Meet the Uptima Team

We are a team of seasoned entrepreneurs and educators passionate about providing more accessible entrepreneurial education and empowering entrepreneurs to create thriving businesses.

Ivellisse Morales

Ivellisse Morales

Lead Instructor & Mentor

Ivellisse Morales is an Uptima Bootcamp alum, instructor and mentor. She’s also the founder of bombilla, an Oak...
George Blount

George Blount

Lead Instructor & Mentor

Creating a Business Roadmap Course (Boston)

With more than 20 years as a seasoned financial services professional, George Blount has assumed several roles in sal...
Lena Carew

Lena Carew

Mentor

Creating a Business Roadmap Course (San Francisco)

Lena Carew is the co-founder and Head of Organizational Health and Innovation at The Justice Collective. Lena is an o...
Sarita Evans

Sarita Evans

Mentor

Creating a Business Roadmap Course (Oakland)

Sarita L. Evans, a serial entrepreneur known as the “Entrepreneur Doula,” has over 30 years of business training, pub...
Joëlle Fontaine

Joëlle Fontaine

Lead Instructor & Mentor

Freelancer Course (Boston)

Joëlle Fontaine is the CEO of Kréyol, a woman’s fashion brand with a mission of utilizing art to empower women....
Mike Gabriel

Mike Gabriel

Lead Instructor & Mentor

Know Your Numbers Class (Online), Building Operational Capacity Course (Oakland)

Mike Gabriel is an experienced investment and strategy professional with over 10 years in the social enterprise secto...
J Gustavo

J Gustavo

Lead Instructor & Mentor

Launching a Business Course (Boston)

J Gustavo is the Founder & Principal Consultant of Roxbury Business Development Group, where he provides business...
Lesa Hammond, Ph.D.

Lesa Hammond, Ph.D.

Lead Instructor & Mentor

Funding a Business Course (Oakland), Create Good Jobs Class (Online)

Lesa Hammond, Ph.D., is co-founder and CEO of ProfHire, a technology platform that connects higher education and trai...
Charles Irving Henderson

Charles Irving Henderson

Mentor

Freelancer Course (Boston)

Charles Irving Henderson is a profound speaker with a gift to teach. He is no stranger to the many challenges’ leader...
Rani Langer-Croager

Rani Langer-Croager

Co-Founder, CEO & Lead Instructor, Mentor

Pricing Strategies Class (Online), Funding a Business Course (San Francisco), Building Operational Capacity Course (San Francisco), Creating a Business Roadmap Course (San Francisco)

Rani Langer-Croager founded Uptima Business Bootcamp to address the challenges of traditional entrepreneurship progra...
Hope Lehman

Hope Lehman

Lead Instructor & Mentor

Creating a Business Roadmap Course (San Francisco)

Hope Lehman is a visionary social entrepreneur with 11 years of experience in economic development. She has coached 1...
Jessica Ayden Li

Jessica Ayden Li

Mentor

Freelancer Course (San Francisco)

Jessica Ayden Li is a social justice activist, certified diversity coach, trainer, mentor, advocate, and consultant. ...
Wendy Martinez Marroquin

Wendy Martinez Marroquin

Mentor

Freelancer Course (Oakland)

Wendy Martinez Marroquin is a racial education trainer and visual artist with over five years of experience facilitat...
Naima McQueen

Naima McQueen

Lead Instructor & Mentor

Funding a Business Course (Oakland), Financial Forecasting Class (Online)

Naima McQueen has over 5 years of experience advising mission-driven organizations. She focuses on outreach to the sm...
Nicole Middleton

Nicole Middleton

Lead Instructor & Mentor

Be Your Own Boss Class (Online)

Nicole Middleton is a co-founder and CEO of Strategy Squad, an independent wealth management firm based in Oakland, C...
Kathren Murrell Stevenson

Kathren Murrell Stevenson

Lead Instructor & Mentor

Freelancer Course (San Francisco)

Kathren Murrell Stevenson, Ph.D., is a freelancer sharing classes, workshops, and retreats in Wisdom Ecology — reconn...
Rachel O’Neil

Rachel O’Neil

Mentor

Creating a Business Roadmap Course (Boston)

Rachel O’Neil is the Founder of PeopleNova Human Capital. She coaches CEOs of high growth high impact startups. In ad...
Fyodor Ovchinnikov

Fyodor Ovchinnikov

Lead Instructor & Mentor

Launching a Business Course (Oakland)

Fyodor Ovchinnikov is co-founder and managing partner of the Institute for Evolutionary Leadership – a California-bas...
Taelyr Roberts

Taelyr Roberts

Mentor

Launching a Business Course (Boston)

Taelyr Roberts is founder of Hippie Adjacent, a small business that creates unique wearable jewelry that can have ess...
Thomas Rosenberg

Thomas Rosenberg

Lead Instructor & Mentor

Creating a Business Roadmap Course (Oakland)

Since 1994, Thomas Rosenberg has been working on change leadership and transformation around environmental initiative...
Marcus Thomas

Marcus Thomas

Lead Instructor & Mentor, Mentor

Launching a Business Course (San Francisco)

Marcus Thomas is founder of Marcus Alexander, a design-forward footwear brand, servicing those who demand exceptional...
Kimari Williams

Kimari Williams

Mentor

Freelancer Course (San Francisco)

Kimari Williams is a small business owner of a financial services company. She also works with Mills Business Alumnae...
Suzanne Yada

Suzanne Yada

Lead Instructor & Mentor

Freelancer Course (Oakland)

Suzanne Yada is a freelance digital marketing specialist and business consultant, specializing in helping creative en...
Shani Ealey

Shani Ealey

Enrollment Coordinator

Shani Ealey is a writer, visual artist, educator, and content creator with over 7 years of experience providing commu...
Chelsea Kigano

Chelsea Kigano

Marketing & Outreach Coordinator

Chelsea supports businesses, entrepreneurs, and social good organizations by creating a messaging and development str...
Nancy Larson

Nancy Larson

Business Manager

Nancy Larson is a business professional with a background in technology. She has extensive experience in office, proj...
Sherina McKinley

Sherina McKinley

Director, Lead Instructor & Mentor

Creating a Business Roadmap Course (Boston)

Sherina McKinley has the unique ability to see an entrepreneur’s vision and, connect them with resources to help them...
Hannah Onstad

Hannah Onstad

Content Strategist

Hannah Onstad is the founder of H2O Content Strategy—a content, design, and development company—and LOAKL.com, a new ...
Aaron Joseph

Aaron Joseph

Graphic Designer

Aaron Joseph is the founder of Identafire, an Oakland-based, QPOC-owned graphic design and web development agency wor...