Chief Program & Client Experience Officer at WomenVenture

Capital Conversations: Exploring VC & Angel Investment

Emily (she/her) has spent the past 15 years crafting and implementing comprehensive and strategic approaches, with DEI tools that facilitate large-scale, collaborative support from foundations, corporations, governments, and non-governmental agencies for innovative community initiatives for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the University of Minnesota. Emily spent the last three years serving as the CEO of World Encounter, a non-government organization that provides microloans, business coaching and support to women living in rural Tanzania, Africa. She has demonstrated experience in transforming organizations, programs and services that are purpose-driven while economically impactful.

Senior Vice-President | Financial Advisor | RBC Wealth Management

Capital Conversations: Exploring VC & Angel Investment

Darla leads a financial advising practice at RBC Wealth Management by working with families to align their wealth with their values. Our approach encompasses wealth planning, retirement, and college planning, as well as recommendations on sustainability and charitable giving. Forbes has named Darla Best-In-State Women Advisors 2024. In addition to running a successful business, Darla and her partner have two teenage children. She also serves as Vice-Chair of the Roosevelt Institute Board of Directors.

Partner & Chief Revenue Officer, Lunr Captial

Capital Conversations: Exploring VC & Angel Investment

Erin joined Lunr from the Executive Team at beauty and wellness incubator HatchBeauty Brands where she was VP of Business Development. Before her time at HatchBeauty, she was Vice President of Sales at Bluebird Group – a leading retail consulting and services firm. During her time at Bluebird, Erin advised numerous Fortune 500 companies on their retail growth strategies and helped launch over 30 new brands at Target and other large retailers. Erin began her career at Target, where she was a Senior Merchant and led Target’s designer collaboration processes for both Apparel and Home. Erin has three kids, and spends her free time picking up socks and listening to podcasts.

Erin received her BA from DePaul University.

CEO of WomenVenture

Funding Frontiers: Exploring Loans & Grant Opportunities

LeeAnn Rasachak (she/her) is CEO of WomenVenture, a Community Development Financial Institution, US SBA designated Women’s Business Center, and non-profit serving women and minority entrepreneurs and business owners. Based in St. Paul, WomenVenture employs more than 30 people and serves the 16-county Twin Cities metro area and western Wisconsin.

Rasachak lives in Inver Grove Heights with her partner, their four children, and Labrador retriever.

Marketing Development Director at Bell Bank


Funding Frontiers: Exploring Loans & Grant Opportunities

Hailey works at the intersection of people, businesses, and banking. An award-winning professional in finance, Hailey has helped organizations and individuals unlock the power of banking for over a decade. She focuses her expertise on entrepreneurship, access to capital, small-business finance, women-owned businesses, personal finance, business development, and stakeholder relations. Hailey currently serves as Market Development Director for Bell Bank and lives in the South Metro with her husband and two sweet pups.

Grantmaking Director, Bush Foundation

Funding Frontiers: Exploring Loans & Grant Opportunities

Tony is a Grantmaking Director focusing on Community Innovation. He provides strategic and day-to-day leadership for our grant programs and is active in community conversations to understand how we can have the most impact possible. He helps the Foundation develop, test and spread great ideas that will make the region better for everyone.

Tony joined the Bush Foundation in 2021. In his previous experience at philanthropic institutions across our region, he served communities in Native, rural and metropolitan areas. Tony has helped national, regional and local communities increase both voice and identity to shape community solutions. Tony credits his culture and family for instilling within him the values, belief system and worldview to help shape effective practice and honor community self-determination.

Co-Founder of EntreBank

Funding Frontiers: Exploring Loans & Grant Opportunities

Melissa (she/her) is a Cofounder of EntreBank where she serves as the Chief Credit Officer and Chief Marketing Officer and chairs the Officer Credit Committee and Marketing Committee.

Helping clients start & scale their businesses brings Melissa energy. She also enjoys being a sounding board and connecting people with resources to assist people in reaching their goals.

Melissa was awarded a 40 under 40 honoree by the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal in 2017, a Finance & Commerce Top Women in Finance in 2018, Twin Cities Business Notable Woman in Commercial Banking in 2019 and CBIZ Women Transforming Business in 2023.

Co-founder and CEO of Monicat Data

Scaling Success: Strategies for Entrepreneurial Growth

Jasmine (she/her) holds 13 years of strategic and creative expertise within: R&D, marketing implementation, digital analytics and technology design. Jasmine has contributed to her community as a speaker curator for TEDxMinneapolis, a previous board member of GiveMN, has taught at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She is an active Board Member of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, currently serving as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors.

Writer of Blood & Rubies: A Black Woman’s Perspective on PTSD Jasmine, a purpose-driven writer, uses her writing to illuminate the human experience. She gives voice to the silent struggles of PTSD, aiming to validate and humanize its impact. Her empathy-infused words reveal her mission: to weave evocative stories that resonate.

Co-Founder and CEO of NEOO Partners

Scaling Success: Strategies for Entrepreneurial Growth

As the CEO of NEOO Partners, D'Angelos (he/him) provides the executive level guidance of NEOO’s vision through strategic partnership, market expansion, and client services. He is the strategic voice of the enterprise ensuring that the workplace culture creates positive benefits for clients and the team.

He draws on nearly $500M of project leadership experience to shepherd a team of over 20 professionals. D’Angelos relishes complex real estate and economic development opportunities where clients are balancing their “ESG '' values with their core business needs. Affectionately known at NEOO as the Chief Risk Taker, D’Angelos has been able to grow the scrappy two-person operation into a market leader as a value-based alternative to traditional service providers.

Founder and CEO at Creatively Focused

Scaling Success: Strategies for Entrepreneurial Growth

As a former special education director and Founder & CEO at Creatively Focused, I'm committed to empowering teachers, paraprofessionals, and administrators with the resources they need to feel their job can be a lifelong, fulfilling career. Our mission is to build a one-stop resource for special education teams to automate their workflows and increase training, education, and professional development. An entrepreneur with a commitment to continued learning and applying research to impact student learning through research-based practices.

Co-founder & Partner at The Coven

Exit Unveiled: Navigating Entrepreneurial Transitions

As a Strategist, Bethany help brands thoughtfully evolve in a world where once-established rules of commerce, culture, and consumption are constantly being redefined. Her superpower is tackling messy strategy problems with an agile "together we got this" approach that's rooted in rigor and fed by invention.

Apart from Bethany’s background as an award-winning brand and business strategist, she has co-founded a startup that’s reshaping the future of work. Bethany belongs to an elite group of female founders who've successfully raised venture capital, and an even smaller group who’ve raised $1M+.

Founder and CEO, Amethyst Advisory Group

Exit Unveiled: Navigating Entrepreneurial Transitions

Shawntera (she/her) can be found working at the intersection of inclusive economies, technology, and public policy. During her portfolio and pivoting career, Shawntera has built four companies (Amethyst Advisory Group, Plural, Fearless Commerce and Certified Access), led high profile organizations in both the public and private sectors, and managed many complex projects.

As someone who thrives off of connecting people, policies and processes, she is always up for “getting on the balcony” to explore possibilities. Leveraging her expertise in influence, negotiation and organizational change she propels leaders to move beyond proclamations and positions to advance sustained culture and economic change.

Senior Advisor, Janice Fraser Consulting

Exit Unveiled: Navigating Entrepreneurial Transitions

Janice (she/her) built a storied career in Silicon Valley as a startup founder, product manager, and confidante for entrepreneurs and enterprise executives. From creating the second-ever personal interface to the web in the early days of Netscape, to leading the world’s first user experience firm, Janice has often found herself “sitting at the bleeding edge and making it boring” by figuring out how to make the latest evolutions repeatable, useful, and commonplace.

Janice supports leaders at large organizations, like the USAF and P&G, in creating progressive change at massive scale. Janice is a lecturer at the Columbia Graduate School of Technology Management and sits on the board of the Ohio University Entrepreneur Center.