SHE'S INDEPENDENT    |    Mentors   

Natalie Levy, Founder & Mentor

An accomplished engineer turned Wall Street derivatives trader, investor, and advisor, Natalie has over a decade of tech operational experience, a portfolio of 30+ seed through later stage private investments and has experienced liquidity events across 3 of the first 4 investments in her growth technology portfolio with an average return >20X. She successfully negotiated compensation package increases at almost every employer she worked with and achieved 40+% YoY increases on behalf of herself and coaches others to achieve similar results

Natalie resides in Boulder, CO with her loving rescue pup Beans and is passionate about gender equity and mental health awareness.

Arieann DeFazio, She's Independent Operations Lead and Venture Advisor

Launched over 21 products in a variety of industries from software to hardware, developed innovation programs for universities and large corporations both domestically and Internationally, and has private board level experience.

Deep expertise in all facets of operations and product development, specializing in pre-seed to series A stage companies. Excellent at developing and implementing product strategy, internal processes, finances, people operations, quality management, and regulatory affairs.

 

  

Rachel Mehta, VP of Deal Sourcing

After working both on the agency and client side for more than fifteen years in marketing and event roles, in 2013 Rachel established an agency, Heights Marketing. She loves to brainstorm with business owners and pull the necessary items from her toolbox to help grow their business. She previously worked at JPMorgan Chase and Bayard Advertising in New York City and graduated from Trinity College in Connecticut. She lives in New Jersey.   

  

 

Caroline Rice, Fractional CMO

Caroline has been building brands and creating lasting impact for consumers and companies for over a decade. Her passion for disrupting white capitalism and empowering women and marginalized communities led her to She’s Independent, whose mission mirrors her own. With experience ranging from small, family-owned businesses to industry titans like Coca-Cola, Nestle and Marriott International, she is excited to bring her expertise for building brand resiliency to both the She’s Independent team and to the brands in their portfolio.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts from New York University and lives in Denver with her partner, Emily. They can be found camping during the warmer months, and skiing when it’s cold. Or cozied up with a book and a cup of coffee, all year round.

      

 

Kari Kirschenbaum, Strategic Advisor/Marketing Partner 

In the last 15+ years, Kari has led marketing transformation across digital startups and Fortune 500 companies, including Amazon, Verizon, iHeartMedia, Yahoo, and AOL. Her expertise in building branding, go-to-market, and content strategies has contributed to significant growth, including scaling two startups for exits via an IPO and acquisition.

Passionate about pushing the boundaries of what's possible, Kari has sought a diverse portfolio of experiences across new and traditional marketing disciplines and media channels. Deep exposure across brand development, rebranding, product launches, partnerships, thought leadership, and organizational development strategies has equipped her with the tools to grow a company quickly and holistically.

In addition to being an investing member of She's Independent, Kari serves as the fractional CMO and marketing partner to our investment portfolio. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder and resides in Denver with her partner and newly adopted pup, Bennett. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and exploring the outdoors as an avid runner, skier, and hiker.

Jon Fernandez, Strategic Advisor, Healthcare & Science

Jonathan Fernandez is a business leader, serial entrepreneur, & angel investor. He spent 15 years at Fortune 500 healthcare organizations in leadership, education, sales, and marketing roles, the majority of that time at Johnson & Johnson. He has extensive market expertise in healthcare (Pharma, Med Device, Consumer, & Alternative), science xTech (Health, Environment, Ingredients), and cannabinoids.

For the last 7 years, he has been a start-up employee, investor, and founder. He was an early investor in the cannabis space, and participated in multiple successful exits. Always pushing boundaries and interested in alternative paths, he is the Co-Founder of CQuell Skincare, which was inspired by his own son’s journey with eczema. Jonathan is passionate about financial education, and through She’s Independent, is able to empower those who feel that they aren’t part of the “investor class”. He supports and drives business strategy, deal sourcing, and due diligence processes for She’s Independent.

Jonathan earned his BS in Environmental Science from Metropolitan State University, and a Master’s in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Florida’s School of Pharmacy. In his free time, he can be found coaching his kids' basketball or baseball teams, or taking a tennis lesson.   

Kristin Salvatora, MBA, Deal Lead

Kristin is customer centered, innovative, and strategic leader with broad experience through 17+ years of key client & customer service, retention and delivery responsibilities across Healthcare, the Federal Government and Real Estate.  She has helped SaaS companies create and/or streamline their customer journeys, set up implementation, integrations, and account management. She thrives in roles serving service & renewals teams.  She applies skills and expertise in organizations to strategize the customer experience, renew & upsell clients, mentor team members, and save resources through relationship building, data analysis, process improvement, and training. She has a true passion for mentoring, coaching, & growing a team while improving client outcomes, engagement, & retention. She focuses on win/win results through collaboration and building a great culture at work; ultimately gaining enduring loyalty and respect. 

Kristin has an MBA from Virginia Tech & a BA from the University of Michigan and resides in Denver, Colorado.

Jackie Kiku Snyder, MBA, Business Development 

Jackie is a holistic business development, strategic sales, and recruiting leader with 17+ years' experience. She currently advises and consults through her firm, KIKU Growth Solutions and Art & Science Collaborative. Jackie is a "connector," community leader, entrepreneur, investor, and former NCAA Division 1 athlete. She brings a holistic view to business growth and passion for adding true value and collaboration for her clients, "hunting" net-new business, fostering long term relationships, recruiting matched talent, and building mutually beneficial strategic partnerships.

As a hobby, she has been an avid real estate and early stage company investor for 15+ years, which led her to found her own investment network with collaborators, METHOD Investments.

Jackie's current and past non-profit Board activities include Founding Member of the Women’s Initiative for City Year Denver, Board Member of Big Brothers Big Sisters CO, member of Colorado Technology Association’s Women in Technology, and Executive Leadership Team of AHA Bring STEM to Life (for Girls). Jackie earned an MBA with concentration in B2B Marketing from University of Colorado and Double BA from University of California, Irvine. 

Edwine Alphonse, Deal Lead

Edwine is a CPA and experienced finance leader with 20 years of experience. She has built financial operations and accounting teams at multiple high-growth startups including Circle and Ramp. She started her career in auditing and worked at Ernst and Young and PwC.Edwine’s mission is to uplift and support women and BIPOC founders in order for them to scale and achieve financial sustainability, she does so as an advisor and as an investor. She wants to execute her mission through her involvement in She's Independent.  Edwine also invests in real estate, and digital currencies and is passionate about fintech and board work.Born and raised in Haiti, Edwine has lived in Canada, France, Grand Cayman, and currently resides in Boston with her family.  She enjoys reading, biking, and spending time with her daughters.

Lisa Hylton, Deal Lead

An experienced accounting and finance professional in specifically the real estate industry. Lisa is the host of the The Level Up REI Podcast, VP of Finance for a Real Estate Tech Start Up and founder of The Fund Manager Accelerator Course and Lisahylton.com - A Private Equity Real Estate Fund that is created to help accredited investors gain diversification across private commercial real estate investments. Lisa was attracted to She's Independent Investments to learn more about investing in companies and to better understand start ups since I also work for one currently. When I am not investing or learning about different ways to invest - you can find me hiking, dancing Argentine tango, paddleboarding, practicing yoga, taking in evening walks, swimming, traveling, embarking on wine country getaways and trying new adventures!

Zarriea Crawford, Intern

Zarriea Crawford joins the team as an intern with previous experience in banking, real estate, non-profit work, and most recently, supply chain transportation & logistics. She is a rising senior at Wake Forest University majoring in finance with a minor in bioethics, humanities, and medicine. Prior to Wake Forest, Zarriea earned her AAS in accounting as well as another in business technology and has 5 business and accounting-related certifications. In her free time, Zarriea enjoys trying new restaurants, spending time with her friends and family, and adding to her candle collection.