Internship Spotlight: Deidra Pinnock ’27, Echo River Capital

Hometowns: New York City and Jamaica, where I was born
Internship company name and location: Echo River Capital (remote from Dallas, Texas)
Pronouns: she/her/hers
The SOM classes you're using on the job: Executive, State & Society, and Entrepreneurship
Go-to work lunch: Avocado toast
After-work routine: Heading to the gym or pickleball courts before winding down with reading or working on entrepreneurial projects.
Favorite thing about internship city: Working remotely from Dallas gave me the flexibility to enjoy the city’s food scene, stay active, and collaborate with founders and investors across the country.

This summer, I interned with Echo River Capital, an early-stage venture capital fund focused on transformative water technologies. As an MBA summer associate, I evaluated young companies spanning the water technology ecosystem, from industrial water treatment and resource recovery to desalination, digital water solutions, and emerging infrastructure technologies. My work included conducting commercial and market diligence, interviewing founders, preparing investment memoranda, developing investment theme reports, and improving the firm’s processes by automating portions of its investment intake and diligence workflow.

One of the most rewarding aspects of the internship was the opportunity to contribute beyond evaluating individual companies. I led research on Earth observation as an emerging investment theme, exploring how satellite and remote sensing technologies intersect with water management and identifying opportunities for future investment. I also supported a portfolio company’s special purpose vehicle fundraising process by providing strategic coaching and assisting with diligence efforts. In addition, I managed an undergraduate intern, delegating research, providing feedback, and helping prioritize projects. Together, these experiences strengthened my leadership skills and reinforced how much I enjoy working at the intersection of investing, operations, and company-building.

I was drawn to Echo River Capital because the firm brings together my interests in strategy, entrepreneurship, and climate resilience. Growing up in New York City, I rarely thought about access to clean water until I spent a summer in rural Pennsylvania, where I was told not to drink tap water. Around the same time, I watched my family’s farm in Jamaica become increasingly vulnerable to drought and unpredictable rainfall. Those experiences made me realize that water challenges are not abstract; they directly affect communities and livelihoods. Before Yale SOM, I worked in strategy and operations at L’Oréal and Kearney, where I saw how large organizations often innovate incrementally because of legacy systems and competing priorities. That experience made me appreciate the role early-stage companies play in bringing transformative technologies to market and the importance of venture capital in helping those innovations scale. Echo River Capital allowed me to work directly with founders, building solutions to some of the world’s most pressing water challenges.

Several Yale SOM courses directly influenced my work this summer. Executive strengthened my strategic thinking, helping me move beyond evaluating individual companies to considering broader market dynamics, competitive positioning, and long-term investment potential. The course also strengthened my leadership skills as I presented investment recommendations, collaborated with founders, and mentored an undergraduate. State & Society deepened my understanding of how regulation, policy, and stakeholder dynamics influence technology adoption in sectors like water infrastructure. Entrepreneurship encouraged me to think from a founder’s perspective, helping me better understand the challenges and opportunities facing early-stage companies as they scale.

This internship strengthened both my investing toolkit and my leadership abilities. It reinforced my long-term goal of building a career at the intersection of strategy, investing, and entrepreneurship, where I can help innovative companies scale solutions to complex global challenges. More importantly, it strengthened my conviction that venture capital can play a meaningful role in accelerating technologies that improve climate resilience and expand access to one of our most essential resources: water.