Shila Nieves Burney spent over 20 years as an operator focused on human capital and DEI before becoming a VC, and she approaches investing with a talent-development and systems-change lens rather than a traditional finance background. As a Black Latinx woman, she created both Zane Ventures and Zane Access specifically to dismantle systemic barriers to capital for underrepresented founders, building her own deal preparation pipeline through structured pre-capital education programs rather than relying on traditional sourcing channels. Shila Nieves Burney spent over 20 years as an operator focused on human capital and DEI before becoming a VC, and she approaches investing with a talent-development and systems-change lens rather than a traditional finance background. As a Black Latinx woman, she created both Zane Ventures and Zane Access specifically to dismantle systemic barriers to capital for underrepresented founders, building her own deal preparation pipeline through structured pre-capital education programs rather than relying on traditional sourcing channels.