Linnea Roberts

Ita Ekpoudom

Katherine Rice

Liza Valiaveedan

GingerBread Capital

Founder and CEO Linnea Roberts launched GingerBread Capital (GBC) in 2016 to invest in female founders and emerging women-led VC funds. Previously, Linnea had built a successful 30-+ year career on Wall Street, the latter half as a Partner in the technology sector at Goldman Sachs, where she led many a start-up from launch to IPO. Linnea also served as Goldman’s diversity ambassador to recruit, retain and promote more women into leadership positions with the firm and within the finance industry. She also holds a BA in Business Administration and Management from Valparaiso University. An active philanthropist with a focus on education and health, Linnea serves on the national board of directors for Teach for America and is board co-chair of Teach for America, New York City. She also serves on the board of The Child Mind Institute, a nonprofit organization devoted to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders. Linnea is also a member of the board of directors of New Leaders, a nonprofit devoted to developing transformational leaders in education and ensuring high academic achievement for all students, especially those who are economically disadvantaged and students of color. In partnership with New Leaders, Linnea launched the Roberts Award for School Innovation to recognize outstanding New Leader Principals who develop innovative solutions to address critical challenges within their school communities. With her husband George Roberts, Linnea is a trustee of the Roberts Foundation, which supports education and poverty alleviation programs in the San Francisco Bay area. Linnea continues to mentor women pursuing financial careers through her involvement with her alma mater, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where she received an MBA in Finance.

GBC Partner Ita Ekpoudom has spent her career bringing together visionary entrepreneurs with seasoned professionals to help women scale their businesses and hone their leadership skills. Prior to joining GingerBread Capital in 2018, Ita was the Founder and CEO of Tigress Ventures, an advisory and consulting firm she started in 2014. Ita also served as Venture Partner at Plum Alley Investments, where she oversaw investment opportunities and pipeline for high-growth female-founded and gender-diverse startups. Earlier in her career, Ita held product management roles at TravelClick and American Express. She began her career at Goldman Sachs as an analyst in Credit Capital Markets and then as an institutional trader of preferred stock. Ita holds an MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, with a certificate in Finance, from Princeton University. In 2022, Ita was selected as a Kauffman Fellow. The prestigious, two-year program brings together emerging leaders in the global venture capital community for professional development. Ita currently serves on the national board of directors of All Raise, a nonprofit organization devoted to increasing the number of women and non-binary people in decision making roles in the venture capital industry and supporting emerging managers of VC funds focused on investing in startups led by diverse teams.

GBC Partner Katherine Rice leverages her extensive operating and investing background and networks to identify early-stage companies and support entrepreneurs in realizing their full potential. Katherine has a strong track record of incubating and scaling businesses, leading startups, and scaling multi-billion-dollar companies. She is accomplished at building multi-channel lifestyle brands in the home furnishings, apparel, food and beverage, and health and wellness sectors. She is also expert at leveraging digital and customer-centric insights to transform brands. Prior to joining GBC in 2021, Katherine was an Operating Partner at Altamont Capital Partners, where she identified investment opportunities and coached leadership teams. Katherine was also a senior executive at Williams-Sonoma, Inc., where she ran business development spanning multiple brands; structured partnerships that drove strategic initiatives; and launched new global multi-channel businesses. Earlier, Katherine was a manager at Bain & Company, partnering with clients in the private equity, retail and consumer industries. She began her career in investment banking at Kidder, Peabody in New York. Katherine has served as a board director of numerous private companies. She is also the founder and CEO of RCP, a strategic advisory firm helping consumer businesses to scale. Katherine holds an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University. Committed to developing women leaders in the private and public sectors, Katherine is a mentor to female entrepreneurs and actively advocates for women political candidates at the local and national levels. From 2021 to 2024, Katherine served on the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships, to which she was appointed by President Joe Biden. Currently, Katherine is a member of the board of the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute and serves as a board trustee for Meridian International Center, whose mission is to empower the next era of leaders to advance diplomacy for a better future.

GBC Associate Liza Valiaveedan joined GBC in 2024. Previously, Liza was an analyst at Rosecliff Ventures, a New York City-based venture capital firm investing in early and growth stage companies, where she sourced and evaluated new investment opportunities. She began her career in finance at Rose & Company, a high growth capital markets advisory firm serving public and private companies across industries and market capitalizations. Liza holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and has completed the CFA Level I Exam. Liza enjoys volunteering with Reading Partners, a national nonprofit that provides grade school students with individualized reading support; and with Hearts & Bones, a non-profit foster-based dog rescue.