
Our People
We are a minority-owned investment firm operating at the intersection of wealth management, private equity, and impact investing.
-
Toussaint Bailey
Founder and CEOToussaint excels at aligning investments with purpose in support of collective efforts to uplift people, planet, and economy. He draws on deep experience as a leader in private wealth and a trailblazer in impact engagement.
Read BioToussaint is dedicated to helping people invest and engage in a manner that leaves them feeling uplifted and that results in meaningful progress. Prior to founding Uplifting Capital, he was CEO of Enso Wealth Management, a private wealth firm Toussaint joined in 2017 shortly after its formation. He oversaw the firm’s growth to nearly $2 billion of assets under management and its eventual acquisition by Choreo. Before financial services, Toussaint spent over a decade as a practicing attorney.
Toussaint serves in several advisory and board capacities, including Impact Investment Subcommittee of the Alternative & Direct Investment Securities Association; Investor Advisory Board of HBCU Founder Initiative; Executive Leadership Council of the Raphael House of San Francisco; Board of Directors of the Alliance for Safety and Justice; Advisory Board of Catalyst Housing Group; Advisory Board of SIY Global; and Strategic Advisor to FRSH.
- JD, UCLA School of Law
- BSE in Business Administration (honors concentration in Financial Services), Saint Mary’s College of California
-
Linda Assante
Chief Investment OfficerLinda is an experienced institutional private market investor having led teams as an investment banker, investment consultant, and principal allocator for over 30 years in the financial services industry.
Read BioLinda’s extensive background is in constructing and managing institutional quality private market investment portfolios for “insti-viduals” (i.e., individual families and foundations that invest like institutions). Prior to joining Uplifting Capital, Linda was a Managing Partner at Jasper Ridge Partners (formerly Oak Hill Investment Management), a discretionary investment management firm serving prominent families, foundations, and global institutions with $32 billion in assets under management. Linda was a member of the firm’s investment, portfolio construction, and valuation committees.
Prior to joining Jasper Ridge Partners in 2008, Linda was a Principal with The Townsend Group, where she constructed portfolios on behalf of public and private pension funds. Previously, Linda was at J.P. Morgan where she was Head of West Coast Real Estate, Lodging & Gaming Investment Banking.
Linda serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Catalyst Impact Fund; James Campbell Company; Mountain View Clean Energy; The Swig Company; Terreno Realty Corporation; Pension Real Estate Association Foundation; and Urban Alliance. In addition, she serves on the Advisory Boards of Azimuth Capital Management and Catalyst Housing Group. Linda is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Lafayette College, currently serving as Vice Chair.
- BA in Economics and Business, Lafayette College
-
Linda Magara Horner
Vice President of Impact InvestmentsLinda is an impactful strategist and investment professional with over 10 years of experience in healthcare, investment banking, and public accounting. She leads all aspects of Uplifting’s impact measurement, management, and engagement.
Read BioLinda brings a unique perspective as a proud Ugandan American. She excels at building partnerships with aligned financial and impact organizations, identifying investment opportunities, and monitoring portfolio performance. Prior to joining Uplifting, Linda was the Director of Corporate Strategy at SCAN – one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit Medicare Advantage plans that is tackling some of the biggest issues in healthcare for older adults. Prior to healthcare, she worked in investment banking for financial sponsors at Credit Suisse and as a senior auditor at Deloitte.
In 2020, Linda earned her MBA from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, where she received the Julia Stell award for outstanding leadership. She is passionate about women’s empowerment, mentoring minority entrepreneurs, and providing educational opportunities as a means of lifting entire families out of poverty. She currently serves on the Board of Action in Africa (Vice Chair) and on the Advisory Board of the National Black MBA Association, Los Angeles Chapter.
- MBA, The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
- BS in Business Administration (emphasis in Accounting), Summa Cum Laude (No. 1 in class), The Master’s University
- Impact Measurement & Management for the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Duke University
-
Denise E. Bailey
Chief of StaffDenise is a business operations leader bringing extensive and diverse entrepreneurial experience into asset management. She is passionate about turning ideas into actions through a relentless commitment to learning.
Read BioDenise provides executive support, investor relations, and oversees strategy and implementation of all back and middle office operations. She also helps to design the hiring management process, information management systems, and vendor management.
She is a graduate of the altMBA program, an intensive online workshop that teaches critical thinking, leadership, and innovation skills. Denise is a writer, former educator, and proud mother of three with an extensive background in organizational functions throughout many industries. Denise currently sits on the Executive Leadership Council for the Raphael House in San Francisco.
- Teaching Credential (Multiple Subject), Cal State University Dominguez Hills
- Early Childhood Education Certification, Santa Monica College
- BA in Communication (minor in Political Science–Justice & Community), Saint Mary’s College of California
-
Nassar Omar
Uplifting MBA Fellow Read Bio- MBA Candidate, Ross School of Business at University of Michigan
- BBA in Business Administration (emphasis in Finance), Cum Laude, Morehouse College