Today, we are announcing that our Chief Program Officer, Dianna Tremblay, is leaving ICA Fund to start a new chapter. Dianna's journey with ICA began in 2014 as a finance intern, and in the decade since, she has been a driving force behind our growth. Fueled by her commitment to building an economy that works for all, Dianna led the team that spearheaded the ICA Fund Accelerator, work that directly supported 173 companies and contributed to the creation and retention of over 7,700 jobs.

Dianna’s leadership has not only been foundational to our programming, but has also primed the organization for continued, sustainable growth. “Dianna's leadership has been instrumental in solidifying our commitment to creating pathways for businesses to grow through active partnership and flexible capital,” says Allison Kelly, ICAs CEO. “Her work and the work of the teams she led, has laid the foundation for us to continue our mission with a renewed sense of purpose, and we’re excited for what the future holds here at ICA Fund.”

We are grateful for the legacy Dianna leaves behind, and are excited to see what she does next — we know her future impact will be immense as she moves on to explore new ways to create broader, systems-level change.

We sat down with Dianna to reflect on her past 11 years at ICA Fund:

We’d love to hear your origin story. How did you start with ICA?

I knew before I started my MBA at Mills College, that I wanted to support small businesses in some way — I just wasn’t sure how. A friend of mine who interned at ICA connected me with the Entrepreneur Services team. At the time, they were looking for a finance intern to support small businesses in preparing for capital via a workshop series. Even though I didn’t 100% understand what I’d be doing or how I’d be doing it, I jumped at the chance to join an organization with such a compelling vision: to build an economy for all. We need an economy that works for anyone, in the way they want to participate in it and not the ways in which they are forced to. I believed in that vision so much that I stopped interviewing for a full time job to take this internship with no guarantee of a role at ICA. The first time I talked to an entrepreneur, I understood what I was meant to do here — be a connector of resources to business owners that were shut out of that access.

I was eventually offered a full-time role, and over the last 11 years I’ve been able to do so many things! I began in business development, recruiting companies for ICA’s programs, and transitioned into building and running new programming. Over the last 5 years, I led the expansion of the Programs team, refined the ICA Accelerator, and supported the build out of our alumni support function. I worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs and a committed group of amazing partners. I didn't have the answer to everything — but when you combine passion, skill, and a great team, you can accomplish so much. 

What's a key lesson you learned during your time here?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that deep collaboration is needed, both within the teams at ICA and externally with our ecosystem partners. ICA is an important but small piece of  creating systems-level lasting impact. It takes multiple organizations working closely together to support the whole human being that is running a business. During my time here, I am proud of how we have been able to formalize collaborations, like our referral partnership with Alliance for Community Development, which was funded by The Greenlining Institute, to provide technical assistance and a path to equity investments in underserved Oakland neighborhoods. Cultivating strong partnerships in the small business ecosystem have been key in ensuring that entrepreneurs receive the support they need to thrive.

Looking back on your time here, what are you most proud of?

The evolution of our services, working for an organization that is willing to be experimental, try new things, and accept failure as a natural part of learning to be better and provide better services. Even if we didn't know the outcome, or didn’t do something well the first time around, we were able to build on those learnings and iterate. This is part of ICA’s innovative spirit. The work that I've led, and the team I built, really leaned into that, and it makes me so happy to see that as a result we increased our impact on the Bay Area’s local businesses.

Since 2012, ICA Fund has accelerated more than 170 Bay Area businesses and invested over $15M. We will continue to build on this impact with deep support for our portfolio of incredible Bay Area-based businesses who are creating more vibrant, resilient communities with local jobs and shared wealth.

‍