Uplifting Conversations, The Impact Engagement Podcast

Welcome to Season Three of Uplifting Conversations! In this exciting premiere episode we dive into the inspiring stories of two remarkable leaders at the forefront of all things uplifting. Join Toussaint Bailey as he sits down with Uplifting Capital's Linda Assante (Managing Partner, CIO) and Linda Magara Horner (Partner, Impact Investments & Corporate Strategy). Their stories, accomplishments, and goals will leave you impressed and inspired.

Noramay Cadena and Shayna Harris are Managing Partners of Supply Change Capital, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage food tech. Jon Carter is an entrepreneur, investor, and Co-Founder & CEO of Prado. Together they are working to change the future of food. Join us in this important conversation to learn more about one of our underlying funds and the people they invest in. Noramay Cadena https://www.linkedin.com/in/noramay/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jondcarter/ @jondcarter (Instagram & X)

We often discuss the lack of funding available for underrepresented founders and entrepreneurs, which is necessary and important. But what happens when we have a more UPLIFTING conversation, and tell more stories about the people working to change this? We are doing so today. La Keisha Landrum Pierre, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Emmeline Ventures, is a purpose-driven investor and 3x founder on a mission to create a more equitable world. Sydney Paige Thomas, Founder and GP of Symphonic Capital, has worked side by side with founders for almost a decade, ensuring they are able to achieve their goals. Both of these women have an insatiable drive to positively impact the venture capital space by using their unique superpowers. This episode is one for the books. La Keisha Landrum Pierre: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lnlpierre/ Emmeline Ventures: https://www.emmelineventures.vc/ Sydney Paige Thomas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydneypthomas/ Symphonic Capital: https://www.symphonic.vc/ Toussaint Bailey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toussaint-bailey-8b174760/ Tamerri Ater: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamerriater/ Uplifting Capital: https://upliftingcapital.com/

Dr. Preston D. Cherry, AFC®, CFT-I™, CFP® is a Certified Financial Planner and founder of Concurrent Financial Planning. After declaring personal bankruptcy and taking time to pay off debts during a time he refers to as “the fog years,” he was able to redirect his life to “lead his money,” while committing to helping others do the same. In this inspiring episode, Dr. Cherry chats with Toussaint about the importance of financial wellness, and how he commits to his personal mission of helping others find a harmonious Life Money Balance® – one that reflects their goals and aspirations for the future. Dr. Preston D. Cherry, AFC®, CFT-I™, CFP®: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drprestoncherry/ Concurrent Financial Planning: https://www.concurrentfp.com/

Sandra LaPlante is a woman on a mission to bring affordable and accessible tutoring to the people who need it most. Having lived in two worlds - one of privilege in her home country, Peru, and in the US, where she worked multiple jobs to put herself through engineering school, Sandra realized affordable tutoring options were scarce. She founded Papaya Tutoring to help transform student's lives by making STEM education more inclusive. Aaron Samuels and his partner, Brian Hollins, are Founders and Managing Partners of Collide Capital, an investor in Papaya Tutor. Their mission is to guide under-networked and overlooked founders on their institutional journey and equip them with resources, knowledge networks, and hands-on operational support for a successful exit. Uplifting Capital is a Collide Capital Limited Partner. Our collective efforts to help underrepresented founders solve the world's most pressing problems, is how real impact is made. We hope you enjoy and are inspired by this episode.Papaya Tutor: https://papayatutor.com/ Sandra LaPlante: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandravlaplante/ Aaron Samuels: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-levy-samuels/

Pierre Le Veaux witnessed wealth at the highest level during his time as an Investment Banker at Goldman Sachs, while also witnessing a community of underrepresented entrepreneurs and non-accredited investors without access to capital and investment opportunities that could help grow their wealth. As General Partner at Seed At The Table, Pierre is helping to solve an important problem. Seed At The Table, is a mission-driven equity crowdfunding platform committed to connecting diverse entrepreneurs with non-accredited investors looking to obtain equity and/or debt exposure at modest investment amounts. This is Uplifting at its core. Pierre Le Veau II LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pal2/ Seed At The Table: https://seedatthetable.com/homepage @seedatthetable

Founded by Joshua Aviv in his dorm room at Syracuse University, SparkCharge is the world's first mobile on-demand EV charging network, making charging electric vehicles easy, mobile, and convenient. On this episode of Uplifting Conversations, Toussaint chats with Joshua and SparkCharge Investors, Tale Venture Partners Founders Ed Jean-Louis and Michael Young, about the SparkCharge Founder's story, their journey raising capital and much more. Uplifting Capital is proud to have syndicated an investment into Spark Charge's Series A round prior to launching our first fund. That existing relationship with Spark Charge and Tale Venture Partners, the fund manager that led the Series A, recently helped our Uplifting Capital Private Impact Fund I access a limited availability convertible note ahead of Spark Charge's upcoming Series B. Inclusive investing is our superpower. Websites: https://www.sparkcharge.io/ https://www.talevp.com/ Instagram: @sparkcharge.io @joshaviv LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-aviv/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardjeanlouis/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelangelloyoung/ Investments in securities involves the risk of loss. Any mention of a particular security and related performance or impact data is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. The information provided in the Uplifting Capital newsletter, podcast, social media channels or the www.upliftingcapital.com website (including any information that may be accessed through this website) is not directed at any investor or category of investors and is provided solely as general information.

CEO & Founder, Toussaint Bailey and Director of Communications & Engagement, Tamerri Ater reflect on the UPLIFTING Conversations episodes Changing Hats to Fight Climate Change with Taj Ahmad Eldridge and Making Venture Funding Equitable with Marlon Evans CEO Nex CubedAny mention of a particular security and related performance or impact data is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. The information provided in the Uplifting Capital newsletter, podcast, social media channels or the www.upliftingcapital.com website (including any information that may be accessed through this website) is not directed at any investor or category of investors and is provided solely as general information.

In this episode, Toussaint chats with Uplifter Marlon Evans. Marlon is the CEO of Nex Cubed and President and Founder of the HBCU Founders Accelerator, a nonprofit organization that partners with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), to engage rising students and alumni across all HBCUs interested in developing solutions that close the wealth gap ranging from increasing access to healthcare, education, and financial services.Nex Cubed WebsiteHBCU Founders Accelerator Website Marlon Evans Bio: Marlon's professional career spans higher education, foundations, Fortune 500s, and startups. The driving force behind all of his career choices has been a desire to create positive social impact. In 2018, Marlon was named CEO of Nex Cubed, an investor that creates and accelerates frontier tech companies with an emphasis on digital health and fintech. To date, the Nex Cubed portfolio consists of 80+ startups with an aggregate value of $500M and over 60% of the startups are led by female and minority founders. In an effort to increase Nex Cubed's impact, Marlon led the launch of the HBCU Founders Initiative, a 501c3 organization designed to inspire entrepreneurship at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). In partnership with corporations such as AT&T, Franklin Templeton, Verizon, Mastercard and Morgan Stanley, over 500 students and alums from 60+ HBCUs have participated in its acceleration programs. Finding that many of the teams with venture backable ideas lacked access to pre-seed and seed funding to help grow their business, Nex Cubed recently launched the HBCU Founders Fund, a 40M accelerator and fund investing in the most promising startups where at least one of the founders is a HBCU student or alum. Prior to joining Nex Cubed, Marlon served as CEO of GSVlabs (renamed One Valley), a global innovation platform that accelerated startups and connected corporations to exponential technologies, business models and ideas. His career includes experience as a Director of Corporate Affairs at HP, where he led HP Company Foundation programs, including Matter to a Million, a company-wide employee engagement program in partnership with Kiva. He received his BA in Political Science and a MA in Sociology from Stanford University, where he competed on the football and track & field teams. Marlon lives in Redwood City, CA with his wife Dena Evans. They have two daughters, Adrienne and Elise.

Taj Ahmad Eldridge wears many hats - both literally + figuratively - around the health, wealth, & self impact of climate + environmental change and investing.In this inspiring episode, Taj shares his personal journey from being diagnosed with kidney failure due to environmental factors, to becoming a leader in the fields of fintech, media, energy, transportation, and the circular economy.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tajahmade... Twitter: https://twitter.com/Econoahmad?ref_sr...Taj Ahmad Eldridge is a 25+ year investment professional whose career has included high level executive roles in banking, asset management, alternative investments, and entrepreneurship. As General Partner of Include Venture Partners and former Senior Director of Investments at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), Eldridge has built a longstanding career with expertise in the fields of fintech, media, energy, transportation, and the circular economy. Eldridge is also one of the 70 Black Investors in Bevy.com - a $325 million virtual conference platform as noted in AfroTech.

CEO & Founder, Toussaint Bailey and Director of Communications & Engagement, Tamerri Ater reflect on the first three UPLIFTING Conversations episodes of 2023 with: Founders of Choir, Sonya B. Dreizler & Liv Gagnon Jacqueline "JaQ" Campbell, President & CEO Alexander Legacy Private Wealth Lenore Anderson President, Alliance for Safety and Justice Investments in securities involves the risk of loss. Any mention of a particular security and related performance or impact data is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. The information provided in the Uplifting Capital newsletter, podcast, social media channels or the www.upliftingcapital.com website (including any information that may be accessed through this website) is not directed at any investor or category of investors and is provided solely as general information.

In this episode of Uplifting Conversations, Toussaint chats with Lenore Anderson, President Alliance for Safety & Justice about her journey from attorney to justice and safety advocate.Links to purchase Lenore's new book In Their Names Here: https://thenewpress.com/books/their-names All proceeds will be donated to Alliance for Safety and Justice.@_lenoreanderson @SafeAndJust https://asj.allianceforsafetyandjustice.org/Lenore is the co-founder and President of Alliance for Safety and Justice, and founder of Californians for Safety and Justice. She is an attorney with extensive experience working to reform criminal justice and public safety systems. Lenore was the Campaign Chair and co-author of Proposition 47, a 2014 California ballot initiative to reduce incarceration and reallocate prison spending to mental health, drug treatment, K-12 programs and victim services. The initiative represents the first time in the nation voters have elected to reclassify multiple sections of the penal code to reduce incarceration and reallocate state money from prisons to communities. More than half a billion dollars has been reallocated from state prisons to community-based public safety programs. She also served on the Executive Committee for California's Proposition 57 to expand prison rehabilitation and earned credit for release and Florida's Amendment 4 to provide voting eligibility to people with old records in Florida. Previously, Lenore served as Chief of Policy and Chief of the Alternative Programs Division at the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, where she spearheaded innovative initiatives to expand alternatives to incarceration and build community partnerships. She also crafted local and state legislation to aid victims of domestic violence and protect violent crime witnesses. Lenore also previously served as Director of Public Safety for the Oakland Mayor, overseeing the Mayor's violence reduction initiatives, and as Director of the San Francisco Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice where she oversaw the city's violence prevention grants and launched city-community partnerships to improve public safety. Lenore serves on the Advisory Board of the Institute for Innovations in Prosecution of John Jay College of Criminal Justice and is a member of the California Health and Human Services Agency's Behavioral Health Task Force. She served as the inaugural Chair of the Board of the Center for Youth Wellness, an initiative to reduce the health impacts of toxic stress on urban youth. She holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law and a B.A. from UC Berkeley, and lives with her family in Oakland, California.

In this episode of Uplifting Conversations, Toussaint chats with Jacqueline "JaQ" Campbell, Alexander Legacy Private Wealth President, CEO, Senior Wealth Advisor and Legacy Lessons podcast host, about legacy and wealth building, particularly for underserved communities.Jacqueline's professional background began in 1993 as a high school intern for Comerica's Private Bank. She ascended from high school intern to running a $1.8 billion investment team for Chase Wealth Management.Jacqueline also served as head of the diverse advisor engagement program for Chase Wealth Management. Her assignment included engaging senior leadership support for gender and ethnically diverse advisors, creating leadership forums, developing feedback channels between the field and management, and providing opportunities for mentoring advisors. She was also responsible for cross functional programmatic relief to ensure sourcing, hiring, development, growth and retention of diverse advisors.Jaq's passion for the community extends to her service on multiple boards and organizations that focus on driving impact around diversity and inclusion and financial independence. She has worked closely with organizations and business resource groups, such as Year Up, Financial Services Pipeline, LoveJoy Special Needs Center, amongst many other volunteer efforts targeting churches, sororities, and other community organizations.Jaq holds her Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts with a focus area on Diverse Leadership in Financial Services from DePaul University.She also holds her Series 4, 7, 24, 53, 63 & 65 securities registrations.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaqcampbell/Website: https://www.alprivatewealth.com/Legacy Lessons Podcast: https://www.jaqperience.com/podcast

In this episode Toussaint chats with the founders of Choir, Sonya B. Dreizler & Liv Gagnon about their mission to lift the voices of people of color, women and non-binary professionals at events and in the media.@upliftingcapital @TouBaileyLiv Gagnon is the co-founder of Choir, a diversity-tech platform and conference diversity certification aimed at bringing more people of color, women, and non-binary financial experts to conference stages and media. Liv co-launched Choir in January 2022 and runs the company's platform, VoicesTM, which connects reporters, conference planners, and other industry content producers with new-to-them sources and speakers who bring diverse expertise representative of the world around us. Liv previously founded Portaga Creative, a brand consulting firm for impact-driven financial companies. She is a media relations specialist, public relations consultant, and branding expert who has helped over 20 companies launch into the public eye with a focus on social values. Liv is the recipient of RIA Intel's 2022 Rising Star of the Year award and Choir won the 2022 Wealth Management Industry Award for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliviagagnon/Sonya Dreizler is the co-founder of financial services diversity tech platform Choir, as well as a speaker and author focused on fostering candid conversations about gender and race in financial services.In addition to her work at Choir, a diversity-tech platform focused on amplifying the voices of women and people of color in finance, Sonya is a sought after speaker for national financial services conferences, writes for Morningstar, and is the author of the acclaimed Do Better Series about sexual harassment, assault, and discrimination in financial services.She is a former financial services CEO with two decades of industry experience. She is a respected leader, practical thinker, and consensus-builder with excellent communication skills.She previously held the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation as well as the Series 7, 66, 24, and 28 securities licenses. She is a recipient of the Investment News 40 Under 40 award, is a 2018 LinkedIn Top Voices Recipient, is on the Refinitiv Social 100 list for 2020, and was in Financial Planning's 20 people to watch for 2020.https://www.linkedin.com/in/sdreizler/Investments in securities involves the risk of loss. Any mention of a particular security and related performance or impact data is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. The information provided in the Uplifting Capital newsletter, podcast, social media channels or the www.upliftingcapital.com website (including any information that may be accessed through this website) is not directed at any investor or category of investors and is provided solely as general information.

Season one of Uplifting Conversations: The Impact Engagement Podcast has been EPIC! Today we discuss the common thread between our guests - The Hero's Journey and turning your biggest pain into your purpose. Many thanks to our amazing guests this season: Robert Rooks ,CEO Reform Alliance Sam Ushio, Chief Ikigai Officer Connect3x Danny Feldman, Founder MyFRSH Devon Drew, Founder & CEO and Bilal Little, President DFD Partners Jordan Moss, Founder Catalyst Housing Group Kahlil Keys, Director Strategic Initiatives Gen.G Toussaint Bailey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toussaint... Instagram: @ToussaintBailey Twitter: @TouBailey Tamerri Ater: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamerriater/ Instagram: @astrofashionista Uplifting Capital Website: https://upliftingcapital.com/ Instagram: @UpliftingCapital Twitter: @UpliftingCaptl

In this episode of Uplifting Conversations, Toussaint chats with Kahlil Keys Director, Strategic Initiatives at Gen.G., about how he generates positive impact through the gaming industry and sports, the importance of mentorship and much more. An inspiring episode you don't want to miss!Kahlil Keys is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Gen.G Esports, where he helps create integrated marketing partnerships and cause initiatives that advance the organization's mission of building a global, inclusive, and cross-cultural future for sports entertainment. Kahlil is responsible for leading Gen.G's Global Academy (GGA) expansion into the United States by providing pathways for students to pursue STEAM exploration, college admissions, and career pathways through gaming and esports. Prior to joining Gen.G, Kahlil held business development positions at several global sports & Entertainment properties in New York City, including Major League Baseball, Legends, and Notre Dame Global Partnerships.Kahlil is currently receiving his Executive MBA at UCLA Anderson (Class of 2023) and is a 2015 graduate of Yale University, where he participated on the Varsity Football Team and received a B.A. in Political Science. Kahlil currently resides in Sacramento, CA with his wife Sara. Outside of work, Kahlil is passionate about supporting and empowering youth and recently launched a mentorship program for young men (Brotherhood Restored). Kahlil Keys: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kahlilkeys/ Gen.G: https://geng.gg/ Toussaint Bailey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toussaint... Instagram: @ToussaintBailey Twitter: @TouBailey Uplifting Capital Website: https://upliftingcapital.com/ Instagram: @UpliftingCapital Twitter: @UpliftingCaptlInvestments in securities involves the risk of loss. Any mention of a particular security and related performance or impact data is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. The information provided in the Uplifting Capital newsletter, podcast, social media channels or the www.upliftingcapital.com website (including any information that may be accessed through this website) is not directed at any investor or category of investors and is provided solely as general information.

CEO & Founder, Toussaint Bailey and Director of Communications & Engagement, Tamerri Ater reflect on the UPLIFTING Conversations episode, Closing the Housing Gap with Jordan Moss Founder, Catalyst Housing Group.

Solving the housing crisis happening in many areas across the nation, and the negative externalities induced when essential workers are forced to commute because they cannot afford housing near their place of work, is an uphill battle.Jordan Moss, founder of Catalyst Housing Group and his team are helping to tackle this important issue. This is an inspiring episode that exemplifies how you can help create and scale positive impact by using the skills and resources you have.Investments in securities involves the risk of loss. Any mention of a particular security and related performance or impact data is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. The information provided in the Uplifting Capital newsletter, podcast, social media channels or the www.upliftingcapital.com website (including any information that may be accessed through this website) is not directed at any investor or category of investors and is provided solely as general information.

CEO & Founder, Toussaint Bailey and Director of Communications & Engagement, Tamerri Ater reflect on the UPLIFTING Conversations episode, Driving Inclusion & Impact Through Asset Management with Devon Drew & Bilal Little of DFD Partners.

How can diversity and inclusion be driven in the asset management industry? Devon Drew and Bilal Little have the secret “sauce” to fix what they think is a broken industry model. This week on Uplifting Conversations, The Impact Engagement Podcast, Devon and Bilal discuss their journeys to becoming leaders at top firms in the financial services industry, and disrupting a 100 trillion dollar industry with the launch of DFD Partners.DFD Website: https://dfd.ai/Devon Drew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devon-drew-cima%C2%AE-crpc-4b63111a/ Twitter: @DevonDFDBilal Little: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bilallittle/ Twitter: @BilalSLittleToussaint Bailey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toussaint-bailey-8b174760/ Instagram: @ToussaintBailey Twitter: @TouBaileyUplifting Capital Website: https://upliftingcapital.com/ Instagram: @UpliftingCapital Twitter: @UpliftingCaptl

CEO & Founder, Toussaint Bailey and Director of Communications & Engagement, Tamerri Ater reflect on the UPLIFTING Conversations episode, Building Wealth Through Well-Being with Sam Ushio.

Are wealth and well-being connected? We think so.This week Toussaint sits down with Sam Ushio, Chief Ikigai Officer at Connect3x, a tech-enabled people platform that integrates total well-being with workplace performance to support a culture of engaged, thriving employees. Sam fuses a powerful blend of Ikigai philosophy, strengths-based psychology, and change management to lead Connect3x's mission to “capitalize the Human experience.”For nearly a decade, Sam was Director of Practice Management at Russell Investments, where he led a nationwide team that coached and consulted ~1,000 financial advisors annually. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily, and InvestmentNews. Sam earned an MBA from Foster School of Business at the University of Washington and holds a Bachelor of Science from University of Nebraska in Marketing and Finance with an emphasis in psychology. He is also a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach.

CEO & Founder, Toussaint Bailey and Director of Communications & Engagement, Tamerri Ater reflect on the first two episodes of UPLIFTING Conversations, The Impact Engagement Podcast.

Toussaint sits down with Robert Rooks, CEO of Reform Alliance to discuss his personal UPLIFTING journey to leading criminal justice reform initiatives and improving public safety for all.How can you help reform justice & public safety? Take a micro-act of courage and Text REFORM to 81411

In episode one, we start with Toussaint Bailey's personal and vulnerable journey to becoming an Uplifter, which inspired him to become Founder & CEO of Uplifting Capital, a platform where personalized impact meets private investing. Toussaint begins to unpack concepts like "Emotional Impact Alpha," laying the framework for future conversations with some of the most influential business leaders in the financial services and impact investing industries.