Simone D’Souza is member of Kauffman Fellows Class 12 and a Senior Associate under mentor Darryl E. Wash at Ascend Venture Group, LLC (“Ascend”). Simone joined Ascend in 2005 after completing an M.B.A. and Master of Education. Prior to graduate school, Simone worked in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman, Sachs & Co., focusing on mergers and acquisitions and capital raisings for financial institutions. Simone has also spent time working with various education organizations, including service providers and public school districts. Ms. D’Souza currently serves as a board observer on Tabula Digita, Inc. and ClassLink, Inc. Simone received an M.B.A. from The Wharton School, a Master of Education from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Political Science, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) from the University of Pennsylvania.