Our Team
Tanay Tatum-Edwards, Founder & CEO
Tanay Tatum-Edwards is the founder and CEO of FreeCap Financial, Inc. Before FreeCap, she developed a lifelong commitment to using investment strategies to create systemic social change while working in asset management. Tanay has multiple loved ones impacted by mass incarceration and is committed to using her expertise to address it. Prestigious fellowships have supported her work, including Echoing Green, Fulbright, Halcyon Incubator, and Roddenberry Foundation.
Tanay regularly shares insights from FreeCap’s research at events, including SOCAP, Confluence Philanthropy, Stanford University, Vassar College, Tufts University, Georgetown University, and Yale University. Her thought leadership has been spotlighted in major news outlets, including MarketWatch. A foodie, NBA fan, and lover of hip-hop, Tanay received an M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, where her classmates elected her commencement speaker, and a B.A. in Africana Studies & Sociology from Vassar College, where she served as student body president.
Juan Diaz, Chief Operating Officer
Juan Diaz is the COO of FreeCap and has a decade of experience in successful operations and technology. Prior to FreeCap, he was a manager at one of the world's top consulting firms where he led a team of technology architects in identifying roadblocks, creating scalable solutions, and streamlining operations for a large client. An immigrant from Colombia, Juan has a passion for building enterprises to create systemic social change. He graduated from MIT with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Jordan Brown, Data Science Lead
Jordan Brown is FreeCap’s Data Science Lead. He specializes in helping small businesses and teams design and conduct data analytics projects as well as using narrative and data visualization to convey insights. Throughout his career, Jordan has provided mixed-methods policy research, data analytics, dashboard development and data storytelling solutions to employers and clients in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame and a M.A in Education Policy from George Washington University. He is a native of southeast Louisiana and is currently based out of Washington D.C.
Erika Folgar, Research Analyst
Erika Folgar is a Research Analyst at FreeCap. She first started in January of 2021 as a research intern to help develop the very first criminal justice scorecard. Prior to her role as Research Analyst, she graduated from Vassar College in May of 2022 with B.A. in Economics and correlates in Mathematics and Latin American Latinx Studies. There, she served on the leadership board of multiple student-run organizations, her biggest role being Co-President of Gender Inclusivity in STEM. This organization brought together students of marginalized gender identities focused on excelling in classes and career development. In 2021, she received the Thompson Bartlett Fellowship for Economics to study at the University of Texas at Austin. During this time, she examined the impact of teen dating violence on educational attainment. She hopes to continue to conduct research that makes a positive social impact.
Steph Shih, Business Development Lead
Steph is FreeCap’s Business Development Lead. For the last decade, she has worked across public and private sectors building programs, partnerships, and impactful communications to create a more just and sustainable society. She is passionate about directing the flow of capital to create equitable communities and lessen the racial wealth gap. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with dual degrees in Business Honors with a Marketing concentration and Plan II (Liberal Arts) Honors.
