Where equity, innovation, and investment meet — and why Linda’s leadership stands out. 

This past month, Culture Shifting Summit Silicon Valley honored our President and CEO, Linda Goler Blount, MPH, as a 2025 Culture Shifter — recognizing her decades of leadership advancing racial equity, public health, and systemic change. The award reflects not only her extraordinary impact, but also the powerful ecosystem that Culture Shift Labs has built to reshape who leads, funds, and benefits from innovation in this country. 

We extend our deep thanks to Andrea Hoffman, David Parker, and especially Sheri Macdonald, whose nomination lifted Linda’s story and made this honor possible. 

Linda Goler Blount wears a black dress with multicolored decals and stands in front of a microphone and glass podium with a logo for "culture shifting awards silicon valley." She is also standing in front of a wall that says "I am a culture shifter. Brought to you by Comcast."
Community Catalyst President & CEO, Linda Goler Blount, shares her Culture Shifter acceptance speech at the Silicon Valley awards ceremony and highlights her lifelong commitment to science, justice, and public health.

Honoring Linda’s Leadership 

Linda’s Culture Shifter acceptance speech at the Silicon Valley awards ceremony captures her lifelong commitment to science, justice, and public health. From building the CDC’s first HIV tracking system, to reframing the national conversation on Black women’s health, to now leading Community Catalyst’s work to build power for health justice, Linda has consistently broken barriers and changed outcomes for millions. 

“I am a scientist, a strategist, truthteller, advocate, innovator, believer in justice, breaker of barriers, CEO, and a voice for health justice.”
– Linda Goler Blount, Community Catalyst President & CEO

Culture Shift Labs: Changing the Face of Power in Tech and Investment 

For more than a decade, Culture Shift Labs has done what few organizations in the social-impact and innovation space have been able to do at scale: transform the networks of investors, founders, Limited Partners, General Partners, board directors, and corporate decision-makers to accelerate equity from the inside out. 

Their Culture Shifting events — now a movement spanning coasts and sectors — bring together the people who are redefining what leadership looks like and where capital flows. By opening doors, building relationships, and spotlighting leaders who have historically been overlooked, Culture Shift Labs is rewriting the narrative about who drives innovation, who allocates resources, and who shapes the future of technology and investment. It’s a model of powerbuilding that aligns deeply with Community Catalyst’s mission: creating systems that recognize the brilliance and leadership already present in Black, Hispanic, and other communities that have historically been blocked from opportunity due to racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of oppression.  

We’re honored to build power alongside Culture Shift Labs, and even more energized for the partnership and progress ahead.