Dear Camelback Community,
I’ve always believed our histories are core to us. They shape who we are today. They create the paths for where we’ll go tomorrow. I’m incredibly proud of my personal history—my parents and their entrepreneurial journey, my southern roots, my own path from STEM educator to fierce supporter of diverse talent to founder and CEO. While many moments in my history were far from easy, I’m grateful to have experienced them.
It’s the same for our cultural history. As we step into the 100th year of Black history commemorations, I think of all the ways hard-fought Black achievements have shaped both my life and the work we do at Camelback Ventures.
Our ancestors, innovators, and trailblazers faced challenges that seemed insurmountable. They decided to build anyway. Their achievements weren’t gained through glamor, but through persistence. Robert L. and Sheila Johnson, Berry Gordy, Janice Bryant Howroyd, and Madam C.J. Walker, among many others, paved paths that opened doors in entrepreneurship for under-resourced founders from all backgrounds.
Their legacy lives on today, in our founder Aaron Walker’s story, and in every one of our 220+ Camelback Fellows who are writing their own chapters of this history right now. Fellows like:
- Jamila Sams, MA.Ed — 2025 Camelback Fellow Jamila founded We Do It 4 the Culture to bring hip hop into Baltimore high schools, adding new dimensions to social-emotional learning. Her innovative approach was recently featured on PBS NewsHour.
- Devshi Mehrotra — 2021 Camelback Fellow Devshi founded JusticeText, an AI-powered platform that reviews body camera footage and interrogation videos for public defenders. By streamlining evidence review, JusticeText helps prevent wrongful convictions and ensures due process for all.
- Reuben Ogbonna — 2020 Camelback Fellow Reuben founded The Marcy Lab School, an innovative one-year alternative to traditional college for students from low-income backgrounds in New York City. The program unlocks tech career skills, habits, and networks for a new generation.
- Sunny Williams — 2016 Camelback Fellow Sunny founded Tiny Docs to make children’s health education more accessible. The organization recently launched an expanded platform and plans to introduce multilingual content in 2026 to reach a global audience.
- Tina Tran Neville — 2015 Camelback Fellow A former US diplomat and Vietnamese refugee, Tina founded Lana Learn to partner with government institutions on English language training and workforce development. Her work has secured full-ride scholarships and improved English proficiency among Vietnamese officers.
These are stories that are still being written and they remind me that we are living in a moment that our great-grandchildren will study. Among all that is being taken away, among all that is being dismantled, we have an opportunity to build.
When we change who gets to design solutions, who gets funding, and who gets a seat at the table, we help write new rules. We develop systems that support people with good ideas, not just people with good connections. We open pathways for ideas rooted in community, not assumptions or spreadsheets.
That is the promise we’re working toward at Camelback. Every investment we make today is how we write our own history. A system where all people have access to the connections, information, and capital to bring great ideas to life. A system where everyone feels like they can take risks—and even fail—without dire consequences. A system that truly rewards hard work and persistence for all, not some.
It’s a privilege to look back at history and see how it shaped the path we’re on, and to recognize our role in shaping what comes next. Let’s honor that privilege by staying in strategic action. Let’s recognize the challenges and choose to build anyway.
Thank you for being part of this work. We are so grateful you are joining us on this journey.
In community
Shawna
Shawna Young
Cameback Ventures CEO
This blog is apart of a new series from our CEO, sharing reflections and insights into our ecosystem and how we’re navigating today’s shifting landscape. Learn more about how Camelback has invested over $9 million into more than 200 under-resourced entrepreneurs over the past decade and connect with Shawna on LinkedIn for more of her reflections.
