Blackbird Founders Fellowship 2026
Meet the entrepreneurs behind the 2026 Blackbird Founders Fellowship. Explore their stories, discover their businesses, and connect with the ventures they’re building.
DMA Anderson
Korgi
DMA Anderson is a strategic consultant, tech entrepreneur, and veteran television producer. She is CEO of Korgi, a private AI platform that turns organizational procedures into actionable boards built on a team’s own apps and drives. Her career spans programming for major networks, consulting for organizations including Netflix and NBCUniversal, and developing software applications for which she has earned three patents.
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Charlyn Bender
Avarie Femcare
Charlyn Bender is the founder and CEO of Avarie Femcare, a femtech company developing period products for heavy menstrual flow and postpartum needs. A former trial attorney, she brings more than two decades of legal experience to entrepreneurship. Through products, expert-led education, and community support, Avarie works to close information gaps in women’s health and expand access to menstrual care.
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Imani Bordeaux
Jo Phillipe
Imani Bordeaux is the founder and creative director of Jo Phillipe, a fragrance house inspired by everyday rituals of presence. Her approach to scent draws on motherhood, movement, cooking, and life along the California coast. Through Jo Phillipe, she creates compositions designed to help people reconnect with themselves, quiet the noise, and arrive more fully in their daily lives.
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Linna Carter
RBS Buddy
Linna Carter is a PMP-certified operations manager and actor with experience across performance, events, and entrepreneurship. Through her company RBS Buddy, she offers Responsible Alcohol Service training in English and Spanish for California’s Alcohol Server Certification Exam. She also advises small organizations on operations and project management, helping them build systems, automate processes, and grow sustainably.
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Patty Dean
Patty’s Pilates Style
Patty Dean brings more than 20 years of Pilates teaching experience to Patty’s Pilates Style. A former Equinox teacher trainer, she helps clients identify and address imbalances in their bodies and has helped establish Pilates programs for Los Angeles high school athletes. She creates welcoming spaces for Black women to practice classical Pilates and is developing merchandise for Black women and women of color.
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Kina Lane
NextU!
Kina Lane created NextU! to help young people explore possibilities, make informed choices, and move forward with confidence. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience across college admissions and the corporate world, she offers strategic guidance rooted in personal connection. Her work focuses on making her coaching approach accessible to more young people through the ethical use of technology.
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d. jylani ma’at
...of the water
d. jylani ma’at is the founder of ...of the water, a maternal and reproductive care practice grounded in compassion, science, and ancestral wisdom. With 28 years of nursing experience and work as a doula since 2012, she supports families across Los Angeles through pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond. She is building a hub for full-spectrum doula care, training, and membership.
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Kisha Martin
Sage Studio LA
Kisha Martin is the founder and CEO of Sage Studio LA, a fashion education and creative entrepreneurship company making sewing, design, and creative resources more accessible. Her background spans fashion, UX design, and software engineering. Through Sage Studio LA, she has introduced more than 1,400 students to sewing and garment construction while building resources and spaces that support emerging designers and independent creatives.
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Christabel Nsiah-Buadi
My Lens Media, Inc.
Christabel Nsiah-Buadi is a storytelling strategist, speaker, and facilitator, and the creator of Close Your Narrative Gap. Through My Lens Media, Inc., she helps creators and leaders clarify their stories and share their voices with confidence. Her experience includes journalism and executive production at the BBC, NPR, and American Public Media, alongside fellowship development at Spotify.
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Orleatha Smith
Sip Herbals
Orleatha Smith is the co-founder and CEO of Sip Herbals, maker of Faux Joe™, a caffeine-free herbal coffee alternative crafted from roasted chicory root, dandelion root, and carob. A Certified Master Herbalist and former biology teacher, she launched the company in 2021 with co-founder Kelly Raulerson. She is a Tory Burch Fellow based in Gardena, California.
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Dr. Astrid Williams
Sabel Haus
Dr. Astrid Williams is the founder of Sabel Haus, a science-led advisory firm helping beauty brands and organizations connect products with the communities they serve. Her work combines scientific discipline, industry expertise, and cultural insight. With a decade of experience across public health, beauty justice, and industry, she advises organizations on cultural relevance, brand integrity, and meaningful market impact.
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