For Immediate Release
Monique Adams, 757 Angels
“I am excited to join 757 Collab and build partnerships here in the Hampton Roads area.”- Travis Young Director, DEI & Strategic Partnerships
Travis Young Joins 757 Collab as Director of DEI & Strategic Partnerships
757 Collab is a powerful family of resources that support entrepreneurs, operating with an interconnected, inclusive and impactful value system. In 2021, 757 Collab partnered with global powerhouse Techstars to assess the regional ecosystem. The report highlighted many regional strengths including quality of life, positive momentum and low cost of doing business. It also noted several gaps including a significant inclusion gap. According to the report, “the demographics of local tech entrepreneurs do not resemble those of the community at large. This problem is not unique to Hampton Roads, but it is especially important to address given the region’s diversity.” Monique Adams, Managing Director of 757 Collab, stated, “We are thrilled for Travis to join our team as Director of DEI and Strategic Partnerships. Travis brings impressive experience through inclusion efforts with the NYC Department of Education and The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission . Travis is passionate about inclusion which is reflected in his work launching the Nationhood. Travis’ experience will help us build critical partnerships and, ultimately, help more entrepreneurs build their businesses”. Adams continued, “We are grateful for the support of our generous sponsors, including TowneBank, Ferguson, Activation Capital and Go Virginia for providing the funding to hire Travis in order to increase our DEI efforts throughout the region and state.”
Travis Young is originally from Cape Charles, Virginia and is a graduate of Bayside High School. He received his bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance from Virginia Commonwealth University. After graduating college, Travis worked in Finance in Chicago and later moved to NYC where he spent the last 10 years working at the intersection of education, technology, and equity. Travis has also founded a number of projects that explicitly build collectives around social justice topics. In 2017, he launched BLKPalate, a radical queer culinary collective facilitating conversations on race and gender through curated pop-up dining experiences and was spotlighted in NYTimes and Adweek. More recently, in 2020 he launched a nonprofit called the Nationhood that uses action based findings — sourced from research-based information on legislation, policy, and other initiatives — to create social impact campaigns that amplify causes to a broader audience.
About 757 Collab
757 Collab harnesses the power of 757 Angels, 757 Accelerate and 757 Startup Studios providing capital, programs and place to entrepreneurs in all stages of development. 757 Collab is located at the 757 Startup Studios within Assembly, an iconic campus for makers and creators in the heart of Downtown Norfolk. The Studios is a vibrant and inclusive community full of energy, inspiration, programming, and resources to support startup companies and founders.
