Duke Capital Partners

Cam Irwin

Cam is a third-year student at Duke Law, where he is pursuing a dual degree in Law & Entrepreneurship. Upon graduation, he plans to work alongside entrepreneurs and investors within the emerging company ecosystem. Prior to law school, Cam worked in corporate development for a fintech startup after receiving his M.S. in Innovation & Management from Tufts University.

Syed Shayon Saleh

I am currently in my second year at Fuqua School of Business’ Daytime MBA program. Previous to Fuqua, I was the first college intern at DoorDash, and I worked as a software engineer in the Bay Area. In the future, I hope to work in venture capital and run my own venture fund.

Willa Townsend

After graduating from Duke with a Bachelor’s in Economics & Neuroscience in 2015, Willa spent time in business development at Banza, SmartyPants Vitamins, and AwesomenessTV. Currently, she is pursuing her MBA at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business while working as a lead associate at Duke Capital Partners. A lover of all things consumer, she’s most excited about companies that embrace diversity and have an eye on environmental impact.

Austin Dixon

I am a Duke attending neuroradiologist who earned my MD and MBA from the University of Pennsylania. With 4.5 years of experience in angel/startup investing, I have long term interests in healthcare entrepreneurship and venture investing.

Daniel Shapiro

Daniel is a PhD Candidate in Biomedical Engineering working in the Chilkoti lab and a Lead Life Sciences associate with the Duke Angel Network. Daniel has been working with DAN since June of 2020 and has been involved in numerous deals, primarily in the biotech and software spaces. In the future, Daniel hopes to go into Venture Capital with the goal of helping founders create and commercialize life-changing biotechnologies.

Faisal Anees

I’m a PhD Candidate in Mechanical Engineering and Material Science focusing on how nanoparticles can be used to model the immune response in Lupus. I have experience ranging from things including solar energy and petrochemicals to gene delivery and immunology. I hope to work in the biotech startup space after my PhD.

Emily Berntsen

Emily is a second year MBA student at Fuqua’s School of Business (and Double Dukie, graduating from Duke undergrad in 2016!). Prior to Fuqua, she worked at Citigroup in Fixed Income Sales & Trading for five years in New York City. This summer she interned at J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank. Long-term career aspirations are to return to NYC and work in the realm of finance in some capacity, VC, or some combination of both!

Muath Bishawi

I am interested in translational and biomedical engineering approaches to studying cardiovascular function, mechanical circulatory support and end stage heart and lung failure. My clinical research is focused on clinical outcomes after adult cardiac surgery with a focus on end stage surgical heart failure.

Audrey López Bolívar

Audrey is an MBA student at the Duke University Fuqua School of Business. Originally from Colombia, she has a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering. After ten years of working in the Tech industry, she wants to focus on helping early-stage companies throughout their consolidation and growth process.

Damon Burrow

Damon is a PhD Candidate at Duke University in the Biomedical Engineering Department focused on building biosensor technologies to improve global telehealth efforts. Upon completion of his PhD, Damon hopes to launch a company that places people at the center of their personal health care, and continue his career in venture capital investing in and helping founders build companies that solve important technical problems.