Hi. I’m Leigh-Ann

I love ice-breaker introductions. Deep connections are more likely to occur if we start with a thought-provoking question (as opposed to the traditional, “what do you do?” question).  After all, who we are is much more than what we do for work. And, I believe that we either live by intention, or exist by default. This fundamental choice exists in every moment— even at the point of first impressions. Like right now. So here goes. . . 

You should know that not only am I a recovering commercial litigation attorney, but I’m a serial multi-hyphenate. I suffer from an insatiable curiosity that keeps me from existing inside the box (or any box for that matter). Plus, I make a pineapple chutney that will change your life.

On a more serious note, I’ve spent more than 15 years launching and leading a diverse portfolio of ventures focused on bridging systemic gaps in access, opportunity and equity. I’m proud of the many ways that these initiatives have created meaningful impact for the people and places served. Highlights include:

• secured over $14.5 million in non-dilutive capital to fund various social impact projects and helped syndicate over $55 million in philanthropic capital for digital equity initiatives.

• founded Nyah Project, which clears the pathway to college for underrepresented youth through training, tech tools and transformative fellowship abroad. 100 % of Nyah Fellows attend college and over 90% win scholarships — accumulating over $26 million in scholarships since 2014.

• launched aīre ventures, a social impact venture studio, which nurtured its core portfolio to double digit year-over-year growth and served over 55,000 innovators and established 1000+ national and global tech and entrepreneurial support partnerships within a 5 year period.

Despite many wins, I eventually burned out in large part because I suffered a significant blind spot as a leader. Unintentionally, in each endeavor, I had became a centralized catalyst for success as well as a single point of failure.

In hindsight, any external auditor would call this a material weakness. And trust me, I’ve worked with (and sued) enough auditors to know a serious deficiency when I see one. Unfortunately, it took me some time to realize that my zone of genius was not in building things, but rather, in helping other leaders building their capacity.

The tech world has taught me that we all need more redundancy to counteract single points of failure. When we clone the most critical components, we substantially minimize the risk that if one element fails, the whole system shuts down. This is why airplanes have up to four engines, but can fly with only one.

Things will fail.

People will too.

Whether we shift, grow or break under the weight of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, or evolving circumstances, we desperately need more leaders who are empowered and equipped to simultaneously disrupt the status quo and adapt to change.

We also need more leaders who recognize that expanding inequities and existential challenges we face in our organizations, communities, and across the globe require us to learn how best to leverage the transformational power of tech, innovation and social investment. 

Why?

Tech is an equity accelerator, in part due to its power to reach people at scale. Innovation is the most effective way to create new solutions that substantially improve the human condition. And, social investments, when deployed into financially sustainable models that drive community change can yield exponential returns on impact. 

Perhaps most importantly, we need more leaders who are equity practitioners, who embrace the values of racial equity, diversity and inclusion, and possess the skillsets to translate these ideals into practice. 

This is exactly why I partner with leaders who actually desire to learn how to use tech and innovation to accelerate equity. Those who recognize that this essential competency is rarely developed in academic or professional settings. I support capacity building journey by extracting applied learnings from my body of work to design practical tools, develop experiential learning models and collaborate with those whose vision and goals align.

If this resonates, let’s talk. Otherwise, please stay in touch.