HBCUvc Welcomes Cheraé Robinson and the 2026 VC Fellowship Cohort
We're excited to share two pieces of news together this fall, because they're really one story: a new Venture Partner in Residence joining HBCUvc and the fellows she'll be working alongside this year.
Welcoming Cheraé Robinson as Venture Partner in Residence
We're thrilled to welcome Cheraé Robinson as HBCUvc’s Venture Partner in Residence for the 2026 cohort. Cheraé is Head of Platform and Marketing at Flybridge, where she leads portfolio support, brand, and community for the early-stage venture firm, and she makes pre-seed investments of her own through Next Wave NYC. She created Flybridge's annual 100 Women in AI recognition list, which honors the women shaping artificial intelligence across research, policy, startups, and investing, its 2026 edition drew nearly 1,000 nominations. Before Flybridge, Cheraé founded Tastemakers Africa, a venture-backed travel experiences marketplace connecting travelers to curated experiences across African cities, and her work has been featured by Forbes, TED, TechCrunch, and Condé Nast Traveler. Earlier in her career she held roles at CARE, the CDC, and CIMMYT. A graduate of Morgan State University, Cheraé also hosts the First-Time Founders Food Club, a monthly dinner series for early-stage founders, and co-hosts the "It Just Got Real" podcast with Hannah Donovan.
Cheraé will lead this year's fellowship curriculum end to end, working closely with each fellow alongside a slate of guest faculty as they're introduced to the fundamentals of venture capital.
Introducing the 2026 Fellowship Cohort
We're equally excited to introduce this year's cohort. They represent different institutions across the country, but each of them has spent time at an HBCU, whether as an undergraduate or at some point during their graduate studies. Over the next six weeks, Cheraé and our guest faculty will work with them to build venture capital fundamentals and develop their own investment thesis and investor's lens.
For each fellow entering this cohort, this is the beginning of a long journey, not a finish line. We don't expect, and honestly don't need, every fellow to become a venture capitalist. Historically, that's never really been the path for everyone in this program. What has happened, cohort after cohort, is that our community grows richer for every fellow who comes through it, and venture capital itself changes, in small but real ways, because these fellows have been in the room and shared their perspective.
We're especially excited about the caliber of expertise this cohort brings. By our count, this is likely the cohort with the highest share of PhD candidates we've had.
Please meet our 2026 cohort.
Kameron Bain
MBA in Finance, Pepperdine University Graziadio Business School · Morehouse College (HBCU)
Kameron is a filmmaker and entrepreneur who founded Bouldercrest Films and raised nearly $1 million to produce his first feature. His career has spanned music, film, and technology, and through venture capital he's focused on backing startups building in AI, intellectual property and music rights, e-commerce, and digital media.
Amber Frye
PhD, Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech–Emory · North Carolina A&T State University (HBCU)
Amber is a biomedical engineering PhD researcher working at the intersection of mRNA delivery research and biotech strategic consulting. She has supported ARPA-H-backed clients through market and IP diligence, alongside industry experience at Medtronic and Merck.
Jaelon Bryant
MBA, Emory University · Hampton University (HBCU)
Jaelon works in lower-middle-market private equity at Anacapa Partners, with a thesis centered on sports, fintech, and tech-enabled services.
Anthony Ramirez
JD Candidate, Florida A&M University College of Law (HBCU)
Anthony is a JD candidate studying how legal advocacy and access to capital intersect. His interest in venture capital traces to the same instinct that shapes his legal work: an eye for the problem nobody's gotten to yet, and the person nobody's advocating for.
Le-Marie Thompson
PhD Candidate, Urban Leadership & Entrepreneurship, University of the District of Columbia (HBCU)
Le-Marie is a doctoral researcher studying how ecosystem and structural factors shape capital allocation and venture growth for women entrepreneurs. She's an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business and founder of Nettadonna, LLC.
Enoch Ayamga
PhD Candidate, Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology, Emory University · North Carolina A&T State University (HBCU)
Enoch is a PhD candidate with experience in biomedical research and advising early-stage biotech startups, focused on scaling scientific innovation into global commercial impact.
Cyle Murden
MS in Finance, Baruch College · Howard University (HBCU)
Cyle leads alternative investments operations at JPMorgan Chase, where he owns the roadmap for the firm's internal execution platform. He researches deep tech, consumer products, AI infrastructure, defense, robotics, and power, and writes on the intersection of culture and capital.
Acharian Shelton
MBA in Accounting Analytics, Alabama A&M University (HBCU)
Acharian is an accounting and finance professional with more than six years of experience, currently pursuing her MBA in Accounting Analytics, with a focus on how investors evaluate businesses and how ideas grow into successful companies.
