Caretha Coleman

Principal, Coleman Consulting

Caretha Coleman has significant early stage investment, organizational development, and operational experience. For the past 15 years,  as a principal in Coleman Consulting, Caretha has focused her practice on working with start-ups and early stage ventures in the areas of strategy development, executive coaching and organizational effectiveness -  "Making Organizations Work", as she puts it.

A respected professional in the Silicon Valley,  Caretha's experience spans 30 years in the technology industry in companies such as Interval Research, where she had responsibility for Corporate Administration, including the areas of Finance and Human Resources.  Prior to Interval, Caretha was Vice President, Human Resources at Software Publishing Corporation, where her contributions were instrumental in building one of the first successful desk top software businesses for almost ten years.  Caretha began her career in the Silicon Valley companies of Hewlett Packard and Spectra Physics.

Caretha was a founding member of The Angels' Forum, a unique "angel" investment organization in Palo Alto where she  served on the Advisory Committee and worked very closely with entrepreneurs vetting their ideas and providing guidance and coaching.  An advocate for women and minorities in business, Caretha demonstrates her commitment to mentoring young professionals and entrepreneurs across the country.

As a believer in philanthropy and an active leader in the community, Caretha's volunteer efforts in the non-profit world are many.  Among these contributions, she has served as Board Chair of the East Palo Alto YMCA, where she recently led efforts that resulted in a successful capital campaign raising $15 million dollars to build a YMCA within the community. She is a board member for the newly formed Silicon Valley Community Foundation, where she was part of a taskforce that concluded a merger of two key organizations (PCF and CFSV) to create what is now the 4th largest foundation of its kind in the country. Caretha serves on the board of the YMCA Mid Peninsula,  the Center for Relationship Abuse Awareness,  the advisory board of Facing History and Ourselves; and is also a member of  the Nominating Committee for YMCA USA. Caretha is an American Leadership Forum Fellow.