Our Story
Inspire Access was founded because we believe in a world that works better for everyone. A world where our brightest minds and innovative businesses have access to the capital. Where leaders are funded based on merit, not privilege. We saw the opportunity for philanthropic capital lying dormant in Donor Advised Funds to be invested in these leaders, mitigating one of the defining issues of inequality in the US today, the gender and racial wealth gap.
The Inspire Access team has years of experience investing in underrepresented founders and has seen the enormous potential that breaks through when more equitable funding occurs.
When we learned that there is almost $200B sitting inactive in Donor Advised Funds, we recognized an opportunity to narrow the investment gap by unlocking this capital, and Inspire Access was born.
Our Team
Patrice King Brickman
Patrice King Brickman is the founder and Managing Director of Inspire Capital LLC, a venture fund that invests in predominantly women and minority-led businesses with social impact. She is also a founder and investor in WE Capital, and a founding member of the Conscious Leadership Forum, and Soul Circle. She is a member of TIGER 21, and the Economic Club of Washington.
She has served on several non-profit boards both locally and nationally. While her primary passion has been centered on poverty and homelessness, as she has worked most intimately with that population, she has also been involved with the arts and education. She currently serves on the boards of Halcyon, Wolf Trap, and Ascend at the Aspen Institute, and has served on Children’s National Hospital Foundation, the National Center for Children and Families, Peer Health Exchange, and the Washington Area Women’s Foundation. She is a limited partner in numerous funds, most notably, Lafayette Square, Rethink Impact, Black Star Fund, Revolution Growth, Arborview, Razors Edge, NextGen Partners, Knightswan, Sinewave and Halcyon. She is a minority partner in Monumental Sports and Entertainment.
Patrice lives in Potomac, Maryland, and has four children, Anna, Leah, Kenna, and Lane.
Vonetta Young
Vonetta Young is a narrative strategist who brings flow so her clients can raise capital with ease. She previously worked at Abbott Capital Management, the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program at the U.S. Small Business Administration, and Cambridge Associates. She holds a BA in English and an MBA in Finance from Georgetown University.
Vonetta has been featured as an expert in the areas of investment readiness, authentic leadership, and supporting women & people of color investors and entrepreneurs. Her voice and writing have appeared in Forbes and Entrepreneur.com, among others. Vonetta has also been a featured speaker at outlets including Georgetown University, American University, the Delaware State Assembly, The Capital Network, Halcyon House, the Forté Foundation, and Ellevate Network. Vonetta lives with her spouse and son in Washington, DC.
Leah Brickman
Leah Brickman is a Program Manager at Inspire Access. Previously, Leah served as Manager on the Advancement team at JUST Capital where she was responsible for supporting JUST Capital’s philanthropic initiatives through donor engagement and stewardship, she also led the organization's next generation network, JUSTGen.
Prior, Leah worked on the Social Impact team at Marsh McClennan developing their internal communications and supporting the globalization of their volunteering and matching gifts programs. Earlier in her career she was at Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s fundraising organization, the Jimmy Fund, and Ascend at the Aspen Institute.
Leah received her B.A. in Human Services and International Affairs from Northeastern University in Boston.
Board of Directors
Laurie Martin
Laurie Martin is a Managing Director at Pitcairn Trust Company with more than 30 years of experience in the investment management industry. Laurie currently manages the Single-Family Office team at Pitcairn and works with families to protect their legacy and grow their wealth, from generation to generation. She focuses on estate planning, investments, and education with an emphasis on being a trusted advisor for each family member. Laurie sits on the Strategic Leadership Committee for Pitcairn, providing guidance on short-term needs and longer-term goals for the firm.
Prior to Pitcairn, Laurie was with Fortigent, one of the nation’s largest independent wealth management consultants. Laurie managed the Consulting team and worked directly with Advisors in offering an independent investment platform and comprehensive investment reporting. Laurie began her career at Ayrshire Associates working with clients and providing research for the firm.
Laurie holds both the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and the Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA) designation. She graduated from the University of Denver with an MBA in Finance and graduated with a BS degree from the University of Delaware.
Laurie currently lives in Gaithersburg, MD with her husband and two children. When she isn’t working, she enjoys running, reading, organizing, and spending time with her family.
LeRoy Pingho
LeRoy Pingho has held executive roles in startups as well as Fortune 50 financial services and telecommunications companies. As a former senior executive at MCI Telecommunications, Fannie Mae and Charles Schwab, he envisioned, built, scaled, and managed major organizations and multi-year capital and operating budgets. In 2003, Mr. Pingho founded PAC, Inc., a bootstrapped management and IT consulting firm, which grew into an enterprise with over 1,500 associates and more than $150 million annual revenue, which was sold in 2007.
LeRoy currently serves as the Chair of Slauth Technologies, Anywyse Audio , Otto Learning, Edgagement, and as an advisor to several other companies.
LeRoy has served as Executive Chair of Curator Solutions; Executive Chair of Virtual Job Shadow; Executive Chair of ProctorExam; Executive Chair/CEO of QuadLearning; Executive Chair/CEO of Overture Technologies; Chair of BlueAlly; and, is also the founder and CEO of Great Elm Solutions, a management consulting firm in the Washington, D.C. area.
LeRoy has a long history of serving on charitable and NGO boards such as Medstar Foundation, The Washington Area Women’s Foundation, So What Else, Manavar, and CUP International.
LeRoy lives in Potomac, Maryland, with his wife Anne, children Jordan, Haley and Maya, and two chocolate labs – Cooper and Callie.
Hillary Baltimore
Hillary D. Baltimore currently volunteers with and supports a variety of organizations, primarily focused on education and underserved segments of the population. Her areas of expertise include fundraising, outreach and marketing, and program development. Understanding the importance of active participation in philanthropic endeavors, Ms. Baltimore consistently seeks opportunities to broaden her knowledge of best practices and to align herself with organizations that desire to have the greatest long-term impact on the individuals they serve.
She has served on several independent school boards and held leadership positions at a number of not-for-profit organizations. Currently, she serves in the following:
Bullis School, Potomac, Maryland - 2015 to Present. MsBaltimore currently serves as Secretary and member of the Executive Committee for the Bullis Board of Trustees. Prior to this position, she served as Vice Chair and Chair of the Governance Committee.
Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, Vienna, VA - 2012 to 2023. Ms. Baltimore has held several leadership positions including, member of the Executive Committee, Chair of the Nominating Committee, member of the Education Committee, and Vice Chair and Secretary of the Board of Directors. Ms. Baltimore just completed serving as Co-Chair of the $50 million Campaign for Wolf Trap – Our Next Chapter. The Campaign raised $75 million.
N Street Village, Washington, DC, 2015 – Present. N Street Village is the largest provider of housing and supportive services for women experiencing homelessness in Washington, DC. Ms. Baltimore has chaired the annual gala the last eight years, has served as the Chair of the Development Committee and currently serves as Co-Vice Chair of the Board.
Bethesda Country Club, Bethesda, Maryland, 2019 – Present. Board member.
Ms. Baltimore’s professional experience included work primarily in real estate, with a focus on affordable housing.
Ms. Baltimore holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Wellesley College and a Masters in Management Degree from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Business.
Ms. Baltimore is married to Thomas J. Baltimore, Jr. and together, they have a son Thomas and daughter, Hannah. Ms. Baltimore is an avid golfer and tennis player.
Ernita Thomas
Ernita Thomas serves as the Executive Vice President of Finance of The RL Companies, LLC, a holding company founded by Robert L. Johnson that provides strategic investments in a diverse portfolio of companies that includes real estate, private equity, 401k fintech services, automobile dealerships, content streaming, gaming and sports betting.
As Executive Vice President of Finance, Ms. Thomas is responsible for overseeing the finance function of the highly diversified company, including financial and management accounting, regulatory reporting, budgeting, planning and forecasting.
Previously, Ms. Thomas was an Assistant Controller at Freddie Mac, where she provided reporting and credit analysis related to securitizations and mortgage guarantees.
Before working at Freddie Mac, Ms. Thomas was with The Carlyle Group for ten years in a variety of roles, including Manager of Accounting, Assistant Controller and Associate Vice President. Ms. Thomas was responsible for corporate financial and managerial accounting functions, budgeting and forecasting, and corporate compliance.
Ms. Thomas began her career as a staff accountant at the Rushmore Funds where she was responsible for the preparation of semiannual and annual reports for all funds.
Ms. Thomas graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1991 with a B.S. in accounting, and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Anne Mosle
Anne Mosle is a Vice President and Executive Director of Ascend at the Aspen Institute and she also serves as Co-Chair of the Aspen Institute Forum on Women and Girls. With more than 20 years of experience in philanthropy, policy, and practice, Mosle is a nationally recognized leader in bringing those sectors together to build pathways to opportunity for children, women, and families with low incomes.
Prior to the Aspen Institute, Mosle served as a VP and Executive Officer of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), where she served on the executive council and oversaw $140 million in annual investments. Mosle led the creation of WKKF’s Family Economic Security Portfolio and launch of their Mission-Driven Investing program. In addition, Mosle was responsible for the Civic and Philanthropic Portfolio and New Mexico place-based investments.
Mosle currently serves on the board of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, the Executive Governing Board of the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation State Strategy Advisory Committee, National Trustees Council of America’s Promise, and Leadership Council of the Washington Area Women’s Foundation.
She lives with her family in Washington, DC.