VFA Fellows July Newsletter: Volunteer Meeting July 28, Town Hall Aug 7, Oktoburghfest, Reunion/Launch in NYC this Fall
And awesome Fellow company launches!
Hello fellow Fellows, hope the summer is treating you well, all things considered. In this issue, we’ve got a lot of dope events coming up: VFACC/2.0 Volunteer Interest Meeting (Zoom) on Mon July 28 from 7-8pm usa est, 2.0 Town Hall (Zoom) on Thurs Aug 7 from 3:30-5:00pm usa est, Oktoburghfest in Pittsburgh Oct 10-12, and a date TBA Reunion/Launch Party in Fall 2025 in NYC. Lots of cool Fellow companies and projects (psychadelic coaching, protein puddings, a calculator to identify how much money for your ideal lifestyle, investing in Ohio)— be sure to check out the Bulletin Board! Last but not least, there’s an update on the newsletter itself as well as a poll in the New Fellow Slack.
Sending good vibes,
Amanda Tien (2015, Providence and New Orleans)
Table of Contents
Community Updates & Events
Oktoburghfest Returns — See You in Pittsburgh Oct. 10-12!
Inviting Eileen Lee to the New Fellows Slack - yay or nay?
Reminder for Requesting New Slack Invites
Updates About This Newsletter
Interested in Volunteering with the VFA Community Collective?
VFA 2.0 (Real Name TBD Soon) Updates
Get Involved with VFA 2.0 (real name coming soon!) through Volunteer Board Committees: Fill out this Sign-Up Form and/or Join Our Interest Meeting on Mon July 28 at 7-8:00pm usa est
2.0 Town Hall on Thursday August 7, 3:30-5:00pm usa est
Reunion/Launch Party - coming to NYC in Fall 2025, stay tuned!
Fellow Job Pilot Update and How to Get Involved
Donate to 2.0!
Bulletin Board
Morgan Rucker + Olivia Stevermer ('23) launched their clean, protein pudding!
Investing in Ohio: Jeffrey Stern (‘16) and The Ohio Fund
Sarah Tatarski ('22) Launched Her Coaching Business!
Nico Krachenfels (Bham ’18) built a calculator that shows the minimum salary you’d need to fund your ideal lifestyle through retirement. Try it and give me feedback?
*Leadership & Wellness Coaching* for the hard periods in life
Submit a Blurb for Next Time by August 6
1. Community Updates & Events
1A. Oktoburghfest Returns — See You in Pittsburgh Oct. 10-12
Via Emily Sjoberg (‘22, Pittsburgh)
Grab your steins, dust off your lederhosen, and prepare… Oktoburghfest is BACK, happening October 10-12 in the wonderful city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
It's our VFA PGH city event to bring together fellows from across the country, and this year’s shaping up to be one of the best yet. Join us for a weekend of beer, bonding, and pretzel-fueled fun. We’ll be dropping a housing form soon so you’ll have a place to crash.
Here’s the lineup:
Friday, Oct 10 – Bar crawl to reunite and rally
Saturday, Oct 11 – Main event at the HYP Club: drinks, snacks, and competitions
Sunday, Oct 12 – Chill hangs + exploring the Burgh
🎟️ Early bird tickets are $30 + fees – grab ‘em before it’s too late. Tickets + info: https://posh.vip/e/oktoberburgh-fest
👥 GroupMe (join for updates): https://groupme.com/join_group/108373314/9krKcuic
GCal Event so you don’t forget.
Come for the pretzels, stay for the #memories. See you in the Burgh🥨
1B. Inviting Eileen Lee to the New Fellows Slack - yay or nay?
From New Fellows Slack 2 Admin:
Poll: Are you in favor of Eileen Lee being invited as a full-member to this Slack, yes or no? Vote IN-Slack via emoji reactions in the post shared today in #general. Weekly reminders sent on Wednesdays. Deadline to vote: Friday July 25 at 10:00am usa est.
Context:
Eileen has emphasized wanting to first and foremost respecting the Fellow community; she said she would be honored to be included but did not push an invite. This poll is in response to over a dozen Fellows pushing the Slack admin to consider inviting Eileen.
Given that this been requested for by so many Fellows, we want to consider it as a poll given that this is a space we all share rather than make this decision unilaterally as administrators. #integrityinallthings!
We would want to see a super-majority approval (i.e. 66% or higher of votes).
Only people actually in this Slack can vote; this is a decision rooted in this community, so therefore, people in said community should be the ones voting.
We do NOT foresee this as a precedent-setting new rule -- no other past VFA HQ employees (of course not counting Fellows who were also VFA HQ employees) who were will be added to this Slack; this is a space for the present and future Fellow community. As Eileen is working on the future of the community, she would qualify for this invite. Future non-Fellow requests would be on considered an individual basis.
Fellows will maintain ownership and administration of the Slack.
See the message in #general in the New Slack to vote, read additional context, and to read reasons we’ve heard for/against.
1C. Reminder for Requesting New Slack Invites
All Fellows have received Slack invitations at this point and the form to request is now closed. If any Fellows missed the onboarding window (February to June 2025), they can email vfaaab@gmail.com to request an invitation.
1D. Updates About This Newsletter
Via Amanda Tien (‘15, Providence & New Orleans)
Two quick notes here: First, this will be my last edition of making this newsletter; moving forward, Akhil Aniff (‘18) will be taking over (see June’s newsletter for more details about that transition and a long happy-emo letter from me about it). Again, it’s been a joy and honor to create bridges and spaces with y’all to keep this community going, and I look forward to what’s next!
Second, I’ve updated the sections slightly to meet the changing needs of the community:
Section 1: Community Updates & Events continues to be for anything that is likely to be of high-interest, value, or need-to-know to the whole VFA Fellow community as it is now.
Section 2: VFA 2.0 (name tbd) is for Eileen Lee’s vision of relaunching a version of VFA and contains updates related to that.
Section 3: Bulletin Board is for any and all other Fellow updates (e.g. wins, asks, personal life updates, company launches, etc).
The section Jobs & Opportunities has now been retired in response to low-submission rates — if you’re looking for a new job, be sure to hop into the new VFA Slack and check out #jobs-opportunities! If you’re hiring, tell Eileen Lee (see 2D below) or submit a blurb to the newsletter under Bulletin Board!
If you have any feedback about these changes or anything else regarding the newsletter, you can write to Akhil Aniff (‘18) and Ben Weinberg (‘18) about it at vfaaab@gmail.com
1E. Interested in Volunteering with the VFA Community Collective?
We are merging efforts to support VFA 2.0 (name tbd). Please see 2A below.
2. VFA 2.0 (Real Name TBD) Updates
2a. Get Involved with VFA 2.0 (real name coming soon!) through Volunteer Board Committees: Fill out this Sign-Up Form and/or Join Our Interest Meeting on Mon July 28 at 7-8:00pm usa est
From Eileen: Thank you for all your incredible work to keep VFA alive and our community supported since last summer. I couldn't be more excited to restart a version of VFA and continue engaging our alumni through some of the great initiatives you all started and am grateful for any continued interest and support. If you’re at all interested in volunteering, please fill out this form — it’s not a firm commitment, but this will help us gauge interest and follow-up.
We’re envisioning an interest-based committee structure with quarterly commitments. We are trying to keep the committees focused on the strategic imperatives of the work at this time: 1) building the foundation for the organization, 2) launching a 2026 fellowship (smaller cohorts in Birmingham, Detroit, and Atlanta), and 3) supporting VFA alumni through the job pilot and beginning to ideate future structures. Aligned to those goals are the following tentative committees: 2026 Fellowship Committee (Training Camp 2.0, program design, recruitment, etc), Name and Branding for VFA 2.0, Birmingham City Committee, Detroit City Committee, Atlanta City Committee, Launch Party Planning in Fall 2025 in NYC (includes Alumni Engagement), Fundraising (includes Alumni Engagement), and Job Pilot (includes Alumni Engagement).
Amanda Tien (‘15) has volunteered to host a volunteer transition meeting from the VFA Community Collective work to VFA 2.0 on Monday July 28 from 7-8:00pm usa est. Amanda will introduce the meeting and help context-set, and then I, Ben, and Akhil will share our framework moving forward and answer questions.
Past, current, and new volunteers are all welcome! If you are interested in volunteering, please 1) fill out this form and 2) RSVP to this GCal event (it’s okay if you can’t make the meeting). Thank you for your interest!
2b. 2.0 Town Hall on Thursday August 7, 3:30-5:00pm usa est
Want to know what’s up with VFA 2.0 (actual name tba) and what the plan is for a 2026 Fellowship? This is the event to attend (or at least watch a recording of!). VFA announced a cease of operations a year ago in August 2024, and in this meeting, Eileen Lee will share the vision for the future. This meeting will be led by Eileen with alumni support. To RSVP, please 1) register on Zoom here and 2) RSVP yes to this GCal event.
2c. Reunion/Launch Party - coming to NYC in Fall 2025, stay tuned!
We’re still planning this, but keep an eye/ear out ;) If you want to be a part of helping us plan this, join our Reunion-planning committee by signing up in the form in 2A above!
2d. Fellow Job Pilot Update and How to Get Involved
There are over 50 past VFA Fellows actively searching for roles who have engaged in the Job Pilot Program. This Fellow CRM Notion features profiles of VFA Fellows looking for roles; please take (2) minutes to skim and see if there’s anyone you can make a connection for. Or, if you’re hiring, check out these profiles!
If you are job seeking and want to be added to the pilot, please fill out this form.
If you are hiring, please email Eileen Lee (lee.eileen@gmail.com; or DM her in the New Slack) with the subject line “VFA 2.0 - Job Pilot - I’m Hiring”
If you are interested in helping create expedited back end data systems to automate this, we’d love your help! Please reach out to Eileen Lee (lee.eileen@gmail.com; or DM her in the New Slack) with subject line “VFA 2.0 - Job Pilot - Data Automation Help”
2e. Donate to 2.0!
Eileen has begun the initial planning and design phases for a 2026 Fellowship. Funds, as we all know, are critical to getting any startup or project going. Eileen is doing the work, building the thing, and making stuff happen. You can donate (tax deductible!) to Eileen’s VFA 2.0 (actual name tbd soon) project here. Even $10/a month is great and shows your support, but of course, if you can give more, all the better.
3. Bulletin Board
3a. Morgan Rucker + Olivia Stevermer ('23) launched their clean, protein pudding!
Via Morgan Rucker (‘23, San Antonio)
Did someone say protein pudding?? We finally launched our protein pudding - over 2 years in the making since meeting through VFA! We would absolutely love your support if you’d like to give it a try <3
Only clean, natural ingredients
Top 8 allergen free (gluten, dairy, nut, etc.)
Plant-based
No refrigeration needed, enjoyed from a spout pouch (think gogo squeez)
Organic
(If anyone has contacts in PR, CPG, etc. we'd appreciate any intros - ty!!)
Also, we love meeting other fellows - reach out if you're in the LA area :) morgan@psquaredfoods.com + olivia@psquaredfoods.com
Find us online (psquaredfoods.com) and on Socials (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube) at @psquaredfoods Let's raise the standards for our food system together!
3b. Investing in Ohio: Jeffrey Stern (‘16) and The Ohio Fund
Via Jeffrey Stern (‘16, Cleveland)
Hey VFA fam! Excited to share that over the past year, I’ve joined the founding of a new firm called The Ohio Fund. Since our launch last year, we’ve raised ~$240 million, closed our first fund, and made 19 investments to date, deploying >$100 million directly into growing Ohio-based companies. If anyone in the VFA community comes across interesting people, companies, or opportunities in Ohio, please keep me in mind. I’d love to support and stay connected to all the great things happening in OH. Thanks and excited to reconnect — feel free to reach out jeffrey@theohiofund.com
3c. Sarah Tatarski ('22) Launched Her Coaching Business!
Via Sarah Tatarski (‘22, Philadelphia)
Hi everyone! I am a certified integration coach and officially launched my coaching business, PsychePath Coaching (www.psychepathcoaching.com)! In my work, I offer 1:1 personalized support to individuals preparing for or integrating psychedelic experiences. My focus is on legal ketamine treatments and psilocybin journeys, and my coaching is rooted in harm reduction, mindfulness, and trauma-informed care. I help clients move from feeling stuck or overwhelmed into deeper clarity, self-trust, and transformation—using practices like breathwork, integration assignments, and education about what’s happening in the brain and body. If you or someone you know is navigating grief, burnout, spiritual awakening, or just seeking deeper connections, you don’t have to do it alone. Learn more at www.psychepathcoaching.com
3d. Nico Krachenfels (Bham ’18) built a calculator that shows the minimum salary you’d need to fund your ideal lifestyle through retirement. Try it and give me feedback?
Last year at my job, I was gunning for a raise, but burning out. A good VFA friend (hi Edan) asked me if I knew how much money I actually needed to live the lifestyle I wanted to. At that point I hadn't really considered what my ‘ideal lifestyle’ even looked like, so I had no idea what that $ number was. I built a web app that helps you A) Define your ideal lifestyle, B) See how much it costs, and C) Figure out what salary would be enough to fund that life all the way through retirement
My ask: Give the MVP a spin (it’s free) and send over any feedback you have, good or bad! Here’s my email: nicoskrachenfels@gmail.com
The calculator: https://myenoughlife.com
3e. *Leadership & Wellness Coaching* for the hard periods in life
Via Laura Berk (‘12, Las Vegas)
Are you switching careers, dealing with burnout, juggling work and parenthood, or figuring out how to step up your leadership to reach big career goals? My good friend Shawn Casey, who I worked with at One Medical to grow its health coaching program, runs her own private coaching business: www.shawncaseycoaching.com. She is a nationally-certified health & wellness and leadership coach (15+ yrs) and one of the most sincere, compassionate, experts in the space that I've ever met. She describes herself as a holistic leadership coach who supports high-achieving professionals as they navigate what’s next. Her coaching integrates leadership development, wellness, and neuroscience-backed behavior change into a cohesive, practical coaching experience. She works with people who are ready to get clear on what they really want and build the energy and confidence to go after it. **Check out her website (www.shawncaseycoaching.com) or I can introduce you, DM me on the new Slack**
4. Submit a Blurb for Next Time by Weds Aug 6
The next newsletter will be on Thursday August 7. Submit your blurb here (it’s also linked on the homepage of the newsletter) any time in the day/evening on Weds August 6.
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