Alma Adams, Dr.
Member of Congress
U.S. House of Representatives
Larry Robinson, PhD
President
Florida A&M University
Harold Martin, Sr.
Chancellor
North Carolina A&T University
C. Reynold Verret
President
Xavier University of Louisiana
Glenda Glover
President
Tennessee State University
Lily McNair
President
Tuskegee University
Larry Robinson
President
Florida A&M University
C. Reynold Verret, PhD
President
Xavier University of Louisiana
Lo Toney
Founding Managing Partner
Plexo Capital
Hadiyah Mujhid
Founder and CEO
HBCUvc
Valinda Kennedy
Global Academic Programs Manager
IBM
Vanessa Liu
Vice President
SAP.iO Foundries North America
Nashlie Sephus
Applied Science Manager
Amazon Web Services
Joe Briggs
Public Policy Counsel
NFL Players Association
Marcelino Ford-Livene
Managing Director of Portfolio Management & Head of the Executive-in-Residence Program
Intel Capital
The 2019 National HBCU Braintrust will highlight the power and the potential of Black innovation. This convening brings together HBCU students & Presidents, industry executives and members of Congress for substantive dialogues, action and networking. The conversations will center on how we can best ensure HBCU students are prepared for and have equal access to venture capital (VC) opportunities. Historically Black Colleges and Universities produce 50% of Black professionals, 42% of Black engineers, and more than 27% of all STEM degrees. Greater HBCU engagement and investment are key to addressing the fact that less than 3% of VC is awarded to minority-owned startups, in particular Black women only receive .2% of VC and Black men receive 1% of VC. Equal access to VC matters given more than 42% of publicly traded companies were started by VC investments.