Click HERE to view Past IWL Advisory Council Members
Current IWL Advisory Council Members
Mayra Alaniz, MBA District Manager Aldi	Jennifer Dirks President & CEO TEMPO	Emily R. Phillips Financial Advisor Phillips Ristau Group | Baird
Griselda Aldrete, JD Partner Hansen Reynolds, LLC	Isabelle Faust, JD Associate Attorney Amundsen Davis, LLC	Claire Rolfs President Thomas J. Rolfs Foundation
Tammy Belton-Davis Founder & CEO Athena Communications	Jasmine M. Johnson, MSM Area Vice President of Donor Services Versiti Inc.	Ted Rolfs Red Top Capital Investments
Aliah Berman, JD Chief Diversity Officer TBWA\North America	Margo Loebl Board Director & Retired Global Executive	Thelma A. Sias, LHD Founder & President The Sias Group
Krista Brookman, Chair Senior Director, Diversity & Inclusion Northwestern Mutual	Kim Marotta Global Vice President, Environmental Sustainability Beam Suntory	Carla Skogland CFO, eCommerce Foundation & Technology Sono Bello
Patty Cadorin Retired Vice President & Senior Advisor BMO Harris Bank	Francesca Mayca Wegner, MBA President & Chief Possibilities Officer, HPGM & Poderosa Collective	Mary Alice Tierney Executive Coach and Founder MATierney Leadership Development LLC
Kareeda Chones Aguam Senior Vice President of Partner Strategy & Management Milwaukee Bucks	Mark Naidicz Retired Human Resources Executive AbbVie; Abbott; & S.C. Johnson	Yi Sherry Zhang,  PhD Founder GenoPalate

 

Mayra is a proud Milwaukee native and self professed life long learner.  She has navigated her early career across the government, nonprofit, and corporate sector always with an eye for growing talent pipelines and creating workforce opportunities.  Her passion stems from her experiences as a first generation student navigating her undergraduate studies at Georgetown University.  She comes to the IWL by way of pursuing her Masters in Business Administration at 向日葵视频 and starting the Career Closet on campus, an initiative that provides professional clothes to students on campus.  When she is not working, she gives time to College Possible Milwaukee through her board leadership and enjoys working on her DIY home projects.

 

Griselda Aldrete

Griselda Aldrete is a Partner at Hansen Reynolds, LLC; a boutique litigation law firm with offices in Milwaukee, Madison, Chicago, and Minneapolis. Griselda鈥檚 areas of focus include criminal, commercial, law enforcement, discrimination, and employment litigation matters. She also has a passion for mediation and advanced dispute resolution. She is fluent in Spanish, both orally and written. She has held senior executive positions in corporate, government, and non-profit sectors. Griselda has been a lecturer and adjunct professor for over 12 years teaching criminal justice and criminology at local universities and continues to teach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her ability to assess, create, and build systems and infrastructure has been invaluable to the organizations she has led and served.  

Aldrete obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from 向日葵视频, her Master of Arts from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and her J.D. from 向日葵视频 Law School. Most recently, graduated from Northwestern University鈥檚 Mediation Certificate Program.

Griselda鈥檚 work has been recognized by the Milwaukee Business Journal (Top 40 under 40 in 2013), the United Way of Greater Milwaukee (Philanthropic 5 award), and 向日葵视频 (College of Art and Sciences Young Alumna of the Year), among others. She was named one of Wisconsin鈥檚 top 48 most powerful Latinos. In 2015, Aldrete was selected to represent the United States as a U.S. delegate for the British American Project, and most recently, in 2018, Aldrete was selected to be a Marshall Memorial Fellow for The German Marshall Fund of the United States.

She currently serves on the board of the Wisconsin Policy Forum, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee, and Virago Rising. She is a committee member for Milwaukee Women Inc., Building Brave, the British American Project, and NextGen Chamber of Commerce.

 

Tammy Belton-Davis

Named a 2021 Women of Influence by the Milwaukee Business Journal, Tammy serves as founder and CEO of Athena Communications, a brand management and government affairs firm specializing in strategic communications, equity and inclusion practices, and media engagement, with client partners engaged in transformational and systems change work.  

Most recently and concurrently, Tammy was the first appointed chief diversity officer with Milwaukee Repertory Theater, the largest regional theater in Wisconsin. As an accelerant for equity and inclusion, she works directly with executive leadership, board of trustees, staff and community to develop, implement and measure ED&I goals for the theater and serve as an internal coach on inclusiveness and diversity issues. 

Tammy is an award-winning public relations and diversity professional. In 2021 she was a part of the inaugural class of most Notable Alumni, a recognition for distinguished alumni recognized by the Biz Times and was most recently the recipient of the inaugural Governor's Tourism Award for Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion. The award recognizes demonstrated leadership in raising awareness, or facilitating change, to build a more inclusive and welcoming environment for visitors to Wisconsin.

Prior to launching Athena in 2009, Tammy held senior level positions in city government and community-based organizations and served as staff assistant with the Milwaukee County Board and Milwaukee Common Council. Tammy is an active member of the greater Milwaukee community, with board leadership as a trustee on the boards of Alverno College Board and Milwaukee Rep and member of the Professional Dimensions Charitable Fund Board. She enjoys membership in TEMPO Milwaukee, Professional Dimensions, MRA CDO Roundtable, and Public Relations Society of America 鈥� Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter.

A proud graduate of Alverno College, Tammy enjoys reading, national politics, and being a wife and mother and proudly serves as a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

 

Aliah Berman is the Chief Diversity Officer of TBWA\North America. She鈥檚 responsible for leading the vision, strategy and execution of TBWA鈥檚 diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across the collective, working in partnership with the company鈥檚 North American offices and parent company Omnicom.

Throughout her career, Aliah has demonstrated a passion for and successful track record of driving growth and positive change in her teams and organizations. She has a strong commitment to leveraging diversity as an advantage, to addressing specific challenges facing underrepresented groups, and to ensuring equity in opportunity for all individuals.

Previously, Aliah served as Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for TBWA鈥檚 sister company, global experiential agency GMR Marketing, where she continues to serve as Chief Diversity Officer. In her role at GMR, Aliah has identified programs and initiatives aimed at bolstering diversity with GMR and created learning environments that built a culturally competent community. She鈥檚 also spearheaded change and culture management initiatives that aligned the organization鈥檚 DEI strategy with business goals to enhance work outputs.

Prior to GMR Marketing, Berman served as the Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Talent Acquisition at Advocate Aurora Health. She serves as the President of the Board of Directors for the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center and on the Advisory Board for NEWaukee.  Additionally, she is a member of TEMPO Milwaukee, a professional organization for women that aims to further the impact of women leaders in the community.

 

Krista Brookman is Senior Director, Diversity and Inclusion at Northwestern Mutual after serving nearly a decade as Vice President, Learning and Advisory Services at Catalyst, the leading non-profit organization focused on accelerating progress for women through workplace inclusion. In her role at NM, Krista leads the Women鈥檚 Initiative efforts across the enterprise to maximize growth, foster a culture of belonging, and positively impact D&I outcomes for the attraction, retention, and advancement of women. 

She has 25 years of experience, including her previous role at Deloitte where she successfully launched the creation of the Women in Manufacturing initiative while in marketing and business leadership roles serving the manufacturing industry.

Krista has presented on a variety of D&I topics and was invited to and spoke at the Global Competitiveness Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She has been quoted in Fast Company.

Krista is active in several professional community organizations including TEMPO, Professional Dimensions and Milwaukee Women inc. She is the in-coming chair of the Institute for Women鈥檚 Leadership Advisory Board at 向日葵视频. She co-founded the TEMPO Women鈥檚 Affinity Alliance (ERG community collective), has served on the Board of Directors for Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast, and served as President of the Mequon-Thiensville School District Board of Education.

Krista was recognized as a 鈥�40 Under 40鈥� by the Business Journal of Milwaukee and was nominated as a 鈥淐hangemaker鈥� by the White House United State of Women. Krista received an MBA and BA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

 

Patty Cadorin retired in 2021 as Vice President and Senior Advisor of BMO Harris Bank. Previously, she was Chief of Staff to the CEO; and prior to the acquisition of Marshall & Ilsley Corporation by BMO Financial Group, Patty was Senior Vice President and Corporate Communications Director for Marshall & Ilsley Corporation.

Patty has served as Wisconsin Women鈥檚 Council Chair since 2019, leading the Council under two Governor鈥檚. She is a founding partner of the Women鈥檚 Council鈥檚 Governor鈥檚 Trailblazer Awards for Women in Business (2007), Governor鈥檚 appointee to the Women鈥檚 Council Board since 2012, and served as the Governor鈥檚 Designee from 2018-19.

Patty serves on the board of directors of the United Community Center; Building Brave; the Milwaukee Urban League; and is a member of the United Way Women鈥檚 Leadership Council. She is the former chair of the board of directors of Aurora Family Service and the Donors Forum of Wisconsin. Patty is a former member of the board of directors of the Women鈥檚 Fund of Greater Milwaukee, and Zink the Zebra Foundation. She co-chaired the 2015 United Performing Arts Fund community campaign and helped lead a record-breaking $12 million fund-raising campaign. Patty also co-chaired the Aurora Healthcare Gala in 2016, the Boys and Girls Club Transformations Fashion Show in 2008, co-chaired the Sharp Literacy Novel Event in 2008, and was a member of the NFL Alumni/Big Brothers Big Sisters Golf Tournament committee for 19 years.

Patty was the recipient of the Business Journal Women of Influence award in 2003, the St. Francis Children鈥檚 Center Children鈥檚 Service Award in 2007, the TEMPO Mentor Award in 2008, the Lynde Uihlein Award from the Women鈥檚 Fund of Greater Milwaukee in 2011, and the Friend of the Hispanic Community Award from the United Community Center in 2011. In 2016, she was awarded the Ally Award from the Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee and the Civic Leader Award from the Fellowship Open. Patty was recognized with the UPAF Notable Women Award in 2017.

A graduate of the University of Iowa, Patty holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in French, Spanish and secondary education.

 

Kareeda Chones Aguam

In her 24^th season with the Milwaukee Bucks, Kareeda Chones Aguam is the Senior Vice President of Partner Strategy and Management, leading a team responsible for managing over seventy marketing partnerships and over $55M+ for the Milwaukee Bucks and Fiserv Forum. Chones Aguam works very closely with the management team in the continuous construction and development of the $500M Deer District in downtown Milwaukee. The partnership revenue line has quadrupled during her leadership.

In addition to her position with the Milwaukee Bucks, Chones Aguam has also been a free-lance voice talent artist for 20+ years as the voice of numerous radio and television commercials, television programs, and professional employee videos for various clients throughout the city and across the country including Milwaukee Bucks' Basketball, and her most recent project as the Voice of Fiserv Forum!

Chones Aguam was formerly the TV host of the 向日葵视频Women's Basketball Coach's Show, 向日葵视频Women's Basketball TV Color Analyst, and on-air voice talent on Milwaukee's Smooth Jazz 106.9. Chones Aguam is excited to launch Aguama Productions LLC. In late 2023!

A graduate of 向日葵视频 and four (4) year letter winner of the 向日葵视频Women's Basketball Team, Kareeda learned and understood the importance of giving back and consistently pouring into others to make our community a better place. Kareeda also is engaged in the community as a current member of the Board of Directors for the Froedtert Hospital Board and 向日葵视频's Institute for Women's Leadership Council, former board appointments include Penfield Children's Center of Wisconsin, Hunger Task Force of Wisconsin, African American Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Committee, Employ Milwaukee, and the Women's Fund Board of Greater Milwaukee.

2016 Chones Aguam was awarded the 向日葵视频Athletic Department Young Alumnae of the Year Award.

2019 Kareeda was celebrated as one of the Milwaukee Business Journal's Women of Influence 2019 for mentorship.

2019 Milwaukee Magazine's Women of Distinction

2020 selected as a Sports Business Journal's distinguished "Game Changer Recipient- Class of 2020

2023 Institute for Women's Leadership Award- 向日葵视频 Transformational Leadership Award Recipient

In addition to her responsibilities in the office, studio, and community, Kareeda' s most cherished role is being a wife of 15 years to husband Ryan and mother to her amazing children, daughter Averie (11) and son Carter (8).

 

Jennifer Dirks

Jennifer Dirks joined TEMPO in 2014 as the organization's first President & CEO. In her role, Dirks is responsible for the development, implementation and execution of TEMPO's strategic direction. She works closely with the board chair, executive committee and board of directors to ensure this direction stays true to the organization's mission and vision of furthering the impact of women leaders in the Milwaukee business community. Dirks also oversees the day-to-day operations of the organization, corporate partnerships and serves as a community advocate on behalf of TEMPO. Dirks is a communications and public relations executive with more than 20 years of corporate and agency experience with business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets. Dirks also spent more than a decade as a television news reporter and producer in various newsrooms across the Midwest. She currently serves on the Board of PEARLS for Teen Girls, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Medical College of Wisconsin Physicians Board. She is an adjunct instructor for 向日葵视频 and an active member of Professional Dimensions and Milwaukee Women inc. Dirks was named a 'Woman of Influence' and a 'Power Broker' by the Milwaukee Business Journal. Born in St. Charles, Illinois, Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mass communications from Illinois State University.

 

 

Isabelle Faust is an attorney with Amundsen Davis, LLC in Milwaukee. She counsels clients on all facets of civil litigation and the dispute resolution process. Her primary focus is legal matters involving professional liability, transportation and logistics, construction, and commercial disputes. At Amundsen Davis, Faust serves on the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee and the Women鈥檚 Attorney Group. She is also a member of the Association for Women Lawyers in Milwaukee. 

Previously, Faust was a legal intern at the Master Lock Company, and research assistant for Professors Jay Grenig and Paul Anderson at 向日葵视频 Law School.

She received her law degree, cum laude, from 向日葵视频 Law School in 2018 where she earned the Sports Law Certificate, served on the 向日葵视频Sports Law Review, and was inducted into the Pro Bono Honor Society for over 120 hours of service.

She holds a BA in Political Science and French from the University of Wisconsin.

 

Jasmine Johnson

Jasmine M. Johnson brings 20+ years of leadership, service, and advocacy to any space she enters. She started her corporate career as an intern at Clear Channel (now iHeartMedia) of which is also the company she landed her first job post Undergrad, and most recently returned as the Vice President of Sales. As part of the Senior Leadership Team at Milwaukee鈥檚 iHeartMedia Markets Group she is charged to lead the sales team to achieve and exceed customer鈥檚 goals and expectations across multiple platforms and assets. Jasmine has led and served at some of the largest Global Brands such as Pfizer, Walgreen鈥檚, and ManpowerGroup.

She was most recently named as one of the Milwaukee Business Journal鈥檚 2021 40 Under 40 Awardees, was selected as a participant of the 2020 Young American Leaders Program through Harvard Business School, and was recognized as one of the 2015 United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County Philanthropic Five. In 2018, Jasmine received the inaugural City of Milwaukee鈥檚 Vel R. Phillips Trailblazer Award, an award honoring social justice and civic accomplishment in the City of Milwaukee of which she was soon then appointed by the City of Milwaukee to the Vel R. Phillips Trailblazer Service Award Selection Committee. Jasmine serves on the Board of Directors for the United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County, Milwaukee Film, the Executive Leadership Team for GoRed for the American Heart Association 鈥� Greater Milwaukee of where she鈥檒l be the first person of color across the State to lead a local campaign in 2021, is an inaugural Board member of the Milwaukee Parks Foundation, and holds a Mayoral appointment as a Board member of the Historic King Drive BID #8. Jasmine is a member of Milwaukee Women, Inc. (MWi), Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., The Links, Inc. and Jack & Jill of America, Inc.

Jasmine has a passion for making a difference through advocacy both at work and in her community. She holds a Master of Science degree in Management from Cardinal Stritch University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from the University of Wisconsin- Parkside. Jasmine resides in the historic Harambee Neighborhood in Milwaukee area and recognizes the significance of working hard, performing strong, and giving back. She juggles it well with grace, style, and class all while being motivated by her son, Jeremiah, a Sophomore at 向日葵视频 High School.

 

Margo Loebl

Margaret (鈥淢argo鈥�) Loebl is an experienced global executive and board director. She currently serves in advisory roles for 向日葵视频, Wellesley College and the National Association of Corporate Directors, and PJM Interconnection while providing education at schools and business groups covering key topics in corporate finance, governance and other 鈥渉ot topics鈥� for Corporate Boards.

In her 35+ year career, Loebl has worked in complex multi-nationals in a variety of cultures across the automotive, agribusiness, footwear/apparel, technical services and chemical industries. She has been a financial officer in large public companies, including General Motors, Nike and Archer Daniels Midland. She spent a total of six years as a public company Chief Financial Officer for TechTeam Global, Quaker Chemical and AgroFresh Solutions. She lived and worked 10 years outside the U.S. and has a working knowledge of German, Spanish and Portuguese. 

Loebl also served on the Board of Directors of Hickory Point Bank and Trust. She has an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BA from Wellesley College. She also served as an Executive in Residence at the University of Illinois.

 

Kim Marotta is the Global Vice President, Environmental Sustainability for Beam Suntory, one of the world's leading premium spirits companies.  She is responsible for developing and implementing long-term commitments to environmental sustainability across every facet of the value chain鈥攁 program known as Nature Positive.  Kim joined the alcohol industry in 2004 and held similar global leadership positions in sustainability at Molson Coors.

Kim completed her undergraduate degree at 向日葵视频 and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School.  Following law school, Kim served as The Deputy State Public Defender and as an adjunct law professor at 向日葵视频 Law School.

Kim serves as a director on the Maker鈥檚 Mark Distillery board and previously served on the Keurig-Dr. Pepper Advisory board and the boards of The Great Lakes Protection Fund, The Sustainability Consortium, The Wisconsin Nature Conservancy, and Milwaukee World Festivals.

 

Francesca Mayca Wegner, is the co-founder of Midwest Latina (MWL), an apparel and accessories brand celebrating the rich identity of Midwest Latinas. As two first-generation Peruvian-American sisters who were born in Chicagoland and live in Milwaukee, Francesca and her sister Gabriella merge design and identity for a one-of-a-kind Midwest Latina look鈥攚here cultura meets classic. Midwest Latina reflects Francesca and Gabriella鈥檚 multifaceted identities and creates space for other Midwest Latinas to be seen and celebrated. 

Francesca also serves as President and Chief Possibilities Officer of Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee (HPGM). In only two years, Francesca has nearly doubled HPGM鈥檚 membership, secured the largest grant in the organization鈥檚 history, co-founded the Poderosa Collective (the first-ever Wisconsin Latina alliance to unite, educate, and highlight Latina voices in order to grow their social and economic power), and is the founding director of the Techqueria Chapter of Milwaukee.  Recognized as one of 鈥榃isconsin's 36 Most Influential Latino Leaders,鈥� a 鈥�40 Under 40 Winner,鈥� and a 鈥楴otable BIPOC Executive,鈥� Francesca鈥檚 trailblazing advocacy and leadership continue to help others step into their power. 

 

Mark Naidicz

Mark Naidicz is an HR executive who has led global HR functions at AbbVie, Abbott, and S.C. Johnson. Diverse experiences in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, nutritional, hospital, and consumer packaged goods industries in complex business environments. Highly recognized leadership in building high performance cultures, leadership depth and capability, and diversity, equity, and inclusion to help organizations succeed. Unique and highly successful experiences in M&A leadership, integrations, transformations, and company spin-offs. Highlights from Naidicz鈥檚 career so far include his work at S.C. Johnson, Abbott, and AbbVie in executive-level global HR roles; providing HR leadership on 20 acquisitions, integrations, and company spin-offs; leading AbbVie to more than 40 鈥淕reat Places to Work,鈥� 鈥淭op Employer,鈥� and 鈥淏est of鈥︹�� lists; as well as being a 向日葵视频 alumnus and serving as the College of Business Administration鈥檚 HR Executive in Residence.

 

Emily has an entrepreneurial background in technology, marketing, business development, and management consulting prior to joining the financial services industry. She cultivated strong relationships while leading enterprise solutions for Fortune 100 companies in the Midwest. Her unique career path enables Emily to serve clients in creative ways given her innate curiosity, growth mindset, and capacity to adapt to change. In her role as an advisor, Emily leads a dynamic wealth management team committed to the longstanding clients come first culture at Baird.

In addition to her day job, Emily is also actively involved in the business and nonprofit community; she serves on several business advisory and nonprofit boards. Emily is deeply committed to a variety of charities investing time and energy to the greater Milwaukee community. Emily was a keynote speaker at the 2016 TEDxUWMilwaukee I Am We Are event. She was named one of the 2017 Milwaukee Business Journal 40 Under 40 award recipients, the 2018 OneMKE Driver of Diversity Professional of the Year award, and was a 2020 Milwaukee Business Journal Women of Influence award recipient. Although the awards demonstrate Emily鈥檚 involvement in making the world a better place, the driving force in her success is because she has a passion for people, especially the underdogs.

Emily earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2007.  Never one for idle time, she is also an avid golfer, loves to travel, is a competitive runner and cyclist and absolutely loves spending time with her family.

 

Claire Rolfs
President, Thomas J. Rolfs Foundation 

 

Ted Rolfs
Red Top Capital Investments

 

Thelma A. Sias is one of Milwaukee鈥檚 most powerful women because of her leadership and commitment to serve her community. She is proud to be the 5th of 11 children of the late  Roosevelt and Pauline Sias, raised on the family farm in Mayersville, Mississippi.  Sias joined Wisconsin Gas (now We Energies) in 1986, and in 2003, We Energies appointed Sias vice president. In 2015, she was named to the Milwaukee Business Journal鈥檚 鈥�40 Under 40 Hall of Fame;鈥� in 2016 to Savoy Magazine鈥檚 list of 鈥淭op Influential Women in Corporate America;鈥� and in 2017 was added to the HistoryMakers鈥� Collection at the Library of Congress and awarded the Greater Milwaukee Foundation鈥檚 Doug Jansson Leadership Award. In 2018, Sias received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Milwaukee Business Journal.  In May 2022, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from 向日葵视频 and was the Commencement speaker for its Graduate School.

Sias is a board member of the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee, the Sojourner Family Peace Center, and Cardinal Stritch University.  Sias is a retired executive and the founder and CEO of The Sias Group, LLC.

 

CFO, Sono Bello

C Suite; Board Member; Six Sigma & Lean Expertise

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mary Alice Tierney

Mary Alice has worked in a variety of businesses as a strategic leader on the executive teams of privately held, publicly traded and not-for-profit organizations.

Mary Alice was a Vice President of Wisconsin鈥檚 largest health care provider, where she led the marketing, branding, media relations, public relations, Web and internal communications.

Mary Alice was a Vice President of a diversified media and printing company, where she served on the small team of senior executives that transformed the corporation from nearly seventy years of employee ownership into a publicly traded company. She developed the Investor Relations program for the successful IPO and coached leadership on change management.

Mary Alice was an Emmy Award winning television producer and an on-air program host, who has made hundreds of public speaking appearances.

She served as Vice President and member of the Board of Directors of a nation-wide broadcast group, where she developed the internal and external brands and provided leadership development and strategic communications for the rapidly growing company.

As Human Resources Director and Community Affairs Manager of the ABC- affiliated television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she developed programs and initiatives that were adopted throughout the country. In this role, she published articles in trade publications, as a nationally recognized expert in the field.

Dedicated to community service and involvement, Mary Alice has provided pro bono leadership development and communications coaching and consulting while serving on the Boards of Directors of dozens of high profile nonprofit organizations.

 

 

Founder, GenoPalate

Dr. Yi Sherry Zhang is an obesity genomics researcher, a health tech entrepreneur with 17 years helping individuals with achieving optimal health and wellness with science. Specializing in digital health innovations, Sherry uses her experience to help people gain access to health equity. Sherry is a well-published author in the field of metabolic health and genomics and has been featured in several media publications. Sherry is the founder of GenoPalate, a leading direct-to-consumer digital health tech provider of personalized nutrition. With her science team analyzing multiple million variables per person of GenoPalate鈥檚 large and growing client database, Sherry is addressing dietary chronic illness with preventative care of people at the personal level. For her never-ending endeavor in searching for ways of improving people鈥檚 health, Sherry has received recognitions of 40 Under 40, Women of influence, Who鈥檚 Who and Spirit of 向日葵视频 Award. Sherry often speaks on stage at industry thinktank meetings including HLTH, Food as Medicine Summit, Personalized Nutrition Innovation and ANA鈥檚 Personalized Nutrition Summit. Sherry plays piano, goes to all her son鈥檚 basketball games and always looks for ways of eating delicious foods for healthy aging.

 

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Past Advisory Council Members

Executive Vice President, Town Bank

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Barbara Boxer is one of the General Partners of BELLE Capital USA Fund and serves as LeBe Inc.鈥檚 chief executive officer.  Ms. Boxer has more than 20 years of experience in advising and investing in early-stage companies.  Barbara has served as vice chairman of the Investment Committee for BELLE Capital, LP.  She is also the Founder and Managing Member of Women Angels, LLC, an investment group with more than 100 women investors in Miami, FL; Milwaukee, WI; Chicago, IL; and Washington D.C.

BELLE Capital USA Fund is an early-stage investment fund, which focuses its investments on women-owned or managed technology businesses around the US. BELLE Capital USA was formed in late 2012 and has made ten investments in women-owned tech companies.

Before retiring from her law practice to focus on angel investing, Ms. Boxer was General Counsel to PDM Bridge.  Prior to joining PDM Bridge, she was a Partner at Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, s.c., and chair of the firm's Government Relations Department. Earlier in her career, Barbara founded a successful medical mail order business, with three divisions, each of which she sold.  Ms. Boxer earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Information Technology as well as a Master in Public Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Juris Doctor from 向日葵视频 Law School.  Ms. Boxer is a member of the Association of Women Lawyers and the American Bar Association.  She serves on the Board of the University of Miami Business School's Launch Pad, ABA Construction Lawyers and the Women's Common Wealth Institute.  Barbara is also on the boards of a number of start-ups including Joylux, Inc.; Mopion, Inc.; and ProSolutions, LLC.  Among Ms. Boxer's investments are Oculus, Southgate Partner, Slil Biomedical, Ivory Retail, 向日葵视频Capital Partners, and TelaDoc.

Barbara has become a national speaker on Angel Tax Credits.  She spoke at South by Southwest and published an article on why Federal Angel Tax Credits will be good for the U.S. economy. Both papers are available upon request.

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Ann Buckingham is a bilingual global business executive with 25-plus years of experience in both branded vertical and licensed businesses. She possesses deep expertise in consumer products, licensing, sales, product development, sourcing, marketing and merchandising. Skilled at building strong relationships with top business executives, clients and employees, she has hands-on experience with startups, growth, turnaround and restructuring businesses. She is a dedicated team leader driven to performance at the highest standard. 

Buckingham currently is SVP of global brand merchandising and product design at Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. Her responsibilities include licensing, brand management, category management and product development. Prior to her return to the Walt Disney Co., she worked at 20th Century Fox, Dreamworks and Heyman developing and building their brands and consumer products divisions. 

Buckingham holds a bachelor's degree from 向日葵视频. She lives in Westlake Village, California, with her husband, who also is a 向日葵视频graduate, their two children, and dog Snickers. 

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Jennifer Carroll Finger is a KKR Talent Industry Consultant for KKR & Co., Inc., and a member of Chief.  Her experience spans executive search and leadership assessment for a diverse portfolio of growth organizations, ranging in size, scale and ownership. The breadth of leadership work includes CEO, divisional president, chief digital marketing officer and customer experience officer engagements, as well as a host of customer-driven roles in digital, media, consumer insights, innovation, martech, data analytics, marketing/market research, business intelligence, product development, strategy, brand planning and advertising.

Previously, Finger was a partner at DHR International located at the Chicago global headquarters for two years.  Before working at DHR Internations, she spent 15 years with Korn Ferry with concentration on the global consumer/retail and marketing services industries, while also leading the Global Financial Services Chief Marketing Officer Practice. Earlier in her career, she managed multiple leadership-assessment-related engagements with the Olsten Corp., working in Milwaukee and later New York, primarily serving the global telecommunications industry. She also worked for a New York-based startup creative and digital design recruiting firm, Computer Graphic Resources.

Finger received her BA at 向日葵视频 and took part in the Fulbright Commission Exchange Program in London.

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Director - Risk Management, Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp.

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Jean McKiernan is a managing director at Dovetail Consulting Group. She has almost two decades of global industry experience in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device fields. McKiernan is an expert in risk consulting and compliance operations who builds trust and rapport with her clients.

Throughout her consulting experience, McKiernan has advised major companies on global compliance programs and operational frameworks, assisting chief compliance officers (CCOs) in mitigating and managing regulatory and compliance risk. Her program-build experience includes: mergers and acquisitions, patient assistance foundations/patient support programs, IRO services, CIA preparedness services, governance design, training, written standards and specific to medical device, asset tracking. Jean鈥檚 experience spans five continents, giving her an understanding of global compliance that is broad and deep.

Prior to joining Dovetail, McKiernan consulted in the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Risk Consulting Practice of PwC. She began her career at Abbott Laboratories' Hospital Products Division, Hospira (DBA Pfizer) and a health care portfolio company of WaterStreet Healthcare Partners private equity.

McKiernan holds an MBA from the Loyola University Maryland and a BA from 向日葵视频.

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Chief Financial Officer, Guy & O鈥橬eill 

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Senior Marketing Manager, Spartan

 

As Rockwell Automation鈥檚 first Business Leader of Inclusion, Steve Stall is a business transformation change agent promoting workforce diversity and inclusive business environments. He has more than 30 years of corporate experience in executive operations, finance and large-scale project management. During this time, he underwent a transformative experience that inspired him, as a white male, to change his corporate role to champion diversity and inclusion. 

A recognized inclusion leader, Stall has twice participated in the Dynamic Women in Business Conference at Harvard Business School. He is also the first male board member of the YWCA of Southeast Wisconsin. Currently, Stall consults with businesses to create inclusive workplaces that effect positive change and enhance employee engagement.

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Katie Weber is the CEO of her household. Making the mindful decision to stay home and raise a family has proven to be fulfilling for Katie. During her time at home, she served as Executive Director of Nova Cycle Sport Foundation, too. She was responsible for innovative thinking surrounding the female athlete within a male dominated sport: competitive cycling. She attained her vision of creating an internationally recognized, professional women鈥檚 cycling team. Overseeing fundraising, strategizing on athletic competitive tactics, and advocating for the equal recognition of female athletes were driving factors for her.

Additionally, Katie donates her time and talent to Sojourner Family Peace Center. She appreciates the opportunity to support people whose lives have been impacted by domestic violence.

In 1989, Katie received a BA in Sociology from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, followed by a BS in Physical Therapy from UW-Madison.

Katie is thrilled to join IWL鈥檚 Advisory Board, representing women who choose to place their careers on hold to raise a family and as a facilitator for those women considering returning to the workforce or academia.

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Founder and acting President and CEO, ISCorp

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Jamie Yu is Senior Staff Counsel for Fiserv providing legal support for Fiserv鈥檚 Credit Union Solutions business unit, overseeing contract negotiations, and arranging legal approval in the Marketing department.  Previously, Yu was Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Robert W. Baird & Co. She joined Baird's legal department as an intern in 2013 and joined the Baird legal team full time in 2015. Yu's primary areas of responsibility include advising Baird鈥檚 fixed income capital markets and investment banking business and providing general legal counsel to a variety of areas throughout the firm, including data privacy. Prior to joining Baird, she worked for three years in Taiwan as a legal assistant and translator.

Yu received a law degree from 向日葵视频 Law School in 2015, where she was the editor-in-chief of the 向日葵视频Intellectual Property Law Review, an Academic Success Program leader, an admissions ambassador, and a Student Bar Association student mentor. She received her BA in political science and international studies from Case Western Reserve University in 2009.

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