Here’s a list of 45 women investors in Philly

Earlier this year, as the annual Angel Venture Fair was wrapping up, MilkCrate CEO Morgan Berman dropped some truth to Philly.com reporter Diane Mastrull:

“It is a little bit awkward for me to just go up to all these middle-aged men in sports jackets in the Union League.”

A diversity-challenged angel and venture capital scene isn’t just a Philly issue. The problem also goes beyond just gender. And as our sister site Generocity has reported, the lack of diversity is also found in the impact investment scene.

That’s why when a reader and community member — who wished not to be credited — sent us a list of 30+ women investors, we knew we had to publish it. Here’s the list, with additional contributions from Archna Sahay, Red and Blue Ventures’ Brett Topche, SRI Capital’s Doc Parghi and Safeguard’s Heather Hunter.

• Ellen Weber (Robin Hood Ventures, Mid-Atlantic Diamond Ventures) 
• Rena Rosenthal (RHV)
• Claudia Piccirilli (RHV)
• Beverly Prohaska  (RHV)
• Donna Cordner (RHV)
• Sasha Schrode (RHV)
• Susan Lohr (RHV)
• Vanessa Chan (RHV)
• Liz Sigety (Delaware Crossing)
• Katherine Kish (Delaware Crossing)
• Holly Flanagan (Gabriel Investments)
• Karen Griffith-Gryga (DreamIt)
• Kendra Brill (DiSimone Investment Group)
• Martina Aufiero (Safeguard Scientifics)
• Alex Fuiks (Safeguard Scientifics)
• Katelyn Johnson (Safeguard Scientifics)
• Jane Hollingsworth (Militia Hill Ventures)
• Joan Lau (Militia Hill Ventures)
• Jennifer Hartt (Ben Franklin Technology Partners)
• Lisa Pliskin, (SeventySix Capital)
• Anne-Marie Bourgeios (EnerTech Capital)
• Barbara Schillenberg (BioAdvance)
• Marnie McCoy (BioAdvance)
• Colleen Bevenour (Keiretsu Forum)
• Denise Hayman-Loa (Keiretsu Forum)
• Katherine O’Neill (JumpStart NJ, Broad Street Angels)
• Gina Tedesco (JumpStart NJ) 
• Elizabeth Campbell (LLR)
• Elsa Armstrong (LLR)
• Liz O’Malley (LLR)
• Lisa Gray (Phoenix IP Ventures)
• RoseAnn Rosenthal, (BFTP, Broad Street Angels)
• Adele Oliva, 1315 Capital.
• Kristin Lee (NewSpring Capital)
• Kapila Ratnam (NewSpring Capital)
• Anna Vazquez (NewSpring Capital)
• Nyla Koncurat (Karlani Capital)
• Gail Ball (Chestnut Street Ventures)
• Tassie Oswald (Eureka Growth)
• Lisa Harris Millhauser (Eureka Growth)
• Victoria-López Negrette (Mission OG)
• Brianna Buysse  (NewSpring Capital)
• Mindy Posoff (Golden Seeds)
• Ellen Amudipe (Angel investor)
• Susan Yee (Broad Street Angels)

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Broad Street Angels’ Katherine O’Neill said a lack of gender diversity among investors translates directly to less women being funded. A recent report from PitchBook said women-founded companies are recipients of just under 5 percent of VC dollars in 2017. Although that’s an upswing of 100 percent from a decade ago, it’s still massively unequal.

“Generally, investors like to invest in people who are solving problems that they understand,” said Robin Hood Venture’s Ellen Weber in an interview with Philly Mag. “Since VC capitalists have typically been white men in their 40s and 50s who went to Ivy League schools, guess who gets funded?”

For O’Neill, leveling the playing field starts by getting more women to become angel investors. It’s a challenge, though, since many of them don’t fit the “risk profile.”

“I’m have a background in finance so I recognize that element of risk,” said O’Neill. “VC firms also need to have more women become partners. The women are there, they just don’t get hired.”

Weber, who has spoken about how investments aren’t always made with dollars, wrapped up her email to Technical.ly with a piece of advice that would further benefit the tech scene overall:

“We need more women to have exits, so they can invest.”