john_felton@brown.edu

evan_jackson@brown.edu

samuel_prado@brown.edu

emma_butler@brown.edu

gregory_boudreau-fine@brown.edu

abigail_kohler@brown.edu

ishaan_agarwal@alumni.brown.edu

anand_lalwani@alumni.brown.edu

kristen_mashikian@brown.edu

annabel_strauss@brown.edu

yunjoung_cho@brown.edu

aporras@risd.edu

francesca_raoelison@brown.edu

asha_franchi@brown.edu

srishti_lulla@brown.edu

Ben is a food waste entrepreneur who is actively working to change the food system to reduce waste and increase the amount of affordable produce available to consumers. After co-founding the largest student movement against hunger and food waste, Ben moved into the for-profit space with his newest venture, Imperfect Foods. At Imperfect, Ben is creating a supply chain of “ugly” produce and other groceries that would normally go to waste in the supply chain, and turning that into products that can be sold to consumers.

Richard is a private investor in early stage companies and a member of the New York Angels investment group, advising and investing in over two dozen startups. He is also an Executive Director and board member of The Noodle Companies, a group of ventures seeking to increase transparency and efficiency in education, and a partner in Immersive Artistry, a creator of immersive location-based entertainment venues, headquartered in Los Angeles. Richard was President, Chairman, and CEO of Kaz, Incorporated, a multinational consumer appliance company, from 1987 until its sale in December 2010. He also co-founded Terra Firma Software, a provider of enterprise solutions and an early developer of Macintosh applications.

Aneesha joined Bain Capital Ventures in 2017. She focuses on healthcare and works across all aspects of the investment process. Prior to Bain Capital Ventures, Aneesha was a public equities investor at Fidelity Investments in Boston, spent time in healthcare consulting at Decision Resources Group, and in a strategy role at a mobile healthcare startup in India.

Lorine is a seasoned business development executive with extensive experience in the legal, technology, and entertainment industries. She is focused on investing and advising women and diverse-led businesses in order to level the playing field so women and diverse-led entrepreneurs have equal access to financial, social and human capital. Lorine is a lead investor in Portfolia’s recently launched Rising America Fund, which will invest in companies with founders of color, women, LGBTQ or companies with products or services addressing these markets.

Shalinee is CEO and Co-Founder of Zearn, a nonprofit curriculum publisher. Zearn created Zearn Math, a K-5 print and software-based math curriculum that supports daily differentiation and engagement so all children can love learning math. Zearn Math received a top ‘green’ rating from EdReports and is used by millions of students and teachers.

In early 2020, Melanie joined Summit Partners as a Managing Director on the Growth Products & Services team. Summit Partners is a leading growth equity firm currently managing over $19 billion in the capital. Melanie focuses primarily on partnering with entrepreneurs leading high-growth consumer and technology-enabled services. Prior to Summit, Melanie was CEO of SoulCycle. She joined SoulCycle in 2012 as COO and spent three years building and leading operations before her promotion to CEO in 2015. Under her direction, SoulCycle grew from eight NYC-based studios to nearly 100 studios in 18 markets across three countries. Previously, Melanie led Business Development for Equinox where she was part of a team that executed a multi-brand strategy with the U.S. launch of Pure Yoga, the creation of Blink Fitness, and the acquisition of SoulCycle. Earlier in her career, she was a member of the founding team of Richard Branson’s U.S. air carrier Virgin America and worked in corporate development at Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

Melanie currently serves on the Board of Directors of Chegg (NYSE: CHGG), the Board of Trustees of Southern New Hampshire University, and the GO Project, a non-profit focused on K-8 education inequity in New York. She holds a BA in engineering and economics from Brown University and is a member of the Aspen Institute’s 2018 class of Henry Crown Fellows.