About
I immigrated from Kazakhstan and landed in the Bronx, NY at age of 16. I became the first person in my family to earn a graduate degree, and I built my career the way most immigrants do: without a map, and without anyone handing me a network.
That's the reason Emerge and Rise exists. It's also the reason why other passion projects and initiatives exist. I don't think of myself as someone who does a lot of different things. I think of myself as someone who keeps running into the same gap, in different rooms, and keeps building the same fix.
The Pattern
Here's what that's looked like in practice, six organizations, same instinct each time:
Emerge and Rise
For immigrant and underserved entrepreneurs who lacked access to capital, mentorship, and networks, the way I once did.
Visit site → Founding MemberWINC Circle
For women founders who wanted a community built on their own terms, not a networking event designed around someone else's.
Visit site → Operations Chair & Founding MemberSan Antonio Applied Innovation Council
For companies relocating to or expanding in San Antonio who needed introductions and market access that data alone can't provide.
Visit site → Faculty Instructor & AI Faculty LeadPalo Alto College
For students who needed coursework connected to real businesses instead of theory alone.
Read the spotlight → Director & Co‑LeadFounder Institute — San Antonio
For early-stage founders who needed a structured, cohort-based path from idea to company, and a city that didn't have a local chapter yet.
Visit site → Consultant → PartnerAtlas Start → Korevia Advisory Group
I ran my own consulting practice, Atlas Start, from 2018 to 2025. In 2026 I co-founded Korevia Advisory Group, where I'm Managing Partner. One continuous thread of advisory work for growth-stage SMEs.
Visit site →The Track Record Behind the Pattern
I hold a Doctor of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship and Social Impact from Walden University, a Master of Management in Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Penn State U, and a Bachelor's in Business, also from Penn State U. In 2017, four years before founding Emerge and Rise, I started Atlas Start, my own consulting practice, and spent the next nine years advising 260+ small and mid-sized businesses and lifting client revenue and profitability by 25% to 40%. As CMO at a longtime San Antonio home services company, I led a full rebrand that meaningfully grew brand visibility and web traffic, with one department's revenue growing significantly in the first year. I was selected in 2024 as one of 34 changemakers across San Antonio to join the Change Collective fellowship. Today, I advise Abov3, an AI software company, and Texas World of Wheels, an entertainment and education venue, on growth strategy, and a few others.
