Acumen America

Co-leads Acumen America and co-founded the firm. Previously launched Acumen's West Africa and Latin America offices, served as chief of staff to Acumen's CEO, and helped build social enterprises in East Africa.

Leads investment sourcing, diligence, portfolio operations, and post-investment support. Previously managed large cap investment portfolios at BNP Paribas and covered early-stage fintech at Wells Fargo.

Yichen Feng is Investment Director at Acumen America, where she leads investment activities and focuses on founders building solutions for Americans affected by or at risk of poverty, particularly around how people live and work. She previously co-founded Lumos Capital Group, serving as principal, growth partner, and head of impact with a focus on edtech and the future of work at the growth equity stage, and earlier worked as a technology investment banker at Goldman Sachs on M&A and IPOs for internet and software companies. She holds a B.A. in social studies and visual arts from Harvard and an MBA from UVA, and is on faculty at the Just Economy Institute.

Served as Acumen's COO and then President for over 10 years through January 2025. Sits on Acumen America's Investment Committee. Previously President and CEO of Katun Corporation.

Founder and CEO of Acumen and author of two award-winning books. Serves as a board member of Acumen America.

Supports the partnerships and operations team, focusing on partner engagement, operational strategy, and portfolio support. Previously worked at Veris Wealth Partners and Patamar Capital.

Leads operations and manages engagement with the Acumen America partner community. Previously worked with the nonprofit Ajialouna and in restructuring and project finance roles.

Supports the investment team on sourcing, diligence, and portfolio operations. Previously an investment analyst at Precursor Ventures and worked at SVB.

Miriam Rivera applies a spiritual, servant-lead approach plus decision science to investing, helped scale Google from $85M to $10B, and centers diversity—roughly a quarter African American or Latinx.

Two-time VC firm founder and operator, partner with Portfolia's Rising America Fund, and former Boeing engineer. Holds three degrees from MIT and founded Latinas in STEM and the founding board of Latinx VC.

Works on sourcing, diligence, portfolio operations, and post-investment support. Previously an associate at BNP Paribas and a senior analyst at Wells Fargo in fintech.

Focuses on sourcing, diligence, and portfolio operations across healthcare, workforce development, and financial inclusion. Previously worked at Touchdown Ventures, Kapor Capital, and Angel Ventures.

Sydney Thomas is Founder and General Partner of Symphonic Capital, co-leading the firm's strategy alongside Shruti Shah.

Leads the Medicaid Innovation Collaborative, an Acumen America program advancing tech-enabled innovations for people on Medicaid. Previously president of the Center for Care Innovations.

Founding CEO of HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation, Hope Credit Union, Hope Policy Institute), serving under-resourced communities in the Deep South. Serves as a board member of Acumen America.