Venture Fellows
Winter 2024 Venture Fellows
MICHELLE VACCARO
Michelle Vaccaro is a third-year PhD student at MIT in the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS). Her research focuses on combining human and artificial intelligence to address issues of societal importance, particularly climate change. Before coming to MIT, Michelle worked at Goldman Sachs in foreign exchange strategy and structuring. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in 2019 from Harvard College, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with the highest departmental honors in Computer Science.
VICTORIA FLAGG
Currently immersed in the alternative protein space, Victoria is committed to using innovative technologies to tackle the climate crisis and bring individuals closer to the natural world. Victoria excels in orchestrating effective communication between scientists and external stakeholders, a critical factor in the success of groundbreaking ideas. Venture capital fascinates her as a means to propel impactful climate solutions through strategic funding and support. Victoria earned her M.S. in Laboratory Animal Sciences from Stanford and B.S. in Neuroscience from Brown.
MARIANNE BLACK, PH.D.
Marianne is a Canada Research Chair and Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Victoria on Vancouver Island, Canada. Marianne received her PhD from Stanford in Mechanical Engineering, where she was an Accel Innovation Scholar, and her bachelor’s degree at the University of British Columbia in Engineering Physics. During her master’s in Biomedical Engineering at the University of British Columbia, Marianne co-founded a medical device company, Arbutus Medical. Marianne has also been named a ‘Rising Star in Mechanical Engineering’ from UC Berkeley and a Star in Global Health from Grand Challenges Canada. Marianne is passionate about how scientific and technical discoveries can be commercialized for real human impact.
ANITA SHAO
Anita is a PhD candidate in environmental engineering at Stanford University, where she works on developing electrochemical processes for wastewater treatment and resource recovery. Combined with prior experience in the energy industry, particularly in the public sector, Anita is passionate about utilizing her environmental engineering expertise to assist startups that are committed to sustainability initiatives.
Previous Venture Fellows
Summer 2023 cohort
KEVIN DICKEY
Kevin is an Investment Fellow with the Vector’s Capital deep tech team and is currently working across the climate ecosystem in a variety of roles including as an independent strategy consultant and startup mentor. Previously, Kevin was an Investment Banking Vice President with Lincoln International where he led capital advisory engagements across the buy and sell-side, including late-stage venture financings, mergers, acquisitions, dividend recapitalizations and refinancings. Kevin’s transaction expertise ranges across a broad spectrum of industries and business life cycles.
Prior to joining Lincoln, Kevin was an Economic & Valuation Services Associate with KPMG where he provided valuation services in support of mergers & acquisitions, complex securities transactions and direct lending.
Kevin earned a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and a Minor in Business Administration from the University of Michigan.
JAMES SANDERSON
James is a legal professional turned fintech operator and joins Vectors on the Biotechnology team. He earned his Masters in Finance from London Business School in 2022 where he specialised in entrepreneurship and venture capital, and co-founded the school's inaugural Blockchain Society.
He strongly stands by the tech-for-good mantra, having worked on sustainability focused startups including a circular fashion e-commerce platform and continues to build a coffee-centric e-commerce startup utilising blockchain infrastructure for supply chain efficiencies.
He is excited about empowering sustainable production, developing lower carbon based products, and enabling carbon sequestration against climate change.
JAMES GARCIA, PH.D.
James is an applied physicist and material scientist, joining the Vectors Capital DeepTech team. He earned his PhD from Trinity College Dublin, specializing in printed and wearable
nanomaterial devices. As a postdoctoral researcher he leads a project on engineering of functional materials for structural applications. Having experience with university spinouts
James is excited to combine frontier technologies with impactful investment to address the worlds pressing climate issues.
Previous Venture Fellows
Winter 2023 cohort
CELIA HAUW
Celia is a first-year MBA candidate at Columbia Business School joining Vectors Capital on our Biotechnology. She is excited about the intersection of biology and sustainability, and believes in the power that consumers have in mitigating climate change. She was previously a consultant at Bain & Company, where she worked with clients in energy and private equity, focusing on renewables and sustainability strategy. She has a BA in neuroscience, and minors in creative writing and business from Northwestern University.
NORMAN LUU, PH.D.
Norman is a Materials Engineer and Battery Scientist joining Vectors Capital on our DeepTech team. Norman earned his Ph.D. in 2022 from Northwestern in Materials Science and Engineering, where he drove three materials development projects to improve high-voltage cycle life, power density, and ambient stability of Ni-based lithium-ion battery cathodes. During his time at Northwestern, Norman authored over 15 scientific publications.
GEORGINE CO
Goergine is currently a first-year MBA candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business and joins Vectors as a fellow on our Biotechnology team. Previously, Georgine worked with Shell, working in business development and finance for the Renewable Power and Base Chemicals divisions. Georgine holds a Bachelor's in Management Engineering from Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.
DAN FANG, PH.D.
Dan is joining Vectors Capital on our DeepTech team. She earned her Ph.D. in 2018 from the University of Southern California in Electrochemistry, where she researched energy storage systems including fuel cells and electrochemical cells. Dan previously worked with CarbonCapture Inc. as a research scientist to develop solutions for direct air capture. Dan is currently an MBA candidate at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and holds a BS in Chemical Physics from the University of Science and Technology of China.
Summer 2022 cohort
PHILIP LI
Phil is a seasoned product & analytics leader turned investor. He pioneered the digitalization of real estate & renewable
energy. His data platforms have enabled 3 of the largest US solar power plants. Phil has grown teams from garage-scale to Series D. He is honored to have coached some incredible high growth climate tech startups over the last 10 years, at Clean Tech Open, Berkeley LAUNCH, Techstars, and now Vectors. He is also an alum from our 2021 Climate Investment Bootcamp. Phil holds a MBA and a Masters in Computer Science from UCLA, and a BA from Stanford.
AMANDA KAUFMANN
Amanda Kaufmann is a second-year MBA candidate at Cornell University, Johnson. She is passionate about transforming existing business systems through emerging technologies and innovative design thinking to be environmentally and socially responsible, with a particular interest in the fashion industry. Prior to starting at Johnson, she was a managing editor for current affairs and business magazines in Cambodia and ran a start-up news site. In addition to journalism, Amanda has also held management, editorial, and design roles in marketing and educational publishing. She has a BA in history and French from Grinnell College and an AAS in fashion
design from Fashion Institute of Technology.
JESSICA SHAMOUN
Jessica is based in Denver and holds a MBA from Northwestern University as well as a BBA from the University of Michigan. She started her career in consulting at Bain & Company, advising leadership teams across industries on strategic problems. After consulting, she moved into strategy and operations roles in high-growth startups, focused on process optimization and new product
launches.
LIZI FENG
Lizi Feng is an experienced consultant across different industries, ranginging from healthcare, VC-backed startups, finance to most recently with major oil & gas companies. Her work focuses on
helping companies go through transformations in a changing landscape. She is currently pursuing her MBA at Haas School of Business with a concentration in Sustainability and
Entrepreneurship.
PRCHI MEHTA
Prachi has 8 years of experience working in energy market research and providing intelligence and consulting to inform investment decisions of energy companies and institutional investors. She is currently working working for Wood Mackenzie while pursuing her part-time MBA from Haas, UC Berkeley.
ZIJIAN LEONARD WANG
Zijian (Leo) is a PhD student at Cornell University with major in environmental process and minors in AI and applied mathematics, where he leads projects on the microbial phenotypic evolution via stochastic dynamical systems and on the development of single-cell biotechnology platform integrated with advanced AI-powered data analytics. He is exhilarated to join Vectors Capital to explore impact investment with insights from his interdisciplinary scientific expertises.
VATSHAL BHANUSHALI
Vatshal is a chemical engineer with skills lying at the intersection of business and engineering. As an Associate at Hawkwood Biotech Partners, Vatshal helps early-stage companies in the industrial and food biotechnology space overcome scale-up challenges. He has experience in technology transfer, process development, and scale-up and has worked for some of India's largest pharmaceutical companies. Vatshal is a graduate of UC Berkeley's MS Chemical Engineering program, where he specialized in technology commercialization and product development. He aspires to broaden his understanding of the impact investment space and support entrepreneurs solving the most pressing global issues.
JUSTIN BRODIE-KOMMIT
Justin has a PhD in Cellular, Molecular, Developmental Biology, and Biophysics from Johns Hopkins University. He has a passion for mitigating and adapting to our climate crisis and its’ subsequent environmental and humanitarian crises. Justin’s goal is to lift and empower innovators building a sustainable future for everyone. He is a technology futurist and deep generalist in the climate space. He is transitioning into capital allocation as a Vectors Capital Fellow and excited about working at a firm that shares his investment thesis. His creative pursuits involve photography, cooking, and any excuse to be in nature.
Winter 2022 cohort
BENJAMIN LEE
Ben is a first-year MBA student at UC Berkeley, Haas. He is passionate about tackling sustainability challenges including plastic waste, access to clean water, and carbon emission reduction. His background is in investment management where he supported ESG research and worked across a variety of roles including product and corporate strategy. He is looking to deepen his understanding of early stage investing and sustainability and excited to apply his financial and investment knowledge to support entrepreneurs who are addressing today’s pressing environmental and social challenges.
NATTAPHAT BUDDHAREE
Nattaphat is currently a strategist at leading Thai asset management company with a variety of experiences in market analysis, financial modelling, digital marketing, and international development. He received a dual degree in MBA/Public Policy (MSPPM) from Carnegie Mellon University and bachelor’s degree of Economics from Chulalongkorn University. He joined Vectors Angel to explore impact investing and its potential implication to the global investment community.
JASON FENG
Jason is a University of Virginia double alumnus with experience in a variety of industries and tech companies specializing in analytics. He is currently an MBAi candidate at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and McCormick School of Engineering focused on machine learning and artificial intelligence. Jason joins Vectors Angel to support applications of AI in emerging climate tech. He is excited to join the team to learn more about impact investing and startups in the space.
ALEX ROTH
Alex is a senior financial analyst for a large Pacific Northwest power utility. Previously, he served at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in Washington, DC analyzing and managing the financing of large transportation infrastructure projects. He also provided policy advice to senior DOT officials and to a U.S. Senator as a legislative staff member. In addition to holding an MBA and a degree in economics, he is an attorney. Alex is particularly interested in applying the tools of finance to accelerate decarbonization of the economy.
PRABHAKAR KRISHNAMURTHY
I am based in Pleasanton, CA and have lived here for over 20 years. Professionally, I have hired and managed Data Science/AI teams at several high-tech firms (startup to large companies). I am mentor to social-impact entrepreneurs focused on education, climate, health, etc. I enjoy travel, photography, reading and gardening.
KRISHNA DATTA
Krishna is a Master's Student at Cornell Tech with a background in Computer Science, Entrepreneurial Finance, and Business. His interests lie in new innovations in Sustainability and Energy, with a focus on Blockchain solutions.
GARRETT HUANG
Garrett is an established electrochemical engineer with a decade of experience in clean energy storage and conversion. He is passionate about lithium-ion batteries, hydrogen fuel cells and electrolyzers and has spent his entire career developing these technologies. He joined Vectors Angel to learn about how impact investing can be used to address climate change. Garrett holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech and a B.S. in the same from the University of Rochester.
DIANE COZIAN
Diane Cozian is a highly-energetic Frenchy in San Francisco and ex-M&A investment banker on her climate journey to break into VC climate tech. She's also a fellow at On Deck Climate Tech and she recently published LinkedIn posts (40,000+ views) on the 130+ climate tech startups she's met so far, as well as deep-dive Market Maps in Food & Ag / Energy Transition / Mobility & Urbanization / Sustainable Systems. She loves to connect the dots and the people!
DAVID AGYEMAN-BUDU
David is currently a postdoctoral scholar at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University. His background comprises of nanotechnology and X-ray imaging, which he applies to his current research interests in rechargeable lithium-ion, and multivalent batteries. He has PhD in materials science and engineering from Cornell University with an interest in commercialization of university technology.
Summer 2021 cohort
AARTHEE JANARDHANDASS
Aarthee is a deeply driven software professional with a successful 10-year track record of delivering complex cutting-edge technology solutions in both pre and post acquisition-phase startups, notably Viptela which was acquired by Cisco. Aarthee also co-founded an education-tech startup EQ Ally that was selected for National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps program and Edward L Kaplan, ‘71 New Venture Challenge program. She is currently pursuing her MBA with concentrations in Entrepreneurship, Strategy, and Finance from UChicago Booth School of Business.
ALISHA NANJI
Alisha graduated from Cornell University and is currently a DMD candidate at Harvard School of Dental Medicine. As a founder of an edtech startup and having worked at a healthcare startup, Alisha is passionate about creating social impact through entrepreneurship. She is excited to join Vectors Angels and learn more about impact investing in the healthcare sector.
NIKODEM PANCEWICZ
Nikodem holds a master’s degree in management from Harvard University and a master’s degree in law from Northwestern University. He spent a decade in the energy sector at various multinational companies in engineering, sales, and strategy, and currently works in Business Development and Strategy at ABB. Nikodem has entrepreneurial experience with projects in the energy storage, mobility, and real estate sectors where he led commercialization and go-to-market efforts. He serves on the board of Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs – Chicago Chapter and Northwestern Energy Technology Group. Nikodem wants to combine his business, legal, and industry experience to help startups in the climate tech space.
MATT STONE
Matt Stone is currently a team member at Intel Capital, responsible for working with Intel Capital's portfolio companies in Cybersecurity, Cloud & AI Infrastructure, Enterprise Applications domains to accelerate their go-to-market strategies. Prior to joining Intel, Matt worked for Boeing -- negotiating and managing the delivery of aerospace products and services, was a lead teaching assistant at Stanford for a class focused on intelligent growth for venture companies, and was a member of the University of Arizona football team. Matt received his master's degree in management science and engineering from Stanford University, and bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Arizona.
Winter 2020-2021 cohort
PINAK JOSHI
Pinak is a Harvard trained physician who now works as a drug safety physician in the pharmaceutical industry. After working with several healthcare startups during medical school and training, Pinak became curious about the inner workings of private equity, particularly as it pertains to impact investing using a blended value model. Pinak looks forward to working in impact investing in the healthcare and biopharmaceutical sector.
TABONG KIMA
Tabong Kima is a Financial Analyst at Auldbrass Partners. He joined the firm in late 2017. He is responsible for portfolio monitoring, investment evaluation, and transaction sourcing and analysis. Prior to Auldbrass, Tabong held a position at TriLinc Global where he worked on sourcing and monitoring impact credit investments. Mr. Kima received a BA in International Studies from the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as a BSE in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
APOORV GUPTA
Apoorv is an MBA student at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He comes from a healthcare background, having earned a PhD in Biological Engineering and worked in the biopharmaceutical industry prior to business school. He is interested in combining his deep technical and business expertise to help life sciences startups mobilize innovative solutions and improve patient lives. He joined Vectors Angels to learn how impact investing can be used to create sustainable value and ideas to address critical societal challenges.
WILLIE MACDADE
Willie advises financial institutions (e.g., banks and FinTechs) on regulatory and ESG challenges. He focuses on assessing corporate climate disclosures against frameworks (e.g., TCFD, SASB) and advocating for adoption of earnest sustainability efforts within companies. He is optimistic about the role that corporations and innovation will play in building a better, greener society and is excited to learn about the startups making it happen through Vectors Angel. In a former life, Willie worked as a wrangler on a dude ranch in Montana.
RAMA MYERS
Rama is a VP at Seeing Machines, an industry leader in vision-based operator monitoring technology, where he leads the commercialization of Seeing Machines' technology portfolio of AI/ML algorithms, embedded processing and optics to the global Aviation industry. Rama has experience in developing new markets, engaging stakeholders and channel partners, and paving the way for new technology adoption in complex markets. As an active angel investor, Rama funds world positive, clean tech and sustainability focused founders to execute on ambitious visions to make a positive dent in the world. He is passionate about energy innovations, the rapid decarbonization of transportation, driving circularity adoption, and waste reduction.
JENNY KAN
Jenny is a venture-backed health tech startup founder and an Investment Fellow at Vectors Angel where she focuses on early-stage bio and AI/ML investments that solve problems in sustainability and health. She is passionate about supporting diverse founders in building startups where profit and purpose work together as flywheels. Previously, she consulted for L'Oréal on enzyme technology and facilitated the commercialization of translational research at UCSF Innovation Ventures. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from Cambridge and completed her Synthetic Biology Postdoc at Caltech.
Summer 2020 cohort
CRISTINA PAULSEN
Cristina is an MBA from UC Berkeley, Haas. She is very passionate about impact investing and sustainable finance. She joined Vectors Angel to deepen her experiences in early stage investing and sustainability. She is looking forward to apply her financial and business expertise to support entrepreneurs looking for sustainable and innovative solutions to environmental challenges.
ROXY RONG
Roxy is a derivative trader and currently manages a quant strategy research group. She is also the co-founder of Build312, a non-profit organization that serves the entrepreneurial community in the Chicago area. She is passionate about helping startups address social and environmental challenges through impact investing.
VALENTINA XU
Valentina is a rising junior at Cornell University majoring in Hotel Administration and minoring in Real Estate and International Relations. She has helped a Syrian refugee start a restaurant and been a speaker at the TEDx conference. She is passionate about global social impact through entrepreneurship and activism. She joined Vectors Angel to explore impact investing and to apply the knowledge to help social entrepreneurs one day. She enjoys traveling to developing countries and art museums.
TIASHA AYUMI SHAFIQ
Tiasha is a PhD Candidate in Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Harvard University, where she leads projects on investigating epigenetic inheritance. She is passionate about utilizing her scientific expertise in the development of life sciences ventures to create sustainable social change. She joined Vectors Angel to explore and contribute to the advancement of impact investing.
NANCY TANGUAY
Nancy joined Vectors Angel as an investment fellow in the Summer 2020 cohort to learn how to support the startups providing solutions to our global social and environmental challenges and supplement her experience with responsible investing. Recently earning a Master’s degree in Sustainability, Nancy is building Future Island Impact, a company with intentions to transition the full force of the retail investment market to impact investments by providing solutions to financial advisors.
Winter 2019-2020 cohort
SHREYAS KRISHNASWAMY
Shreyas is an electrical engineering and computer science undergraduate from UC Berkley. He enjoys working with Vectors Angel to support tech companies in the sustainability sector. He loves to see how emerging tech like VR/AR, robotics, and more can be used to solve some of our most pressing issues like climate change and healthcare.
JESSICA KARR
Jessica consults in food tech and biotech on product strategy, worked in R&D at Impossible Foods for 6 years, has an MS in Biochemistry from UCSD and an MBA in Sustainable Management. She is the Head of Product & Research at UMANA, advises 2 plant-based start-ups, and is an active mentor at IndieBio and Plug and Play Food. Jessica joined Vectors Angel to apply her technical and product knowledge towards angel investing with a mission-aligned angel community.
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PANG (THITIRAT)
SITTAKARADEJ
Pang is a second-year MBA student at UC Berkeley, Haas. She is very passionate about impact investing and global development. She joined Vectors Angel to deepen her experiences in impact investing and to apply her financial and industry expertises to support enterprenuers who work to provide sustainable solutions for social and environmental challenges.
Summer 2019 Cohort
DEREK MENG
Derek is a consultant at a management consultancy firm where he provides technical due diligence for utility-scale energy storage projects. Derek joined Vectors Angel to learn more about the investor due diligence process as part of his goal of founding a microgrid development and utility company. He is passionate about distributed energy and the ongoing decarbonization revolution in both the energy and transportation sectors.
ARPAN SOPARKAR
With solid training and work-experience in data-intensive software development, Arpan is currently working on a career pivot to venture capital. During the fellowship, he focused on Food and Health sectors. His favorite parts were conducting due diligence on startups, and putting up a VC panel discussion event on 'Investments in Sustainable Food Technologies'.
