Social Impact Capital

Aaron Hurst is the CEO and founder of the US Chamber of Connection, an organization focused on addressing declining social connection and civic engagement. He previously founded the Taproot Foundation in 2001, which developed the pro bono service market in the United States, and co-founded Imperative, a purpose profiling and peer coaching platform that was acquired by Chronus in 2024. Hurst is also the author of "The Purpose Economy" and has been featured in major publications including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg TV.

Nik Sharma is Chief Executive Officer of Sharma Brands, a strategic initiatives firm that advises brands on growth and revenue scaling across digital platforms. He has been recognized by AdWeek, Forbes, and Business Insider, and serves as an investor and advisor to commerce-focused companies.

Julie Majorelle is the co-founder of Elea Collective, a private members community for technology and venture capital professionals that hosts summits across New York, Los Angeles, Paris, London, and Mexico City. She advises purpose-driven leaders and fund managers on developing narratives and movements around systemic change initiatives. Previously, she founded Odessa, a New York-based storytelling agency that worked with early-stage companies including EverlyWell, Mother Dirt, and MURAL, and co-founded Helena Capital, which provided cap table services to Series A-D stage companies.

Lennaert Jonkers is Managing Director of DevelopMinded, which he founded to support deep tech ventures with technology commercialization. He has advised governments and organizations including NATO on innovation capability building and has worked with over 950 deep tech ventures. Jonkers serves as a DSFC Judge at NASA, member of the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium and DARPA's LOGIC initiative, venture partner at Social Impact Capital, and member of the World Economic Forum's expert network.

Rajashree Baskaran is founder and CEO of Project KARNA, which develops real-time deepfake detection technology. Previously, she founded Manifolds Lab, focused on AI and sensor-enabled systems, and spent over 15 years at Intel Corporation working across silicon R&D, wearables, and AI/NLP products. Baskaran holds a Ph.D. from UC Santa Barbara and an M.S. from Cornell University, has authored 40+ patents, serves as an affiliate professor at the University of Washington, and advises emerging companies in IoT, AI, and AgTech.