VTWIN HerStory: Chris Gelnaw and Galia Gichon of Tidal River Fund
VTWIN HerStory with Chris Gelnaw and Galia Gichon of Tidal River Fund
June 23, 2026
12:00 – 1:15pm
Zoom | Free
We’re excited to welcome Chris Gelnaw and Galia Gichon of Tidal River Fund, a women-led investment fund backing bold early-stage companies and championing diversity and equity. During this HerStory conversation, they will share their personal money stories and how they came together to launch a fund powered by women investors supporting visionary founders across industries.
Chris Gelnaw bridges vision and execution. With a background spanning entrepreneurship, market research, management consulting, product management, and corporate sales, she brings a cross-functional lens and deep fluency in the startup ecosystem—helping founders sharpen strategy, accelerate product–market fit, and connect with the right people at the right time.
At Tidal River Fund, she guides founders through the full investment journey—from referral and due diligence through investment and portfolio management. Relationships drive everything she does: building trust-based connections between founders, investors, and partners that create real, lasting momentum.
Previously, she delivered strategic insights at CMGVision, shaped programming and partnerships at The Refinery, and advised women-led startups. She also served as Senior Manager of Financial Services Business & Operational Strategy at KPMG Consulting and Vice President of Sales & Product Management at JPMorgan Chase.
Galia Gichon is an independent personal financial expert with more than 20 years in financial services, including nearly 10 years on Wall Street and an MBA in Finance. Her career has spanned corporate bond research analyst, personal finance expert, angel investor, entrepreneur advisor and author. As an active angel investor, she actively supports women led and impact start ups. She is the co-Founder and co-Managing Partner of Tidal River Fund, the first early stage Venture Capital Fund for women investors in CT. She is the Founder of Down to Earth Finance. She taught at Barnard College’s Athena Center for Leadership and Freelancers Union for 15+ years. She has been widely quoted in The New York Times, NBC, CNN. Previously, she worked at Bear Stearns and Nomura Securities.
Galia is the author of “My Money Matters” which was featured on TODAY SHOW, the author of a fiction novel “The Accidental Suffragist”, host of the popular podcast “Fiscal Firecrackers” with leading actress Susan Yeagley and an Oscar nominated Executive Producer of “Come See Me In The Good Light.” She lives in New York area with her daughters.
Agenda for Zoom Online Event:
12:00pm – VT WIN intros and meeting guidelines
12:10pm – HerStory: Gali Gichon and Chris Gelnaw
12:50pm – Time for Q&A with Julie Johnson McVeigh
1:00pm – Open Discussion / Wrap Up
As always, there will be time for discussion and sharing ideas.
Vermont Women’s Investors Network believes strongly in being an inclusive and diverse network. While we appreciate our male allies, this event is free and open to all WOMEN, no matter their path, life experiences or relationships, to discover and achieve their economic goals in alignment with their values.
PLEASE NOTE: We will email you the Zoom link the afternoon of the event.