Gabrielle Cash
Hometown:
Atlanta, GA
Gabrielle is excited about the prospect of navigating uncharted territory. In her host community, she has witnessed firsthand the lack of capital access for underserved business owners and the persistent structures that contribute to this disparity. She is eager to challenge existing structures, facilitate financial empowerment, and contribute to the dismantling of barriers that hinder economic growth in the community.
Prior to joining the Economic Recovery Corps, Gabrielle served as the program director for The Harry Lee & Eliza Bannister Walker Entrepreneurship Program and The Irma Thompson Educators of Color Initiative in Lexington, VA. She is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, where she also serves as an adjunct professor in the Department of Family & Consumer Sciences.
Gabrielle enjoys exploring new creative pursuits and appreciates the challenge of creative problem-solving in her work. In addition to her recent economic development endeavors, she and her husband launched a small-batch artisan goods company in 2023, which they are eager to expand in the coming years.
ERC Project
Project Title:
Finance Navigator: Targeting Inequity Through Trust
Host Community or Region:
Virginia
Host Organization:
Shenandoah Community Capital Fund
The “Finance Navigator” project will address the barriers to capital under-resourced and rural entrepreneurs face in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. The ERC Fellow will be a dedicated support specialist and advocate for underserved communities to help them unlock and compete for various financing opportunities, serving as a resource connector and entrepreneurial ecosystem builder. By deeply engaging with the small business community, the fellow will help research and identify systemic challenges and root causes to low access to capital and combat them by developing experiments and pilot programs to scale promising strategies and financial products that better meet the needs of rural entrepreneurs.
Interested in supporting this project or learning more? Contact the ERC program team here.
