Salt Lake City —VentureCapital.Org (VCO), a Utah-based non-profit organization that assists, coaches, and provides mentoring to entrepreneurs raising investment capital, today announced Tara Spalding as the inaugural Chief Programming Officer and Director of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Program. Concurrently, VentureCapital.org today announced Marcia Nelson as the incoming Chairman of the Board starting January 1, 2023, succeeding Matt Warnock.
These two key leadership placements strengthen the direction of the 39-year-old nonprofit education-based venture accelerator, and the organization’s future is rapidly advancing.
Ms. Spalding’s CPO and Director of Women’s Entrepreneurship Program responsibilities include the oversight and execution to benefit women+ founded, owned or led companies in Utah and in the surrounding states. She will be directing the new educational and advancement programs related to women entrepreneurs, capital resources, and angel investment activation. Ms. Spalding will be based in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Ms. Nelson’s incoming Chairman of the Board responsibilities include the oversight of the nonprofit’s charter, business operations, board committee direction, and succession planning. Ms. Nelson is based in New York City, New York, bringing a connection with the east coast nonprofit leadership. She will be replacing her predecessor, Matt Warnock who has held the Chairman position and has been an active mentor for 18 years.
Trent Christensen, CEO & President of VentureCapital.Org is exuberant to have Spalding and Nelson advancing equality and diversity through VentureCapital.Org’s efforts. “Tara and Marcia have worked together for several years, starting back at VentureCapital.Org’s 2020 WeROC conference. Their commitment and hard work to advance the education and access around capital, and in particular for women entrepreneurs, has always been effective and respected,” stated Christensen. “I am excited that our organization’s future will have their presence felt from the top-down with Marcia heading the board, and bottom-up with Tara responsible for the programs.”
Ms. Spalding is a recognized figure who has been working with startups and early-stage investors in California and in Utah for over 20 years. Her diverse career includes most recently being the managing director of BoomStartup Accelerator, the most inclusive pre-seed accelerator in the world offering online and opt-in programs to benefit first-time founders. Under her leadership, BoomStartup helped raise over $10M in equity-based funding for their members. Spalding co-authored “10 Preparation Stages to Start a Successful Business” released in 2022. She also served on the board of Trustees for VentureCapital.org since 2020 and has been actively involved with VentureCapital.Org’s women initiatives since 2017.
Ms. Nelson is a well-connected advisor and investment leader, who has spent a large portion of her career working in and for family offices and private dealmakers. She is the managing director and head of business development for ShareNett. She is also the co-founder of Triple C Advisory and serves on several boards, including her previous position as Vice Chair on the board of Trustees for VentureCapital.org. Always a champion for women, Ms. Nelson is a former member of the Board at Women in the Boardroom and was the founder and CEO of Deals & Divas, which brought together women entrepreneurs, advisors, and investors.
Both Spalding and Nelson will be keynoting the upcoming 6th Annual Women Entrepreneurs Realizing Opportunities for Capital (WeROC) program on October 7, 2022, in Salt Lake City, Utah. This event is open to the public, and all founders and investors are invited to attend.