Maria Velissaris is a Black female general partner who built one of the world's largest women's health-focused VC funds at SteelSky Ventures, explicitly positioning it to uplift women-owned businesses and close gaps in maternal mortality and access to care for women of color. She brings a deliberately curated background as a serial founder and operator across sectors from defense systems engineering to beauty and dermatology, and has been recognized by the White House as a health equity policy voice, invited to help introduce the First Lady at a $100M women's health R&D announcement.