Funded & Fearless: Austin 2026

Written By Ladies Who Launch

We’re thrilled to have you at Funded & Fearless tonight! Please see supplemental information below.

SPEAKER BIOS

Keep scrolling! We’ve have them listed at the end of this page, or you can click here to jump straight to them.

EVENT PROGRAM

Need a digital version of our event program? We got you! Click this link to download the PDF: Full Event Program

SPEAKER-RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

Our speakers want to make sure that you’ve got all the information you need to be successful when you leave the event tonight! Below are the list of resources they’ve asked us to pass along.

From Jennifer Chandler, Head of Philanthropic Solutions at Bank of America

From Kelly Spillane, Investment & Lending Principal at Whole Foods Market

From Keshia Batista, Small Business Accelerator Program Coordinator at PeopleFund

From Kia-Shun Voltz, Founder & CEO, ShampooTime

ADELLE ARCHER

Adelle is the Co-CEO & Co-Founder of Eterneva, a celebration of life brand that reimagines the experience around loss by making diamonds from ashes or hair. Eterneva was named Consumer Startup of the Year by the Stevie Awards and was featured on Shark Tank, receiving investment from Mark Cuban. Adelle has been featured on both Inc and Forbes coveted ’30 Under 30′ lists. Prior to founding Eterneva, Adelle received her MBA in Entrepreneurship at the Acton School of Business, considered the ‘navy seal’ program for entrepreneurs. She spent four years as a Product Marketing leader in Tech, launching major products to market with partners like Amazon, Ebay, Square, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

ANNA COLLINS

Anna is on the Board of Directors for Ladies Who Launch, and is a proven operator with a record of pioneering and scaling new businesses at early stage venture startups and multi-billion-dollar companies. She has a unique blend of consumer and enterprise experience with depth in customer loyalty & retention, DTC, subscription, and digital businesses across industries including technology, advertising, retail, healthcare and CPG. Harvard AB, MBA

ASHLEY CAMERON

Ashley Cameron is the Founder and Chief Cookie Officer of Love & Cookies, an Austin-based, women-owned frozen cookie dough company she's grown from a home kitchen into national grocery distribution, with products now on shelves at Sprouts, Wegmans, H-E-B, and Thrive Market. Under her leadership, the company has expanded from a handful of regional stores to thousands of retail locations, built a team led largely by women, and taken home first place in H-E-B's Quest for Texas Best.

Running a cookie company was never the plan. Ashley spent years as a labor and delivery nurse, helping families welcome new life into the world, with no intention of starting a business of her own. That changed when her son Charlie was diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease, a rare and serious heart condition, at five years old. After months of treatment, all he wanted to do to celebrate was bake cookies with his mom. So they did, using recipes passed down from Ashley's mother and grandmother, and what began as a way to heal together became the start of Love&Cookies.

Today, Ashley and the Love&Cookies team are proud ambassadors for the Kawasaki Kids Foundation, donating a portion of every bag sold to support families and fund research. She's a mom of three based in Austin, and living proof that cookies are always a good idea.

CAROLINE OLSON

Caroline is a Financial Services Solutions Engineer at OpenAI. She partners with leading institutions to turn complex business challenges into practical, scalable technology solutions. She lives in San Francisco and has experience working alongside customers across all industries building out their AI solutions and transformation strategies.

ELENA GOMEZ

Elena is President & Chief Financial Officer of Toast, Inc., the cloud-based, end-to-end technology platform purpose-built for the entire restaurant community. Elena is responsible for Toast’s finance organization and leads the company’s accounting, treasury, financial and strategy, and business operations. A results-oriented finance executive with more than 30 years of experience in leading large global organizations, Elena’s expertise ranges from scaling and building SaaS businesses into multi-billion organizations, building and leading large-scale operational teams, and achieving executive alignment on strategy and financial goals across multiple stakeholders. Prior to Toast Inc., Elena served as the Chief Financial Officer at Zendesk where she helped scale the company to over $1B in annual revenue. Elena is deeply passionate about and committed to advancing diversity and inclusion initiatives in the workplace.

FRÉDÉRIQUE IRWIN

Frédérique (Fred) Irwin, president and CEO of the National Women's History Museum, and on the Board of Directors for Ladies Who Launch.

She has more than 25 years of experience in strategic management, nonprofit and commercial business, operations, impact, and entrepreneurship. Prior to joining the Museum, she served as Managing Director of Impact Strategy at the Sorenson Impact Center, where she managed high-level partnerships with leading organizations in the social impact sector. During that time she also led initiatives around improving equity in higher education and driving systems-level change for equity for women in entrepreneurship. She was the founder and CEO of Her Corner, a company educating women on how to scale their businesses, from 2012 until its sale in 2021. Over that period, she expanded Her Corner across multiple cities in the US, was a frequent speaker on the state of entrepreneurship for women in the US, and helped thousands of women-owned businesses scale. Her work supporting women earned her a spot as a New Zealand Edmund Hillary Fellow, a global fellowship for impact leaders. She has taught business management, entrepreneurship, and organizational behavior at the Kogod School of Business at American University.

Irwin holds a Master of Business Administration from the Graduate School of Business at The College of William and Mary and a Bachelor of Arts in Russian studies from Davidson College. She is a dual citizen of the United States and European Union, is fluent in English, French, and Spanish, and conversant in Russian.

JENNIFER CHANDLER

Jennifer Chandler is Managing Director, President of Bank America Dallas, and Head of Philanthropic Solutions for Bank of America. As President, Jennifer directs effective collaboration across multiple lines of business, advancing purposeful engagement with client priorities. Deeply committed to corporate stewardship, she serves on the Bank of America Foundation committee and promotes a culture of volunteerism and community support. As Head of Philanthropic Solutions, Jennifer oversees strategy development and advisory/consulting services for non-profit institutions, corporate and private foundations, and ultra-high-net-worth families. She directs a nationwide team that offers a suite of integrated capabilities, including Outsourced Chief Investment Office services, board governance and development, grant making, high-impact philanthropy, and fiduciary administration. She also fosters the effective use of cross-enterprise capabilities, resulting in a more unified and directed client experience.

Jennifer joined Bank of America in 2001. She earned her B.A. in Government from the University of Texas at Austin in two and a half years and her M.B.A. from the University of Dallas, which honored her in 2018 as a College of Business Hall of Fame inductee.

Born and raised in Dallas County, Jennifer is very active in the greater Dallas community. She is a Leadership Dallas 2011 alumni, Women’s Exchange Sue Haskoor honoree, and 2023 DCEO Corporate Leadership Excellence Award recipient. Jennifer is also a Dallas Business Journal “40 under 40” and Women in Business honoree. She currently serves on the Dallas Citizens Council, Dallas Regional Chamber, Southwestern Medical Foundation Board of Trustees, and previously served on the Dallas Museum of Art and Phoenix House Texas boards. She is also a member of the Crystal Charity Ball, Texas Lyceum, United Way Women of Tocqueville, the Dallas Symphony League, and the National Charity League. Jennifer and her husband have 4 children and enjoy serving their local community.

KATE HARVEY

Kate Harvey is the Founder and CEO of BirdieBlue, a Vermont-based circular manufacturing company giving retired outdoor gear a second life. A former television journalist and talent executive turned first-time entrepreneur, Kate launched BirdieBlue after ripping her favorite ski pants on a chairlift and discovering there was virtually no end-of-life solution for technical outdoor apparel.

What started with one pair of ski pants has grown into a nationally recognized circular manufacturing business partnering with leading outdoor brands, ski resorts, and retailers to transform gear destined for landfill into premium, one-of-a-kind bags. Since 2022, BirdieBlue has diverted more than 20,000 pieces of outdoor gear from landfills, handcrafted more than 4,000 bags, built a network of more than 20 women sewists across rural Vermont, and established partnerships with organizations including Stio, Turtle Fur, and the U.S. Ski Team. Kate serves on the Vermont Outdoor Business Association Board and was named a 2026 Tory Burch Foundation Fellow for her work advancing circular manufacturing and creating economic opportunity for women.

KATRINA BURKA

Katrina Burka is a Creative Technologist at Canva, where she works as a Solutions Consultant at the intersection of design, innovation, and AI. She is passionate about helping people and brands use emerging technology to communicate more clearly, work more effectively, and turn ambitious ideas into meaningful experiences.

Before entering the technology space, Katrina began her career in the CPG industry, creating email and social media templates that helped brands engage consumers through compelling, on-brand content. This early experience sparked her interest in the relationship between marketing, technology, and consumer behavior.

Her path later led her to Leonardo.Ai, acquired by Canva, where she joined a team working at the forefront of generative AI during its early emergence. That experience gave her a front-row seat to the technology’s rapid evolution and deepened her interest in making emerging technology practical, approachable, and accessible at scale.

Today at Canva, Katrina works with Fortune 500 brands to explore new ways of using design and AI to bring their biggest ideas to life.

KELLY SPILLANE

Kelly Spillane brings over 25 years of CPG experience, as a small business founder, investor and advocate. She spent seven years investing on behalf of Europe's largest start-up investor, Enterprise Ireland. She now leads emerging-brand investments and the supplier lending program at Whole Foods Market / Amazon. She previously served as Small Business Advocate for the State of Texas. She has an on-going commitment to mentoring and advising high-growth CPG companies as they scale. Kelly holds an MBA in Strategy & Finance from University College Cork, Ireland.

KESHIA BATISTA

Keshia Batista is the Accelerator Program Coordinator at PeopleFund, where she dedicates her expertise to empowering Texas entrepreneurs with the foundational knowledge required for long-term business success. Over her five-year tenure with the organization, Keshia has successfully spearheaded and coordinated all educational accelerator programs, designing high-impact curricula specifically tailored for veterans and small business owners. Driven by a deep commitment to community economic mobility, she ensures that underserved founders receive more than just funding—they gain the critical financial acumen, strategic mentorship, and operational skills necessary to scale their businesses and thrive.

KIA-SHUN VOLTZ

Kia-Shun Voltz is an award-winning inventor, entrepreneur, and founder of ShampooTime, a family-focused hair-care brand transforming stressful wash days into joyful bonding experiences. A 11x grant winner and 4x pitch champion, including Good Soil and The Mavs MBA Competition, she has grown ShampooTime from $200 to over $2 million in revenue. With five utility patents and partnerships with SheaMoisture, Target, and Alibaba.com, Kia-Shun continues to lead with innovation, community impact, and a passion for empowering the next generation of founders.

KIM ROXIE

Kim Roxie is the founder of LAMIK Beauty products, the world’s #1 Eco-Chic makeup line seeking to build women’s self-esteem and reveal their natural beauty. Formulated without parabens, Kim has created environmentally conscious products with a message for multicultural women. Her beauty products stand for Love And Makeup In Kindness, because she believes true makeup is about what you’re made of.

At age 21, Kim founded LAMIK Beauty out of her college apartment. With her savings and a small investment from her mother, Kim opened her first store in Sharpstown Mall in Houston.

From its humble beginnings in 2004, LAMIK Beauty has been highlighted as one of the eight black-owned beauty companies by BET (Black Entertainment Television) and is one of the seven black cosmetics lines dominating the market. It is no surprise that Ebony Magazine named Roxie the Black Beauty Maven to know.

PAT DENNIS

Patrick Dennis works as a AI Field Engineer for OpenAI's Transformation team, helping businesses evaluate and adopt agentic AI. He specializes in translating frontier technology into practical strategies, executive experiences, and workflows that deliver meaningful business outcomes.

SARAH FRIAR

Sarah Friar is the Co-Founder of Ladies Who Launch, and Chief Financial Officer of OpenAI. Before joining OpenAI, Sarah served as Chief Executive Officer of Nextdoor from 2018 to 2024, and as Chief Financial Officer of Block (formerly Square) between 2012 and 2018. Before her tenure at Block, Sarah served as SVP of Finance & Strategy at Salesforce, she held executive roles at Goldman Sachs and started her career at McKinsey in London and South Africa.

Sarah currently sits on the board of directors of Walmart and Consensys, as well as on the advisory boards of HOPE Global, the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford and the Digital Economy Lab at Stanford University. She previously served as a director of Nextdoor, Slack and New Relic.

Sarah grew up in Northern Ireland and earned her MEng in Metallurgy, Economics, and Management from the University of Oxford and her MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where she graduated as an Arjay Miller scholar. She also holds an OBE from Queen Elizabeth II for services to entrepreneurship.

SEMIRA NIKOU

Semira Nikou is the Co-Founder and CEO of Better Sour, an award-winning sour candy startup she launched with her lifelong best friend. Inspired by the founders' Middle Eastern heritage and upbringing in Hawai'i, Better Sour takes a culinary approach to candy, celebrating global flavors using quality ingredients. Previously, Semira was an international trade and sanctions lawyer at a top DC law firm, and before that, she worked at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

SOON HAGERTY

Soon Hagerty is the Co-Founder and President of Boundless Futures Foundation.

When she was four, Soon’s family fled Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. After a perilous 12 days on a boat and another six months at a refugee camp, the family ultimately settled in Fresno, California, sponsored by an uncle who had fought for the South Vietnamese. Her parents’ determination to create a successful life in America by becoming entrepreneurs inspires and defines Soon to this day.

Soon has co-owned several PR/marketing firms including Luxe Communications, which she founded, and Centigrade a marketing, communications and events company with several offices in North America and Europe. Her global brand communications experience includes developing strategy for many of the world’s top brands, including Lamborghini, Ducati Motorcycles, eBay Motors, Black River Caviar, Xellent Vodka and Breitling watches.

Since 2016, Soon has overseen Hagerty’s brand strategy in support of the company’s stated purpose to save driving and fuel car culture for future generations. In 2022, she was named one of the U.S.’s “Top Women in Communications” by Ragan Communications for her work in transforming the Hagerty brand.

She played a lead role in transforming Hagerty from a local specialty insurance company operating in a basement to a global publicly traded lifestyle brand for car lovers that joined the New York Stock Exchange (HGTY) in 2021 with a value of more than $3 billion.

A believer in “doing well by doing good” Soon is founder and co-owner of The Good Bowl, a mission-based Vietnamese restaurant in Traverse City, Michigan, that donates $1 per bowl to charity. She is also a Global Advisor for global organization How Women Lead and a member of the Forbes Business Council. She is also the creator of “Help in Heels,” a women’s volunteer group, and “Running in Heels,” a women’s entrepreneur group, and supports several charity organizations including 100 Women Who Care and Impact 100.

Soon is married to McKeel Hagerty. Together they launched Boundless Futures Foundation in 2023 to help female founders who have a social enterprise by providing financial grants and leadership resources. Of everything she has done in her life, Soon is the most proud of her daughter Ava and her step-daughters, Olivia and Sophia.

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Funded & Fearless: London 2026