The Baltimore Business Journal named Lolita Taub, Catalyte’s chief of staff, as one of its 13 Leaders in Diversity for 2020. We congratulate her for this well-deserved honor and all that she does for our company and society.
Lolita’s endless advocacy on behalf of underserved communities is only outweighed by her dedication to investing her time/money to makes others successful.
In her role as chief of staff, she is responsible for shepherding the Catalyte’s mission of providing opportunities for anyone, regardless of background, to become a software developer. She leads internal DEI projects to make the company more equitable and welcoming to underrepresented groups, along with her core role of supporting the CEO and rest of the executive team in achieving company-wide growth objectives.
Outside of Catalyte, Lolita puts her money where her mouth is, being the change for which she advocates. She started a monthly dinner series for first-time founders in Baltimore, fostering a supportive community. Lolita holds monthly “office hours” to answer questions and give advice to new founders. She is a TechStars mentor, offering her time and expertise to help a diverse cohort of entrepreneurs succeed. And, Lolita is a prolific speaker, conversing with audiences and leading workshops to drive career growth of underestimated talent and to share how allies can help.
Lolita invests all of her speaking fees in companies that are founded by underestimated founders or serve underserved communities. This is the latest advocacy she has done as an angel investor and mentor for other women and people of color who are trying to break through the white/male-dominated tech/investing space.
Lolita is a venture partner at NextGen Venture Partners, which funds early-stage enterprise companies, among others, and has recently launched NextGen Align, which focuses on social inclusion companies. Lolita is a scout for Indie.VC, whose investment strategy has led them to more diversity — 50/50 gender parity founder-led company ratio and 20%+ underrepresented founders. She has also invested as an LP in Operators Collective, supporting a fund that brings diversity into the technology/venture capital industries with LPs who are 90% women and 40% people of color.
