The Futures Fund Community Health Incubator is a first-of-its-kind entrepreneurship program at Volunteers of America (VOA) to accelerate social enterprises that improve quality, equity, and access to care for Medicaid and at-risk populations. The program includes business training and coaching, as well as grants and potential venture capital investments to help drive projects from ideation to scaling stages.
Annual cohorts are comprised of a mix of teams of VOA INTRApreneurs and startup founders of early stage businesses that can improve a community’s social determinants of health. These teams have the opportunity to test, pilot and scale their concepts through collaborations with VOA, one of the largest and most experienced health and housing not-for-profit organizations in the country which serves over 1.5 million individuals each year in over 400 communities.
The inaugural launch of the Community Health Incubator is sponsored by the Humana Foundation, which shares the Futures Fund’s vision to support innovative solutions that address social determinants of health.
How It Works
If you are a VOA Affiliate and want to learn more about Phase 1, click HERE.
If you are a Startup Founder and want to learn about Phase 2, click HERE.
Click HERE to learn about our 2022 Cohort.
Advisory Board
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Gregory Downing, D.O., Ph.D.
Innovation Horizons, LLC Founder
Gregory Downing is the Founder of Innovation Horizons, LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based health
Gregory Downing is the Founder of Innovation Horizons, LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based health consulting organization focused on supporting the integration of highly innovative health technologies and services into business practices that support value-based health and health care practices. In current practice, Dr. Downing provides business development services to organizations by designing programs, strengthening infrastructure, and enhancing leadership capabilities that are aimed collectively at raising their innovation capacity.
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Jordana Fremed
CapShift, Director, Impact Investing
Jordana is responsible for impact assessment and screening and analyzing investment opportunities
Jordana is responsible for impact assessment and screening and analyzing investment opportunities on the CapShift platform. Prior to joining the CapShift team, Jordana worked as a consultant at The Bridgespan Group, a social impact management consulting firm founded out of Bain & Company and as the CFO of Kunduz, an early stage education technology startup. She has experience designing and implementing organization and fund strategy, diligence tools, and impact reporting. Jordana graduated from Columbia University with a BA in Sustainable Development and Business Management, magna cum laude. She is author of Back to the Frontier: Investing that Puts Impact First and Venture Capital’s Next Unicorn? Impact. Jordana is an avid guide-runner with Achilles International.
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Abbie Gilbert
Humana Associate Director Health & Advocacy
Abbie Gilbert is an Associate Director with Humana’s Office of Health Affairs & Advocacy,
Abbie Gilbert is an Associate Director with Humana’s Office of Health Affairs & Advocacy, supporting physician relationships, government affairs, thought leadership and the company’s population health strategy; connecting together with state and local health initiatives for the benefit of members, employees, and the community at large. Abbie began her work at Humana in 2014 in Management Consulting where she worked with company leaders to define and evaluate initiatives, lead consulting engagements, and work on specific project goals for the Executive Leadership Team. In 2012, Abbie was named one of the Louisville Business First’s 40 under 40.
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Lawrence Hendrix
Senior Director, Warehousing & Logistics | Retail Operations
Lawrence Hendrix joined VOA in 2005 baling clothing in the Columbus, OH warehouse, and later
Lawrence Hendrix joined VOA in 2005 baling clothing in the Columbus, OH warehouse, and later worked as a Driver, Foreman, and Product Manager. More recently, Lawrence developed the logistics system currently used throughout the retail operation for acquisition and distribution of donations. He began his career at General Electric in its Turbine Business Group, and later served as a Vice President for Southeast Bank in Florida and Banc Ohio. Lawrence also works with the US Probation Office and US District Court, Southern District of Ohio, assisting ex-offenders reenter society as productive and self-supporting members of their communities.
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Shayna Hetzel
American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact Investment Director, Community & Social Impact
Shayna is a community builder focused on collective action for greater social impact – with 15+
Shayna is a community builder focused on collective action for greater social impact – with 15+ years of experience in education, equity, and social justice. She currently leads teams at American Family Insurance that are focused on social innovation and community collaboration to close equity gaps in education and for our youth through venture capital investments, strategic partnerships, and community programs. As part of this work, Shayna serves on the board of directors of several social impact startups.
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Claire-Cecile Pierre, M.D.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital Associate Chief Medical
Trained in Internal Medicine and Board Certified in Clinical Informatics, Dr. Pierre holds
Trained in Internal Medicine and Board Certified in Clinical Informatics, Dr. Pierre holds decades of experience in the use of technology to improve the quality of care in the US working in large multi hospital academic health systems and in community health centers. With a career focused on health equity, Dr. Pierre seeks to encourage healthcare innovations that appropriately value the expertise of patients and communities. She is a faculty member of Harvard Medical School and is exploring the role of targeted investments and entrepreneurial leadership in increasing health equity.
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Julia Ryan
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Vice President, Health
Julia Ryan leads LISC’s national work to improve health in communities across America, leveraging
Julia Ryan leads LISC’s national work to improve health in communities across America, leveraging the organization’s significant nationwide investments – totaling $2 billion in 2020 – that address housing, economic opportunity, safety and justice and other social determinants of health. Since the pandemic, the team’s focus expanded to encompass LISC’s work to rebuild a more affordable, equitable childcare industry; to support holistic fitness and wellness opportunities in communities of color; and to promote equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
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Ravi Sharma
OOTIFY, CEO AND FOUNDER; VENTURE PARTNER (iBOS Ventures)
Ravi Sharma is a mental health activist, investor, and fourth-time entrepreneur. He has incubated
Ravi Sharma is a mental health activist, investor, and fourth-time entrepreneur. He has incubated and invested in numerous technology startups (including multiple mental health startups) through iBOS Ventures, and is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of a new mental health platform called OOTify. Ravi's latest passion project is a Children's Mental Health Book he wrote after recently becoming a father. The book speaks to physical health and mental health parity and is a great conversation starter to start talking about mental health early.
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Christopher Thompson
Humana Director, Corporate Strategies/Strategic Initiatives
Chris is a Director of Corporate Strategy at Humana having held the position since November 2019.
Chris is a Director of Corporate Strategy at Humana having held the position since November 2019. In his current capacity, he leads a team that solves complex business problems and helps to advance Humana’s strategic objectives. Over the past year his team has evaluated new growth markets, assessed divesture opportunities, provided analytical insights, developed enterprise strategies and optimized core business capabilities. Prior to his current position, Chris started his career and had some of his most notable accomplishments and life experiences as an Army Infantry Officer during combat operations in Iraq.
Director
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Paul Orlando
Startups Unplugged, Community Health Incubator Director