Village Capital Expands Governing Board Bolstering Impact Investing, Fundraising, and Product Innovation Expertise

Washington DC (September 6, 2023) – Village Capital, a leading global nonprofit dedicated to unlocking critical social and financial capital for early-stage impact companies, announced today the appointment of six new members to its Board of Directors. The organization welcomes Ana María Aristizábal, Batool Hassan, Cat Tucker, Guy Baron, Jenny Everett, and Leslie Jump to its board.

Today’s announcement marks an expansion of the Village Capital board to 13 members supporting the organization’s efforts to democratize access to capital for early-stage entrepreneurs, building emergent solutions for environmental, social, and economic challenges around the world.

The incoming board members' impressive track records reflect their dedication to effecting positive change. Their combined expertise in impact investing, entrepreneurial ecosystem building, and innovative finance will enable Village Capital to build on its track record of creating and leveraging unique approaches to effectively supporting entrepreneurs while leveling the playing field for entrepreneurs from all backgrounds. Moreover, their product design and development expertise will foster a culture of continuous innovation, ensuring the organization remains at the forefront of creating effective tools to better support entrepreneurs globally. Their involvement will play a key role in supporting Village Capital’s 2030 goals to reduce barriers to social and financial capital for 50,000 SDG-aligned startups led by diverse founders and unlock $50B in investment capital for these companies.  

“Embracing diversity, empowering communities, and fostering a culture of inclusivity has driven the Village Capital team to create innovative approaches that can better support the entrepreneurial system,” said Allie Burns, CEO at Village Capital. 

“We are beyond thrilled to welcome Ana María, Batool, Cat, Guy, Jenny, and Leslie to our board. Their talent and vision align perfectly with VilCap’s core values, strengthening our resolve to leverage entrepreneurship to create a more equitable and sustainable future for all,” said Jason Palmer, who serves as Chair of the Village Capital board. 

The new board members began three-year terms effective August 30, 2023, and can serve a maximum of two terms:

  • Ana María Aristizábal has 19 years of experience as an investor, operator, and board member. She is building the first edtech and future of work fund in Latin America and teaches impact investing at Columbia University.
  • Batool Hassan is the advisor of a major family foundation in the MENA region after spending 14 years at Acumen in business development and as the Director of the Acumen Academy.
  • Cat Tucker is a product development, strategy, and experience design leader with over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. She is the Head of Product & Strategy at Moody's Investors Service (MIS).
  • Jenny Everett is the former Managing Director of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) – with whom she was actively engaged for 12 years – and managed ANDE's entire international team. She now serves as an Advisor through Everett Interests and on multiple boards, focused on small and growing businesses and entrepreneurship, international development, impact investing, gender lens investing, workforce development, employee ownership, and climate.
  • Guy Baron brings 25+ years of experience in investment banking, direct investing and international development. He currently serves as the Head of Investment at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), spearheading strategic investment project development, structuring, and promotion across TBI’s advisory footprint of 27 emerging and frontier countries globally.
  • Leslie Jump is an experienced entrepreneur, venture capitalist, board member, and limited partner with over 30 years of building, advising, and investing in new companies and funds across the globe. She is the founder and CEO of DifferentFunds.

To learn more about the Village Capital board, including full bios of the new members, click here. 

The Village Capital board and team would also like to extend its deepest gratitude to the board members who have concluded their service in 2023, including angel investor Sarah Drinkwater, Graham Macmillan, President of the Visa Foundation, who also served as Treasurer; as well as to Susana Garcia-Robles, Venture Partner at Capria Ventures.

For more information, reach out to Sofía Cándano at Village Capital (sofia.candano@vilcap.com) 

About Village Capital 

Village Capital is reinventing the system to back the entrepreneurs of the future. Known for its groundbreaking approaches to supporting founders who are building solutions to emergent social, economic, and environmental challenges, VilCap unlocks critical social and financial capital for early-stage companies to maximize business and impact growth. 

Since 2009, Village Capital has supported over 1,400 startups that have raised over $5 billion in investment capital. It has made more than 150 investments through its various affiliated funds, including Vilcap Investments, which has invested in 110 peer-selected companies. Over 20,000 entrepreneurs have improved their investment readiness through its network of entrepreneur support organizations and its platform, Abaca. Learn more at www.vilcap.com and follow @villagecapital.