People

Cheryl Contee

Cheryl Contee

Formal First Name
Cheryl

Cheryl Contee is the award winning Founder and Chair of Do Big Things, a digital agency that specializes in providing causes and campaigns with new narrative and technology to create global change in a new era, where she provides strategic oversight and counsel for key clients and coordination with DBT partners. She is also the Chief Executive Officer of The Impact Seat Foundation, a diverse, female-founded and led organization that helps women succeed as business leaders. In addition, she is the author of The Mechanical Bull: How You Can Achieve Startup Success, a bestselling guide on how to navigate Silicon Valley and startup culture like a pro to ensure your startup’s success. Cheryl uses her vast experience in startup entrepreneurship and community engagement to lead our portfolio companies and funds to success, provide resources for underrepresented founders, and build the new economy. Previously, she was CEO of Fission Strategy, which brought Silicon Valley startup culture to the world’s leading causes and campaigns. She’s the co-founder of Attentive.ly, the first tech startup with a black female founder to be acquired by a NASDAQ company, the National Board Chair for Netroots Nation, a Senior Advisor for Astia and the first portfolio company board member of New Media Ventures.

Professional Experience


Academic History

EARLY CAREER

  • At Fission, she helped the world's leading non-profits & foundations design digital ecosystems that create change globally. 

  • Fission helped write the early source code for Crowdtangle, earning sweat equity in a successful social enterprise startup acquired by Facebook in 2016.

  • She was the co-founder of Jack and Jill Politics writing as “Jill Tubman” on the leading top black audience targeted blog during the 2008 and 2012 election cycles.


HONORS & RECOGNITIONS

  • Kate Spade NY World Changing Women

  • The Influencers 50 in Campaigns and Elections

  • Affiliate, Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society

  • The Root 100 List of Established and Emerging African-American Leaders

  • Huffington Post Top 27 Female Founders in Tech to Follow

  • Fast Company Most Influential Women in Tech


CURRENT AFFILIATIONS

  • Chair of the Board of Directors, Netroots Nation

  • Senior Advisor, Astia

  • Board of Directors, New Media Ventures

  • Board of Directors, Hopewell Fund

  • Advisor, CovidMD.org


MEDIA & APPEARANCES