Club Conduit | Power Brokers

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Lina Rugova is a visionary leader and dedicated advocate for underserved entrepreneurs and small business owners. As the founder and president of Emerge and Rise, a San Antonio-based nonprofit Venture Development Organization. With over a decade of experience in business consulting, Lina excels in strategic planning, digital transformation, and AI integration.

An immigrant and first-generation entrepreneur, Lina holds a BS in Business and a Master of Management in Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Penn State University. She is currently pursuing a DBA in Entrepreneurship at Walden University and serves as an adjunct faculty instructor at Palo Alto College.

 Christine Colburn is a nonprofit leader, strategic advisor, and operator with deep experience in partnership development, market strategy, and ecosystem building for emerging technology startups and SMEs, with a background in VC. As Vice President of Community and Strategic Initiatives at Emerge and Rise, Inc., she leads cross-sector collaborations that advance founder support through mentorship, education, and resource integration. Through her advisory work and as a co-founder of a software development startup, Christine supports early- and growth-stage companies with go-to-market execution, partnerships, and operational alignment, translating strategic vision into measurable, mission-driven impact. 

 Justine Eckert, MBA is a Commercial Risk Advisor specializing in property and casualty insurance for business owners and commercial real estate investors.

After building and selling her own Farmers agency, she transitioned into independent brokerage to design strategic, customized coverage for growing companies and asset-heavy portfolios. She understands risk from the operator’s side, not just the policy side. She's known for her client-first rigor, she designs coverage strategies that safeguard capital, protect operations, and preserve peace of mind in high-stakes markets. 

Justine serves on the Board of Directors for CREW Commercial Real Estate Women and is Director of Special Events. She is also a Board Member of Y.E.S.! Youth Entrepreneurship Services, supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs.

In rooms where assets are being built, she makes sure they’re protected.

Rachel Porter is a Transformational Strategist, speaker, and mother of seven who works at the intersection of resilience, identity, and reinvention.

She partners with women who are outwardly accomplished but internally constrained, guiding them to dismantle limiting narratives and step into aligned expansion without apology. Her work goes beyond mindset; it restructures belief systems.

Through private coaching, immersive workshops, and keynote experiences, Rachel equips women to pivot with clarity, and move through adversity with composure.

She is the author of Fire Dance Flow: A Transformative Process We Shouldn’t Fear, a powerful fusion of memoir and methodology that reframes adversity as initiation and courage as a disciplined practice.

In spaces where capital, leadership, and influence are rising, Rachel ensures the woman behind the success rises with it.