Girls Into VC at UCLA 2026 Summit

​The Girls Into VC at UCLA Summit is an annual student-led conference designed to expand access to venture capital for undergraduate and graduate students, with a particular focus on women and gender-minority students interested in investing, startups, and innovation. Hosted on UCLA’s campus, the Summit will convene students, early-career professionals, investors, and founders from across Southern California to demystify the venture capital ecosystem and provide tangible pathways into the industry.

​Our event itinerary is as follows:

• ​9:45 AM to 10 AM: Check-In

• ​10 AM to 10:15 AM: Opening Remarks

• ​10:15 AM to 11:15 AM: Moderated Fireside Chat Panel

• ​11:15 AM to 11:45 AM: Audience Q&A Session

• ​11:45 AM to 1 PM: Lunch (catered lunch will be provided)

• ​1 PM to 2 PM: Networking Session

​This year, our speaker lineup will feature:

Gaby Lorenzi
Gaby Lorenzi is an Associate at Primary, New York City's leading seed-stage venture fund with $1.6B in assets under management. At Primary, she focuses on infrastructure investments spanning compute, developer tools, cloud, and the data center. Prior to Primary, Gaby was a data scientist at T. Rowe Price, where she built recommendation systems, with her technical background inspiring her focus on infrastructure today. Born and raised in Baltimore, Gaby headed west to UCLA, where she graduated in 2021 with a degree in Applied Math and Computer Science. On campus, she led Bruin Ventures, was a racer for Duffl, and ran the campus loop almost every day.

Rosie Mangiarotti
Rosie Mangiarotti is the founder of Perkies, a company creating innovative undergarments for women to wear. Perkies' signature products include Perkies Petals: Reusable Nipple Covers and Perkies Nips: Nipple Enhancers to provide a consistent, perky look. Perkies Nips (patented) are aligned with the pop culture trend of #freethenip, and an impact product for women who've had a mastectomy and no longer have nipples post-surgery. Perkies just launched a more realistic version of Perkies Nips. Perkies is dedicated to sustainability, inclusivity, and empowering women to feel confident, while also donating 5% of all website sales across www.perkies.com, to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation®. Perkies has sold their products on platforms including: Shopbop, REVOLVE, Urban Outfitters, Aritzia.com, GoPuff & more and has been featured in Forbes, People Magazine, InStyle, WWD, Glamour, InStyle & more.

​Naseem Sayani
Naseem Sayani is a seasoned VC investor focused on backing and elevating ambitious female founders. Across her VC and angel portfolios, she has made 45+ investments in female-founded teams from Pre-seed to Series A, spanning health tech, fintech, and sustainability. She holds several venture partner roles across the ecosystem at funds including Zero Limits Capital and The Sparrow Fund. Naseem was also a founding partner of Emmeline Ventures, a seed-stage fund based in Los Angeles. She currently leads the Innovator’s Circle at WHAM (Women’s Health Access Matters), where she focuses on organizing the early-stage startup and fund ecosystem to ensure there are strong companies ready for later-stage investment. She is also a member of the Milken Institute's Women's Health Network, and is the host of The Capital Flex, a podcast that elevates the voices and fundraising experiences of female founders across tech and venture capital.

​Megan Pruett
Megan Pruett is the Head of Partnerships at We Are ENOUGH, the mental health movement founded by Blake Mycoskie. She leads strategic collaborations across creators, celebrities, brands, and cultural leaders to expand the ENOUGH message globally. Megan focuses on building high-impact partnerships that drive both revenue and meaningful community connection, helping shift the conversation around mental health from something hidden to something shared.

​CC Salzman
CC Salzman is the Founder and CEO of Hydra Hydration, a modern electrolyte brand redefining how people hydrate in everyday life. She launched Hydra while earning her MBA at Harvard Business School. Prior to founding the company, CC worked in brand management at Kraft Heinz, including roles in Emerging Channels, where she led new product launches and channel development across CPG innovation initiatives.

​Carmen Palafox
Carmen Palafox brings over two decades of finance expertise to her role as Founder and Managing Partner at 2045 Ventures, where she leads investments in early-stage technology startups across Artificial Intelligence, ClimateTech, Fintech, HealthTech, Enterprise SaaS, and consumer sectors. Her strategic investment approach and deep industry expertise have earned her numerous accolades, including recognition as a Rising Star in VC by the NVCA, 11 investors to watch in the VC industry by Venture Forward, and a feature as one of LA’s Powerful Women by LA Magazine. Carmen previously served as Vice President at Dimensional Fund Advisors, scaling their global investment operations. She now shares her expertise as an Adjunct Professor at USC Marshall, teaching venture capital. Carmen holds an MBA from Berkeley-Haas, an MA in sports management from USF, and a BA in economics from USC.

Shiaofong Yin
Shiaofong Yin is Managing Partner of TEALE Group Holdings, a privately syndicated angel investment platform and due diligence consultancy focused on female-led Technology, Education, and Life Sciences enterprises. A seasoned global executive turned investor-educator, she brings more than 30 years of cross-border leadership experience spanning corporate strategy, operations, marketing, and venture capital across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.  In addition to leading TEALE’s investment strategy, she serves as Clinical Professor of Technology Entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California, where she is known for her experiential, industry-anchored curriculum and mentorship of emerging founders. A frequent pitch judge and longtime supporter of early-stage founders, Shiaofong has participated extensively as a judge in Venture Capital Investment Competitions (VCIC), further strengthening her commitment to educating and empowering the next generation of women in venture.

​For dress code, business casual is encouraged.