Mandela Schumacher-Hodge began her career in tech as a startup founder backed by Kapor Capital, 500 Startups, and Imagine K12. Thereafter, she became the Global Director of Startup Weekend Education where she scaled the organization from three to six continents, making it the largest initiative in the world focused on helping people use entrepreneurship to improve education. In October 2015, Mandela joined Kapor Capital, an Oakland-based venture capital firm, as its Founding Portfolio Services Director where she helps accelerate the success of 117+ tech startups in the portfolio. Earlier this year, Mandela helped launch a first-of-its-kind VC-backed diversity pledge called the Founders’ Commitment, and she’s currently helping 81+ companies build workplaces where people from all backgrounds can thrive. Over the past five years, Mandela has advised hundreds of entrepreneurs and her writings on Forbes and Medium, as well as her videos on Mandela SH, are a reflection of those lived experiences. To-date, Mandela has presented on over 55 stages (e.g. Facebook, Google, Gates Foundation) and has received several recognitions, including being named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 in Education list, presenting at TEDx, and authoring three Top 20 Medium articles.