Salonee is a senior portfolio development manager at M12, Microsoft’s venture fund, where she accelerates startups’ growth by advising on partnerships, product integrations, and GTM strategy. She also oversees M12’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, calling on her experience creating access and opportunity through technology as a former Title I middle school educator in the Mississippi Delta.

Salonee joined M12 from Microsoft's HR organization, where she supported internal talent movement and rewards distribution to the high-performing team behind the Office of the CTO. She ran new employee learning for the 20,000 global Microsoft hires annually, and conducted extensive research on employee upskilling, company culture, and the growing importance of flexible work. The resulting Workplace Trends Report that Salonee developed was shared with Microsoft's board, and still guides the strategy of the company's Chief People Officer today.

As an HR strategist with the Office of the CEO, Salonee facilitated the approach for employee engagement at Microsoft's monthly All Hands. Prior to joining Microsoft, Salonee was a campus director for education nonprofit Citizen Schools, leading a staff of 20 and a program for 300 students in Houston, Texas.

Salonee holds an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Business Administration in marketing from the University of Texas at Austin. Salonee is a certified yoga instructor, a member of the Peloton Century Club, and a Washington Boaters License holder.