Building What’s Next: Female Founders & Funders Shaping the Future of Tech | TiE Seattle Women & Ahana Collective

Join female founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders shaping the future of AI, biotech, space/deep tech for an engaging conversation on innovation, entrepreneurship, and capital. Hear firsthand lessons from the women building breakthrough companies and those helping scale them, and connect with others passionate about what's next.

Featured Speakers:

Esha Joshi is the Co-Founder and President of Yoodli, a secure, experiential learning platform that uses AI roleplays to help teams practice high-stakes conversations, backed by over $60 million in funding. Esha is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Puget Sound Business Journal 40 Under 40 recipient, Flybridge 100 Women in AI honoree, and EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 Mountain West finalist, helping organizations build confident, prepared teams through AI-powered practice.

Sierra Clouse is the Founding Managing Partner of Barclo Venture Studio, where she helps transform breakthrough technologies into scalable companies. Working at the intersection of AI, quantum computing, advanced infrastructure, and frontier technologies, she partners with founders, researchers, enterprises, and investors to accelerate commercialization and build the next generation of deep tech ventures.

Rashmi Raghavendra is Co-Founder and CEO of Dionysus Healthcare, where she is using AI and epigenetics to transform maternal health diagnostics. After leadership roles at Apple, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Philips Healthcare, she is now bringing  breakthrough innovations to women's health through Dionysus. A prolific inventor with more than 40+ patents, Rashmi is recognized for translating cutting-edge technology into real-world healthcare impact.

Emily Zheng is a Senior Venture Capital Analyst at PitchBook, where she researches U.S. venture capital, IPOs, and secondary markets. Her insights have been featured by Bloomberg, BBC, Axios, and Business Insider, and she is a frequent guest on Bloomberg Television discussing the latest trends shaping private markets.

Alexis Harroun, Ph.D., is Co-Founder and CEO of Juno Propulsion, where she is pioneering next-generation rocket propulsion technologies designed to make space missions more efficient, sustainable, and affordable. A rocket propulsion engineer by training, Alexis is leading the development of innovative rotating detonation engine technology for in-space propulsion and has secured support from NASA, the National Science Foundation, and other leading innovation programs. She is passionate about expanding access to space through breakthrough engineering and bold entrepreneurship.

Elizabeth K. Ruzzo, PhD, is the founder and CEO of adyn, a precision medicine company dedicated to closing gaps in medical research caused by historic inequity. A human geneticist with 10+ years of research experience, she has authored more than 35 scientific publications, discovered nearly 40 genetic causes of disease, and led adyn through Y Combinator. Her work has been recognized by Fast Company, Inc. Magazine, Rock Health, and CB Insights.

Yeeli Lee (Moderator) is a Co-Founder and Senior Managing Partner of SKYLR Partners, an AI-powered revenue consulting firm that helps B2B, industrial, and mid-market companies build scalable commercial infrastructure, revenue diagnostics, sales operating models, and customer knowledge systems. Her experience includes scaling businesses from early stage to $100M+ exits and leading growth from $100M to more than $1B at Amazon, Motorola, PRS INVIVO, and Impact.com. Yeeli mentors executives through the Wharton Chief Revenue Officer Program and the University of Chicago Predictive Analytics for CRO Program, supporting more than 200 leaders across the two programs.