Jessica Norwood
FOUNDER & CEO
Jessica (She/Her) is a financial activist, investor and social entrepreneur. Jessica founded RUNWAY because she knew that the only way to change the financial conditions for Black entrepreneurs was to begin moving money in “Right Relationship”. In order to do this, Jessica promotes the practice of Friends and Family investments, a form of pre-seed capital, or what Jessica calls "Believe in You Money " to fund Black-owned companies.
Widely recognized for her groundbreaking work in economic disruption, Jessica is a Center for Economic Democracy fellow, an immediate past fellow for RSF Social Finance Integrated Capital Fellowship, winner of the prestigious Nathan Cummings Foundation Fellowship, a former BALLE Fellow for local economies (Common Future), a lifelong Fellow of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University and Southern University College of Business for Emerging Leaders, as well as the Political Power and Social Change Fellow of the Hip Hop Archive at the Hutchins Center of Harvard University. Her innovative work has been profiled in NPR, Next City, Essence Magazine, Conscious Company, Fast Company and NY Times Best Selling author Edgar Villanova of “Decolonizing Wealth” calls her work the “medicine” modern philanthropy and investment need.
When she is not reimagining financial systems and practices, Jessica turns into a super model on the weekends with a pretty fierce Instagram page. With a love for bringing changemakers together for food and spirit-filled conversation, Jessica, is unlocking curiosity through art and play. Her favorite quote is from Mother Toni Morrison, “You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down”.