judene small

Judene Small is a partner on the Cultural Leadership Fund, where she spearheads CLF's mission of enabling more African Americans to enter the tech industry and leads overall strategic partnerships and community engagement.

Prior to joining a16z, Judene co-founded CHIENET, a marketing and operations company, and RootsxWings, a digital media company focused on highlighting the stories of nonbinary youth. Before that, Judene served as chief strategy officer of BAM Communications, where she launched the company’s venture and startup marketing practice. She served as director of operations for uBeam (now Sonic Energy), helping the company raise over $30 million in funding.

A professional dancer by training, Judene holds dual-bachelor degrees in Theatre & Dance and Sociology from Trinity College, a MFA in choreography and performance from Mills College, where she also served as an adjunct professor, and an MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School (go Tar Heels!). She currently volunteers as a member of the All Raise Los Angeles Steering Committee and is a board member of the Los Angeles Chapter of Best Buddies.

Judene is a proud Jamaican immigrant and Brooklyn native who lives by a simple mission: to do all she can to create, improve, and sustain positive generational changes for her community. She is travel-obsessed, an art enthusiast, and loves spending time with her family, biological and chosen.