New Year, New Fellows. Meet the 2022 Camelback Fellows.
As 2022 kicks off, Camelback Ventures is thrilled to welcome its newest members to The Camelback Fellowship. This group of 13 entrepreneurs representing 12 unique ventures is laser-focused on making the world a more equitable place - fully embodying what it truly means to be #RuthlessForGood. The 2022 cohort proudly joins our community of 100 fellows (and growing) - a group we lovingly call the #CamelbackFam!
Meet the 2022 Fellows
We are excited to welcome our 2022 Education and Conscious Tech founders who are joining our fellowship program that supports entrepreneurs of color and women leading innovative social impact ventures. These 13 innovators are tackling pressing issues across the United States including equitable access to healthcare, workforce development, college preparedness, police brutality and civil rights abuses.
“I started my career as a teacher and running Camelback lets me live out my teacher dream of supporting others. I proudly get to see the trajectory of the fellows that enter our program and support them in creating positive social impact in the communities they serve”, said Aaron T. Walker, Camelback Ventures CEO and Founder. “It’s exciting to kick off the new year by welcoming this group of 13 education and conscious tech innovators to the Camelback Fam and offer two fellowship cycles in 2022 for the first-time in Camelback history.”
Camelback Ventures identifies local leaders with promising ideas, and assists them to enact change within their communities through an intentional blend of coaching, capital, connections, community, and curriculum. Over 90% of Camelback’s founders identify as people of color and 60% as women. Fellows receive up to $40,000 in unrestricted funding from Camelback to support their ventures. This year’s fellowship kicks off in January of 2022 and will transition into Camelback’s first-ever hybrid model with both in-person and virtual programming components. A ‘Welcome Week’ is slated from January 26-28, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana with a culminating event from May 11-13, 2022 in Denver, Colorado.
2022 Camelback Fellows
Education
Fellows are listed alphabetically by Founder name, and share details as provided by leaders. Education Fellows may be nonprofits, for-profits, hybrids, or schools.
Angelica Jackson - Phoenix International School of the arts
Waldorf, MD - Nonprofit - https://pisota.org
Phoenix International School of the Arts is a nonprofit that manages innovative public charter schools in rural communities that primarily serve students of color.
Angelica on Why Camelback? “I know that Camelback will really help me to craft an experience and ensure that I am designing a school with a lot of the things that I believe in, in terms of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility (DEIA), being ruthless for good and ruthless for our community.”
Cesar Cruz - Homies Empowerment Community High School
Oakland, CA - Nonprofit - https://homieshighschool.org
Homies Empowerment Community High School is a high school that sees young people as warriors, scholars, healers, and hustlers for youth who have been pushed out of school or caged in society.
Cesar on Why Camelback? “We are often times not allowed to dream or to make our dreams manifest. This is a great opportunity to make Homies Empowerment Community High School for Our Success a reality for our community. This is a game changer.”
Jamani Montague - Sankofa Roots
Oakland + Bay Area, CA - Nonprofit - https://www.sankofaroots.org/
Remembering our Roots is a land-based learning and healing organization that offers outdoor preparedness and survival trainings to Black, Indigenous, and Queer people in the United States.
Jamani on Why Camelback? “I’m really excited about the idea of being a part of a cohort and a network of brilliant people of color, building shared accountability to each other, and shared accountability to seeing our ventures through.”
Natalie Tung - HomeWorks Trenton
Trenton, NJ - Nonprofit - https://www.homeworkstrenton.org
HomeWorks Trenton runs a free, community-based after-school residential program for high school girls that supplements public schools in marginalized communities.
Natalie on Why Camelback? “Being a part of the Camelback community means that I will commit to creating a deeper understanding of myself within the context of my community and my work. It means that I will be a part of a community of people who are committed to fighting for social change. It means that I will learn how to be smarter and more effective in every decision I make for our business.”
Nathaniel Taylor & Sylvia Fred - Endazhi-Nitaawiging
Red Lake, MN - Nonprofit - https://www.facebook.com/RedLakeCharterSchools
Endazhi-Nitaawiging prepares students for college with an enhanced knowledge of the Ojibwe language, culture, leadership, and environmental stewardship.
Nathaniel & Sylvia on Why Camelback? “There is not just one person of this project, there are many and with the Camelback Fellowship support it will allow our community to grow.”
Tiffany Green - Uprooted Academy
Los Angeles, CA - For Profit - https://www.uprootedacademy.org
Uprooted Academy (UA) comes alongside organizations to provide an asynchronous, virtual seminar to support every student with the tools needed to search, apply and enroll in college.
Tiffany on Why Camelback? “This fellowship will help guide me and sharpen my blueprint to really take my vision from good to great to exceptional. I want to change the world. And I know that being a part of this, will give me the tools I need to do so!”
Conscious Tech
Fellows are listed alphabetically by Founder name, and share details as provided by leaders. Conscious Tech Fellows may be nonprofits, for-profits, or hybrids.
Ariana Abramson - DivySci
New York, NY - For Profit - https://www.divysci.com
DivySci is an AI communication analytics tool that provides leaders with feedback on how to improve their communication tactics to align with increasing collaboration, inclusive perspective-taking, and removing cognitive biases.
Ariana on Why Camelback? “I am eager for this fellowship to be the catalyst needed to elevate my work and galvanize resources. Most importantly, I look forward to building an authentic community of underestimated founders working to make the world more equitable.”
David Lopez - Gritly
Denver, CO - For Profit - https://www.gritly.us
Gritly is building the #1 pipeline of diverse, qualified candidates for non-technical entry-level positions in high-growth industries.
David on Why Camelback? “What excites me most is that I'll be building alongside founders who are just as passionate as I am to solve real problems that impact real people. I know that I'll be able to add value to the community with my network, hunger to learn, and desire to build long-lasting relationships with the #CamelbackFam.”
Jen Schlegel - 119
Columbus, OH - For Profit - https://119.webflow.io/
119 provides a patent-pending communication tool to guide bystanders through the appropriate response in an emergency situation.
Jen on Why Camelback? “I’m most excited to join Camelback and be surrounded by other underrepresented/non-traditional founders like me. The prospect of true fellowship with similar peers to grow alongside is an absolute dream. It helps me remember that I’m not alone while I’m chasing my venture dreams as an atypical founder!”
Patrice Berry - AssistHub
Oakland, CA - Nonprofit - https://www.assisthub.org
AssistHub offers a tech-enabled navigation and coaching that makes it easy for families to find and claim public assistance.
Patrice on Why Camelback? “Although the work we're doing with AssistHub will continue to be hard (we're up against deeply rooted systems), what I hear and see from Camelback alumni is the opportunity to do this really hard work with the support of a learning community and a network of champions, mentors and thought partners--this is what I'm most excited about.”
SONITA SINGH - I-STARRT
New Orleans, LA - Nonprofit - https://www.i-starrt.org
I-STARRT works with cities and philanthropic institutions to operationalize equity, using community-engaged quantitative and qualitative research to combine the scale of big data with the power of endogenous knowledge.
Sonita on Why Camelback? “I'm absolutely looking forward to having access to the technical expertise I'm missing at this juncture in my venture's journey. I'm very willing to admit where I need help mounting the learning curve for specific activities, and I am humbled by those who are willing to give of their time and resources to get me and my vision over the hump.”
Wa'il Ashshowwaf - REYETS
Arlington, VA - For Profit - https://www.reyets.com
REYETS (pronounced “rights”) is a mobile app helping BIPOC people combat police brutality and civil rights abuse.
Wa’il on Why Camelback? “Camelback Ventures understands that doing well by doing good should be the rule and not the exception. It feels like a bolt of positive energy to be surrounded by genuine people that want to create positive outcomes and help you get sh*t done.”
“I’m beyond thrilled to welcome our newest cohort of conscious tech fellows. Their ventures are boldly creating products that should exist, not just because they fill a void in the market, but because I believe they channel power to the people who use them which is necessary to create a more just, liberated world,” said Selam Kebrom, Camelback Fellowship, Senior Lead of Conscious Tech. “What I love most about our newest fellows is this: they aren’t looking to redraw the playing field, they’re creating a whole new game, with a radical redefinition of what winning looks like. And I’m here for it.”
Since our inception, Camelback Ventures has provided more than $4-million of seed funding to emerging entrepreneurs across the country. The 2022 Camelback Fellowship is supported by the generous support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Kenan Charitable Trust, Margulf Foundation, and Walton Family Foundation.
You can learn more about the Camelback Ventures’ Fellowship and meet past fellows. Camelback Ventures’ next fellowship application window will open in Spring of 2022. Interested in joining our next fellowship cohort? Fill out our interest form today!