📣 Announcing the Head of Community & Culture at Unshackled Ventures!
Hello, world!
As some of you know, we’ve been on a search for the latest and greatest addition to our team. We’re thrilled to share the news that the search is over.
It is with great joy that we announce that we have an amazing person leading the charge as Head of Community & Culture. Samala has had a storied portfolio career. Her hustle and entrepreneurial spirit kicked off when she was still single-digit-years-old. She built her first companies and DJ career in Philly while she was attending The Wharton School and playing D1 lacrosse. Her success in Philly helped her move across the country to launch a life and several companies in San Francisco where she has since:
Founded and continues to DJ the longest running 90s party on the West Coast, and has DJed on 5 continents
Been invited to the Obama White House to deliver keynotes on technology and civic engagement
Co-founded America’s first digital nonprofit to engage more young Asian Pacific Americans in civics
Co-founded one of the earliest digital media distribution networks for mobile to help more than 500 artists break into markets in the United States, Central & South America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, India, China, and Russia
Launched seven movies online that entertained, educated, and engaged over 40 million people globally for climate
Served as Senior Advisor for Social Innovation for Mozilla
Contributed to the Aspen Institute’s Latinos and Society Program
Served on New Media Ventures’ Investment Committee
Advised the World Food Programme’s Innovation Accelerator
Samala is currently Board of Director to Monument Lab and the Women’s Foundation of California, as well as Advisor to the New School's The Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy.
In her role as Head of Community & Culture, bringing a wealth of experience and relationships, Samala is anchoring a big and exciting next step in the evolution of Unshackled. We’ve always known how powerful and special this community is, and with Samala now on board and helming all things community, more of the world see and experience it with us. With a person in leadership focused on community and culture — all day, everyday — this amazing group of humans that is the Unshackled network is transforming into an evermore powerful, connected, and joyful community! Expect to see more invitations from us (online, offline, and otherwise). We look forward to seeing you more frequently, and hopefully soon. In the meantime, here’s a little New Lunar & (belated) Solar Year gift via Spotify from our Head of Community & Culture 🙌🎧✨
If you haven’t gotten a chance to get to know her yet, we trust you will enjoy doing that soon. She’s already looking forward to nerding out with the Unshackled community at-large on all things culture, belonging, technology, music, and team sports.
A (long) note from Samala 😁
When the team invited me to contribute a personal note – to speak to why this community excites me, what is driving me to do this work – I struggled to not write an autobiography! So much of what is at the heart of Unshackled’s vision and work directly overlaps with what personally drives me and my work.
I’m the youngest of three, the bunso to my fellow Filipinos out there. I’m also the only girl in my sibling set and the only one to be born in the U.S. I’m actually the first of anyone in my lineage born in the U.S. I’ve been afforded so many opportunities simply because of the good luck of being born here. A luck that I didn’t choose or make. It was gifted to me, and hard earned, by my immigrant parents. Like a lot of children of immigrants, I witnessed and experienced the challenges my parents (and brothers, for that matter) transcended to excel in their work while also learning how to belong in America, while also keeping true to themselves and what they love from being Filipino. I had to do my own, and different kind of, dance to be true to my culture, to belong, and excel.
For the reasons above and more, I have the utmost reverence for the imagination, optimism, and just straight up fortitude of immigrants. It fills me with so much joy, pride, and honor to play any part in flattening the curve to success for immigrant founders and the companies they’re building. I also believe that the world will be a better place when we put more capital and support into what immigrants worldwide see is possible. This point feels especially poignant as we have every indication that we’ll see more and more climate-related migration, as well as an increase in innovation and interventions by folks impacted.
There’s another big, and somewhat selfish, reason why I’m so excited about the Unshackled community. Ask anyone who knows what I excel at and they’ll tell you it’s gathering, it’s setting a vibe, and deepening community. It’s the art of hosting and convening. It’s making people feel welcome and safe to be themselves in all their amazingness. It’s forging powerful relationships, creating the conditions for meaningful connection, and getting to bear witness to the ensuing magic. These things come naturally and give me so much joy. I’m beyond fortunate to get to do what I love with a group of people I have tremendous affinity and respect for, people who have supported me my whole life. Immigrants.
Samala