meet our key players.
The Headed to Work campaign solution reframes women’s sports as what it already is: work—and a rapidly scaling economic engine.
Led by an incredible team of women, Headed to Work transforms women’s sports from a cultural moment into recognized economic infrastructure—where authority is assumed, ownership is normal, and investment follows inevitability.
Our Team & Advisors
Founder & CEO - Inspire Access-
Patrice King Brickman is the Founder & CEO of Inspire Access, an impact platform that mobilizes philanthropic capital to expand access to funding and ownership for historically underrepresented founders.
Her work is rooted in firsthand experience navigating capital systems that often exclude diverse leaders, and is focused on redesigning how capital flows—unlocking dormant resources, expanding access, and creating pathways to long-term economic participation.
Through a blended approach that integrates philanthropy and venture investing, Inspire Access channels donor-advised funds—over $200 billion currently unallocated in the U.S.—into early-stage companies with measurable impact goals, while supporting scalable, high-growth ventures led by underrepresented founders.
Brickman’s investment philosophy centers on aligning capital with access, education, and ecosystem support to move beyond one-time funding toward sustained ownership outcomes. Her work directly informs this project’s approach to expanding who is funded, who is trusted, and who participates in economic upside.
Patrice brings deep credibility in finance and governance. She serves as a Venture Capital Financing Representative on the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) Board, is a founding investor in WE Capital, and is a member of TIGER 21. She is also a minority owner in Monumental Sports, bringing direct proximity to the sports ownership ecosystem and aligning capital, ownership, and industry infrastructure central to this work.
Founding Partner - Project Wellspring-
Dia Simms is a Founding Partner of Project Wellspring and a proven operator at the intersection of storytelling, business, and ecosystem change. She brings deep execution experience across narrative strategy, measurement, and multi-stakeholder activation—translating cultural influence into durable economic outcomes. Dia has a demonstrated track record of converting culture into measurable results, most notably as Co-Founder and Board Chair of Pronghorn, a 10-year industry transformation initiative launched with a $200 million commitment to diversify an industry end-to-end—from leadership and entrepreneurship to workforce pipelines through investment, incubation, and talent development tied to measurable goals. Through a model that integrates narrative, data, education, and ecosystem coordination, Pronghorn has generated over $428 million in economic impact and is ahead of pace toward a $2.4 billion goal by 2032.
In parallel, Dia has led narrative strategy and brand building at national scale. She held executive leadership roles at REVOLT, a leading media company shaping culture through storytelling, and went on to serve as Chief Executive Officer and later Executive Chairwoman of the Board of Lobos 1707 Tequila & Mezcal, an award-winning, independent spirits brand launched in 2020 alongside Founder and Chief Creative Officer Diego Osorio with early backing from LeBron James. At Lobos 1707, Dia scaled a culturally driven brand through high-impact partnerships and creator storytelling, reinforcing her belief that who is seen, trusted, and valued determines who ultimately participates in economic opportunity and ownership.
Across her career, Dia has led and scaled a portfolio of global brands including CÎROC Ultra-Premium Vodka, DeLeón Tequila, AQUAhydrate, Sean John, Blue Flame Agency, and REVOLT TV. Most notably, she played an instrumental role in transforming CÎROC Ultra-Premium Vodka from a nascent product into a multibillion-dollar global brand.
Simms’ career achievements have earned her widespread recognition, including Billboard’s “Most Powerful Executives in the Industry,” Ebony’s “Power 100,” Food & Wine’s “Game Changers,” and the United States Black Caucus “Women’s Power 50.” She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morgan State University and a master’s degree in management from the Florida Institute of Technology. She currently resides in Georgia with her husband and daughter.
Basketball legend, coach, and former player-
Teresa Weatherspoon is a gold medal Olympian, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, and one of the WNBA’s foundational leaders whose impact spans generations. Beyond elite performance, her leadership centers on advancing equity and expanding ownership pathways for athletes—helping redefine what participation and long-term opportunity can look like in women’s sports. She currently coaches in Unrivaled, a player-owned league that is reimagining how athletes engage with governance, economics, and shared upside.
Weatherspoon gained national attention at Louisiana Tech, leading the Lady Techsters to the 1988 NCAA championship. When the WNBA launched in 1997, she became a cornerstone of the New York Liberty, helping define the league’s early identity with her intensity, leadership, and signature “T-Spoon” energy. Her last-second half-court shot in the 1999 WNBA Finals—known simply as “The Shot”—remains one of the most iconic moments in league history.
A two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Teresa set the standard for grit, professionalism, and leadership in women’s sports. She has since built a distinguished coaching career across every level of the game, serving as a WNBA head coach (Chicago Sky), NBA assistant coach (New Orleans Pelicans), and NCAA head coach (Louisiana Tech). Her lived experience across player, coach, and mentor roles gives her a rare, full-system perspective.
Today, Teresa anchors cultural credibility for this work while actively shaping pathways for athletes and coaches to move from labor to leadership and ownership—ensuring the next generation has access not just to opportunity, but to long-term economic participation.
Founding Partner - Project Wellspring-
Brooke Daniels is a Founding Partner of Project Wellspring, where she works at the intersection of capital, ecosystem development, and economic opportunity—designing strategies that expand access to ownership and investment for underinvested communities. Her work is grounded in both professional expertise and personal experience, shaped by growing up in communities where access to capital, networks, and opportunity was limited. That lived connection informs her commitment to not only investing in these communities, but also returning knowledge, networks, and capital to help build durable pathways for long-term economic participation.
Brooke brings over 15 years of experience across technology, venture capital, and real estate investing. She held leadership roles in Silicon Valley as both an operator and investor, including serving as an executive at Salesforce Ventures, where she was part of the senior leadership team managing a portfolio of over $5 billion in assets under management. During her tenure, she led and supported initiatives to expand investment into underrepresented founders, including women founders and founders of color—helping shape how large-scale capital can be deployed more equitably while still driving strong financial performance.
Her broader work reflects a deep commitment to building more inclusive innovation ecosystems. Brooke has served as a mentor for Techstars and Pharrell Williams’ Black Ambition, a Steering Committee Member for BLCKVC, an advisor to the Justice Technology Association, and an Investment Committee Member for Cap Table Coalition—an angel investing collective focused on diversifying ownership that has deployed over $45 million.
She holds an Executive MBA from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and was selected for the U.S. State Department’s prestigious Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Program in Germany, experiences that have shaped her global perspective on economic systems and access.
Across her work, Brooke focuses on one core goal: expanding who is trusted, resourced, and positioned to participate in ownership—ensuring that economic growth is not only created, but more equitably shared.
Founding Partner - Project Wellspring
-
Qiana Patterson is a Founding Partner at Project Wellspring and a leader at the intersection of venture capital, operations, and ecosystem building. She brings a unique combination of investor discipline and operator experience—having served in senior roles including Chief Operating Officer, Interim Chief Executive Officer, and Vice President of Strategy—guiding early-stage companies from concept to scalable growth.
Previously, Qiana was a Managing Partner at Nayah, a Family Office Venture Studio, where she worked closely with founders to build and scale early-stage ventures. Across her career, she has been deeply committed to expanding access and reshaping who participates in innovation economies. She is a founding member of the Cap Table Coalition, an angel investing collective focused on diversifying cap tables and expanding ownership opportunities. Through that work, she has helped deploy nearly $45 million. Her work centers on building systems that not only fund companies, but strengthen the broader ecosystems that enable them to succeed.
Qiana also served as Chairwoman of PledgeLA, a coalition of venture capital firms, founders, and institutions working to make Los Angeles one of the most inclusive tech ecosystems in the country by increasing representation, access to capital, and equitable hiring practices. In parallel, she partnered with the Annenberg Foundation to support community-based initiatives, including providing unrestricted grants to founders of color in South Los Angeles and developing programming that connects entrepreneurs to capital, networks, and opportunity.
A sought-after speaker and storyteller, Qiana has shared her perspective at leading institutions and global forums—from Harvard to industry convenings—bringing both strategic insight and lived experience to conversations about the future of work, capital, and inclusive innovation. She holds degrees from the University of Washington, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.
Across her work, Qiana is focused on building an economy that reflects the full breadth of talent—where access, ownership, and opportunity are expanded to create both meaningful impact and enduring financial returns.
-
Rachel Wilson is a Founding Partner at Project Wellspring and an operations and capital access strategist with over a decade of experience spanning automotive, healthcare, technology, and consumer products. She specializes in designing systems that connect capital, strategy, and execution—structuring pathways that enable sustainable growth and long-term ownership outcomes. Having raised and managed over $100 million in venture and non-dilutive funding, Rachel brings deep expertise in building frameworks that translate access into measurable economic impact.
Her work bridges philanthropic, private, and public networks to create equitable funding pathways for underrepresented founders—including women athletes, WNBA players, and emerging leaders alongside tech entrepreneurs. She architects integrated approaches that combine capital access, education, ecosystem alignment, and narrative strategy—ensuring individuals are not only funded, but positioned, understood, and trusted as leaders and value creators. Through convenings, programming, and strategic communications, she helps shift how founders and athletes are seen, unlocking broader participation in opportunity and ownership.
Rachel’s collaborative approach has produced tangible results through national supplier diversity initiatives with the National League of Cities and innovative capital programs with both emerging and global venture capital firms. Her expertise in regenerative and inclusive capital models is further amplified through curating more than 50 ecosystem-building convenings and advising organizations, families, founders, and institutional stakeholders globally.
Her leadership extends to board service and prestigious fellowships with Milken IIE, Margaret Atwood’s Practical Utopias, and NAIC Women in Alternatives. An active member of NASP with Bloomberg ESG Certification, Rachel brings a data-informed approach to tracking outcomes and strengthening systems-level change. She holds a B.A. in Economics and Business from Agnes Scott College and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Founding Partner - Project Wellspring
COO - Inspire Access-
Christine Roddy is the COO of Inspire Access. She brings 15+ years of experience in nonprofit management, operations, and impact investing, with a deep commitment to equity, wealth creation, and financial inclusion at both the enterprise and fund manager levels. Throughout her career, Christine has championed strategic capital sourcing and deployment to drive systemic change, mobilizing philanthropic and impact investment capital to advance inclusive economic growth. She has extensive experience scaling operations, optimizing financial management, and building cross-sector partnerships to maximize impact within emerging organizations.
She has previously served as VP Operations at VC backed climate- and ag-tech startup Clean Crop Technologies and led AlphaMundi Foundation as their Executive Director. Christine is a recognized leader in impact investing, blended finance, and inclusive innovation, frequently representing organizations as a speaker, panelist, and thought leader at industry events. Ms. Roddy holds a BA in International Relations from the College of William and Mary and an MBA from Georgetown University.
Headed to Work Advisor - Managing Partner of BEA Venture Fund-
Melissa L. Bradley is a General Partner of the BEA Venture Fund and 1863 Venture Fund, and a nationally recognized investor, entrepreneur, and educator who has spent over two decades expanding access to capital and ownership for underinvested founders. As Founder and Managing Partner of 1863 Ventures, she has built one of the leading platforms supporting “New Majority” entrepreneurs—combining capital, education, and ecosystem support to help founders move from high potential to high growth while closing the wealth gap. She is also Co-founder of New Majority Ventures, a purpose-driven media platform advancing content that is entertaining, actionable, and designed to help these entrepreneurs and their businesses thrive.
Melissa has been an early and consistent voice across capital ecosystems on the need to expand who is funded, trusted, and positioned to build generational wealth—helping shape both the narrative and infrastructure required for more inclusive entrepreneurship. Her work integrates investment, storytelling, and system design to ensure founders are not only funded, but recognized as value creators and leaders in the economy.
In addition to her investment leadership, Melissa serves as a Venture Partner at NextGen Ventures and an advisor to Reign Ventures, New Voices Foundation, and the Halcyon Fund. She is a board member of Ureeka, a small business platform she co-founded and successfully exited, as well as Eat the Change, Motley Fool Foundation, and the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO). She also contributes to leading national initiatives, including the Milken Institute DEI in Asset Management Initiative, Goldman Sachs’ One Million Black Women Advisory Council, Launch with GS Advisory Council, Fast Company Executive Board, Square & Forbes Small Business Advisory Team, and the Target Accelerators Entrepreneurs Advisory Council.
Melissa is a Professor of Practice at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, where she teaches impact investing, social entrepreneurship, and innovation, and has received multiple awards for excellence in teaching. She previously served as Co-Chair of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship and was named to the Forbes 50 Over 50 list for social entrepreneurship.
She is also an investor in Unrivaled, a player-centered women’s sports league advancing new models of athlete participation and ownership—reflecting her commitment to expanding economic opportunity within sports. Across her career, Melissa has consistently worked to align capital, capability, and narrative to unlock ownership pathways at scale, making her a critical advisor to this initiative.