# Cheryl Contee

> Cheryl Contee is an American technology entrepreneur, author and adviser whose work spans digital organizing, nonprofit software and AI adoption. She co-founded Jack and Jill Politics, Fission Strategy, Attentive.ly and Do Big Things; Attentive.ly was acquired by Blackbaud in 2016. She is now a co-founder and chief innovation officer at BrightWorks AI and co-author of AI for Nonprofits.

- **Role:** Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer at BrightWorks AI
- **Organizations:** BrightWorks AI, Change Agent AI, PosterChild.AI, The Impact Seat Foundation, Do Big Things, Fission Strategy, Attentive.ly, Jack and Jill Politics, #YesWeCode / Dream Corps TECH, Netroots Nation, New Media Ventures
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA in Ethics, Politics and Economics, Yale University, International Executive MBA, Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business
- **Known for:** Co-founded Attentive.ly, acquired by Blackbaud in July 2016., Attentive.ly is described in her public biographies as the first technology startup with a Black woman founder acquired by a Nasdaq-listed company., Included in Fast Company’s 2010 Most Influential Women in Technology feature.

## Career timeline

- **2004** — Earned her Executive MBA at Georgetown.
- **2006** — Co-founded Jack and Jill Politics with Baratunde Thurston, writing as Jill Tubman.
- **2008** — Co-founded Fission Strategy with Rosalyn Lemieux.
- **2012** — Co-founded Attentive.ly, which began operating in the nonprofit sector that year.
- **2016** — Blackbaud acquired Attentive.ly; Contee became a strategic adviser while continuing to lead Fission.
- **2018** — Fission and the digital work of 270 Strategies combined to form Do Big Things; Contee served as CEO.
- **2019** — Published Mechanical Bull: How You Can Achieve Startup Success.
- **2025** — Co-authored AI for Nonprofits with Darian Rodriguez Heyman.
- **2026** — Publicly identified as co-founder and chief innovation officer at BrightWorks AI.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Attentive.ly, acquired by Blackbaud in July 2016.
- Attentive.ly is described in her public biographies as the first technology startup with a Black woman founder acquired by a Nasdaq-listed company.
- Included in Fast Company’s 2010 Most Influential Women in Technology feature.
- Co-authored AI for Nonprofits, drawing on 57 expert interviews.
- Co-founded #YesWeCode with Van Jones.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Featured in Rare’s May 4 conversation recap about practical AI adoption for nonprofits.
- **2026-01** — Joined Darian Rodriguez Heyman on Big Duck’s January 7 podcast to discuss AI for Nonprofits.
- **2025-11** — Discussed mission-driven technology and inclusive entrepreneurship in Georgetown Business.

## Links

- Website: https://brightworksai.com/team/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylcontee/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ch3ryl
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/cherylcontee.bsky.social
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cherylcontee/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/cheryl-contee
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22