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Anita Darden Gardyne is a Silicon Valley innovator, entrepreneur, and award-winning business leader whose career bridges corporate finance, health tech, and startup acceleration. As Co-Founder, Chair, and CEO of Onēva (2013–2024), Gardyne transformed a personal challenge—finding trusted in-home care—into an award-winning AI-powered marketplace that partnered with global enterprises including Microsoft, TriNet, and Acrisure. Under her leadership, Onēva secured a U.S. patent on “Trust and Safety in In-Home Care”, attracted millions in funding, and signed contracts gaining access to more than four million eligible employees as buyers of care.
Recognized as both a visionary and operator, Gardyne guided Onēva to win Best Startup Silicon Valley, TechCrunch Battlefield Silver, the California State Legislature 2020 Women in Leadership Award, and Silicon Valley Bank’s Catalyst Award. She served as a Rand Consultant for Agetech, and her work and insights have been featured by PBS NewsHour, Forbes, and AfroTech amongst media, reinforcing her role as a national thought leader on innovation, startups, and change leadership.
A double UC Berkeley alumna with a BA in Double Majors in Economics and “Economics in the Black Community” and an MBA from Haas, she began her career coding and designing telecommuniucations systems for major banks, and then entered management roles at AT&T, Levi Strauss, Seagate, and UC Berkeley, directing multibillion-dollar budgets, and developing tech products and go-to-market and enterprise-wide performance strategies. Gardyne has served as Chief Development Officer of Global Strategies, where she scaled a clinical support tool. Anita earned multiple Microsoft AI certifications in 2024.
A Richmond, CA native and first-generation college graduate, she remains guided by her mission to innovate and provide access for others while having fun, making money, and changing the world for the better.