Yichen Feng is Director of Investments at Acumen America, where she invests in and manages a portfolio of companies tackling poverty and inequality across the United States. She was previously on the founding team and principal at Lumos Capital Group, focusing on growth stage education technology and future of work investments.
Prior to Lumos, Yichen was a technology investment banker at Goldman Sachs, where she advised public and private internet and software companies. She has also started numerous ventures and held leadership roles at Nova Credit and the Center for Economic Democracy.
Yichen serves as a Board Director of Kachuwa Impact Fund and the HeadStarter Network, and the Investment Committee of the SK2 Fund.
She received an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia and a BA from Harvard University. Yichen is based in Oakland and Los Angeles.
Community, interconnectedness and transformation are at the heart of JEI. Which speaks to you most? Why?
All are precious. Transformation is particularly appealing to me at this moment because of the possibilities it awakens. The possibility of changing my mind, of growing, of being differently, of moving from discomfort to sense-making, and finding a new comfort from understanding, of evolution. It also means forgiveness and grace are possible. The idea that I can change and that people can change, and that we can change… I can’t think of something more hopeful than that possibility.
What are a few things about you that would surprise other people?
In no particular order:
I’m at the boxing gym almost every day.
I’ll never say no to fishing or a dance floor.
My first business was selling grapefruits and my favorite business venture was running an online vintage clothing store.
My last art show was in 2019.
I taught at a middle school when I was an investment banker.
I’d love to talk to you about covenant economics.
What movements for a just economy, past or present, inspire you?
My grandparents were revolutionaries, organizing and fighting against Japanese imperialism in their youth. They taught me about political economy and social theory at a very early age. They showed me theory without practice is empty; practice without theory is blind.
The UTLA teachers who educated me and created movement ecosystems within each classroom. Thank you for encouraging me to protest and organize against the military industrial complex in my youth. Thank you for teaching me that I could turn pain into love.
The LUNAR giving circle, which is being created at this moment (and birthed in JEI).
Zapatista Women. Thank you for the light.
