Lorine Pendleton, an investor in diverse entrepreneurs, and a partner in the Rising America Fund, has joined the Portfolia’s executive team as VP of strategy and business development.  

In this new role, Pendleton will lead Portfolia’s partnerships with institutional investors, impact partners and financial services leaders. She will also lead the launch of Rising America Fund II, with an expansion to qualified investors. 

“With Lorine on the executive team we will continue our phenomenal growth trajectory following triple digit expansion in 2020,” said Trish Costello, Portfolia Founder and CEO. “Lorine will be instrumental in guiding us as we forge new strategic partnerships, expand the size of our funds, and add new products.” 

“Portfolia continues to be at the forefront of innovation and investing with the first venture capital funds designed for women members, the first VC fund in women’s health, and the first to be run by five women of color,” Pendleton shared. “Together, we will open doors for new investors and investments. Through Portfolia, investors can activate their capital and change the world by investing in the companies we want to see succeed.”

“Being a part of the leadership team on Rising America has been one of the most impactful roles of my career,” acknowledges Pendleton. “My partners Noramay Cadena, Daphne Dufresne, Juliana Garaizar and Karen Kerr and I are proud of our fund’s outstanding performance. We invested in growth rounds in Madison Reed and Maven Clinic, along with significant investments in MoCaFi, Encantos, Goalsetter, Suma Wealth and Bitwise. We intend to continue backing the top emerging companies through Rising America II.” 

Pendleton is a current board member and advisor to Storj Labs, MoCaFi, and Angel Capital Association. Previously, she served as director of development at Dentons, Simpson Thacher and Morgan Lewis.

Pendleton was also named one of Mergers and Acquisitions’ 2021 Top 25 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A. For more, read Mary Kathleen Flynn’s July profile of her.