Investors & Team

Originally from California, I was born in San Francisco, and raised in Los Angeles. From 2010 to 2018, I had been living primarily in New York with 2 years in London and a splash of Tel Aviv before moving to Tulsa in the beginning of 2018. Raised by two parents working in the non-profit space, I have always been torn by my inner struggle for doing good vs. doing well. During my summers as a kid, I remember volunteering at my mom's non-profit (The Shoah Foundation) in the mornings, and selling lemonade on my street corner in the afternoons. But my love for business largely prevailed, leading me to pursue a BA in Business at USC in Los Angeles, as well as an MBA there a few years later. My passions outside of work include running (have run 5 marathons), volunteering, traveling, seeing friends, introducing strangers, and spending as much time as possible with my amazing wife, Romi.

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved to work, and loved to engulf myself within different kinds of businesses, both as an operator and as an investor. I started working full time while in high school as a barista at a coffee shop in LA, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. 7 Years later, I was operating 22 stores, overseeing nearly 400 people and managing a $19 million revenue operation. I was in the coffee space through undergrad and business school. During that time, two close friends of mine started a t-shirt company out of our fraternity. I joined as the 5th partner, and the 5 of us bootstrapped the business to 150+ people across 6+ countries, and $30 million+ revenue before selling to the publicly traded Superior Uniform Group. Prior to that sale, I had already begun angel investing, and eventually joined one of my portfolio companies, Spotad, as President.  Within two years there, we built the company to 45 people across 4 countries and $15 million+ in revenue. But then the 2016 election happened, and I felt compelled to follow my heart into the Clinton Campaign--initially as a volunteer and eventually helping to organize Madison, Wisconsin. When we lost the race, I was looking for ways to make an impact given the current American political climate, which led me to Tulsa. More on that here.

For the past two years, I have had the privilege of working closely with the George Kaiser Family Foundation in Tulsa, in a role that straddles both investment and economic development.  Some of the questions we were looking to address in the work we were doing were things such as: “Can you be intentional about how you deploy capital that not only drives return but has a local economic impact as well?”  “What are the right economic incentives needed to attract and retain talent in Tulsa?”  “Can you make large scale social change through economic opportunity?”  While many of these hypotheses are yet to be concluded, the initial work was compelling enough that it led to the birth of Atento Capital.  Now, with a committed team behind our work, we are looking to turn our efforts into turbo drive and really catalyze growth in 21st century jobs in Tulsa.  I couldn’t be more excited and grateful to be on a team undertaking this challenge.

Born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I spent the majority of my life playing tennis. By the time I was 18 years old, I had competed from coast to coast against all the best US players my age. Most of the other top junior players were from big coastal cities, but I took pride in being a tennis player from Tulsa, and I have that same passion for my hometown today. I later played for the University of Tulsa, where I played on a team represented by eight different nationalities, it was that immersive experience which gave me an appreciation for other languages, cultures, and people. After playing at TU, I tried my luck on the ATP tour. But as it turns out, its tough to make a living playing professional tennis, so I went back to school to complete my Spanish degree and pursue my MBA.

I first realized that I enjoyed business when I helped organize one of the largest tennis events in state history. The exhibition event featured several of the highest ranked professional players in the world and served as a benefit for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Oklahoma. Having volunteered as a Big Brother for several years, I wanted to help the organization at scale, and the best way I knew how was through tennis. The event raised funds for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters and led to several new volunteers through raised awareness. I've always had a passion for helping others, and through that event, I got my first business experience.

After completing my MBA at The University of Tulsa, I took a job at BOK Financial, where I always felt gratified working, because of the incredible impact our chairman, Mr. George Kaiser, was making in the community. I spent the majority of my career as a fundamental equity analyst for the internal mutual fund company, Cavanal Hill Investment Management, where I covered the Consumer Discretionary, Energy, REITs, and Communication Services sectors. While working on the buy-side, I became a CFA charter holder, and gained an incredible interest in tech related businesses. I still love tennis and get to hit balls with my wife, Michelle every once in a while (who played for the women's team at TU) but today I enjoy riding bikes, doing yoga, and walking our dog. Michelle and I also love hanging out with friends and introducing others to the city of Tulsa!

I was originally born and raised in Dallas before moving to St. Louis to attend Washington University where I played on the basketball team as a freshman and sophomore. Much of my collegiate experience was centered on finding ways to help people improve their life situations. Through the Linus Foundation and Pyramid Foundation, my team and I were able to donate over $100,000 to low income St. Louis middle and elementary schoolers and my time with Building Futures and the Alberti Program allowed me to mentor over a hundred young people in St. Louis. My coursework as an American Culture Studies major helped to shape my interest in the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and economic development as my Captsone explored how entrepreneurship and intentional venture capital are the most effective vehicles for job creation in today's world. Now that I am a retired athlete, I still love to play basketball and exercise; spend time with my wife, Sahee and mother, Yolawnde; and travel. I'm always open to suggestions for new books to read and places to eat!

As a sophomore in college, the entrepreneurship bug bit me and I fell in love. That year, a friend and I launched a successful events company that generated over 6 figures in revenue in 1 year. A year later, I was blessed with the opportunity to spend some time at St. Louis based venture capital fund iSelect, learning the ins and outs of the early stage investing space. These experiences early on were quite empowering and in 2017, I founded and served as CEO of The Moves, a software company designed to disrupt the event ticketing space with industry leading transaction fees, text message notifications, and secure private events. After selling The Moves to Atlanta-based Wright Enterprises in July of 2019, I returned to St. Louis to join the investment team at SixThirty, a cybersecurity and fintech focused corporate-backed venture capital fund and began angel investing on the side, writing checks into Atlanta-based MedFlik and St. Louis-based Ideate. My experiences as both an entrepreneur and investor have given me a level of insight and empathy necessary to assist early stage companies in accomplishing their growth goals and becoming "investment ready".

The Director of Entrepreneurial Development role at Atento is a unique opportunity to fulfill a number of my passions including investing in early stage companies, working with founders, and creating jobs. There are countless venture capital funds, but very few have an explicit economic development focus, which really differentiated Atento for me. The historic Greenwood District's place of prominence as a hub of economic prosperity for African Americans played a significant role in my decision to join the team and I look forward to contributing significantly to the revitalization efforts. I am excited to be a catalyst for Tulsa's emergence as a hub for technology companies and sustainable economic growth. If you are working on a company or just have an idea that you think might have some potential, feel free to reach out at chandler@atentocapital.com.

I grew up in the small-ish city of Grand Junction, Colorado, the daughter of school teacher from California and an immigrant from Colombia. Growing up visiting my mother's hometown of Medellin gave me an appreciation for the outside world and I longed to explore it. I moved to California to attend the University of Southern California where I satisfied my wanderlust by interning for the travel editor of The Today Show, and sneaking in a few international trips here and there. A few years after graduating, my husband Noah and I moved to Medellin to run a bed and breakfast out of my abuelos' home, and later to Chicago so Noah could attend business school. Now, much to my surprise, I have returned to my grandfather's roots by moving to his home state of Oklahoma. I am excited to provide my daughter with a similar small-ish city experience that I enjoyed growing up.

I have had an eclectic professional career, from producing a radio show for the travel editor of the Today Show, to hosting karaoke in Hollywood, to working for MySpace during its heyday, to running a bed and breakfast in Colombia. It wasn't until I moved to Chicago and became the assistant director of board administration for Northwestern University's Board of Trustees that I discovered my love of spreadsheets, finding opportunities for efficiency, and creating processes. I used these new-found talents to plan our quarterly board meetings, improve our trustees' experience, and better utilize my team's talents by leveraging technology to do repetitive tasks. During my time at Northwestern I volunteered for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, an experience that ignited my passion for civic engagement and led me to seek professional opportunities that aligned with my values and desire to make the world a more equitable place.

During my search for values-driven employment, I had the chance to visit Tulsa to see my friend Mike, for whom I'd worked during the 2016 presidential election. I was immediately impressed by the socially-minded community that I encountered in Tulsa and was intrigued by their willingness to address injustices from its past and present. During my lifetime of visiting and living in Medellin, I witnessed the kind of transformation that was possible when an entire community was united in a goal. I saw the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world become tourist destinations over the course of a single decade because the city invested in education and infrastructure. I sensed a similar energy in Tulsa to address the enduring cycle of poverty so I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the solution. I am thrilled to be joining the Atento Capital team in its effort to develop local entrepreneurs and hope that my enthusiasm for Tulsa will help attract businesses to the city and bring economic development to the community.

If I could sum up my life in one line, there would be no reason to invite me for coffee! For now, I’ll just tell you that since college I have lived in 8 states and 2 countries, launched 3 businesses, built a community of over 50,000 online followers and written two books about my life’s journey. Community advocacy has always been a passion of mine and I take great pride in being able to speak and advocate for those who may not be able to do so for themselves. I absolutely love free lunch! Red wine and sci-fi thrillers are my jam. Most importantly,  if you are ever looking for a karaoke partner, I am your girl!

As an engineer and entrepreneur, I love being able to identify, innovate, and implement trustworthy solutions to complex problems. Having consulted for 15+ Fortune 500 companies, managed program budgets in excess of $20M, and piloted regional program “Diversity Dialogues”, I have first-hand real-world experience in optimizing operations and supporting organizations as they “pivot into the unknown”. Whether it be strategizing robust solutions, organizing knowledge transfer, or designing new ways of working, I thoroughly enjoy creating systems that can benefit the many.

I never imagined building a career here in Tulsa..but once I heard about the city’s push for economic development, I knew immediately that I wanted to become a part of the solution. With the city in the midst of a boom, I strived to join a company that was at the forefront of it all. That’s when I discovered Atento  - a good company run by great people on a greater mission to impact the community. I look forward to exploring Tulsa from a new lense and fresh perspective. It’s an honor to be on a team that truly desires to positively impact the community just as much as I do.

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