Edward Zimmerman is a highly experienced and accomplished venture lawyer, investor, and venture capital professor based in New York. With over 30 years of experience as a corporate and securities lawyer, he has represented a diverse range of emerging companies and venture funds. Zimmerman is also a passionate advocate for social justice issues and is actively involved in various organizations, including the Center for Policing Equity, Fisk University, Black Women Talk Tech, and the Orchid Foundation. As a founding partner of First Close Partners, he invests in VC funds led by underrepresented VCs in the US, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Latin America region. Additionally, he has invested over 150 startups as an angel investor and is an individual LP in more than 150 venture funds. Zimmerman teaches VC & Angel Investing at Columbia Business School's MBA program and has previously taught Startup Law and Internet Law at Rutgers Law School. He is also a contributing writer at Forbes and a member of the Panel of Experts at the Wall Street Journal. Zimmerman's educational background includes a JD in Law from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and a BA in Sociology and Anthropology from Haverford College.