Cohort 6 (2022-2023)

Christine Curella is an entrepreneur, advisor, and advocate for economic democracy. Christine works with policy, labor, and grassroots leaders on inclusive economic development strategies and is building a new venture to organize and leverage the financial power of communities. Formerly, as Senior Policy Advisor to the Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives in New York City, Christine designed and operationalized programs to address the racial wealth gap, including launching worker and community-owned enterprises and inclusive financial technology to address predatory lending and cooperative strategies to increase job quality.   

Christine has worked in international financial institutions, federal and local government, and community-based organizations for fifteen years to drive economic development that realizes shared prosperity. Christine led economic inclusion projects at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development and the New York City Economic Development Corporation, coordinated strategic planning for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the Obama Administration, and consulted for the World Bank Inspection Panel. She is a graduate of Hunter College, City University of New York, where she was awarded the Harry S. Truman Scholarship. She received her Master’s in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a Fellow of Aspen Institute’s inaugural Job Quality Fellowship. 

Chris Zobrist has over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and supporter of early-stage startups, focusing on helping individuals and teams integrate innovation theory and entrepreneurial practice. He received his Bachelor’s of Science from UC Berkeley and his Master’s of Business Administration from UC Davis, with a focus in Tech Entrepreneurship and Innovation, respectively. Currently, he is working on his Doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership at the University of Southern California. His research interests include startups and early-stage investing, innovation ecosystem building, and the application of psychology and neuroscience to facilitate individual and organizational transformation and positive societal change.  

In addition, he has developed a strong interest in mindfulness meditation and its practical application to improving well-being. In order to deepen his meditation practice, he’s been fortunate to have attended over 60 weeks of intensive meditation retreats with well-known teachers, including Jon and Will Kabat-Zinn, Joseph Goldstein, Shinzen Young, Daniel P Brown, Alan Wallace, Roshi Joan Halifax, Richie Davidson, Mingyur Rinpoche, several assistant teachers in the tradition of S.N. Goenka, and others. In addition, he has maintained a strong daily practice since 2015 and is always open to exploring new ways of practice to help support his own development and well-being. 

Kheira Issaoui-Mansouri is a philanthropic advisor, facilitator and advocate for racial and economic justice. Over the course of her 15+ years career, she has supported dozens of organizations and leaders in clarifying their goals, interrogating their assumptions and acting with intention.

When a vision is present but the plan for action fuzzy, Kheira excels at illuminating the way to thoughtful implementation, designing processes to get things done and ensuring there’s community accountability and learning along the way. As the founder and managing director of Najam Consulting, she leads a portfolio of  work across sectors including environmental justice, reproductive justice, labor organizing and corporate accountability. Kheira’s prior roles include serving as Director and Equity Lead at Arabella Advisors, leading an early childhood mental health portfolio as Program Officer at the Irving Harris Foundation, and navigating the waters of corporate social responsibility at the Ford Center for Global Citizenship. 

Kheira holds a MA in political science from University of Montreal and a BA in economics from Laval University. She is an alum of the Just Economy Institute and serves on the boards of Crossroads Fund and the Chicago Abortion Fund.  When she’s not supporting clients and volunteering, she enjoys watching stand-up comedy, eating carbs in all their variations and having impromptu existential conversations. 

Jhana Valentine (she/her) is a social finance professional with the overarching goal to alleviate income inequality and further a more equitable and environmentally sustainable society. Since 2016, she has led innovative initiatives and critical business functions in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) across the west coast. In her current role as Lending Officer with Working Solutions CDFI, Jhana is increasing access to capital and business consulting for the small businesses that make our local economy thrive.

Jhana began her career in social finance, leading the B Corp certification process for Albina Community Bank in Portland, Oregon, which resulted in a “Best for the World” ranking. She went on to launch and scale the Clean Vehicle Assistance Program by facilitating a public-private partnership between the California Air Resources Board and Beneficial State Bank, which helped over four thousand low-income Californians transition to electric vehicles with the help of grants and low-interest auto loans.

Born and raised in Iowa, Jhana now lives in Oakland, California. She holds a BA in Environmental Studies from Lewis & Clark College. She is an avid hiker, rock climber, and reader.

Krishna Omolade is a Director, Integrated Capitals with the Heron Foundation. As Director, Krishna manages relationships with a diverse set of impactful organizations and mission-driven financial institutions dedicated to advancing economic and racial justice.  

Before joining the Heron Foundation, he was a Vice President with the New York City Economic Development Corporation and served as the executive director of the New York City Industrial Development Agency and Build NYC Resource Corporation. During his tenure, Krishna engaged community partners, including nonprofits and government agencies, to provide financial assistance to dozens of mission-aligned real estate projects and $11 million in grants to economic development programs and initiatives.  

Prior to his work for NYCEDC, Krishna worked for a New York nonprofit, the Corbin Hill Food Project. As the director of operations and finance, he managed the day-to-day operations of an innovative food justice organization to provide fresh, local produce to underserved communities. Krishna earned his M.S. in Urban Policy and Analysis from the New School and a Bachelor’s degree in sociology from Connecticut College.