CEO of the Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts

Elizabeth Barajas-Román is the CEO of the Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts, a public foundation that fuels progress toward gender equity by funding the most promising solutions, collaborating with results-oriented partners, and by elevating the collective power of local women to take charge, and to lead with purpose.

Elizabeth has been a leader in progressive movements including advocating at the national level for the health and rights of immigrant women and their families. Most recently she was a manager at The Pew Charitable Trusts where she directed a portfolio of partners that campaigned for state and federal policy change to improve government performance. Previously, as the Director of Policy at National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, Elizabeth directed the organization's Washington, D.C.-based office where she was instrumental in expanding the visibility of the organization on the national stage.

Elizabeth's leadership has been recognized nationally with a Center for Progressive Leadership Executive Fellowship, an appointment to the American Public Health Association Committee on Women's Rights, and as a board member of the Women’s Funding Network. She also serves on the board of directors for an international business startup accelerator, Valley Venture Mentors. She is on the board of tribunes for WGBY Public Television, is a steering committee member for New England Women’s Policy Initiative, and is a member of the External Advisory Board for the University of Massachusetts-Boston Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy. Elizabeth also was appointed by the Massachusetts Treasurer to serve on the state’s Economic Empowerment Trust Fund Board, and the statewide Advisory Board on Wage Equality.

She is an Antonia Pantoja Award recipient from the Latino Scholarship Fund, a recent Massachusetts-based Business West 40 under 40 awardee, and was selected by Western Mass. Women Magazine as one of their Top 25 Women to Watch. She is a certified Project Manager Professional (PMP), a graduate of Oberlin College, and received her master's degree in international policy from Harvard University.

Lead Product Counsel, Square

Carla Maria De Silva, Lead Product Counsel at Square, supports the Square Capital product team which provides access to funding for small businesses, enabling those businesses to grow and achieve their goals. Square Capital complements Square’s integrated ecosystem of payments, point-of-sale, financial and marketing services. As Counsel for Square Capital, Carla provides expertise and guidance on a wide range of legal matters related to lending and the associated regulations that impact Square Capital products. She is a results-focused attorney that provides leadership in all aspects of interpretation, communication and implementation of state and federal laws that impact lending and advises on the design of innovative financial products and services to meet the needs of today’s small business community.

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Carla brings over 15 years’ experience working in the fast-paced FinTech industry as a corporate generalist attorney with substantial in-house legal experience in regulatory compliance, financial services, commercial contracts, licensing, M&A, telecommunications and intellectual property. She currently serves as a co-chair on the LatinX community group at Square, a newly created community the purpose of which is to build a community for the Latina/o culture both inside and outside of Square in order to drive economic empowerment through professional development, networking and leadership.

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General Counsel, Enveritas

Boards:  Board of Directors for the Center for Justice & Accountability, Advisory Board for BRAC USA

Wilma has over 20 years of experience as a senior executive, lawyer and international human rights advocate.  Prior to her current role, she was Vice-President for Global Sustainability and  Vice-President, Deputy General Counsel at Gap Inc. and a leader on diversity & inclusion issues in the Company.   Wilma is a strong advocate for increasing the role of the private sector in advancing economic inclusion and empowerment  for women and other under-represented groups.   

Senior Advisor, The Boston Consulting Group

Boards: Valley Care, GFC – Girls For Change, Agios Pharmaceuticals, Stanford Health Care, Spelman College in Atlanta

Growth leader, business builder, philanthropist, mother and woman of faith, whose life purpose is to “give voice to the voiceless”. Kaye works with CEO’s, leaders and teams as partner, coach, confidante, to define the values which create an organization’s culture, embedding those values into the systems, processes and practices to reinforce the individual and collective behaviors which determine a company’s long-term success. Her most recent role was Chief HR Officer for Onyx Pharmaceuticals, where in partnership with the CEO and Strategy Officer, she supported the development and execution of the company’s enterprise strategy and multi-year business plan. Prior roles included the Chief HR Officer for Johnson & Johnson, and HR business partner assignments at Pfizer Inc across Japan, Asia, Africa, Middle East and Latin America. She has been a guest lecturer at Columbia Graduate School of Business on "The Economics of Organizational Analysis", and a speaker at the Milken Institute Global Conference, focusing on Talent Development for the New Millennium.

Coach, Author of Middlessence

Barbara Waxman is a gerontologist, leadership coach, and speaker whose insights are illuminating a crucial stage in our personal and professional lives: Middlescence. Between ages 45 and 65, right when we should be embracing life at the peak and taking advantage of our hard-earned wisdom, we often find ourselves tangled in questions about where we’ve been and what’s next. In her forthcoming book, she shows how this new life stage can be a powerful period of self-actualization and an invaluable opportunity to reset our goals, our strategies, and our sense of what really matters. In adolescence, we all experienced a major transition in who we were and how we saw the world. In Middlescence, we encounter another major change... but this time, we can marshal the wisdom and wherewithal to have take full advantage of the promise of this life stage. As one of the foremost gerontologist-coaches in the United States, Barbara is known for inspiring clients and listeners with insights so that they can be effective in planning for themselves and their leadership at home, at work, and in their communities.

Certified by both the International Coach Federation and The Hudson Institute, Barbara holds Masters Degrees in Both Administration and Gerontology and is a Wexner Heritage Foundation Fellow. Her work has been featured in SmartMoney.com, Fortune, Newsday, U.S. News & World Report, AARP The Magazine, and more. In consulting and coaching, she brings personal and professional experience to an effective, results-oriented collaboration. Her ability to inspire others with compassion, honesty and a light heart, while incorporating cutting edge leadership principles, distinguishes Barbara’s work.

Originally from New York, Barbara lives in Northern California, though in 2015 she and her husband, Scott, spent the year “re-potting” in Italy. Barbara’s community involvement includes work with various non-profits including SHE-CAN and Beyond Differences. She is a lifelong learner who loves hiking cooking yoga and stepping just outside of her comfort zone.

Chief Talent Development Officer, eBay And Founder & Principal, 3g Human Capital Consulting

Marianne Jackson has devoted her career to leading effective people strategies aiding numerous companies in achieving their business objectives.  She has nearly 20 years’ experience as the Chief Human Resource Officer and Communication’s executive in some of California’s best known corporations.  Her experience spans both healthcare and technology industries including Cisco Systems, Palm, Sandisk, Sun Microsystems,  Blue Shield of California, Workday and eBay.  She is well known for her practical approach to organizational effectiveness, executive/leadership development, workforce optimization, strategic planning and culture-shaping . Her approach effectively links the business strategy with a targeted people strategy ensuring the right capabilities and culture have been invested to propel performance, increase engagement and strengthen the employer brand.  

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Recently, Marianne has done what many executives seek to do.  She is balancing a role as eBay’s Chief Talent Development Officer while keeping her consulting practice active with the overall goal of fueling multiple interests.   

Marianne currently serves on the Board of Directors for The Institute for the Future, the Board of Trustees for the Health Trust of Silicon Valley, The Cancer Prevention Institute of California and the advisory board for Saama Technologies.   
 

She holds bachelor degrees in Psychology and Sociology from the University of California at Santa Barbara.  She did her graduate work at the University of Santa Clara in Counseling Psychology.

Attorney at Baker & McKenzie

Recently, Deputy Chief of staff to Illinois Governor Quinn

Amalia Rioja is a member of the Banking & Finance and International/Commercial practice groups. With more than 20 years of public sector and private practice experience, Ms. Rioja is a resource to clients at all levels of local, state or federal government. During her tenure as deputy chief of staff to Governor Quinn, Ms. Rioja supervised the state of Illinois' relationship with its private lottery manager. She led negotiations of several gaming expansion bills and oversaw the operations of several state departments, including the Department of Revenue, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, and the Illinois Liquor Control Commission. In prior governmental roles, Ms. Rioja served as acting public access counselor to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Deputy General Counsel to Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes.

Engagement Evangelist, Speaker and Author

Author: Coming Alive: The Journey To Reengage Your Life And Career

After a successful 30-year career as a strategic human resources executive with top FORTUNE 100 companies, Ruth K. Ross now speaks to all different kinds of audiences on engagement. These range from business leaders to human resources professionals to those looking to reenter the workforce. This is a topic that resonates with everyone, regardless of job title, level, industry, geographic location, age or nationality. It touches so many of us in every walk of life. 

Vice President of Marketing, showNets

Anne Marie is currently the Vice President of Marketing with showNets, LLC, the premier provider of Wifi and Internet services for the most complex clients in the tech-industry. She has 30 years of experience in sales and marketing in the IT industry, and is a member of IAEE, the leading association for the global exhibition industry. She serves on the IAEE Women’s Leadership Task Force, and is helping to plan the upcoming Women’s Leadership Forum. This will be her second year on the task force. 

Anne Marie is passionate about leadership, education and service. She has exercised that passion by being the founder and an advisory board member of three non-profit organizations. In 2015, she traveled to Rwanda for three weeks to provide counsel and support to a SHE-CAN scholar who was founding a leadership camp for 100 Rwandan girls. She has participated in more than 20 international service trips, and credits each one with enriching her life and experience. Anne Marie is a founding member of the Executive Committee for Bay Area Women’s Philanthropy Network, and served on the 2015 Women’s Funding Network Host Committee for the Bay Area Conference in 2015. She also served for six years on The Westminster Schools Teach for Tomorrow capital campaign, which raised $100 million for the school endowment. Anne Marie is a leader, an entrepreneur and a philanthropist, but feels her greatest achievement is being the proud mother of two very accomplished children. 

Chief People Officer, ebay

Boards: Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Watermark

Kristin Yetto has been the Chief People Officer and Senior Vice President at eBay Inc. since July 2015. Ms. Yetto is responsible for all aspects of human resources across eBay. She drives business performance, talent development and acquisition, learning and development, compensation, benefits, HR shared services, and people tools and technologies – and oversees the continuing evolution of the company's culture. 

Marketing | Communications | Project & Program Management, Apple

Jennifer is an avid global explorer and connected deeply with issues impacting women in technology. She is a leader in Apple’s Women’s Initiative, but she may have most fun as a mentor for a Rwandan scholar through SHE-CAN. Jennifer has traveled to Rwanda to interview prospective scholars and believes that the solution to global instability and destruction is investing in women’s leadership.

Director of Product, Gradiate  

Mary is a senior leader in tech and has used her position in leadership in every organization that she’s been a part of to promote opportunities for women.  Mary has a passion for creating and delivering products that empower and delight users. Over the past 10 years, she has delivered multiple new products across a range of markets including children’s entertainment, educational software and services, and home automation.  While a senior leader at both Apple and Nest/Google, Mary led the women’s initiative, Women@, to retain and develop more women in the STEM fields.

Founder and President, FAMA Foundation; President, Patricia Perez Consulting

Patricia Pérez provides professional development, curriculum development and multicultural awareness to educational institutions, corporations and abroad. Patricia began her career as a Spanish bilingual, elementary-level schoolteacher. Yet has a wide range of experience working at every level of public education, spanning 20 years. Her 20 years of experience drove her to push for change in public education.

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Patricia holds a Service Excellence Award for individual contributions from Engineers Without Borders-Orange County Professional Chapter. She was presented an award from the Olancho Aid Foundation for the extraordinary support and commitment of providing educational support opportunities to the people of Olancho, Honduras. And recognized as 2012/2013 Woman of the Year from the National Association of Professional Women for excellence and dedication in her field.

CIO, New Relic

Yvonne Wassenaar empowers companies to envision their future and ensure continued relevance in an ever-changing world. Her blend of strategy consulting and corporate leadership gives her unique perspective on what it takes to craft and successfully guide executive teams through transformational change. For over 25 years, Yvonne has engaged with leaders to scale and diversify their businesses through internal innovation and acquisition. She is a thought leader in cloud, big data analytics, and business digitization with deep expertise in how to innovate with these technologies while mitigating the associated risks. Her ability to ask the right questions and help leaders articulate clear strategies that stakeholders will embrace makes Yvonne a powerful leader and C-level advisor in the digital age.

She is currently writing the new CIO playbook enabling innovation and distributed empowerment without sacrificing security, compliance, or customer experience. Yvonne is an active member of the CIO/ CTO community and has been quoted in major publications such as: the GE Global Innovation Barometer, the Forbes CIO Transformation Survey, and the WSJ. Yvonne is part of the WSJ CIO Network and has been recognized as one of the top Influential Women of 2016 by the SF Business Times.

An advocate for more diversity in tech, Yvonne serves on New Relic’s Executive Diversity Council, Board of Trustees for Harvey Mudd College and the Board of Directors for the Athena Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to the advancement of women in technology and leadership through boardroom diversification.

Yvonne thrives in complex and ambiguous situations and loves working with other talented individuals who share her commitment to making a difference. Yvonne is an avid traveler and uses her experiences abroad to deepen her understanding of human interaction and experience.

Chief of the Department of Mental Health, Kaiser Permanente in Marin County, CA; Lead Physician for Regional Recruitment Services, The Permanente Medical Group

Elyse Weinstein, MD is the Chief of the Department of Mental Health for Kaiser Permanente in Marin County California and the Lead Physician for Regional Recruitment Services for The Permanente Medical Group. The Pemanente Medical Group is the largest medical group in the country.

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Elyse went to medical school at the University of Michigan in their combined undergrad/graduate program. She went on to complete her residency in Psychiatry at Stanford University.

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Elyse has been with The Permanente Medical Group for 25 years serving in various roles. While maintaining a clinical practice she has lead initiatives in Mental health and Women’s health. In her current role, she oversees a delivery care system for mental health, mentors other physician leaders and leads the department of recruitment which is charged with recruiting, hiring and on boarding physician talent. 

Executive Director, Alternatives in Action

Patricia Murillo joined Alternatives in Action as Executive Director in April 2007 after serving as the Senior Director of Program Services for the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco (BGCSF). Prior to BGCSF, Patricia was with Alternatives in Action for seven years in senior management positions. She was the Director of the HOME Project, co-Director for the Bay Area School of Enterprise, and the Director of Adult Learning and Development. Patricia has seventeen years of progressive leadership experience in organizations serving children, youth, and families. She holds a master in social welfare (MSW) from UC Berkeley with an emphasis on Management and Planning and a BA from Vassar College.

Head of Human Resources - ‎TechSoup Global

Boards: Project Hired, Sacred Heart Community Service, MACLA, and the Role Model Program. Chair-Board of Directors for Young Audiences San Jose & Silicon Valley, Vice-Chair Board of Directors San Jose Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Elena has over 20 years of HR experience primarily in the high technology industry; with companies such as Cisco and Digital Equipment Corporation. She has focused on the Client Facing aspect of HR having supporting a variety of functional groups over her career at these corporations. She has grown her expertise by holding various positions within HR including: Consulting, Recruiting, Coaching, Program Management, Management and Diversity & Inclusion (D & I) positions.

Elena was introduced to Diversity and Inclusion while at Digital Equipment Corporation. She was inspired by the concept of appreciating differences as well as commonalities that she became a leader of the Western Region Hispanic Employee Leadership Forum at Digital. Elena went on to be the President of Conexion, Cisco's Employee Resource Group for 2 years. She devoted 3 years to Cisco as a Diversity & Inclusion Program Manager where she influence the D & I strategy for Cisco.

VP of Talent, PayPal; Member Board of Directors, SGI

Boards: SGI, Jewish Vocational Services

Results focused senior leader with a successful track record of leading major Technology, Operations and HR transformation at scale. Over 20 years experience as a manager and management consultant with broad capabilities in Technology Management, Strategy, Product, and Operations. Inspirational leadership style with extraordinary people management and communications skills. Excel in delivering innovation and value while creating structure and process for scale. Kellogg MBA. Public company board member.

Co-Founder, Kasha

​Kasha is a social business start up dedicated to putting women's needs first. At Kasha we envision a world where all women have access to the products and services they need to take care of themselves, their families, and communities. To achieve this we are building a mobile e-commerce platform that enables direct ordering and delivery of products and information. Our initial focus is ensuring all women and girls have access to vital health and personal care products. We launched in Kigali Rwanda in 2016.

Global Executive Coach & Facilitator | Speaker | Exec. Professor of Business at Santa Clara Univ | Women & MENA-focused

Boards: Chair of board for Global Women’s Leadership Network, co-founder of SF Turkish Women’s International Network chapter, advisor for Turkish Women’s Initiative, and program director of the Global Fellows program at SCU.

Tanya Monsef Bunger is a global business consultant and executive coach with 25+ years of Silicon Valley high tech, startups and non-profit business success in the areas of finance, marketing and strategy. She has coached and delivered programs with leaders from 40+ countries.

She designs leadership training, leads workshops, provides one-on-one coaching, and facilitates conversations to clients around the world. She speaks globally about the power of leading from authenticity as a way to create harmony in the workplace. She is Dean's Executive Professor, Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University (SCU), CA.

She is currently researching a book for women in business exploring how feminine energy and wisdom shows up for both women and men at work and how we can better understand, honor and leverage it.