Mission
New Rising Ventures is the 501(c)(3) affiliate of New Media Ventures. New Rising Ventures supports early-stage, nonpartisan entrepreneurs and activists transforming our democracy through innovation and bridges a critical gap not fulfilled by traditional grantmakers or venture capital. Our signature four activities include investments and grantmaking, portfolio support, field building, and convenings.
What We Do
New Rising Ventures finds, funds, and supports social impact entrepreneurs who are growing new organizations that serve the public interest. Social entrepreneurs working on mission-oriented projects face unique barriers to funding and scaling their organizations: access to capital, introductions and networking opportunities, experienced advice, and peer-to-peer relationships that serve as a critical layer of support. Likewise, many funders lack the reach and deep industry expertise to find and evaluate great mission-oriented startup opportunities. New Rising Ventures brings founders and funders together and provides charitable and educational support to increase the scalability of companies providing opportunities to better lives for Americans.
Democracy is more than casting a vote—it is the daily engagement with the structures that impact the majority. To build a truly equitable democracy, we must create social power in places where political interventions fall short. This means addressing the day-to-day realities that people face, like climate, education, women’s healthcare, the economy, incarceration, and cultural change—issues that remain critical regardless of electoral outcomes.
By investing to build social power through innovation, we can create more avenues for people to have agency in their lives. As such, New Rising Ventures proudly supports brilliant, experienced individuals thinking of and building new ways to make life easier for the most marginalized across all demographics.
Our Investment Cycle
Stay tuned and follow our social media channels for updates on when this cycle will open! Deadline: TBD
Team
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Jessica Salinas,
Co-President
Jessica serves as Co-President of NRV. Prior, Jessica led the investment team of NRV for four years, where she was responsible for the cultivation of early-stage deal flow and portfolio management, building mission-driven partnerships, and leading the growth and direction of the investment team.
Previously, she was a Partner at an impact fund moving the world towards zero poverty, zero disease and zero pollution. Jessica was also the founding Social Impact Lead at Headspace and the founding Director of the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative Scaling Program.
Jessica serves on the Board of Words Uncaged, Plug in South LA, and StreetCode Academy. Jessica received her BA in Communication from Stanford and her MS in Social Entrepreneurship from USC Marshall School of Business.
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Phillip Sanders,
Co-President
Phil serves as Co-President of NRV. Previously, Phil was Partner at NRV where he was responsible for expanding our partnerships, our portfolio of funders, and our investment capacity as well as spearheading new initiatives to support early-stage startups working to expand and scale progressive infrastructure.
Phil served in a variety of roles at Ernst & Young and Rockwood Capital, managing financial duties for clients across technology, real estate, and venture capital. Before joining us, Phil was a Fellow at Kapor Capital and an Investment Accounting Manager at the Kapor Center, where he managed various aspects of investing and financial processes at the fund. Previous to becoming Partner, Phil was an Investment Principal at NMV.
Phil leverages his experience to advise early stage startups and serves as Board Chair at the Ella Baker Center in Oakland. This work allows Phil to bring together thought leaders, innovators, supporters, and investors to design communities and startups for good. Phil is from Chicago, Illinois and holds a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from Bethune-Cookman University. When not at work , he enjoys his lifelong pursuit of the best cup of cappuccino and refining his cooking and salsa skills.
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Abi Leung,
Investment Associate
As Investment Associate at New Rising Ventures, Abi is responsible for sourcing investments and leading early stages of the due diligence process. She also works with our Entrepreneurs-in-Residence to create programming and resources for our portfolio.
Abi joined from a small tech consulting group, where she managed project teams and helped develop client relationships. She studied public policy, with a focus on nonprofits, social entrepreneurship and philanthropy at the University of Southern California. Most notably during her time at USC, Abi founded Trojan Shelter, a shelter run by USC students for college students experiencing houselessness in the Los Angeles area.
When not at work, Abi enjoys trying new restaurants in Los Angeles, browsing TikTok, perfecting matcha drinks and reading.
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Inbar Soffer Sharon,
Fundraising Associate
As Fundraising Associate, Inbar is responsible for supporting all aspects of fundraising strategy and operations. She works with everyone on the team to ensure that NRV can achieve its fundraising priorities.
Prior to joining NRV, Inbar held a variety of roles in fundraising and events, working across health services organizations, the arts, and tech. She holds as MA in Design Systems from the Pacific Northwest College of Art and is passionate about applying design thinking to solve complex problems and tell compelling stories. Outside of work, Inbar enjoys taking excessive photos and video of her wife and twin toddlers.
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Carlos Salinas,
Investment Associate
Carlos Salinas is an Investment Associate at NRV. He supports the Investment Team with intake and diligence reviews of potential portfolio organizations in the non-profit and for-profit sectors.
Prior to joining NRV, Carlos assisted the Houston Methodist Hospital’s neurosurgery department and University of Houston’s architecture/engineering departments in research and development of disability innovations. He was the co-founder of University of Houston’s first adaptive athletic wheelchair tennis team and served as President of the Adaptive Athletics organization. He has 10+ years of experience in the Supply Chain & Logistics sector.
Carlos is an advocate for disabilities rights and is passionate about ideas and actions that move communities forward. When not at work, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, handcycling, karaoke, wheelchair tennis, traveling, and attending live music shows.
Board
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Mel Ochoa,
COO & General Partner at Landmark Ventures
Mel Ochoa is Chief Operating Officer and General Partner at Landmark Ventures, a strategic and financial advisory firm that offers a unique combination of venture development and global investment banking services (the firm also organizes the Social Innovation Summit).
He recently launched Landmark's SIS Omni practice and ARC Fund, born out of the Social Innovation Summit to drive transformation across impact initiatives within CSR, ESG, DEI, and more. With a diverse background balanced between the social sector and private sector, he has developed deep perspective in his career within entrepreneurship, international workforce development, staffing industry technology, K-12 education reform, early childhood education, consumer packaged goods, enterprise software, criminal justice reform, government, and more. Mel holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University, where he was a Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship.
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Haywood L. Perry III,
Investor at Mark Cuban Companies
Haywood L. Perry III is an investor at Mark Cuban Companies, where he also co-leads MCC Network— a digital broadcast platform democratizing access to the insights of industry titans, c-suite execs, professional athletes, and entrepreneurs.
He began his career in venture as an Investment Partner for First Round Capital’s Dorm Room Fund, then Kapor Capital, before supporting SoftBank in launching their $100M Opportunity Fund, focused on Black, Latinx, and Native American founders. Haywood is a fifth generation Washingtonian, pledged Psi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and has been recognized as an Emerging Black LGBT Leader by the Obama Administration.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Whitman-Walker Health Clinic and The Black Tech Collective. Haywood earned his Master’s degree from the divinity school at Yale University, his B.A. in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, and completed a Certificate in Venture Capital from UC Berkeley’s Law School.
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Daniel Forkkio,
CEO of Represent Justice
Daniel Forkkio is the CEO of Represent Justice, a national nonprofit that builds the narrative power of communities using film and supports storytelling campaigns to engage new audiences across the country that inspire empathy, human dignity, and public action for legal system reform.
Over the past 5 years, Represent Justice has used the power of storytelling to reach millions of people with firsthand stories about the legal system, generating hundreds of thousands of advocacy actions, building out an engaged audience of over 200,000 supporters, and building up the visibility and influence of dozens of system-impacted movement leaders and organizations. Daniel has over a decade of nonprofit leadership experience, is a Maryland native but resides in NYC and loves basketball and comedy.
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Aaron Mitchell,
CEO of Aaron Craig Mitchell Enterprises
Aaron Craig Mitchell is an LA based HR Leader, Investor, Advisor, Coach, Changemaker, and Entrepreneur with nearly 20 years experience across various industries.
He is the former Director of HR for Netflix Animation, where he led HR for one of the largest and fastest growing animation studios in history. An experienced business leader with a demonstrated history of executing change, Aaron has become globally recognized for his historic work pioneering Netflix’s 2% Cash Holdings Pledge of $100 Million into Black Owned Banks. An initiative that not only led to critical acclaim, but also anchored a movement for financial equity & inclusion and opened doors for marginalized communities to flourish. His work has led to features in The New York Times, CNBC, and Wired.
Aaron currently serves on the boards of UNICEF, The Atlanta Music Project and The People Concern, as well as an Advisor for Struct Club and People Tech Advisors. Born in New Haven, CT, he earned his MBA from Harvard Business School, and BBA from Temple University in Pennsylvania. He resides in Los Angeles, CA with his wife and two daughters.
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Carlissia Graham
Carlissia previously served as President of New Rising Ventures, drawing from over 15 years of experience in politics and social advocacy as well as firsthand experience as a serial entrepreneur. As an investor and strategist working at the intersections of media, tech, and democracy, she is a fierce advocate for impactful innovation that serves the public.
Her work centers on getting capital to people who are reimagining and building a greater future as evidenced by a thriving democracy, responsible tech ecosystem, and equal capital opportunities for underinvested communities.
Carlissia previously held multiple senior-level positions in the U.S. government democratizing access to publicly-funded technology, creating pathways to public service for underrepresented communities, and directing billions in capital investments in public-tech infrastructure.
Alongside her work at New Media Ventures, she sits on several investment committees and actively counsels founders as they navigate the startup journey. She is a native of Memphis, TN, and is deeply invested in pro-democracy efforts in the US South.
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Jessica Salinas,
Co-President
Jessica serves as Co-President of NRV. Prior, Jessica led the investment team of NRV for four years, where she was responsible for the cultivation of early-stage deal flow and portfolio management, building mission-driven partnerships, and leading the growth and direction of the investment team.
Previously, she was a Partner at an impact fund moving the world towards zero poverty, zero disease and zero pollution. Jessica was also the founding Social Impact Lead at Headspace and the founding Director of the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative Scaling Program.
Jessica serves on the Board of Words Uncaged, Plug in South LA, and StreetCode Academy. Jessica received her BA in Communication from Stanford and her MS in Social Entrepreneurship from USC Marshall School of Business.