Journey To Lead

“Curiosity is my compass,” says Alexis Zhu, and it’s led her to the cutting edge of fintech. As Stripe’s global head of strategic payment partnerships, she’s rethinking how businesses scale—and how people, especially the underserved, access the digital economy. Her journey didn’t start in Silicon Valley. Born in China to a mechanical engineer father and an acupuncturist mother, she moved to Wales, and then the U.S. at age five, speaking limited English but filled with questions. She dreamed of being a scientist, lawyer, or writer. Instead, she landed in finance, cutting her teeth in banking and private equity before jumping into startups. Now, she leads a team at Stripe building non-card payment solutions through partnerships for millions worldwide who lack access to traditional credit. “Five years ago, I didn’t fully grasp how fragmented the global financial system is,” she admits. “This isn’t just about convenience—it’s about access.” Her work tackles real barriers, particularly for small business owners, who immediately benefit from turnkey financial tools. By adding local payment options, she’s ensuring inclusion isn’t just an afterthought. "Anyone, anywhere should have the ability to access and pay for the same goods and services the rest of the world has access to,” she says. Beyond Stripe, Alexis is an angel investor. “Over 50% of my investments go to female founders,” she says. “It’s not just about leveling the playing field, it’s about the returns; I invest in those who I think will outperform.” She’s also demystifying investing and advising. “You can pool small checks, invest $1000, $2000—or just your time and expertise. You can change someone’s trajectory.” Four years in at Stripe, Alexis isn’t just building financial infrastructure—she’s opening doors for those locked out for too long. Fellow headshot captured by: Heather Crowder

"To be able"—that’s what Kaya means in Tagalog, and it’s the ethos driving?Madeline Darcy. As the founder of Kaya Ventures, she’s backing startups that aren’t just disruptive—they’re essential. Madeline’s path to venture capital wasn’t linear. One of 13 children in a blended, multiracial family, she never fully fit in—but that became her strength as it pushed her to find affinity where others saw difference. Raised by her mother, a special education teacher, and her father who lived with an Indigenous Australian community, she quickly found her voice and independence. By 16, she was juggling high school and college classes living with her grandparents. She hustled her way into elite schools, eventually earning an MBA from Harvard. But much of her education came from her lived experiences and career in consulting, where she saw that true innovation wasn’t happening in boardrooms—it was in scrappy startups. That realization led her to launch Kaya Ventures. In an ever-changing environment,?Madeline?is doubling down on what she knows best: health, business, and finance. She’s not just an investor—she’s a hands-on advisor, guiding founders through their toughest moments. Leading an emerging fund is a grind—fundraising, supporting founders, cutting through industry biases. Women still get penalized in fundraising. She knows it. She’s not na?ve about it. And she’s not backing down either. Her long game? Build Kaya into a legacy firm and, one day, run her own family office—ensuring women control their financial futures. Fellow headshot captured by: Heather Crowder

We're thrilled to welcome the 2025-26 class of JOURNEY Fellows! These 27 visionary leaders are innovating to solve for the most critical societal challenges. JOURNEY is honored to equip them to scale. Pattie Sellers, Nina Easton ,Julie Schlosser, Nicole Didda, Mary Morgan Kara Barnett - Managing Director, Head of the General Atlantic Foundation, General Atlantic Sarah "Sassie" Duggleby - Co-Founder and CEO, Venus Aerospace LinkedIn Lauren Dunford - Co-Founder and CEO, Guidewheel Jarah Euston - Co-Founder and CEO, WorkWhile Paula Goldman - Chief Ethical and Humane Use Officer & EVP, Product, Salesforce Danielle Gray - EVP, UnitedHealth Group Davida Herzl - Co-Founder, CEO, and President, Aclima Rashida Hodge - Corporate Vice President, Azure Data and AI, Customer Success, Microsoft Alyssa Jaffee - Partner, 7wire Ventures Dana Kim - Founder and CEO, Highlight Leslie Labruto - Managing Director, Sustainable Finance, Environmental Defense Fund Kate Liebelt - Chief of Staff and Head of Business Strategy & Operations, US Medical, Genentech-Roche Terah Lyons - Managing Director, Global Head of AI and Data Policy, JPMorgan Chase Christine Moon - Co-Founder and President, BlueSpace.ai Nina Montgomery - Head of Product, Ayble Health; Faculty Lecturer, Dartmouth College Jenny McColloch - VP Sustainability and Community Impact, CVS Health Ritu Narayan - Founder and CEO, Zūm Monisha Nariani - Head of Branch & Small Business Strategy, Sales, and Transformation, U.S. Bank Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli - CEO and President, The ONE Campaign Amisha Parekh - Managing Director, Global Head of Sustainability for Private Equity, Blackstone Onay Payne - Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, Manulife Investment Management Michelle Penczak - Co-Founder and CEO, Squared Away Maria Salamanca - General Partner, Ulu Ventures Camille Stewart Gloster, Esq - Senior Director, AI and Resilience Services, CrowdStrike Joanna Strober - Co-Founder and CEO, Midi Health Allison Wolff - CEO, Vibrant Planet Mahshid Yassaei - Co-Founder and CEO, Tali AI

Jemina Bernard’s life and career have been dedicated to tearing down barriers for kids who look like her (she’s Black and Puerto Rican) and who are growing up in neighborhoods that mirror the South Bronx, where she was mostly raised by her mother and grandparents.?Against the odds, Jemina attended a prominent NYC prep school, followed by Yale and Columbia Business School. In doing so, she followed in the footsteps of her father, who likewise rose from humble roots to graduate from Harvard and Harvard Business School, and become Morgan Stanley’s first African-American partner. Jemina’s very personal and fundamental belief in the power of education to create economic mobility – and futures brimming with possibility –?has shaped her career advocating for children and educators. As head of parent engagement in New York City’s Department of Education, she served as a top lieutenant to reformist Chancellor Joel Klein. Later, her leadership at Teach For America has brought her to?a transformative tenure as President and Chief Operating Officer, where her business acumen turned a string of deficits into a $6.5 million surplus, reducing expenses. Under her leadership, TFA grew its teacher corps by over 50 percent over the last two years, and developed a tutoring program that has grown into over 3,200 small learning groups directly supporting 4,800 students across 38 communities. Along the way, Jemina earned high marks for leading large institutions through difficult change with transparency, grace, and kindness. “I have a bias toward action,” she says, recalling one of her favorite James Baldwin quotes: “Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.” That said, Jemina’s leadership style is “people-centered and hyper cognizant of the impact my decisions have on colleagues and the students and educators I care so much about.”? With humanity comes strength. That’s a truth that Jemina draws upon as she openly shares the trauma of losing her 5-month old daughter Sofia – knowing her story will help others. “Human work comes with incredible highs and devastating lows,” she says,?“but in the midst of all of it, actively choosing joy and hope are a must.” Fellow headshot captured by: Heather Crowder

Still thinking about the incredible energy at JOURNEY SF last week. From inspiring conversations to new connections, it was a powerful reminder of what happens when ambitious, mission-driven leaders come together. Grateful to everyone who joined us and helped make it such a success. Until next time! Photo credit: Heather Crowder

When Samantha Alexander was 20, all the stars in her life pointed toward a career in acting. She had earned a BFA in drama from New York University and was considering a touring role in “Bye Bye Birdie.” Those stars suddenly realigned when she realized she didn’t want to go on the road for a life on stage. She quit, and while interviewing for bartending jobs to pay her rent, accidentally launched a successful decade-long career in the beauty industry, including as Chief of Staff to Clinique’s global brand president and as Head of North America Consumer Engagement for the Estee Lauder brand Smashbox. By then, Sam had developed the marketing skills and entrepreneurial savvy to tackle an issue that plagues millions – food’s impact on health. For Sam, this was personal. Her stove-top memories of cooking healthy meals with her Italian grandmother in New Jersey were later clouded by severe gastrointestinal pain. It was initially (incorrectly) diagnosed as lactose intolerance, and decades later (correctly) diagnosed as gut dysbiosis. Through the process of struggling and healing, she learned she was far from alone:?6 in 10 Americans have chronic diet-related disease that could be treated or, more importantly prevented, through food. Sam founded bitewell in 2020,?joining a new category of startups with a mission to treat “food as medicine.”?As the public becomes more focused on the dangers of ultra-processed foods and ingredients like sugar in children’s cereal, the startup’s mission is timely and quickly gaining traction. Bitewell has evolved into a nutrition technology company providing its trademark FoodHealth Score to manufacturers and retailers so customers can navigate and improve?their food purchase choices.? In October, Kroger Health announced the launch of bitewell’s FoodHealth Score for customers shopping online and within the Kroger app. More announcements are on the horizon. “Consumers are starting to demand better information from all the places they shop,”?Sam says. The FoodHealth Score gives consumers a vote on food health. Along the way, Sam is emerging as a popular voice on food health with her substack column,?Sam Talks Food.?“Diet-related diseases now account for the majority of chronic health issues in the United States, from diabetes to heart disease and everything in between,” she notes. “These are conditions we can often prevent—or even reverse—through food. But we’re up against an industrial food system that prioritizes profit over people, masking harmful practices and making it harder than ever to make informed choices.” Did she ever imagine, as a young actor, that one day she’d be building a company to take on the global food supply? “Never!” she laughs. #FoodHealth?

Anastasia Volkova, was in the midst of a Series B capital raise for Regrow Ag – a tech platform enabling ag giants like Cargill and Nutrien to reduce their on-farm carbon emissions – when she got the news that Russia had invaded her country of Ukraine. The outskirts of her home town were being bombed heavily and she was deeply concerned about her mother’s safety. She sprung into action and within weeks was able to move her mom to LA and build her a garden – all while raising money for Regrow Ag and brokering deals to bring regenerative agriculture to new customers like General Mills and Kelloggs. Three years later, Regrow Ag has 100 customers globally who deploy its technology to monitor farm management and land use practices to reduce emissions and sequester carbon in soil. That mission is a critical component to the war on climate change: As Anastasia notes, agriculture contributes between 18-21% of global emissions. By bringing together agronomy, soil science, and digital tools, Regrow Ag is helping farmers and food producers build sustainable, scalable, climate-resilient supply chains. Anastasia grew up in southeastern Ukraine with a single mom who, like her parents, was a farmer using earth-friendly practices. She inherited their passion but not their green thumbs. Instead, Anastasia pursued science—earning a bachelors in Kyiv, a master’s in Warsaw, and a PhD in aerospace engineering from Australia’s University of Sydney. She started her entrepreneur career down under and likes to say she is “Ukraine-born, Australia-minted.” Anastasia has been honored on the TIME100 NEXT list, MIT’s “35 Under 35” Innovator list, and BBC’s “Top 100 Women.” She’s also a member of the Forbes Technology Council. Along the way, Anastasia has learned that scaling leadership requires more than science and expertise. With the phenomenal growth of Regrow, she’s learned that “You can never invest enough in understanding people.” As she notes in a Medium interview, “When we started building partnerships, I focused on tech and outcomes. But real progress comes from empathy. Listening to farmers, really understanding their experiences, and engaging in their concerns has been the foundation for sustainable, meaningful collaboration.” Scaling an impact-driven company, she adds, “means you need relentless clarity on your ‘why.’”

Zoe Weinberg?has a habit of running toward the kind of fearsome, complex challenges that most people avoid. She’s been an aid worker in Iraq, a World Bank/IFC investor in the conflict zones of Somalia, South Sudan and Liberia, and a legal observer in Guantanamo. Now, with democracies threatened worldwide, she has founded the world’s first venture capital fund to advance human agency and counter digital authoritarianism. As?Zoe?explains, democracies worldwide are endangered not just by outside threats, but from within by disinformation, censorship, lost control over personal data, and a decline of public trust. ex/ante (a Latin reference to forecasting and future horizons) provides early stage funding for technologies that advance democratic values by giving individuals more control over data, assets, algorithms, and information. Portfolio company Reality Defender, for example,?detects deepfakes, while Cape?enhances mobile security. Anchored by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt (ex/ante spun out of Schmidt Futures), the $40 million fund has backed 18 start-ups so far, and has attracted investors that include the Ford Foundation, Union Square Ventures, venture capitalist Marc Andreesson, and Forerunner Ventures Managing Partner Kirsten Green, a Journey To Lead Champion.?Zoe’s partner Michael Mosier is a former White House and Treasury official, and veteran crypto startup attorney.? None of this came naturally to?Zoe, who was born in Paris and mostly grew up in New York. “I come from a family working in the arts, so I had to find my own way when it came to navigating the world of foreign policy, finance, and technology,” she notes.?But she earned a Yale law degree and Stanford MBA after attending Harvard, and is now forging a new category of investing that, she says, defines a north star for the future of tech development in a moment of rapid digital evolution, and helps to counter the dark sides of technology, including oppression, manipulation, and control.? ??????? “Free societies,” she says, “depend on human agency.” Fellow headshot captured by Heather Crowder

Final Call! Today is your last chance to apply for the JOURNEY 2025–26 Fellowship! Don’t miss this opportunity to join a transformative community of mission-driven women leaders. Applications close at midnight PT tonight—take the leap and apply now! The application form is here: https://lnkd.in/eeqEaXYB

Looking to invest in yourself in 2025 and beyond? Are you a mission-driven leader prepared to scale to new heights? This is your final week to apply for the 2025–26 JOURNEY Fellows program. Due to the holiday schedule, we’re accepting applications until midnight PT on Friday, January 10. If you haven’t applied yet, this is your moment—apply here: https://lnkd.in/eeqEaXYB