Sabrina Short

Founder & CEO

Sabrina Short is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of NOLAvate Black, ecosystem builder and tech inclusion advocate. She is known as the “Great Connector” because of her unwavering passion for community and social justice. A native New Orleanian, Sabrina moved home post-hurricane Katrina as a community organizer to participate in the city's recovery efforts. She has over 20 years of experience in non-profit management, fundraising, and program development. She has been recognized locally and nationally for youth-led education and health initiatives in New Orleans, including being selected as a New Orleans delegate to share best practices for grassroots organizing and strategic outreach after manmade and natural disasters with the Rockefeller Foundation.

Sabrina's communications and marketing firm Short Speaks Creative has provided creative direction and digital media services for major brands such as Different Drummer, National Geographic, and Fox Studios.

A 2019 and 2020 Ada Lovelace Award nominee for women making an impact in tech, Sabrina raises awareness around diversity and inclusion in the technology sector. She strives to explore ways to support the local tech ecosystem, including spearheading the inaugural Black Tech NOLA Conference in 2018, the first Black Tech conference in the region focused on inclusive innovation and building a sustainable talent pipeline for high wage high demand jobs in tech. NOLAvate Black has reached over 3,000 Black professionals around the world through programming that connects innovators and creators who push the culture and future of tech forward. She has also been named a 2020 Silicon Bayou 100 honoree, Citybusiness Newsmaker, and New Orleans Magazine’s 2022 Top Female Achievers.

A motivational speaker, published author, community organizer and start-up founder, Sabrina believes, “It is important that we create spaces where everyone is invited, supported and included. We each have a divine right to live out our purpose and be successful in doing what we love.”

Sabrina serves on the executive board of Rooted School New Orleans, a member of the New Orleans Digital Alliance, appointed to the city of New Orleans’s Mayor's 2050 Council, focused on diversifying the economy and workforce in the region, and is a Black Churches 4 Digital Equity National Fellow.