Prior to re-joining Vela Wood, Denise served as Associate General Counsel at 8VC in Austin, where she led and managed venture capital investments across all stages—from seed to late-stage growth. In that role, she negotiated and structured complex financing transactions, oversaw legal and regulatory due diligence, and coordinated deal execution alongside investment professionals and outside counsel. She also managed securities and regulatory compliance matters for the fund, including SEC-related obligations and public portfolio company considerations. Denise was previously a Senior Associate at Vela Wood, and before that began her corporate legal career at DLA Piper in the Corporate & Securities Practice Group, representing public and private companies in venture financings, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions, and SEC reporting matters.

Denise graduated from The University of Texas School of Law in Austin, Texas. While in law school, Denise participated in various student organizations, including as Latina Law Caucus chair of The Chicano/Hispanic Law Students Association, Staff Editor for both the Texas Journal for Women in the Law and Texas Hispanic Journal of Law & Policy, Student Attorney for the Law Immigration Clinic, and Interpreter for the UT Law Community Development Center. She also studied abroad at the Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany. Prior to law school, Denise graduated from The University of Texas in Austin, Texas with a B.B.A in Business Honors and Supply Chain Management, and a Minor in Management.

Born and raised in Texas, Denise has lived in Austin for over 20 years. Outside of her professional work, she is a proud wife and mom to three boys and three dogs. As of 2026, she is a marathoner and is also an avid reader, finishing approximately 100 books per year.

 

There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.

– Ernest Hemingway

 

Fun Facts:

  • She was once stung by a Portuguese man o’ war.
  • She has traveled to more countries than she has U.S. States.
  • There is a vanadium sulfide mineral named after her family – Rizopatronita, also sometimes called Patronite.

 

Education:

  • The University of Texas School of Law, J.D.
  • The University of Texas, B.B.A. in Business Honors and Supply Chain Management, Minor in Management
  • Bucerius Law School, Hamburg, Germany
  • Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, Lima, Peru
  • Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Cordoba, Argentina