About Us
Pull Up Fund began as a series of ad hoc charitable donations by its founder, Sam Brin. Early grants spanned a range of interest areas, from social programs, disease research, to open source software development. Over time, Sam grew more connected to local causes supporting his hometown of Prince George’s County, Maryland. Early grants in Prince George’s included funding for an autism sensory room for middle school students, a COVID-19 relief program for small businesses, and support for local food banks.
Prince George’s County is known for the relative prosperity in its Black community. Pull Up For Prince George’s was born out of a desire to celebrate this Black excellence, while recognizing room for growth in historically excluded parts of the county.
Now a resident of Maine, Sam wanted to take learnings from his experience investing in Prince George’s County, to support programs in his new home state. Pull Up For Maine will address inequities throughout the state by supporting causes for Black, Indigineous, and other People of Color, as well as historically excluded rural and immigrant communities.
We are pulling up to historically excluded communities, and connecting them with the resources they need to thrive.
Pull Up Fund supports underserved communities by investing in local causes:
1
Youth Programs
Pull Up Fund supports efforts to ensure today’s youth have access to programs that support all aspects of their development.
2
Mental Health
Pull Up Fund aims to increase access to mental health support services, especially for historically underserved communities.
3
Re-entry Supports
Pull Up Fund supports efforts that ease the re-entry process for individuals returning to the community from incarceration.
Our team is committed to creating lasting change in the communities of Prince George’s County, Maryland and throughout the state of Maine.

Sam Brin
Founder
Sam graduated from the University of Maryland in 2009 with a BS in Computer Science and minor in Physics. He began his career as a software engineer for a research group at MassGeneral Hospital before transitioning to the startup space.

Aerica Shimizu Banks
Advisory Board

Jose Mena
Advisory Board

Diana Léon Brown
Advisory Board
Diana’s seasoned knowledge and relationships in the Federal, Maryland State and Local governments allow her to navigate economic development by identifying public and private strategic benefits and outcomes. Known as a compelling communicator and storyteller she is highly sought after for keynote speaking engagements and panel discussions.
Dedicated to her mantra. “Do Good, While Doing Well,” Diana cultivates national and global leadership opportunities, exploring ways for businesses, nonprofits and rising leaders to build generational legacy. Over the last 20 years, Diana has been committed to cultivating the next generation of leaders. She has served on numerous boards and chaired several executive, business and governance committees.
Diana’s national track record is juxtaposed by her extensive global cross-sector leadership roles. As Executive Director of the Artem Leadership Institute, she developed high-level international programs and events with the United Nations, Organization of American States, and the Women’s Global Initiative in Africa and Dubai.
Ms. Brown also had the honor of serving as the appointed political liaison on behalf of the Haitian Diaspora Federation for the Obama Administration’s Office of Public Engagement created to develop partnerships in response to the Haitian Earthquake of 2010. Her efforts raised over 40 million dollars in aid and investments.

Chike Aguh
Advisory Board
Chike holds degrees from Tufts University (B.A.), Harvard Graduate School of Education (Ed.M), Harvard Kennedy School of Government (MPA), and University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School (MBA). He is a former Presidential Leadership Scholar; Council on Foreign Relations term member; 40 under 40 honoree from Wharton and Washington Business Journal; and member of the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Board. Chike, his wife and their two children proudly call Prince George’s County, MD home.

Jarrid Green
Advisory Board
Prior to joining BSR, Jarrid worked at Freedman Consulting, where he developed and managed strategic philanthropic initiatives including donor coalitions and nonprofit organizations focused on social justice and climate/sustainability impacts. Jarrid has also served senior research and project management capacities at The Democracy Collaborative and The Center for Social Inclusion.
Jarrid received his M.B.A in Sustainability from Bard College and his B.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Maryland. He is also an alum of the Council of Urban Professional Fellowship Institute.
Advisory support for Pull Up Fund is also provided by Freedman Consulting, LLC.