Candice Matthews Brackeen

Candice Matthews is a General Partner at Lightship Capital, where she finds and funds high growth, minority-led companies operating in underserved ecosystems throughout the Midwest. Launched in 2020, Lightship Capital is raising a $50MM fund for investment into underrepresented founders operating in the CPG, E-Commerce, Sustainability, Artificial Intelligence, and Healthcare spaces. Candice is also the Founder and CEO at Lightship Foundation, the inclusion-focused entrepreneur enrichment program guiding minority founders with instruction in product development, brand building, leveraging artificial intelligence for business and fundraising.

Candice expands upon her work driving representation in innovation with her role on the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium for NASA, where she leads diversity of thought as new cultures and economies are developed. She also sits on the advisory committee and selection committees for technology for the Ohio State University and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center; ensuring that as technology is commercialized from these entities, diversity is at the forefront of decision making.