Rachelle previously founded ValorUp, an inclusive innovation firm which provides leadership coaching & training, and served as VP of Innovation at NFP, a multinational insurance brokerage firm. Formerly a Techstars Corporate Development Director, she actively managed the portfolio of startups & pioneered programs to navigate heavily regulated industries. As a founding member of the Techstars Product Team, Rachelle built programs around corporate innovation & startup collaboration. Rachelle’s focus is on growing cultures that engage all stakeholders to rethink the way they do business and develop new ways of working. This includes building out products, innovation ecosystems, and mutually beneficial engagements with startups. She has worked with hundreds of corporate innovators and venture-backed founders while espousing the belief that innovation exists to positively impact the lives of people. This viewpoint stems from a background in economic development which used entrepreneurship as a tool to uplift communities, whether they be impoverished, former narcotraffic regions of the Peruvian Amazon or groups of New Yorkers remaking their lives after incarceration. This work heavily leverages her former lives as a management consultant with an IESE MBA and a systems engineer and enterprise architect with a Top Secret security clearance. In addition, Rachelle is a graduate of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets and holds a B.S in Business Information Technology Operations Management with minors in Leadership and Spanish. Rachelle is an angel, serves on boards, and is an active mentor in the startup community. #utprosim #givefirst #peoplefirst #thatimayserve