Maria Salamanca

Maria Salamanca is a General Partner at Ulu Ventures, a top seed-stage venture fund in Silicon Valley and the largest Latina-led venture fund in the U.S. Prior to Ulu, Maria was a Partner at Unshackled Ventures, a fund that fills a unique space in the entrepreneurial ecosystem by funding teams with immigrant founders at the earliest pre-seed stage. In 2018, she became the first Latina named to Forbes 30 Under 30 for Venture Capital and Business Insider's Under 30 Rising Stars. She was also recognized as one of the 2022 NVCA Venture Forward Rising Stars. Her support for the Latino community earned her the 2017 California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Shark of the Year award. Maria was the President and founding member of SomosVC, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to increasing and retaining the number of Latino venture capital professionals in the industry. The organization is also the first to provide an annual report on the state of Latino diversity in venture capital. Additionally, she serves on the school board for Orange County Public Schools (FL), the 8th largest U.S. school district, where she was the youngest and first LGBTQ person ever elected. Maria graduated from UC Berkeley, where she studied Political Science and Legal Studies with a minor in Public Policy.