This is Laurels Summer 2020

Hope you are all doing ok out there!  I’m just starting to really process everything that has happened in the past several months.  This may be one of the most surreal & trying times we have ever lived through, yet I still have faith that we are closer than ever to making strong social progress in our communities.  Now that things are starting to re-open, I wanted to reach out to connect and share some updates from the first half of the year.

I’m incredibly proud to have partnered with SoftBank Investment Advisers and WeWork Labs to develop & launch Emerge, a startup accelerator for underrepresented founders in tech.  The inaugural cohort featured 14 incredible startups working across bio-tech, sustainable architecture and the future of food production (among other brilliant ideas) to reimagine our collective future.  

I’m also excited to be working with NeighborShare, a storytelling platform launched in response to COVID-19, that supports and empowers local nonprofits in their work through product & content tools.  If you are in a position to help, please donate to your neighbors in need today.

I’m honored to have been accepted to The Female Founder Collective and invited to join Dell’s Women Entrepreneurs Network.  I was also featured on Wardrobe’s Chats with Changemakers and in an interview with Tech Two X on how the tech industry can better foster female talent.

I am currently booking projects for the second half of 2020 if anyone can use some help in launching a new venture.  Also, to build upon my mentoring work and in advance of my forthcoming book, I’m launching a career advice column, Everything I Thought I Knew.  You can submit questions for publication here.

When faced with an extraordinary moment, I know we can stand up with an extraordinary response and take this as an opportunity to reshape the world.  Stay safe and hope to see you all online (or off) sometime soon!  

Jx