StartOut Expands Leadership

StartOut announced four new members of the Board of Directors, adding to the roster of LGBT entrepreneurial and business professionals who govern the national organization. The addition of three out lesbian business leaders along with an openly gay entrepreneurs & investors is a demonstration of StartOut's commitment to increasing diversity on its Board and more accurately reflecting the network of over 12,000 LGBT professionals they serve each year.

"I am delighted that StartOut's fifth year begins by expanding our Board of Directors to its most diverse makeup yet. Reflecting the diversity of the LGBT entrepreneurial community is top priority for our Board," said Patrick Grosso, Chair of the Board of Directors. "Businesses benefit tremendously from diversity, especially when there is diversity in their leadership."

The new Board members include business consultant and marketing professor Mary Shea, attorney Nicole Dogwill, serial entrepreneur Carla McKay, and digital content and investor Chris Young.

"The work of improving the visibility of women and minority leaders is never finished. This holds particularly true on boards," Grosso adds. "I'm proud of StartOut's commitment to supporting diversity in leadership throughout our work. These new Board members bring a vast array of skills and insights from every sector of entrepreneurship, education, corporate governance, and nonprofit leadership. They will be invaluable to the continued expansion of our programming this year, and beyond."

Nicole Dogwill, Partner in Joseph & Cohen's San Francisco office, is a skilled litigator with experience in advising and defending leading, established and emerging companies, as well as their directors and officers, on matters involving fiduciary duty, corporate governance, securities, fraud, antitrust/unfair business practices, and related business claims.

After more than 20 years in Business Development and Sales positions for big corporations and startups, coupled with eight years of toiling on the weekends for a winery in Sonoma, CA., Carla McKay took her background and brought it to the wine industry in 2012 when she created the Crushed Wine app to power social sharing of wine which launched in iTunes in 2013. Currently, Crushed is launching a content and lifestyle platform for the wine industry.

Mary Shea is the Founder & CEO of The RevvEX Group, a growth consulting firm, and an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Chris is a serial entrepreneur and 15-year veteran of the digital video advertising space. He is currently a general partner at Revel Partners. Chris is also a partner at Wider Wake LLC, an angel investment firm and digital consulting practice. Chris serves on the board of directors of Collective, Vidible and Believe Entertainment.

For more information, visit www.startout.org.