Sandra Lawrence, Author & Community Champion, shared the story behind her title with us on October 4, 2023.

Sandra was raised in a loving family with her brother and parents in West Philly. She is a Deaconess, Drama director, and choir member, at Vine Memorial Baptist Church.

Sandra began her professional career as an educator. Early on she recognized that our children bring many social service issues to the classroom that greatly impact their success in life. She left the field of education and entered the social services. Sandra retired from Philadelphia Corporation for Aging in 2018 where she was employed as the Interfaith Outreach Coordinator.

Sandra is the founder and CEO of ICAP, Inc (Intergenerational Community Alliances & Programs) a non-profit as part of her mission work assigned by God. She provides workshops and motivational speaking on select topics. She is a board member to FUNTIMES Magazine. She has been blessed to parent her son, Rasheen who is a strong Black man with Christian values and lifestyle.

Sandra was co-founder of The Black Adoption Consortium, Inc , agency from 1991-2000. (She retired from the agency to become a Caregiver for her father and then mother.)

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Biquan Luo of LumosTech sits down with us to talk about her upbringing in East Asia, the difference between the "success model" in Asia and the U.S., and how her curiosity of nature led to her development of a product that is helping individuals attain optimal sleep.

Biquan Luo, co-Founder and CEO of sleep tech startup LumosTech, shared the story behind her title with us on September 20, 2023.

Dr. Luo developed the algorithm to shift circadian clocks against jet lag based on Dr. Jamie Zeitzer’s research at Stanford and created the Lumos Smart Sleep Mask to help everyone improve their sleep. She built the company’s circadian rhythm optimization IP portfolio and product roadmap, and she is the inventor of 1 issued and 2 pending patents on circadian rhythm adjustments. She has been working closely with military sleep scientists and human performance leads to enhance mission readiness.

Dr. Luo is an alumna of the Ignite Program for Entrepreneurship at Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Stanford-affiliated accelerator StartX, and the Sleep Cohort of the Philips Healthworks Accelerator. She is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow of Personalized Medicine at Stanford University and has a Ph.D. in Genetics, Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Southern California.

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Drexel University's Senior Vice Provost of Faculty Advancement joins us for an intimate conversation on her life growing up with a mother who suffered from Bipolar, receiving her MA and PhD in Education and why she hopes her daughters will uncover who they are and live their lives writing their own stories.

Dr. Erin McNamara Horvat, the Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement for Drexel University, shared the story behind her title with us on September 13, 2023.

An ethnographer and sociologist of education, Dr. Horvat’s research agenda has explored how race and class shape access throughout the educational pipeline, focusing especially on the role of social and cultural capital in shaping families’ interactions with schools, students’ college experiences, college access, and high school dropout and reentry. She has been deeply committed to work with out-of-school youth through her support of YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School as a longtime board member and 4-year board chair. 

Since joining Drexel in 2015 her research has focused on the groundbreaking and visionary civic engagement efforts being undertaken by Drexel University in the West Philadelphia neighborhood in which it resides. She has Co-Chaired the Education Committee for the Federally designated Promise Zone and served as the education lead on the 30 million dollar Promise Neighborhood grant submission. 

Her publications include Beyond Acting White: Reframing the Debate on Black Student Achievement (coedited with Carla O’Connor), and Doing Qualitative Research, published by Teachers College Press as well as peer reviewed articles in Sociology of Education, Anthropology and Education Quarterly, Youth and Society and American Educational Research Journal. Her work has been funded by the Spencer Foundation and The Ford Foundation.

A native Californian, proud Philadelphian and mother to Katherine and Margaret, Dr. Horvat currently serves at Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs at Drexel University. She is an avid oarswoman continuing to row competitively as a Masters rower in local and regional regattas and enjoys all aspects of food, especially cooking and eating.

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Chair Professor and Dean of Research & Innovation joins host Sue Rocco for a conversation about why she wanted to leave her rural town in the south of France, how she discovered her calling in research, and how she dealt with gender bias that she faced in school and among her peers.

Sylvie Lorente, Associate Dean for Research & Innovation in the College of Engineering at Villanova University, shared the story behind her title with us on September 6, 2023.

Sylvie is also a Professor (Exceptional Class) at the National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA), University of Toulouse, France. In 2019, she joined Villanova University where she holds the position of College of Engineering Chair Professor in the department of Mechanical Engineering.

She was appointed Hung Hing-Ying Distinguished Visiting Professorship in Science and Technology at Hong Kong University (Hong Kong) in 2017. Sylvie Lorente is also an Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria (South Africa), and an Adjunct Professor at Duke University, USA. She is a member of the Academia Europaea.

She is editor of the International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer and a member of several other editorial boards. Sylvie Lorente has a passion for flow architectures and works on thermal design, energy storage, vascularized structures, porous media, biological flow networks, urban design, and organisations. Together with her group, she uncovers the engineered and biological hierarchical flow pathways that endow complex systems with efficient properties and behaviors. She is the author of 7 books, 10 book chapters, and 200+ peer-reviewed international journal papers. She is listed amongst the 2% most cited scientists worldwide.

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Athena Global Advisors Founder and CEO joins us for an intimate conversation on her early years steeped in Latin studies and education to a transition into business stemming from a desire to have and explore more in life.

Maggy Wilkinson, Founder & CEO of Athena Global Advisors, shared the story behind her title with us on August 30, 2023.

Maggy is known to say "all talk, no do" when colleagues bring her a strategy not underpinned by practicality. While big-picture ideation and strategic discussion play a critical role in making progress, she truly subscribes to Thomas Edison’s adage, “Vision without execution is hallucination.” A concept with no potential for fulfillment holds little interest for her. And neither do unambitious goals. With that thinking as a backdrop, she founded Athena to be a force for positive change, creating a company that functions as the indispensable link between ideation and execution.

This unwavering pursuit of results has required Maggy to build a company that values impact over convention. With teams of project managers, designers, data analysts, marketing experts, content creators, copywriters, researchers, video producers, event specialists, and much more, Athena serves best in the collective. It is the confluence of these seemingly disparate practices that enable Athena to wear the many hats necessary to address complex and ever-evolving client needs.

Maggy and her team have brought their skills to bear for clients around the globe in media, telecommunications, professional sports, fashion, healthcare, hospitality, and much more.

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Panorama Founder & CEO Gabrielle Fitzgerald joins us for a conversation on her eclectic career working at the White House with the Gates Foundation, and ultimately starting her own company using everything she's learned related to philanthropy and social change.

Gabrielle Fitzgerald, Founder and CEO of The Panorama Group, shared the story behind her title with us on August 16, 2023.

Gabrielle has spent her career working in politics, policy and philanthropy—and Panorama works at the intersection of all these fields. The Panorama Group is made up of three entities: Panorama Global, Panorama Strategy and Panorama Action. Gabrielle created Panorama to serve as a platform for social change, with a mission of maximizing social impact by partnering with visionary leaders to co-develop solutions with audacious thinking and bold action.

Prior to founding Panorama, Gabrielle spent more than a decade working in philanthropy, serving as the Director of Global Program Advocacy at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, plus a year managing the $100m Ebola program at the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. Earlier in her career, she led the public affairs strategy for HIV/AIDS at the U.S. Agency for International Development and served as the Communications Director for the U.S. Committee for Refugees. She also served as a speechwriter for President Clinton at The White House.

Gabrielle lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters.

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Khazar Fatemi, Press Officer, Journalist and Filmmaker, shared the story behind her title with us on August 9, 2023.

Khazar Fatemi has a Kurdish ethnicity and was born in Iran and raised in Afghanistan. Her family fled to Sweden when she was seven. 

For the last 15 years, Khazar has worked as a bilingual journalist and presenter on Swedish television. As a broadcast journalist, she has reported from 20 different countries. The main focus has been coverage of poverty, war, conflict, climate crises, and endangered cultural heritage at risk.

Khazar has been lecturing for over ten years. Her lectures highlight the importance of democracy, freedom of expression, and cultural heritage. But also her experience covering wars and conflicts with a special focus on women and youth.Her clients have been the UN, the Swedish Defence Forces, the Swedish Parliament, schools, universities, and many others. The "Culture, Identity and Belonging" lectures received the Swedish Unesco Award 2020.

Since 2015 Khazar has been working closely with Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, TAPS founder Bonnie Carroll and as project manager and producer for the TAPS film team. She has produced several short films from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kurdistan. They tell the stories of some surviving families that TAPS has worked with and about the work that TAPS does in the US and the region.* Bonnie Carroll was awarded America's highest civilian honour by President Obama. "President's Medal of Freedom."

SUE SAYS

"Amnesty International Press Officer joins us for an intimate conversation on her documentary, her career as a journalist covering war in the Middle East and why meeting people up close and personal in these areas gives her hope."

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Kira Strong, the Executive Director for the City of Philadelphia’s Rebuilding Community Infrastructure Initiative (Rebuild), shared the story behind her title with us on July 26, 2023.

Rebuild is an over $500 million historic investment in improving parks, recreation centers and libraries across the City. The program focuses on physical improvements, promoting economic inclusion by ensuring diverse businesses have access to work on Rebuild sites, and engaging residents and stakeholders to help determine the future of their facilities. Before leading the program, she served as Rebuild’s Deputy Director of Design and Construction.  

Kira previously served as the Vice President of Community and Economic Development for the People’s Emergency Center, a non-profit community development corporation in Philadelphia, and has been honored as a 40 Under 40 by The Philadelphia Business Journal. She currently serves on the Advisory Committees of the Community Design Collaborative and the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations.

SUE SAYS

"In Kira's role as Executive Director for Rebuild, she leads a team in a massive project to update over 400 public spaces in Philadelphia. We talked about her discovery of a passion for transforming spaces at a young age and how a defining moment in her life was when she was working in community development and felt as though she found her path in life."

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Mori Taheripour, a globally recognized negotiation expert, an award-winning faculty member at the Wharton School, a highly sought-after speaker, and the author of Bring Yourself: How to Harness the Power of Connection to Negotiate Fearlessly, shared the story behind her title with us on July 19, 2023.

With over 20 years of experience in negotiations, DE&I and sports business, Mori's impressive roster of clients includes Fortune 100 companies, major sports leagues, leading charitable institutions, and government agencies.Top business publications and media outlets have featured Mori's work, including ESPN, Forbes, INC., Marketplace, Money, NPR, and the Next Chapter by American Express. She regularly contributes to sports discussions on Wharton Business Daily on SiriusXM. 

Mori is a member of the Board of Directors for USA Track and Field (USATF) and the Advisory Board of the Sports Leadership & Administration Undergraduate Degree Program at UMass, Boston, Mori earned her BA from Barnard College of Columbia University and MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

SUE SAYS

Mori was born in Iran and came to live in the U.S. at the age of 7. She has fond memories of her time in Iran and struggled a bit with her identity while becoming acclimated to a new culture here in the U.S. After significant self-reflection, she would ultimately discover that being authentically who we are is when all of our negotiations in life have the best outcome.

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Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon shared the story behind her title with us on July 12, 2023.

Mary Gay is a life-long advocate for children and families. In November 2018, she was sworn into Congress following a special election victory - the first woman of the new wave of representation to be sworn in.

In her second full term in Congress, Mary Gay has continued her relentless advocacy on behalf of children and families in Pennsylvania’s 5th District and across the country. She was appointed, by her peers, to serve as Vice Chair of the prestigious House Judiciary Committee, and also serves on the House Rules Committee and the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. She is a member of dozens of important caucuses, including the Bipartisan Working Group on Addiction, the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and the Equality Caucus.

Mary Gay has cosponsored over 400 bills to improve the lives of families in our region and across the country. When roughly 4,000 jobs at the Boeing Plant in Ridley were on the chopping block, Mary Gay led the charge to successfully restore funding for this critical program in the National Defense Authorization Act. She also helped secure a $650 million contract to produce new ships at the Philadelphia Shipyard. Congresswoman Scanlon has introduced legislation to reduce the burden of student loan debt and the costs of prescription drugs. She led House floor debate on critical legislative victories, including the Equality Act and the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women’s Act. Mary Gay also helped push forward two critical pieces of commonsense gun violence prevention bills, which earned bipartisan support in the House. Congresswoman Scanlon has been tirelessly fighting for the people, working to restore faith in our democracy, and has been a leader in the House effort to hold the Trump Administration accountable.

SUE SAYS

"Mary Gay grew up in Watertown, NY, as an Irish Catholic and one of three girls. While her initial aspirations were to practice law to help the less fortunate, Congresswoman Scanlon would later discover a new calling in politics to have an even greater positive impact. Her goal remains to protect and improve the lives of American children, families, veterans, and seniors."

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Christina M. Wallace, Harvard Professor, Entrepreneur & Author, shared the story behind her title with us on July 5, 2023.

A self-described “human Venn diagram” CHRISTINA WALLACE has crafted a career at the intersection of business, technology, and the arts. She is currently a Senior Lecturer of Entrepreneurial Management at Harvard Business School, where she co-leads HBS Startup Bootcamp, and is an active angel investor and startup advisor. Her latest book, The Portfolio Life: How to Future-Proof Your Career, Avoid Burnout, and Build A Life Bigger Than Your Business Card will be published in April 2023 (Hachette). 

She co-authored New To Big: How Companies Can Create Like Entrepreneurs, Invest Like VCs, and Install a Permanent Operating System for Growth (Penguin Random House, 2019) with David Kidder, co-founder of growth advisory firm Bionic, where she worked as the Vice President for Growth before joining the HBS faculty. Early to the podcast scene, she co-created and co-hosted The Limit Does Not Exist, a podcast about portfolio careers produced by iHeartRadio with 125 episodes over 3 seasons and millions of downloads by passionate listeners.

She regularly speaks, writes, and consults on a wide range of topics, ranging from failure and resilience to corporate innovation, from K12 computer science education to her viral TED talk detailing her unique approach to hacking online dating. Mashable called her one of “44 Female Founders to Know” and Refinery29 named her one of the "Most Powerful Women in NYC Tech." She has been profiled in Elle, Marie Claire, the Wall Street Journal, and Fast Company, among others.

Originally from Lansing, Michigan, Christina is pleased to serve as a mentor for several accelerators, including Techstars Anywhere and the NEW INC accelerator for startups at the intersection of art and technology. A lifelong musician, she earned her high school diploma from Interlochen Arts Academy, where she studied piano, cello, and classical voice. In her free time, she sings with various chamber choirs, embarks on adventure travel, including summiting Mt Kilimanjaro and trekking to Everest Base Camp, and is an endurance athlete, with 22 half marathons, 3 triathlons, and 3 marathons under her belt. She lives in Cambridge with her husband Chas Carey and their two children.

SUE SAYS

"Christina grew up with a love of both music and math. While she thrived academically, she also had a love of the arts. When she combined the two she would learn that the perfect route for her was to become an entrepreneur. Many twists and turns that took place in her life led to her latest book, The Portfolio Life which details the importance of diversification in both finance and life."

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Stacy Ike, Host of human2human a new digital series and podcast, shared the story behind her title with us on June 21, 2023.

human2human is a space to reimagine interpersonal relationships with others and ultimately ourselves. Created by Stacy Ike, a recovering perfectionist on a deep quest to live more spiritually, healthy and free, she connects to the hearts of some of your favorite celebrities, thought leaders, and tastemakers in an honest, curious, and thoughtfully critical way — largely holding up a mirror for herself, her guests, and the audience to dive into a brave space of self-reflection, healing and human connection, one conversation at a time.

Stacy Ike is a content creator, entrepreneur, and inquisitive storyteller who drives every conversation with passion, purpose, and ease. Her luminous and charismatic personality along with her ability to disarm any guest has allowed her to build a reputation as the host to share the best moments. Memorable interviews with Oprah, Tom Ford, Viola Davis, and Melissa McCarthy amongst others pair well with working alongside companies such as the OWN Network, Hollywood Reporter, Essence, Warner Brothers, and more! Stacy is a content creator, who enjoys partnering with brands to tell stories through elements of healing, abundance, love, and diversity.

Currently, Stacy is the creator and host of a new digital series and podcast, human2human brought to you by the Revolt Podcast Network. Her mission is to bridge the gap through stories and share collective experiences in a safe space of curiosity, community, and connection. When she’s not recording you can find her cancelling plans, re-watching a show she has already seen, or on the phone with one of her siblings. Catch up with Stacy at StacyIke.com, or on Instagram and Twitter @onetakestace.

SUE SAYS

Stacy Ike grew up in Houston TX, the oldest of four with parents she attributes to being the ones who believed in her from the start. They saw her innate curiosity of people and supported her inquisitive nature. When a pastor told her parents that Stacy asked good questions, a light went off for Stacy and opened her up to explore a career in journalism. It's been her passion ever since.

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Kristen Willeumier, Ph.D., a neuroscientist with research expertise in neurobiology and neuroimaging, will share the story behind her title with us on June 14, 2023.

Dr. Willeumier is a leading advocate for brain health and wellness and a frequent contributor to top media outlets. She has been featured on Radio MD with Your Brain Health with Dr. Kristen Willeumier and the Salem Radio Network with Here’s To Your Health. She has appeared on Good Morning America (GMA3), Good Day LA KTTV-TV FOX Los Angeles, Good Day NY WNYW-TV FOX New York, FOX 32 Chicago, KMIR-TV NBC Palm Springs, KING5-TV CBS Seattle, KDVR-TV FOX Denver, WATN-TV ABC Memphis, WSFA-TV NBC Montgomery, KSWQ-TV FOX San Diego, Signal Boost with Zerlina Maxwell, Salem Radio, Coast-to-Coast, The Michael Savage Show, and on-line/print magazines including Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Shape, Science Times, Yahoo News, PopSugar, Niki Swift, HelloGiggles, mindbodygreen, Well+Good, Verywell Health and Psychology Today. She is the author of the new book Biohack Your Brain: How to Boost Cognitive Health, Performance & Power, published by the William Morrow imprint of HarperCollins.

SUE SAYS

"From a young age Kristen found herself interested in the workings of the brain, from small creatures the size of bugs to eventually pro-athletes who suffered from repetitive head trauma. What she is most excited about is what her research has proven. We can improve our brain health!"

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Sarah Catalano Burlew, Founder & CEO at Omlie Consulting, shared the story behind her title with us on June 7, 2023.

Omlie is a women-owned management consulting firm helping clients build transformative strategies and trusting teams in the health, wellness, and cannabis industries.

Sarah has worked extensively in conceptualizing, developing, and implementing innovative solutions that grow and scale businesses using data-driven procedures. Her open, approachable demeanor allows her to excel at uniting disparate teams around a singular, cohesive organizational vision & lead high-impact transformational initiatives for clients.

Sarah will be the first to tell you — she’s not a traditional “stoner.” When she first started looking into the cannabis industry, it wasn’t for her own sake but for her father, who suffered from chronic pain. As she learned more about the benefits of cannabis, she realized how it could significantly improve her way of life, and she was compelled to act. Today, Sarah’s multi-million dollar, women-owned consulting firm, Omlie Consulting, is on a mission to destigmatize cannabis and expand the definition of healthcare to include cannabis.

Having been both a client and a consultant, Sarah knows that well-defined strategies often struggle or fail because the people asked to realize the vision haven’t been engaged and prepared to carry the work forward. Leveraging deep expertise in management consulting and traditional healthcare, she launched Omlie Consulting to help clients in the health, wellness, and cannabis industries build transformative strategies and trusting teams. 

Building Omlie from the ground up was no easy task, but Sarah and her team managed to create a multi-million dollar business within two years — during the heart of the pandemic. With a pioneering spirit in mind, Sarah intends to break down the taboos about cannabis through the Omlie community by educating the canna-curious.

SUE SAYS

"Sarah grew up in NJ with a tight-knit family and parents who were relentlessly loyal and optimistic. It taught her to be the same, ultimately leading her to take a risk and start her own company. As a consultant in the health, wellness, and cannabis industry, Sarah is always focused on the greater good, and her curiosity will continue to fuel the success of OMLIE."

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Marilou McFarlane, Founder, CEO and Chair Emeritus of Women in Sports Tech, Inc., shared the story behind her title with us on May 31, 2023.

An experienced founder and C-suite leader in the sports tech industry, and former NCAA athlete, Marilous is dedicated to equitable opportunities and a level playing field for all.

Marlous is the founder+CEO of Women in Sports Tech (WiST) and was CMO/CRO of Mustard, CEO of Edufii (CoachNow) and president of STATSports in North America. She specializes in innovative sports performance technologies, building high performance teams and inclusive cultures and leading expansive startup growth.

With the mission to empower growth opportunities for women and employers in the sports tech business, she founded WiST as a non-profit organization in 2017. WiST develops and delivers innovative programs, original content and a global community that provide tangible value for women and employers alike. Flagship initiative is the WiST Fellowship program, offering grants and mentorship for exciting summer internship projects in the sports tech industry for female-identifying undergrad and grad students. WiST is supported by corporate partners Comcast NBCU, Nike, the NBA, IBM Sports, the USOPC, Catapult, Stats Perform and numerous others.

Her global network includes the most successful NCAA and academy coaches in the U.S. across all sports, professional team and club administrators, the largest sports and tech companies and brands in the world, award-winning creative talent and elite athlete management agencies.

She is a lifelong Tar Heel and graduate of UNC’s Kenan-Flagler business school, she is a 3:06 marathon runner and former UNC varsity cross country runner.

SUE SAYS

Marilou grew up in Chapel Hill, NC as the oldest of three and the first to attend college. From the start, sports played an essential role in her life. Today as the Founder of WiST, Marilou is passionate about helping both women and companies come together to ensure that the sports technology space becomes more inclusive and diverse to help society as a whole.

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Alethia Calbeck, Chief Communications Officer for Visit Philly, shared the story behind her title with us on May 24, 2023.

Alethia is a storyteller, bridge builder, diplomat, and Word Nerd, who is happily serving as the Chief Communications Officer at Visit Philadelphia.

Visit Philly is the region’s official leisure tourism marketing agency, whose mission is to build Greater Philadelphia’s image, drive day and overnight visitation and boost the economy. Plus, the increase the number of visitors who come, the frequency in which they come, the number of nights they stay and the number of things they do. These marketing efforts enhance residents’ quality of life and civic pride.

Everything Visit Philly does— their advertising, communications, website (visitphilly.com), social media, podcast, event and attraction promotion, hotel packages, product development and even playing up Philly’s starring role in pop culture — gives Philadelphia a voice and strengthens the ever-evolving Philadelphia brand.

It’s important that people feel like they know a destination — that’s what makes them want to visit!

SUE SAYS

Alethia grew up in a small town in Florida where she spent most of her time playing outdoors. With parents who were both artistic, they encouraged the exploration of nature and the atmosphere around her. What she would later learn was that she had an innate curiosity of people and culture which would lend itself perfectly to a career in marketing, communications and PR. She would come to realize the importance of empathy and listening as a leader and works to bring that to her job every day.

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Patricia Wellenbach, President & CEO of the Please Touch Museum and Board Chair for Jefferson Health Systems, shared the story behind her title with us on May 17, 2023.

Patricia (Trish) D. Wellenbach is the President and CEO of the Please Touch Museum, one of the country’s leading children's museums located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia. The museum welcomes over 500,000 visitors a year and facilitates early childhood learning and development through play through its exhibits, and education and special programs.

She is formerly President and CEO of Green Tree School and Services, an agency located in Philadelphia that serves children ages 5‐21 who are on the autism spectrum or are severely emotionally disabled.

She was Founder, President, and CEO of Sandcastle Strategy Group LLC, a company providing management consulting services to clients primarily in the health care, small business and non‐profit sectors. She previously served as Managing Director for Business Development & Strategy, at Granary Associates; and as Executive Director of The Wellness Community of Philadelphia (now Cancer Support Community of Philadelphia).

Ms. Wellenbach started her professional career as registered nurse and clinical instructor of obstetrics at Pennsylvania Hospital. In 2016 she was appointed to the Mayors Cultural Advisory Board. In 2018 she received the City and State PA Above and Beyond Award honoring women of public and civic minds. From 2010-2017, Ms. Wellenbach was a board member of the Reinvestment Fund, a Community Development Financing Institution, where she chaired the audit committee, and was a member of the executive committee and of the governance committee. She was a Trustee of Abington Health from 2005‐2015.

In addition, Ms. Wellenbach currently serves as a member of The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), Women Corporate Directors, PA Women’s Forum and Forum of Executive Woman, as well as Director of the NACD Philadelphia Chapter Board.

SUE SAYS

"Trish grew up in a small town in NJ as an Irish Catholic and the oldest of five. She felt a sense of responsibility to lean in and help where needed and would take that leading role with her throughout life. Her grandmother played an important role in shaping who Trish would go on to become, and she remains forever grateful for having had her in her life."

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Ginny Hill, Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Central & Southern NJ, shared the story behind her title with us on May 10, 2023.

Genevieve “Ginny” Hill is a dynamic executive leader whose career has focused on empowering and advancing women and girls. Since 2013, she has served as CEO of the Girl Scouts of Central & Southern New Jersey, which supports more than 19,000 girls, grades K-12, and 10,000 adult volunteers across nine counties (Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, Middlesex, and Salem).

In addition to serving as CEO of Girl Scouts of Central and Southern New Jersey, Ginny also sits on the Board of the Burlington County Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Ginny has been recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal as a 2022 Woman of Distinction, the National Association of Women Business Owners for strong leadership, and was named a 2017 “Woman to Watch” by South Jersey Biz magazine. She serves as Treasurer of IWF Delaware, on the board of Trustees of Color, Inc., and on the Institutional Advancement Committee at Archmere Academy in Delaware.

Ginny's Topics of Expertise include Women and Girls' Empowerment, Girls in STEM, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Financial Literacy for young people.

SUE SAYS

"Ginny grew up in Wilmington, DE. It was a small community where she swam, sang and joined the Girl Scouts. Little did she know that one day she would become the CEO for one of their largest councils in the U.S.. What led her there was an evolving sense that she was meant to serve and meant to lead. Working in the non-profit industry has given her an immense sense of reward and joy."

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Dr. Judy Ho, a Licensed Clinical & Forensic Neuropsychologist, shared the story behind her title with us on May 3, 2023.

Dr. Judy is a triple board certified and licensed Clinical and Forensic Neuropsychologist, a tenured Associate Professor at Pepperdine University, and a published author, most recently penning Stop Self-Sabotage, published by HarperCollins; a book detailing a scientifically driven six-step program which has been translated into seven additional languages around the world.

Dr. Judy maintains a private practice in Manhattan Beach, CA where she specializes in comprehensive neuropsychological assessments and expert witness work.

She is skilled at working with individuals of all ages struggling with complex mental health, cognitive, and substance abuse concerns, including severe mood and anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress, psychotic illnesses, developmental disorders, neurocognitive disorders, personality disorders, specialized forensic issues, and lesser known clinical conditions. She uses a scientifically driven and highly individualized approach with each patient to ensure accurate diagnoses and the development of a well-rounded treatment plan to help them recover and live their best lives.

SUE SAYS

"Judy was born in Taiwan and moved to the U.S. when she was 9 years old. She describes her grandmother as her saviour growing up for her love and support while her parents were working. Her first interest in psychology came from an opportunity she had to mentor a little girl in foster care while volunteering for the Boys and Girls Club. Both of these experiences as well as her own innate optimism is tied directly to her success today. "

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Colleen Bashar, SVP Enterprise Operations/Chief of Staff to CEO at Guidewire Software, shared the story behind her title with us on April 26, 2023.

Colleen has built a reputation for scaling organizations to establish customer experience excellence, drive profitable growth in competitive markets, and create sustainable shareholder value. She brings years of experience in enterprise software, technology, and organizational development coupled with a passion for driving long-term business growth.

Over the course of her 16-year career with Guidewire Software, Colleen has steadily progressed with the company through eight impactful roles. Currently as Senior Vice President, Enterprise Business Operations and Chief of Staff to the CEO, she leads two separate global teams in Field Enablement and Strategic Business Operations. Colleen’s leadership is critical to the execution of Guidewire’s corporate strategy as she leads strategy sessions with the Top 30 and the Top 100 leaders in the company.

Colleen holds an MBA from Duke University and a Bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University. She earned Duke University certificates in Health Sector Management, Communication for Leaders, and most recently Duke Leadership.

Featured in the Building Better Cultures podcast due to her passion for Raw Leadership™, Colleen also sits on the Board of Trustees for The Raleigh School and is an active member of Chief.

An active golfer, downhill skier, and mother of two boys, she enjoys being outdoors in any capacity as a participant or a fan of her sons’ golf, hockey, and baseball teams.

SUE SAYS

Colleen grew up and was raised primarily by her mom after her parents divorced when she was three. Not having her father in her life left a mark that stayed with her well into adulthood. She found herself wanting to prove to him she was worthy. Once she uncovered what was holding her back, she was able to lean in fully to her professional role, and to teach others as well the importance of being vulnerable and authentic.

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