City Experience

The Fellow in-city experience combines Fellow-led events and gatherings, access to startup ecosystem events happening in your city, and opportunities to engage periodically with local alumni and Regional Advisory Board members. VFA cities also gather annually for Welcome Week to welcome new Fellows to the city, and many cities host annual signature events like Bamsgiving, Philly Phormal, and Octoburgh Fest, to name a few. VFA and your local City Leadership Council (CLC) will plan some of these opportunities for you, but it’s up to you to effectively leverage the tools and resources available to make the most of your in-city experience. 

New City Checklist

City Moving Checklists are intended to help you think through aspects of your move or general “adulting” things you may not have thought about (e.g., finding an apartment, budgeting, mail forwarding, transportation, etc.) 

Check out the checklist here!

Regional Advisory Boards

Each VFA city has a Regional Advisory Board, which is composed of leaders from across the local startup ecosystem who have a vested interest in supporting VFA and our Fellows and Alumni. Board members play a critical role in advising VFA in our cities and serving as connectors to Company Partners and other potential champions. Board members also love connecting with Fellows and will periodically host or attend local events with Fellows. They may also support Fellows by getting them more connected in the city. Local Regional Advisory Board members are listed below.

VFA’s Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Kyle Goodfellow, manages the Regional Advisory Board and holds all of these relationships. He welcomes you to reach out to him with a self-contained forwardable email if you would like an introduction to any member. You’re also encouraged to reach out to them on LinkedIn.

  • Kory Bailey, CEO at UpSurge

    Smitha Gopal, CEO at Rendia, Inc.

    Adam Rhoades-Brown ‘13, VP of Development at Cross Street Partners

  • Kellie Clark, Managing Director at gener8tor

    Braxton Goodrich, Managing Director at Timberline Investments

    Abby Guerin Russell, Chief Development Officer at Innovation Depot

    Spencer Lacey, Vice President at Jemison Investment Company

    Liz Pharo, Founder & CEO at Divorce.com

    Tony Summerville, Founder & Chairman at Fleetio

    Jared Weinstein, General Partner at Thrive Capital

  • William Bissett, Founder & President at Portus Wealth Advisors

    Rob Cummings, Entrepreneur, Investor & Advisor

    Keith Luedeman, Investor, Mentor & Advisor

    Dan Roselli, Co-Founder at RevTech Labs and CFV Ventures

    Tyler Traudt, Co-Founder & CEO at DebtBook

  • Rick Barga, Manager, Site Identification and Development at Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund

    Heather Hall, Associate Director of Digital Strategy & Transformation at Protiviti

    Jeremy Seeden, Marketing & Brand Manager at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio

  • Hassan Bazzi, Director of Community Innovation at Forward Cities

    Patti Glaza, EVP & Managing Director at Invest Detroit Ventures

    Lisa Katz, Senior Program Officer at the William Davidson Foundation

    Steven Mazur ‘13, Co-Founder & CEO at Ash & Erie

    Chanell Scott-Contreras, President & CEO at Michigan Saves

    Dug Song, Investor & Advisor

  • Chad Feather, VP of Client Success at Daupler

    Eze Redwood, Partner at Wings Cafe

    Chris Rehkamp, Associate Director at UMKC Innovation Center

    Nassir Criss '20, Principal at Sixty8 Capital

  • Ayal Stern, CEO at ThriveDX

    Christine Johnson, Advisor & Consultant

    Natalia Martinez-Kalinina, Co-Founder at Base

    Tena Palomino, Corporate Talent Acquisition at GoTu

    Kelsey Rumberg ‘18, Director of Operations & People at FloatMe

  • Rob Lalka, Albert R. Lepage Professor in Business and Executive Director, Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship at Tulane University

  • Isaiah Jenkins, Senior Manager of Strategic Development and Startup Engagement at Comcast

    Heath Naquin, VP of Government & Capital Engagement at University City Science Center

    Chuck Sacco, Vice Dean of Educational Affairs at Drexel University Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship

  • Kelly Collier, Director of Ecosystem Development at LifeX

    Jason Griess, Ecosystem & Research Director at InnovatePGH

    Jane Joseph, Director of Communications & Community Development at Innovation Works

    Derrick Maultsby, Senior Associate at Frost Brown Todd

  • Alexandra Frey, Executive Director at the 80/20 Foundation

    David Jones, Partner at DJ Law

    Sean Wen ‘14, Co-Owner & Co-Founder at Curry Boys BBQ & Pinch Boil House

  • Terrance Freeman, Principal Head of Wealth Platform Integration at Edward Jones

    Talia Goldfarb, Co-Founder at Myself Belts

  • Dominick Ard’is, Founder & CEO at ACT House

    Jamal Bandeh, VP of Operations at PatchRx

    Dustin Curzon, VP of Operations at Gitwit Creative

    Leandra Elberger, Head of Platform at Atento Capital

    Desiree Frieson, Director of Programming at Build in Tulsa

    Devon Laney, President & CEO at 36 Degrees North

    Ben Stewart, Managing Director at the George Kaiser Family Foundation

City Guides

City Guides are intended to help you better understand your new VFA city. They contain information about popular neighborhoods, best places to eat and drink, and general information about getting acclimated to your new home. Note that City Guides are not intended to be a definitive guide on each city and might not contain completely up-to-date or accurate information. Please use these as guides as a starting place to continue learning about each city.

Questions about additional resources or ways to get connected in your VFA city?