At Elysian, we champion the dreams of our members and provide business support services to the neurodiverse community. By aiding exceptional people from all over the world, and doing so in tangible ways, Elysian Trust helps others realize their potential and channel their abilities in ways that can benefit humankind.
Elysian Trust is a trailblazing social enterprise, dedicated to spotlighting and harnessing the untapped potential within neurodivergent and gifted communities. Our belief is steadfast: everyone has a unique talent, an inherent strength that often remains unexplored due to societal biases. Our goal is to uncover and nurture these cognitive gifts within various communities, understanding that they form the foundation of tomorrow’s innovations, ground-breaking research, and compelling works of art.
Every person we support is a potential beacon for their community, empowered to pave the way for progress and positive transformation. Our members are gifted, entrepreneurial, and motivated. They are inventors, thought-leaders, humanitarians, and artists who, with the right guidance and resources, have the potential to shape the world in remarkable ways. At Elysian Trust, we consider ourselves the launchpad for such transformative journeys, accelerating and supporting our members to manifest their potential fully.
What We Do
Our mission revolves around overcoming the hurdles that the gifted and neurodivergent community face, particularly those hailing from underserved communities. Elysian Trust extends a comprehensive range of services and strategic partnerships to cater to our members’ academic, social, financial, professional, and personal needs.
Our work extends far beyond traditional business incubation. We see ourselves as incubators of human potential. We nurture the entrepreneur and their startup, the artist and their art, the humanitarian and their vision, and the inventor along with their invention. In doing so, we foster a vibrant ecosystem of gifted individuals capable of inspiring change and driving progress in their communities and beyond.
Our History
Our journey began in January 2012 with Volant, an online community for individuals with high IQs. It was through Volant that we uncovered two crucial insights: an astounding correlation between high IQ and neurodivergence, and the realization that IQ alone does not encapsulate the breadth and diversity of human cognitive abilities.
These insights inspired the birth of an array of focused sister groups in 2013, each dedicated to different cognitive abilities, from intuition and critical thinking to emotional and creative intelligence. By 2015, we united these groups under the umbrella of Elysian Trust. Two years later, we solidified our commitment to the neurodiverse community by incorporating a non-profit agency, Elysian Trusted Foundation, alongside a for-profit entity, Empyrean Trusted Foundation.
In 2022, a pivotal merger resulted in the creation of the social enterprise, Elysian X Inc., though we continue to operate under the familiar moniker, Elysian Trust. This restructuring has led to an acceleration in our success stories, both in terms of quantifiable impact and qualitative transformation. We’re excited about the journey ahead and the opportunity to continue championing the neurodiverse and gifted communities.
Board of Directors
Nathaniel “Nth” Bar-Fields
Founder and CVO
Nathaniel “Nth” Bar-Fields serves as Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Elysian Trust, transforming personal challenges into systemic solutions for gifted and neurodivergent communities. After overcoming early educational challenges including dyslexia, Nth learned to leverage his neurodivergence as a strength in lateral thinking. His eclectic career spans roles as a Navy nuclear technologist, data analyst, program evaluator, and student at institutions like UC Berkeley and MIT. A member of elite high-IQ societies including OLYMPIQ and Prometheus, he founded Volant, Wavelength, Trishula, and several others to celebrate cognitive pluralism and the many forms genius takes across race, class, and neurotype.
What sets Nth apart is his ability to translate vision into tangible impact through strategic funding and community building. A top graduate of Fort Hays State University’s Grant Proposal Writing program, he has personally secured over $10 million in funding while leading Elysian Trust’s team to raise over $55 million for innovative projects. As Chief Visionary Officer, he champions neurodivergent entrepreneurs and the incubators that empower them, mobilizing funding and developmental support for communities often overlooked. For Elysian clients, this means working with someone whose mission is to unlock genius in unlikely places and ensure the systems around them know what to do with it.
Dr. Joi Lin
CEO
Dr. Joi Lin is a multicultural, profoundly gifted woman of color who first joined Elysian Trust’s member society, Volant, in 2019. She is an educator and social entrepreneur, with a BS in mathematics and secondary education, MA in industrial and organizational psychology, and a PhD in curriculum and instruction where her dissertation explored the career development of five social entrepreneurs who are gifted adults – including our own Nth Bar-Fields, founder of Elysian Trust.
In addition to working as Elysian’s part-time CEO, she is an adjunct professor at the University of Denver, teaching student teachers about gifted education, and is growing her startup, Classopoly – a classroom management app for teachers that develops students’ personal financial literacy.
Joi also serves in a variety of roles: director of professional education at the Gifted Development Center, board member of the nonprofit SoulSpark Learning, chair of the education and gifted youth committee at the Mensa Foundation, and chair-elect of the conceptual foundations network at NAGC.
Polite D. Stewart, Jr.
Coo/CTO
Polite D. Stewart, Jr. serves as both Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer of Elysian, bringing a unique combination of technical expertise and operational excellence to the organization. A physics prodigy who entered college at the age of 14, Polite graduated from Southern University A&M College in Baton Rouge with his Bachelor of Science in physics at the age of 18. Shortly after, he was inducted into Volant, Elysian’s high-IQ society, and conducted research as a Post-Baccalaureate Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab on SAXS/WAXS Beamline 7.3.3. Polite later pursued a second B.S. in mechanical engineering before joining IBM for almost 4 years as a DevOps specialist.
What sets Polite apart is his consistent track record of elevating others while achieving personal excellence. As a former president of multiple collegiate organizations, an undergraduate teaching assistant, and a student mentor, he spent years identifying and nurturing talent in underrepresented communities. This is exactly what Elysian does for its clients. Polite’s dual role as COO and CTO represents the natural evolution of someone who understands both the technical complexities of innovation and the operational challenges of scaling impact. For Elysian clients, this means working with someone who not only understands your vision, but also has lived the journey from gifted outsider to successful change-maker and knows how to help others navigate that same path.
Nathaniel “Trey” Richardson III
Cfo
Trey graduated summa cum laude in accounting and financial math from the University of Alabama, and once we began working with him, it showed. We have had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Richardson in action, organizing and preparing clients’ financial records in record time, under stressful situations, and set them up to successfully secure multimillion-dollar investments.
He has an extensive track record in helping minority-owned and women-owned businesses remain in the black or engineer new financial strategies to accommodate the special hurdles they may face along their entrepreneurial journey. It’s his track record in this area that piqued our interest—that and he is polymathic like many members in Elysian (outside of being a professional numbers whiz, he is also a musician, cowboy, and social entrepreneur)—that kept him on our radar. Trey instantly understood what Elysian’s mission and vision is about, and we instantly understood his value. His joining our team as our new Chief Financial Officer was a perfectly natural conclusion.
staff
Mario Sarceno
Marketing advisor
Aly Sevre
project manager
Chad Fish
Proposal manager
Business advisory board
Ray Aschettino
Investing
With 46 years in finance, Mr. Aschettino brings invaluable expertise spanning investment banking, private equity, and entrepreneurial funding. His insights significantly aid Elysian in assisting clients across diverse sectors. As founder of OTHS INC, he opens doors to investors for businesses of all sizes, from startups to established enterprises seeking growth capital. His specialized contribution includes securing funding for marginalized entrepreneurs facing traditional banking barriers. He strategically directs qualified clients to Elysian when projects align with humanitarian goals.
Ray earned an MBA from the University of Dayton and holds CRE certification from the Commercial Finance Institute. OTHS provides comprehensive funding solutions to small and medium-sized businesses through extensive networks and affiliations with private equity firms, investment banks, and institutional lenders. They offer diverse capitalization options, including equity investments, debt instruments, and hybrid financing structures. Ray’s resources and connections greatly enhance Elysian’s capacity to support entrepreneurs.
Jade Barker
Crowdfunding
Jade, an esteemed member of Elysian’s business incubation advisory board, offers unique expertise in crowdfunding management that perfectly pairs with our work in grants and contracts for entrepreneurs. A seasoned technologist specializing in Financial Technology (FinTech) Investment Crowdfunding, Jade has deep knowledge of small business funding, tech startups, blockchain, smart contracts/documents, and compliance.
She’s been a prominent figure in Midwest FinTech since 2013. Prior to this, she served as a chemist in the pharmaceutical industry. Jade’s recent roles include being the Co-Founder of a Blockchain 501(c)(3) in 2014, working with Investment Crowdfunding Portals since 2016, developing the Smart Contract Document Stack “Geppetto” in 2017, participating as an SEC Transfer Agent in 2018, authoring a blockchain curriculum for a graduate school in 2019, becoming a FINRA Broker Dealer in 2020, and teaching as a Blockchain Instructor for a Computer Science Graduate School in Spring 2023. Jade continues to share her knowledge and insights in Elysian’s members-only discussion groups.
David Croson
Entrepreneurship
Dr. David C. Croson (ProfDC), Associate Professor of Management at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, brings over 25 years of academic expertise to our advisory board. His teaching journey includes prestigious institutions like Wharton School, MIT Sloan School of Management, and the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University, where he garnered multiple teaching accolades. ProfDC’s courses on financing entrepreneurial ventures and economics of innovation have enriched over 3,000 MBA students.
ProfDC earned his Ph.D. in Business Economics from Harvard University and was the youngest member of Harvard Business School’s Class of 1993. He also holds two degrees from Penn State University. An active member of Elysian and the Prometheus Society, ProfDC mentors minority-owned businesses in education and financial services, even helping one go public and securing another a $5 million seed round. He advocates for bootstrapping and a balanced yet detailed approach to execution in entrepreneurship, seamlessly aligning with Elysian’s mission.
Monique T. LaCour
Co-work Administration
Monique LaCour is a dynamic entrepreneur who skillfully bridges technology and business. Holding a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Houston, she shares her expertise as Adjunct Professor of Business Management at Lonestar College. She brings this unique fusion of knowledge to her role as curator of the STEM-focused Houston Business Lounge, a coworking space that has fostered a plethora of founders and entrepreneurs.
Beyond offering physical support, Monique has extended her reach online, providing vital virtual support to scores of members. Since partnering with Elysian in 2018, she became a member in 2022 and joined our entrepreneurial incubation advisory board the same year.
While Elysian offers many resources for gifted and neurodivergent entrepreneurs, we currently do not provide coworking spaces for clients. Monique’s innovative approach to coworking space management aligns seamlessly with our mission to assist gifted and neurodivergent entrepreneurs.
Justin Ruschell
financing
Justin represents a rare exception in finance, a creative thinker who approaches cases with flexibility and nonlinearity rather than following algorithmic solutions. His innovative approach helped one of our clients secure a $5.1 million investment when numerous other financiers had declined to assist. Given the inherent think-tank nature of our advisory boards, inviting Justin to Elysian in an advisory capacity was natural, and he gladly accepted.
Prior to entering finance, Justin served as an emergency medical technician in the US Air Force from 2003 to 2008. His financial journey started as a mortgage broker with Evofi One in 2008-2009, then he focused on business start-up financing. In 2010, he co-founded Capital Funding Financial, which was operational until 2013.
After that partnership dissolved, he founded Universal Business Advisors (UBA). With over $150,000,000 financed for new businesses and existing business owners, UBA continues as a central investment source for established businesses and start-ups seeking growth capital.
academic advisory board
Dr. Joy Lawson Davis
Dr. Joy Lawson Davis, a career educator with over 40 years of experience, previously served as Elysian’s Education Officer. Now, as we transition into a social enterprise, she co-leads our educational advisory board with Joi Lin. Dr. Davis’s distinguished experience includes a five-year tenure as Virginia State Specialist for K-12 Gifted Services.
A graduate of the College of William & Mary, she holds both master’s and doctorate degrees in Gifted Education. Her expertise in Gifted and Diversity Education makes her invaluable to organizations globally. Dr. Davis conducts workshops and delivers keynote addresses internationally, including the United States, South Africa, the Caribbean, Dubai, and Turkey.
Dr. Davis served on the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Board of Directors for five years and currently writes the Special Populations column for NAGC’s Teaching for High Potential. Author of the award-winning book “Bright, Talented & Black: a Guide for Families of African American Gifted Learners,” she received the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from SENG, affirming her transformative educational influence.
Flora Huang
Flora Huang is a seasoned advocate for gifted programs and school reform. As a biology teacher at Stuyvesant High School, a NYC Specialized High School, and parent to a child attending both a citywide gifted public school and NYC Specialized High School, she brings a very informed perspective. She is known for innovative programs at Stuyvesant that empower middle school students from underrepresented communities to prepare for the Specialized High School Admissions Test.
Flora also advocates for changing public perceptions of giftedness and asynchronous development, promoting comprehensive support for gifted children’s needs. Her work focuses on Twice Exceptional and Thrice Exceptional students, striving for equity and inclusion in gifted programs.
In 2019, Flora founded Stronger Families and Communities, combining educator and social service roles. She holds an MPH in Community Health Education from Hunter College and BA in Biological Sciences from Rutgers University. As Elysian’s educational advisory board member, Flora advances our mission.
Dr. Beatrice Kondo
Dr. Beatrice Kondo has served as administrator/moderator for Volant, Vice President during our non-profit era, and now on our academic advisory board.
Growing up in a biracial, multicultural household, she studied aikido, judo, music, and equestrian arts while being academically underchallenged. Beginning undergraduate studies at age 15 at Loyola University in mathematics and German Language & Literature, her early career included software testing for the Hubble Space Telescope systems. Her intellectual curiosity led to a PhD from University of Maryland, Baltimore County in molecular phylogenetics and evolution.
After a teaching post-doctorate at Cornell College, Dr. Kondo taught at Johns Hopkins University in cell/molecular biology and bioinformatics. Currently a Senior Lecturer at University of Maryland’s Bioengineering department, she teaches Tissue Engineering, Synthetic Biology, Biostatistics, and Research Methods while serving on Engineering Council. Her commitment to diverse thinking in STEM, believing “we want people with different imaginations,” embodies Elysian’s vision.
Monique T. LaCour
Monique LaCour is a dynamic entrepreneur who skillfully bridges the gap between technology and business. Holding a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Houston, Monique also shares her expertise as an Adjunct Professor of Business Management at Lonestar College. She brings this unique fusion of knowledge to her role as the curator of the STEM-focused Houston Business Lounge, a coworking space she runs that has fostered numerous entrepreneurs.
In addition to offering physical support, Monique has extended her reach online, providing vital virtual support scores of members. Since partnering with Elysian in 2018, Monique became a member in 2022 and joined our entrepreneurial incubation advisory board the same year.
Elysian offers many resources for gifted and neurodivergent entrepreneurs, we do not offer coworking spaces for our clients. Monique’s innovative approach to coworking space management aligns seamlessly with our mission to assist gifted and neurodivergent entrepreneurs.
Leigh Purnell
Leigh Purnell, a dedicated educator and lifelong Philadelphia resident, has served her community since 2004. Starting as an elementary school teacher before transitioning to high school and elementary administration, Leigh’s educational passion sparked during her social service work.
After graduating from Howard University, Leigh discovered systemic issues underlying children’s truancy and educational challenges while working as a social worker. Experiencing families’ struggles with unstable housing, health concerns, and substance abuse, she began advocating for families and schools. Recognizing these root issues hinder educational access, Leigh leveraged her experience to effect change within the educational system.
A member of Elysian and Mensa, Leigh’s final teaching role involved creating a gifted and talented program for sixth graders. She has served as Principal and CEO of Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School since 2017, supporting underserved Southwest Philadelphia students. Leigh holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, master’s degree in elementary education, and K-12 administration certification.
Filip Rosenqvist
Filip Rosenqvist, a recent addition to Elysian’s academic advisory board, brings fresh perspective through his success teaching foreign languages to those who believed it beyond their capability. His alignment with Elysian’s mission of transforming pedagogy and valuing neurodivergences and academic giftedness made him an ideal fit.
As a self-taught polyglot fluent in four languages and conversational in three others, Filip demonstrates accelerated learning prowess. A member of both Elysian and the Triple Nine Society, he exhibits unique flair for teaching conventional and nonlinear learners.
Filip’s absence of traditional college degrees amplifies his board value. Academia often overlooks high-potential learners due to inadequate resources or identification mechanisms, especially for gifted, neurodivergent, and twice-exceptional students. While Filip successfully charted his own educational path, many students’ abilities remain untapped as they slip through educational cracks. Elysian, with forward-thinkers like Filip, commits to rectifying these systemic shortcomings.