Author Archives: Bob Bridge

The Southwest Angel Network is pleased and excited to have Christina Canales Gorczynski join our Board of Directors.

Christina is the Executive Director of Impact Austin, a dynamic women’s collective giving organization that cultivates collective wisdom and strength to transform ourselves and our communities. Christina is also a licensed attorney and certified mediator with the State Bar of Texas.

Previously, Christina served as a Program Officer at the Simmons Foundation, specializing in advocacy and reproductive health. Prior to that, she was the Principal Consultant at First Person LLC, a Texas-based consulting firm specializing in advocacy and capacity building for nonprofits, private foundations and social enterprises. Christina started her career serving as the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of the Houston Area, and to this day, will ask you if you are registered to vote within five minutes of meeting you.

For her work empowering women and girls to seek equity through education and advocacy, Christina was named an “Inspiring Latina” by Latina Magazine, honored for youth and online engagement by the League of Women Voters of the US, received the Young Alumni Award from her alma mater Beloit College, and selected for an Equal Justice Works public interest law fellowship.

Christina never walks away from a tough fight and she’s spent her life advocating for vulnerable communities, especially people living with disabilities and LGBTQ folks. Christina currently serves on the City of Austin’s LGBTQ Quality of Life Commission.

Christina holds a BA in Women’s Studies from Beloit College in Wisconsin, a JD/MBA from the University of Houston and a Nonprofit Finance Certificate from Rice University. Christina is a graduate of Leadership Houston (Class 30) and the Leadership Texas Power Pipeline program.

Christina lives in Austin and her free time is filled with fun, friendship, yoga, playing outdoors and her beloved partner, Ms. Brett Merfish.

Christina’s experience will bring fresh perspectives to the SWAN Board of Directors, and will help further SWAN’s goals of investing in companies who are working to mitigate environmental damage and promote clean energy, and in companies who are working to reduce social disparities, including addressing inequalities in health, educational and economic achievement, and treatment by the criminal justice system

The Southwest Angel Network has joined a coalition of Austin business leaders uniting to use our privilege and position to advance racial justice in our companies and communities.

Together, we are condemning racism. We are standing in solidarity with the Black community.

The Southwest Angel Network continues to find attractive investment opportunities in the current COVID-19 and recession environment. We are making significant new investments in pre-seed and seed companies, and are also supporting portfolio companies.

The total dollars invested in the first four months of 2020 is larger than the total we invested in 2018, and is over 50% of the total amount invested in the twelve months of 2019.

Please see this helpful article. The article points out that “three of our [Lauchpad’s] highest return investments were made during the depths of the 2008-2009 recession. More modest valuations, less competition for talent, and strong positioning for economic recovery were a rare combination to drive outsized portfolio returns”.