Panel: Empowerment Through Equity
This panel convenes finance and investment leaders from firms dedicated to empowering diverse and minority founders. They will discuss their commitment to inclusive investment strategies, challenges in the current financial landscape, and the importance of supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs.
Kandasi Griffiths, MBA Candidate Class of 2024
Kandasi Griffiths is an international development professional turned impact investor. As the Founder and Chief Curator of SR Collaborative, she consults non-profit and private sector clients on how to develop initiatives and partnerships for scaling impact, with a focus on women of color leaders. Kandasi holds a B.A. in Politics – International Relations, with a minor in French from Princeton University. She is currently an M.B.A. Candidate at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. In addition to pursuing sustainable and innovative solutions, she is a proud auntie, avid letter-writer, jewelry-maker, and lover of languages.
Marcia Dawood, SEC Advisory Committee, Author, TEDx Speaker
Marcia Dawood is an early-stage investor who serves on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee, a venture partner with Mindshift Capital, a member of Golden Seeds, and the Chair Emeritus of the Angel Capital Association (ACA), a global professional society for angel investors.
Her upcoming book, Do Good While Doing Well – Invest for Change, Reap Financial Rewards and Increase Your Happiness, the first of its kind why-to book about how anyone can invest in the change they want to see in the world, is due out in 2024. She is also an Associate Producer on the award-winning documentary film Show Her The Money, which debuted at the Women’s Film Festival in Philadelphia in September of 2023. She is a founding member and chair of the ACA’s Growing Women’s Capital Group, which is building syndication and collaboration among US investment groups focused on women-led companies.
A TEDx speaker and the host of The Angel Next Door Podcast, Marcia walks the talk and holds investments in over 50 early-stage companies and funds. She is committed to expanding support for diverse companies that overcome the world’s biggest problems and accelerate positive change.
Andrea Inokon, COO, Cadence Cash
Andrea Inokon is a distinguished C-suite executive, advisor, lawyer, and entrepreneur with a 20-year track record of championing the rights and opportunities for women and minorities in the financial and tech sectors.
As a Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Cadence Cash, an AI-powered growth platform for small businesses, she has been instrumental in the platform’s mission to provide innovative financial solutions to underrepresented entrepreneurs.
Andrea also serves on the Advisory Board for The RAND Center to Advance Race Equity Policy and the Board of Advisors for Duke University Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Holding a B.A. from Duke University and a J.D. from New York University School of Law, Andrea dedicated nearly two decades to the legal field, including a notable tenure as Senior Vice President, Senior Counsel at Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) for a decade.
Andrea currently resides in Raleigh, NC with her husband and two daughters.
