Dr. Silvia Mah
Igniting Innovation, Impact & Investing through Action & Intentionality | VC | Keynote Speaker | Advocate 4 Diverse Founders | Investor | Author | Servant Leader
Dr. Silvia Mah is General Partner at Stella Impact Capital, a seed-stage venture fund, investing in diverse women founders building scalable startups at the intersection of deep tech & impact. Focused on “Impact with Integrity”, Dr. Mah is the founder of Stella Labs, an accelerator for women-owned businesses; founding member of Stella Angels, a female angel investment group; President of Stella Foundation, a national conSTELLAtion of organizations and leaders walking alongside womxn-led businesses from startup to sale and the funders who champion them; Investment Committee member of Next Wave Impact, a social impact venture fund; an angel investor to over 120 startups who have diverse founders on the leadership team, and a founding partner of Ad Astra Ventures, that aims to “get to even” for high achieving women leaders, investors & founders. Dr. Silvia Mah is also a redemptive entrepreneur and investor serving as the new Director of Innovation at Biola University. Dr. Mah’s own success includes producing a globally-recognized podcast, She Invests!, highlighting the investment journeys of female angel investors and venture capitalists & the inaugural Fund Manager for the San Diego Angel Conference Fund I (2019), and co-fund manager for Funds II (2020), III (2021), IV (2022), V (2023), and VI (2024), an angel fund to activate regional & global capital from aspiring and existing angel investors. Dr. Mah has recently served as the President & COO of Connect w/San Diego Venture Group, Program Director for the Center for Peace & Commerce at the Kroc School of Peace at the University of San Diego where she led the virtual Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge, and was engaged for 2 years as the Student Programs Diversity Director at the Office of Innovation and Commercialization’s The Basement, a technology accelerator for undergraduate startups at UCSD.
Dr. Mah holds a Ph.D. in Marine Molecular Biology from UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography, an M.B.A. from UC San Diego Rady School of Management, and a B.S. in Biology with Honors from Pepperdine University.
When not working, Dr. Mah enjoys sunny beaches, Disney days, & off-roading with her husband and 3 children in San Diego. Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Dr. Mah believes in integrating family and work to create a lifestyle that serves both with a strong cup of integrity.