The Partners

Rising America Funds are the only venture capital funds to be founded and led by five African American and Hispanic/Latina women partners, all of whom are pioneers in the VC industry with an exceptional average of 16.4 years of investment experience. Their diverse expertise spans multiple industries, all stages of investment, and offering unique insights into underserved markets. 

The Lead Partners—Lorine Pendleton, Noramay Cadena, Juliana Garaizar, Daphne Dufresne, and Dr. Karen Kerr—are not just investors but also influential thought leaders, drawing from their networks to drive exceptional deal flow. They bring an expert skill-set including sourcing, diligence, deal negotiation, executive recruitment, & strategy. In Rising America Fund III, Partners Dr. Karen Kerr and Daphne Dufresne, with 30 and 25 years of experience respectively, will move to Senior Advisors.

 

  • Houston

    Investments:
    Goalsetter, Health Hero, Kanarys, Maven Clinic, Schola, Scout, Suma Wealth

    • Partner: Rising Tide, Consumer

    • Houston Angel Network

    • TX Medical Ventures

    • London Business School; Berkeley

 
 

  • Los Angeles

    Investments:
    Caban Systems, Canela Media, Encantos, Goalsetter, Innovare, Kanarys, Maven Clinic, Parfait, Suma Wealth, Whetstone Media

    • Co-Founder – Supply Change Capital

    • Co-Founder – Latinas in STEM

    • Commissioner – HACLA

    • Mechanical Engineer, MIT

  • New York

    Investments:
    Curastory, Goalsetter, Madison Reed, Maven Clinic, MoCaFi, ShearShare

    • Chair – Tiger 21

    • Pipeline Angels

    • Angel Capital Association Board of Directors

    • Brown, JD; NYLS

 

  • Chicago/San Francisco

    Investments:
    Schola, Zero Point Five Therapeutics, Innovare, Rebundle, Mentor Spaces, YourChoice, MoCaFi

    • MD – GE Ventures

    • Intellectual Ventures

    • MD Arch Ventures

    • Univ of Chicago, PhD

  • Washington/NYC

    Investments:
    4D Healthware, Ceek, NasaClip, Oralucent

    • MD – GenNx 360 Cap Partners

    • MD – RLJ Equity Partners

    • Penn; Harvard Business