Susan Preston, Managing Member of SeaChange Fund and Seattle Angel Fund, is committed to entrepreneurial growth in the Pacific Northwest through early-stage investments while co-managing the Element 8 Fund, focusing on cleantech ventures. She has a rich background in academia, including teaching at the University of Washington’s MBA program, serving as the Buerk Endowed Fellow for Entrepreneurship, and serving as immediate past chair and a lead instructor for the Angel Resource Institute, a global investor and entrepreneur education organization.
She is a national and international consultant and speaker on economic development, angel and venture financing for numerous countries and NGOs. For several years, she was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Susan has held more than 35 board positions with public and privately held corporations, spending much of her earlier career in senior management positions from general counsel to CEO. She was also a partner in two national law-firms, and is a licensed patent attorney. Susan recently received the prestigious Hans Severiens Award from the Angel Capital Association for her contributions to angel investing and entrepreneurship. She was also honored as the Small Business Person of the Year for 2014 by the Small Business Council of America and received Senator Cantwell’s Women of Valor award which was presented by then Vice President Joe Biden. Ms. Preston received her JD, cum laude, from Seattle University School of Law and her BS, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, in Microbiology and Public Health from Washington State University.