketing based on her personal commitment to empower undervalued communities. She has worked as Communications Director for both the Youth Empowerment Project + NOLA Public Schools. Tania also served as a volunteer educator in Zambia teaching HIV/AIDS health education to middle + high school students. The daughter of immigrants (Tania was born in London) – she spent the majority of her life moving across the U.S. and world until she fell in love with New Orleans. In her down time, Tania enjoys volunteering in the community, jumping out of planes, dancing at second lines + in Mardi Gras parades, and most importantly, spending quality time with family, close friends + her cat, Pepper.
Stacy West (She/Her)
DIRECTOR, FINANCE + OPERATIONS
Stacy is a super-fan of tools and systems, and she works to ensure the Camelback Fam can focus on their world-changing work and not get tied up in administrative nonsense. Her love for ironing out complex details grew from previous careers in international education (Willamette University) and arts non-profit administration (Oregon Symphony Association in Salem). Stacy thanks the countless educators in Denver Public Schools and Willamette University who've contributed so much to her ability to relate to others, work hard, and enjoy life. Stacy now lives in her hometown, Denver, CO with her writer-in-residence / life partner and their two small children.
Caroline Lutkewitte (She/Her)
DIRECTOR, search + aligN | Camelback fellowship
As a girl, Caroline never imagined herself working in the “business” world known for it’s stuffy suits and 9-5 desk jobs, favoring more free-spirited answers to “what do you want to be when you grow up?” Much later, her passion for social causes and desire to have a career with an impact sparked a curiosity in the role of small business in economic development. Startups specifically gave her a creative outlet and the freedom she was craving to experiment & build. She’s particularly inspired to tackle the diversity gap in venture capital for underrepresented founders. Fundamentally, she believes in leveraging her privilege to address systems of oppression. As a white woman from New Jersey and holding a Bachelor’s in Public Health from Tulane University, she is cognizant of how her identities influences her work. She is humbled by the informal “schooling” in intersectional community organizing she’s received from local leaders; she is grateful to these teachers for giving her the most powerful educational experiences. Caroline is a Venture for America fellow and SoGal Foundation chapter lead. When she’s not dreaming up side projects, she enjoys crocheting, and crushing the patriarchy.
Karolina Villagrana (She/Her/Ella)
Senior MANAGER, Education | Camelback Fellowship
Karolina has an entrepreneurial spirit inspired by her own family as they have launched their own businesses. She took this inspiration and helped found The Kauffman School in Kansas City and as a founding elementary teacher in San Jose, California and eventually stepped in as an Assistant Principal. For Karolina, being connected to community fills her soul which is why she returned home (Colorado) to her original roots and was set to be a founding School Leader of a Biliteracy Elementary School. As many entrepreneurs experience bumps in the road, this was true for the school that Karolina was set to open and as any great entrepreneur, they learn to pivot while connecting to their values. In Karolina’s case: purpose and impact have been her guiding stars. Karolina is also tapping into her values as a new member of the Camelback Ventures team. She truly believes the founders that enter The Camelback Fellowship will have a lasting impact that will drive towards a more equitable future driving access to generational inheritance among undervalued communities. Karolina is a Denver Girl and will always cheer for her Broncos and Rockies no matter how rough it gets. She loves her “puppies” Luna, Simba, and Lola.
Selam Kebrom (She/Her)
DIRECTOR, CONSCIOUS TECH | CAMELBACK FELLOWSHIP
Selam began her career in global development and worked on projects in different countries for nearly a decade, both with non-profits and the US government. Craving something different, she secured a role at IDEO.org where she led a social innovation program that supported early-stage innovators bring their ideas to life through design. For the first time in her career, Selam had the opportunity to work with folks who were building bold solutions for their communities. She wanted more of that. In fact, she wanted that all the time.
Following Selam’s time at IDEO.org, she moved to Cambodia and launched a project to apply what she’d learned. She wanted to create something that made the long journey through entrepreneurship a bit easier and eventually designed a mobile app to help entrepreneurs track the wellbeing of their employees. It was her first time building anything from scratch, and it was easily the best and most humbling thing Selam’s ever done. She bootstrapped the project by consulting for the Unreasonable Group where she worked with a fabulous group to support growth-stage tech social entrepreneurs across the Asia-Pacific region. The cost of development and a return to the US slowed Selam’s entrepreneurial ambitions but not her desire to support entrepreneurs, specifically those who have been overlooked and undervalued. So she is beyond excited to join Camelback Ventures. Selam loves playing soccer, karaoking and reading speculative fiction because it fuels her imagination about what the world could be. She also loves spending quality time with her Wife and their dog.
Michaela Subido (She/Her)
SENIOR ASSOCIATE, SEARCH + ALIGN | CAMELBACK FELLOWSHIP
Michaela is the daughter of immigrants from the Philippines, born in the city of Baltimore, and currently living in San Diego. She is passionate about working towards a world where community and care for each other is prioritized over profit and exploitation. She is drawn to spaces where people have the freedom to authentically express themselves, tell their stories, connect, and create.
Michaela has enjoyed a career working in education, from teaching in an elementary school classroom to facilitating leadership programs for high school students globally. She recently had the tremendous opportunity to graduate from PLNU as a Master in Organizational Leadership, and during her time in the program, focused her efforts on learning how to support and empower women of color in the workplace. Now, as an Associate on the Search & Align team, she is continually inspired by the women and entrepreneurs of color she meets who are committed to equity and creating more opportunities for underserved communities.
Outside of Camelback Ventures, she is a community organizer (member of Malaya Movement San Diego), playwright (United AAPI Artists), cat lover (tragically, she is allergic), reiki master, avid baker, and travel enthusiast.
Danielle Meltz (She/Her)
manager | CAMELBACK FELLOWSHIP
Danielle’s passion for innovation was sparked by her family, who became entrepreneurs soon after their move to the Middle East. Danielle is passionate about building more equitable communities, through solutions which address social and environmental problems. Her evolving identity as an Asian-American fuels her to think about issues with a wider lens and how solutions might impact communities differently. Danielle comes from the world of renewable energy, where she worked to make solar energy more easily accessible in Colorado and Maine. Danielle also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Benin and coordinated a national malaria program in the West African nation which sought to increase testing in communities without a health center. Danielle’s role as an Associate on Camelback’s Program Team grants her the opportunity to work with innovative and talented Fellows across the United States. Danielle spends her free time learning how to swing dance and perfecting her bagel recipe.
Olivia Gardner (She/Her)
SENIOR ASSOCIATE | camelback FELLOWSHIP
Olivia is dedicated to the work of intersectional justice. Through leadership in student-led movements to working with local nonprofits, she has learned the importance of facilitation, dialogue, youth organizing, strength-based leading, and community engagement. Olivia is a graduate from the University of Colorado - Boulder, with a B.A. in Ethnic Studies and Women & Gender Studies and Leadership Studies minor.
Olivia honors the histories of movements, change-makers, healers, and disruptors to always move from the foundation of where we have been and where we can go. She envisions a world where sustainability and thriving is centered and works to shape that world by addressing the necessity for equity and paradigm shifts to evolve towards collective liberation.
Hannah Whisler (She/Her)
senior MANAGER | Capital collaborative
Hannah is passionate about building relationships and supporting community. She gets to put these passions to work every day as a member of the Capital Collaborative team, building and supporting a growing community of funders and grantmakers committed to making the startup capital landscape more equitable.
Hannah brings a background in educational equity work to the team. While she was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she has called Arkansas home for the past eight years, and believes in the power of small communities to build a sustainable and equitable future everywhere. Outside of her work at Camelback, Hannah loves the outdoors, reading, fitness, cooking and eating with friends and family, and her rescue dog, Rhyn.
Krystal Kincaid (They/Them)
Senior associate | Capital collaborative
Krystal has always had a passion for the intersection of social justice and entrepreneurship. At Washington State University they explored these interests by studying Entrepreneurship and Social Sciences. Krystal graduated from WSU with a degree in Sociology & Anthropology in 2019. Krystal moved to New Orleans during their senior year of their Bachelor’s through a program called National Student Exchange. Since graduating from WSU, Krystal had the fortune of working in many different sectors in New Orleans, including the non-profit, start-up, and hospitality industries. In 2020 they became a Venture for America Fellow, a two-year fellowship program that gives recent college graduates firsthand startup experiences and helps them become leaders who make meaningful impact with their careers. They started their career and fellowship at SaaS company building out processes for a new sales and marketing team.
Krystal aims to bring their passion for community building and creative problem solving along at Camelback Ventures. Krystal is proud to help out other Entrepreneurial Support Organizations like Fund 17 by serving on their DEI and Programs Committee. Krystal is also a Health Line Manager for the Plan B NOLA Program at the Reproductive Justice Action Collective, a network of Southern activists based in New Orleans which helps distribute free Plan B to the Greater New Orleans Area. In their free time, Krystal is happy to support community-based organizing, the arts, read, bike around the city, and spend time with friends.
Ellexis “Lex” Lindsey (She/Her)
SENIOR associate | marketing + Communications
Lex is passionate about storytelling in all its forms, and aims to uplift the narratives of undervalued and underrepresented founders. She is a Social Media Marketer Guru with experience across social media platforms, including content creation and curation, community engagement, data-driven insights and strategy, and paid social management.
Lex has managed the web presence for 10+ brands and 20+ restaurants for a client in the Midwest, and has pitched and secured press placements in national and international media outlets for her clients. She holds a B.S. from Indiana University Bloomington with a Major in Arts Management and Minors in Marketing and Finance. Lex is a lover of ice cream and surfing, and likes to spend her free time traveling the country with her partner and their two dogs.
Jessamyn Shams-Lau (She/Her)
funder in residence | Capital Collaborative
Jessamyn is an advocate for redistribution of power in philanthropy, nonprofit workforce wellbeing, feminine leadership – and quality therapy for everyone. After realizing she’s far from alone in her frustration with the status quo of power hoarding in philanthropy, Jessamyn co-wrote and illustrated the book, ‘Unicorns Unite: How Nonprofits & Foundations Can Build EPIC Partnerships’, with Jane Leu and Vu Le.
During a decade leading the Peery Foundation, Jessamyn co-created and shared the Peery Foundation’s Grantee-Centric approach to philanthropy as Executive Director/Co-CEO. Along the way she also created a social innovation university curriculum that is still taught at both undergraduate and graduate levels, and has been an advisor to Intrinsic Labs, The Wellbeing Project, GrantAdvisor, and Ashoka U, as well as an Executive Committee member of Big Bang Philanthropy Group.
Jessamyn is a proud high school dropout and community college graduate who also has a BA in Fine Arts and an MBA. She lives by a freezing cold beach in Copenhagen, Denmark with her ridiculously funny husband, insatiably curious daughter, and two headstrong house rabbits.
Aaron Walker (He/Him)
Camelback ventures FOUNDER | senior advisor
Aaron is on a journey to live in the spirit of his baseball hero, Jackie Robinson, who said “a life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” With this ethos, Aaron taught ninth grade English in West Philadelphia, put together deals for companies large and small as a lawyer, and supported new ideas to improve education as a portfolio director for the NYC Fund for Public Schools. Aaron is humbled to say that he graduated from the University of Virginia and Penn Law School. He also knows that this doesn’t entitle him to anything and is ready to earn his keep.