Zachary Kushel

Founder & Managing Partner

Marin Sonoma Impact Ventures

Zach’s professional experience spans from Wall Street to Washington, DC to Silicon Valley to putting down firm roots in the North Bay.

Prior to founding MSIV in April 2020, Zach served on the executive team as Head of People & Corporate Operations at SmithRx, a San Francisco based startup company in the pharmacy benefits management (PBM) space. Prior to SmithRx, Zach was Head of Business Development at Mill Valley’s Glassdoor, the world’s most transparent jobs and careers community, and served tech-icon Cisco in San Jose building partnerships with the global public sector and advising the company’s senior executives on public policy matters.

Zach also worked in fixed income sales at Citi’s New York City trading floor, co-founded video opinion startup company eyeponti, and has a wide range of political experience that includes the U.S. Senate, The White House, and the late Senator John McCain’s 2008 campaign for U.S. President.

Zach earned his Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and completed his undergraduate studies at Cornell University. A native of New Jersey, he now calls northern California home and resides with his wife and two sons in Corte Madera. He serves on the Board of Advisors at Dominican University’s Barowsky School of Business and the Lepage Center for Global Innovation, on the Citizens Oversight Committee for Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART), and served the Marin Economic Forum for seven years on its Board of Directors.

In 2023, Zach was honored for his work building MSIV by the North Bay Leadership Council when he received the “Leaders of the North Bay” award for Innovative & Entrepreneurial Spirit. He has received commendations from the North Bay’s representatives in the U.S. House, California State Senate, and California State Assembly, as well as from the County of Marin, for his efforts and is a previous recipient of the North Bay Business Journal’s 'Forty Under 40' award in 2021.

He can be reached at zkushel@msivfund.com.