our people
Founder
Erika Seth Davies
Erika Seth Davies is the Founder of The Racial Equity Asset Lab (The REAL), an organization working in partnership with Common Future that centers racial equity in impact investing and works to shift capital to close the persistent racial wealth gap.
Erika is also the CEO of Rhia Ventures, a Social Entrepreneur in Residence with Common Future, and a former Fellow, Equitable Access to Capital Markets in the Fair Finance portfolio of the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University. She combines social impact skills with expertise on issues of racial equity, diversity, and inclusion.
She also brings to this work over two decades of experience leading nonprofit and philanthropic organizations including the Baltimore Community Foundation and the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE). During her time as the Vice President of External Affairs at ABFE, Erika designed the SMART Investing initiative–the first effort to incorporate a racial equity lens in foundation endowment practice through increased access for minority-owned and women-owned investment management firms.
She serves as an Independent Committee Member with the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation’s Impact Investing Committee; an Advisory Board Member with Matter Unlimited and Impact Hub Baltimore; and a board member of the Baltimore Algebra Project.
Erika is mother to Ethan and Evelyn and can be found cheering poolside at a swim meet or applauding loudly at a dance performance.
PARTNERS FOR CHANGE
Jonalyn Denlinger
Jonalyn Denlinger is an impact consultant with over 15 years of supporting foundations, funds and businesses in the capital deployment strategies for impact. Her areas of expertise include: human capital development, access to capital strategy implementation, fund deployment for impact, evaluation of impact, and collaborative design efforts. She works with public and private clients, as well as nonprofits committed to supporting impact across a variety of impact areas including affordable housing, small business and entrepreneurship, environmental justice, and health equity.
Prior to her current role, Jonalyn worked in the philanthropic sector in a variety of capacities. Her most recent role was to serve as a Director, Consultant for Syntrinsic Investment Counsel, an investment advisory firm committed to supporting foundations and nonprofits in their investment strategies aligned to mission. She was a Program Officer at the Baltimore Community Foundation for nearly seven years, investing in intergenerational programming; social capital building strategies; place-based, community driven development; and public education reform. Jonalyn served as the Director of Member Engagement at Maryland Philanthropy Network (formerly Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers) where she led the organization’s policy efforts, the emerging leader strategy, and the impact investing strategy. She was a senior consultant at Frontline Solutions, an organizational management consulting firm supporting foundations and nonprofits in their work nationally.
Adewale Oduye
Adewale Oduye is recognized as a “Top Venture Capital Voice” on LinkedIn and currently serves as the Director of Programs and Legal Affairs at Rhia Ventures, where he leads initiatives focused on advancing health and economic justice. Prior to this, he was Director at the Tara Health Foundation, a philanthropic investment group dedicated to promoting race and gender equity. In this role, Adewale primarily managed the Diverse Investing Collective, a partnership of endowments, pension funds, and high-net-worth individuals working to diversify the investment industry.
Before joining Tara Health, Adewale was an MBA Associate at M13, an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in visionary founders building disruptive software businesses. He also served as an MBA Investment Associate with the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the USC Marshall School of Business, where he applied his expertise to support emerging entrepreneurs.
Adewale is a proud alum of BLCK VC’s Black Venture Institute (BVI), a curriculum-based initiative that trains Black operators and executives in the foundational elements of angel investing, scouting, and venture capital. The program empowers and supports Black investors while working to increase diversity in the venture capital industry.
Adewale is also an alum of the Professional Development Program with the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission (LASEC), which prepares professionals for careers in the sports industry. Through this program, he worked as a Human Resources Associate at AEG Worldwide, the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company.
Earlier in his career, Adewale served as a veteran prosecutor with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, specializing in White-Collar Crime and trying more than 50 jury trials. His work in criminal justice reform has led to features in NPR, the Los Angeles Times, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Adewale holds a Bachelor’s degree from Columbia University, a Juris Doctor from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, and an MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business, where he focused on Venture Capital and Sports Business Administration.