Keaston Simmons

Keaston is the Venture Partner at Black Capital – a Sacramento-based venture capital firm founded by former Sacramento mayor and 3x NBA All-Star Kevin Johnson. In this role, he is responsible for providing executive, strategic, operational, and portfolio management guidance to support the firm's mission of building multi-generational wealth for the Black community through the democratization of access, opportunity, and mobility within the United States venture capital industry. He began his career as an active-duty Air Force contingency contracting officer overseeing performance, ensuring compliance, and safeguarding the public interest through his management of a diverse portfolio of business requirements worth approximately $5.5 billion (USD). After almost a decade of honorable and decorated service, he transitioned from military to civilian life where he provided consulting services to numerous public sector organizations including the General Services Administration, National Institutes of Health, United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation. As a former college drop-out and first-generation college graduate, he holds a B.B.A. in Economics from American Military University, joint M.S. in Government Contracts from The George Washington University School of Business and Law School, and an M.S. in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. Furthermore, he is a graduate of Syracuse University’s SBA Boots to Business Veteran Entrepreneurship Program, Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Executive Fellows Program, and Alumni Ventures’ Venture Fellow Program. He is currently a doctoral (Ed.D.) candidate at the University of Pennsylvania researching racial economic justice across the United States venture capital industry under the guidance of esteemed faculty at both The Wharton School and the Graduate School of Education.