Staff Members
Diane Cornman-Levy
Chief Disruptor She/herDiane Cornman-Levy
Watch VideoDiane brings more than 30 years of nonprofit leadership, coalition building, community organizing, and fundraising experience to WOMEN’S WAY. A tireless advocate for gender and racial equity, Diane joined WOMEN’S WAY in January 2017 after running for State Representative of the 168th District. Diane was also co-founder and executive director of two non-profits, both of which work to improve education and economic equity for families. In each of these positions, Diane challenged the status quo by forging cross-sector partnerships and designing new programs that increased economic and educational opportunities for families, teens, self-taught artists with mental health challenges, and returning citizens. During her tenure at WOMEN’S WAY, she led the transformation of the organization including designing a new brand, creating new grantmaking programs, building a citywide, collaborative initiative to advance the economic security of women, and leading a year-long intervention to embed antiracism in every aspect of WOMEN’S WAY.
Diane currently is a member of the Forum of Executive Women and two FORUM committees: Pay Equity and Public Sector Leadership Committees, and a board member of the nonprofit organization, LiveWell.
Growing up in a family that was deeply committed to social justice built the foundation of Diane's diverse career as a community activist, healthcare professional, educator, and non-profit leader. Diane is a long-term resident of Delaware County where she graduated from Radnor High School and then received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Brown University and a Master of Science in Physical Therapy at Northwestern University.
Leadership profile on Diane
Email: dcornmanlevy@womensway.org
Caroline Jones
Communications and Events Intern She/herCaroline Jones
Caroline has spent the majority of her life in the hospitality industry, however, she's ecstatic to be making her first step into the world of women's rights and social justice! She’s worked within the Philadelphia restaurant scene since the age of 17 and finds customer service and adaptability to be two of her strongest characteristics because of it.
Spending most of her life in northwest/ north Philadelphia, Caroline has always had an immense desire to fight for marginalized people. From volunteer work with community organizations to simply assisting her elderly neighbors, she prides herself on assisting her community members, in addition to informing them on the impact of racial disparities within Philadelphia.
Caroline attended Ursinus College with a concentration in Communications and minors in both Africana and Latin American studies. She is eager to apply these studies in more aspects of her professional LIFE. Caroline is thrilled to be taking the first step of this journey with the WOMEN'S WAY Team and can't wait to see what knowledge she will gain.
Email: cjones@womensway.org
Jessica Muslin
Chief Impact Officer She/herJessica Muslin
Jessica’s passion for gender equality issues developed during her studies at the University of Vermont, where she earned her BA with a double major in Women’s Studies and Sociology. While attending UVM, she volunteered as a hotline counselor for the Women’s Rape Crisis Center in Burlington.
Jessica pursued a career in finance, beginning as a Sales Assistant at Raymond James & Associates in New York, where she progressed to eventually hold a position as Vice President. After 16 years in finance, Jessica decided to return to her roots and true calling in non-profit work focused on benefiting women and girls, joining the Young Woman’s Initiative in March of 2015 and then the Advisory Board in July.
Jessica was the Director of Operations for Women’s Way from June 2016 - August 2021. She was promoted to Chief Impact Officer in September of 2021. Jessica lives in South Philly with her husband, two step children, 3 cats, and dog.
Email: jmuslin@womensway.org
Misha Rodriguez
Manager of Communications She/herMisha Rodriguez
With 5 years of experience in community development and communications, Misha sees herself as a connector, bringing stories to life to impact social change and build community. Her personal and professional background in community engagement and bridging cultures and languages supports her passion for amplifying the people, voices, and stories of different lived experiences.
As the Manager of Communications, Misha is excited to grow the communications strategy at WOMEN'S WAY in order to inspire and mobilize movements in the region towards gender and racial equity.
Misha graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Franklin & Marshall College. She currently lives in South Philly where she loves spending time with her friends and family and getting involved in her community.
Email: mrodriguez@womensway.org
Mary Scout
Controller She/herMary Scout
Mary has been a part of the WOMEN’S WAY team for over 25 years.
She began her career at PriceWaterhouse in 1965 and has been a CPA since 1967. She then worked at the Pitcairn Company in Jenkintown for over 17 years as a Vice-president of Taxation.
Mary is a professional registered parliamentarian. She serves WOMEN’S WAY as its parliamentarian, and also serves the NJ PTA and Dance Masters of America. Mary has served on the board of several women’s organizations and is currently treasurer for her church. She is a graduate of Drexel University, with a degree in accounting.
Mary is married and resides in Medford, NJ.
Email: mscout@womensway.org
Kelly Sheard
Director, Gender Wealth Institute She/herKelly Sheard
Kelly Sheard is a Philadelphia native with extensive experience in program management, civic engagement and education. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a Master's in Social Work and later Drexel University with a Master's in Educational Improvement and Transformation.
As the new Director of the Gender Wealth Institute for Women's Way, Kelly is excited to work with partners to advance a feminist economic agenda that supports the collective power of all women in this region. She believes strongly in the power of organizing, relationship building and public problem solving and is excited to bring those values to the leadership of the Gender Wealth Institute.
Prior to this role, Kelly worked in education, leading programs in adult education, civic engagement and leadership development for youth. She is a proud and active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated and enjoys spending time with loved ones; most importantly, her son Miles.
Email: ksheard@womensway.org
Board Members
Laura Belmont
Board Vice Chair She/herLaura Belmont
Laura Belmont is General Counsel of Civis Analytics, Inc., a data analytics technology and services company, where she advises on and supports all aspects of the business and drives legal and compliance strategy and initiatives, including relating to data protection, privacy, regulatory compliance, IP, commercial, corporate, and employment law. Prior to joining Civis, she was in-house counsel at Comcast Cable, where she was responsible for designing, implementing, and enhancing compliance and ethics programs for the Cable Division across an array of legal areas. Before that, Laura was a litigation associate at Latham & Watkins, LLP and a staff attorney at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.
In Fall 2020, Laura served as a Regional Voter Protection Director for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party / Coordinated Biden-Harris Campaign. She volunteers with numerous organizations relating to civic engagement and equity and inclusion. She is a member of the Forum of Executive Women, a Charter Member of TechGC, and a member of the University of Pennsylvania Inn of Court. In May 2021, Laura was named by the Legal Intelligencer as one of Pennsylvania’s Lawyers on the Fast Track for her professional, personal, and civic work to improve the legal landscape in the Commonwealth.
Laura is a member of the Bars of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. She holds a B.A. from Harvard University and a J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law.
Caitlyn Boyle
she/herCaitlyn Boyle
Caitlyn Boyle is a Senior Channel Marketing Associate at J.P. Morgan Chase, where she manages marketing campaigns for co-branded Chase credit cards. Prior to joining JPMC, she had an extensive career in public service with more than 14 years experience in education and government at the state and local levels. Caitlyn joined Mayor Kenney's Office of Children and Families in 2016, where she connected partners and providers to school communities to meet the most pressing needs for students and families, including healthcare, career opportunities, and financial empowerment.
Previously, Caitlyn taught high school English Literature and middle school Special Education in Philadelphia charter schools. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania.
Caitlyn is a Philadelphia native and the proud mother of two little girls who inspire her daily to help make their world a safer, more equitable place.
Myra Brown
Board Chair she/herMyra Brown
Myra Brown is the CEO and owner of NWON Opportunities, LLC, a MWBE Certified (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey) workforce development, recruitment, and retention management company located in Center City Philadelphia. NWON Opportunities provides work readiness and career preparedness workshops and training to job seekers. They help businesses meet their staffing needs while building a skilled workforce.
Throughout her long and honored career, Myra has been an advocate for the disenfranchised to gain sustainable and long-term employment. With 34 years of Senior Human Resources and Executive Leadership experience, she has held positions as Director of the Philadelphia branch of CareersUSA; Regional Business Services Director for PA Careerlink; Deputy Executive Director of a local Human Services agency; and Director of Human Resources and Diversity for the Philadelphia Orchestra Association.
Ms. Brown is a graduate of Temple University with a BA in Communications and MBA. She is a certified Professional Human Resources and has been an instrumental member of the Boards of Directors for SOSNA, Family Legacy Organization, Girls Rock Philly, The Aids Law Project of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia International Airport Capacity Enhancement Project.
Myra was recently named a 2019 Woman Up and Minority Business Leader of the Year by the Philadelphia Business Journal. She is a Goldman Sachs 10KSB Alumni.
Radiance Bucknor
she/herRadiance Bucknor
Radiance Bucknor is a Relationship Manager with Bank of America’s Healthcare, Education & Not-for-Profit group. Her role is to develop and maintain partnerships with healthcare systems, colleges and universities, cultural institutions, and traditional nonprofits in eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Prior to joining Bank of America, she was a relationship manager in Wells Fargo Bank’s Middle Market group, working with companies with revenue between $20MM and $1B. She then completed Wells Fargo’s Credit Management Training Program in San Francisco before joining the Not-for-Profit Healthcare group in Philadelphia as a relationship manager.
Passionate about promoting diversity in business ownership, Radiance sits on the council of Bank of America’s Black/African American Owned Business Initiative. She also serves on the board of the Women’s Law Project – an organization that fights for gender equality and reproductive justice in PA.
Radiance earned a B.A. in political science from Bryn Mawr College, an M.B.A. in finance from Rutgers Business School and a J.D. from Rutgers Law School. She is licensed to practice law in New York and New Jersey* and holds Series 7 and Series 63 registrations.
*Radiance does not practice law in her current role with Bank of America
Tamara Cobb
Tamara Cobb
Lifelong resident of Philadelphia, mother of three children, Community Health Worker, and graduate of the WOMEN'S WAY Change the Narrative Fellowship Program 2022.
With over 20 years of dedicated experience, I am a passionate advocate for positive change and community empowerment. I specialize in transforming lives through impactful conversations and connections, weaving threads of compassion into society's fabric. Finding joy in guiding those in need and building bridges of hope, I believe in the power of a single gesture to spark transformation.
I am eager to bring my expertise to collaborate with the WOMEN'S WAY Board, aligning my commitment to empathy and kindness. Together, we can create a world where compassion flourishes and our community thrives.
Taina Estremera
she/herTaina Estremera
Taina Estremera is the Project and Operations Manager with The Department of Behavioral Health & Intellectual Disabilities (DBHIDS). In this role, she supports large city-wide projects that address behavioral health services that include the transformation of crisis services in Philadelphia.
Taina is a master’s level behavioral health professional who utilizes evidence-based practices such as Eco-Systemic Structural Family Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and the Sanctuary Model.
Taina is also the Founder and CEO of Serene Consulting, a women of color-owned and operated consulting and coaching firm that is disrupting the typical idea of wellness and expanding it to a holistic framework that highlights an organization's overall well-being.
Taina’s involvement with WOMEN'S WAY began in 2017 as a lived experience expert. This role consisted of participating in the development of an equity audit tool for WOMEN'S WAY, the Financial Coach Training Program, and being part of the first Change the Narrative Fellowship cohort in 2021.
Taina’s mission is to equip women with tools and strategies to overcome barriers and empower women to step into their power.
Jenifer Groves
she/herJenifer Groves
Jenifer Groves is a queer woman with a Master’s degree in both Business and Education. She is currently the Director of Physician Practices at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children working to increase access and improve health outcomes for the most intentionally and systemically marginalized children of Philadelphia.
Jen formerly served as the Vice President of Clinical Administration for the Women’s Centers; an organization committed to linking pregnant people to their abortion care. Prior to that, she helped to design and create the PEACE Clinic at The University of Pennsylvania Hospital, developing hospital-based abortion and miscarriage services for medically complex pregnant patients that could not be seen in an outpatient setting, along with both a Residency and Fellowship training program in Family Planning.
She serves on the Board of the New Jersey Family Planning League, is a committeeperson for The Abortion Care Network’s Racial Justice & Equity initiative, volunteers with the Prison Health Network, and is a Girl Scout Leader committed to guiding girls to make this world better place- because it can be.
Adrian Harris
Treasurer he/himAdrian Harris
Adrian Harris is a Managing Director and Market Manager with J.P. Morgan Private Bank for the Mid-Atlantic Region. Adrian oversees a team of bankers and other specialists to provide affluent individuals and families with a full suite of services, including investments, planning and trust services, banking, lending and philanthropic giving. He serves as a conduit to deliver the strengths of J.P. Morgan—the broad capabilities and intellectual capital that align with the specific needs and interests of his clients.
With a 30-year career spent entirely in private banking, Adrian has an impressive background that spans lending, investments, multi-family office services and sales. He began at National City Bank, where he had the distinction of being the youngest private banker in the organization. Adrian derives great satisfaction in tackling new challenges, and held Senior Management and National Director roles at BNY Mellon and PNC Bank. Most recently, he was responsible for nationwide sales, wealth strategy and the Delaware Trust Co. for Hawthorn, PNC Family Wealth.
Originally from Ohio, Adrian attended the University of Akron, where he earned a B.S. in Business Management. He holds Series 7, 63, 9 and 10 securities licenses.
Adrian and his wife, Susie, raised their adult son, Aubrey, in the Philadelphia area, and his family has deep ties in the community. He sits on the Jefferson Hospital President’s Leadership Council, a board comprising experienced advisors across multiple industries. Adrian is a graduate of Leadership Philadelphia, a program to enhance civic knowledge and awareness. Accomplished in martial arts, he holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Dr. Monique Howard, MPH
Dr. Monique Howard, MPH
Dr. Howard is the Senior Director of Women's Health Initiatives and the Director of Community Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania-School of Nursing. In these roles, she coordinates educational opportunities focusing on women's health with an eye to practice, research, education, and academic scholarship. Additionally, she mobilizes the community and addresses their needs as they relate to the intersection of School of Nursing scholarship and social determinants of health.
Monique has been a public health practitioner with a focus on women’s health for over 25 years. Her work and interests have led her to lead a statewide female-specific AIDS service organization in New Jersey, a maternal and child health organization in Pennsylvania, the New Jersey Department of Women’s Health, and most recently, the rape crisis center in Philadelphia. Dr. Howard excels in nonprofit management, fund development, creating strategic alliances, and mobilizing communities around sensitive topics. She is a thought leader on issues that impact women and communities.
Dr. Monique Howard holds a Bachelor of Science from Wagner College, a Master of Public Health from East Stroudsburg University, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. She also serves on the boards of the Wilson-Harrison Educational Foundation and the Nurses for Sexual and Reproductive Health.
Nan Hutchinson
Nan Hutchinson
Nan Hutchinson has over 33 years of experience in the Healthcare and Life Sciences industry, with a strong focus on commercialization and business operations.
Nan has served in multiple senior roles with pharmaceutical companies including as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales for URL Pharma, Inc. a privately held pharmaceutical company that was ultimately acquired by Takeda Pharmaceuticals. In her role a Senior Vice President of Marketing at Bristol Myers Squibb, she had general management responsibility for multi asset portfolios in excess of $2 billion and responsibility for global product launches. Additionally, she held positions of increasing responsibility in marketing, sales, product development, and global marketing during her 15-year tenure at Johnson & Johnson.
Nan has served as a Board Director of a publicly traded company, Cynapsus, (2014-2016) where she served as member of the Governance and Compensation Committee. During this time the company completed several milestones such as a re-IPO listing on the NASDAQ, and moving their product through Phase II clinical trials. Cynapsus was subsequently sold to Sunovian for over $600 million, at one of the highest multiples ever for a company of its size.
Nan currently serves as Lead Advisor in Life Sciences and Health Technology to Springboard, an organization that fosters and develops woman led companies. She was an Advisor to Curatio (2019-2021) a health technology firm aiming to link patients and improve health outcomes. She has consulted with multiple biotech and pharmaceutical companies to accelerate innovation, raise capital and scale commercial operations. Additionally, she has worked Temple University, Fox School of Business, since 2020 as an Adjunct Instructor and Program Executive.
Since 2014, Nan been on the leadership team for Executive Core, a premier global coaching and talent development firm. She works in Fortune 500 firms as a strong thought partner, coach, and objective sounding board for senior leaders and teams.
Nan has served on several not-for-profit boards such as Planned Parenthood of Mercer County, American Repertory Ballet, and Canadian Diabetes Association. In addition, she was a member of the Advisory Board to Acadia University business school and provided oversight to the strategic plan including design of a sustainable curriculum, facilities modernization, student recruitment, alumni affairs and repositioning the school brand identity.
A native of Nova Scotia, Canada, Nan has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Mount Allison University and an MBA from Boston University.
Adam B. Landau
CAIA he/himAdam B. Landau
Adam B. Landau, CAIA serves as Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Permit Capital Advisors, LLC. He is responsible for formulating and implementing the firm's investment strategy.
Prior to joining Permit, Adam served as Managing Director at McCabe Capital Managers, Ltd., working there from 1997 until 2011. Adam oversaw the integration of McCabe Capital's advisory efforts. This covered a rigorous process focused primarily on the various aspects of investment due diligence. Adam worked to optimize the structure of client portfolios to maximize the expected level of risk adjusted return. He served as one of two portfolio managers on three fund of funds products, including a hedge fund of funds and a socially responsible investment fund of funds, offered to clients of a number of major insurance carriers. Prior to joining McCabe, Adam spent four years at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DU) where he worked with both retail and institutional clients to develop asset allocation plans and construct appropriate equity and fixed income portfolios.
Adam received his M.B.A. {Finance) from Saint Joseph's University and a B.A. (Economics) from Rutgers University. He holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Philadelphia. Adam serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at C.B. Community School, a private high school dedicated to students from foster care, and the Board of Directors of Bancroft, an organization serving children and adults with developmental disabilities. He is also on the Advisory Board of the Field Center for Children's Policy, Practice & Research at the University of Pennsylvania, an interdisciplinary effort of Penn's Schools of Social Policy & Practice, Law, Medicine, and Nursing, and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, focused on child welfare reform. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors of The Committee of Seventy.
Laura LaRosa
she/herLaura LaRosa
Laura LaRosa is a Regional President for BNY Mellon Wealth Management. In this role, she works directly with clients to address their investment and wealth management needs across Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, DC, and Delaware.
Laura joined the firm in 2022 and has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Wealth Management, Laura spent over 25 years at Glenmede, an investment and wealth management firm overseeing $45B of assets under management for individual and institutional clients. During her three-decade career at Glenmede, Laura served as a member of the eight-person management committee and held a variety of senior roles, including director of Portfolio Management and earlier in her career, director of Fixed Income Management. Laura was integral in launching the company’s S&I practice and moderated numerous client events and programming. Most recently she led client development and business growth efforts as Executive Director and Laura is well-known for her leadership and mentoring professionals at all levels of career development.
Laura received a bachelor’s degree from University of Pennsylvania
Anita Lewis
she/herAnita Lewis
Anita M. Lewis sharpened her professional skills working in the non-profit, advertising, media, policy, government affairs and healthcare industries for over 20 years. Currently representing AmeriHealth Caritas as the Director of Government and External Affairs for the state of Pennsylvania, Anita serves as an advocate to protect and promote access to health care.
She works with staffers and members of the general assembly to avidly and consistently create policy that assures the state’s most fragile residents of the Commonwealth are provided seamless, quality coordinated health care services.
Prior to joining AmeriHealth, Ms. Lewis was the Legislative Program Manager at Health Partners Plans to partner educate and partner with federal and state legislators representing Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties regarding health care issues impacting their constituents.
While working for Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent J. Hughes she served as the Communications/ Public Relations Liaison. In this role she promoted the Senator’s activities, community events and pitched policy initiatives to the press. Hosted press conferences (both in the Capitol and within the district) to highlight the Senator’s accomplishments, including higher education preparation and other funding opportunities specifically, Pennsylvania’s first $1 million allocated for HIV testing and education programs.
Along with being one of the founding members and past president of the Philadelphia Black Public Relations Society (BPRS), Ms. Lewis was acknowledged as a member of the first installment of professional women recognized as Young Women Making a Difference, an initiative developed from Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown’s Women’s History Month event, Women Making a Difference Awards. She was acknowledged as a Philadelphia Leader in the Philadelphia Tribune Newspaper’s Most Influential Philadelphians and Philadelphia Leaders for multiple years and 2005 recognized as one of the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 40 Under 40.
She received her undergraduate degree from Temple University School of Journalism and obtained her Masters in Communication Research from the University of Akron in Ohio.
Linda Manfredonia
she/herLinda Manfredonia
Linda Manfredonia is a highly respected leader and an expert in the financial services industry with deep experience in business management and leadership, risk management, and fiduciary oversight. She has a strategic perspective as well as a deep and detailed understanding of the challenges faced by businesses in growing and rapidly changing environments. She recently retired from Glenmede Trust Company of Delaware, where she served as the President and CEO of the their Delaware Trust Company. Prior to that, she spent 32 years at PNC where she very successfully navigated through a groundbreaking regulatory transformation and built the first line of defense infrastructure for her division, balancing regulator demands and business realities.
In addition, Linda was a leader in completing multiple acquisitions and mergers for PNC, in the Asset Management Group. Linda is well known in her industry and has been a sought-after speaker and expert with industry associations. She is a former member of the Forum of Executive Women and has served on its’ Sponsorship Committee and Public Sector Committee. She has been a member of the Fiduciary and Investment Risk Management Association and the Trust Management Association. At PNC she led diversity initiatives and an Employee Resource Group for senior women and was a member of the corporate Diversity Council.
Linda has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from LaSalle University, a J.D. and an L.L.M. in Taxation from Temple University School of Law.
Maithili Pradhan
she/herMaithili Pradhan
Maithili Pradhan is an experienced and passionate diversity, equity, and inclusion advocate and practitioner who has spent over a decade building experience and expertise leading DEI in the corporate, tech, and legal industries. Her work is grounded in the principles of justice and equity that have anchored her since her early days as a human rights lawyer, and is guided by practical, real world experience with organizations interested in doing the right thing (which also happens to be the smart thing).
Maithili leads community inclusion strategy and initiatives as part of Google's DEI team, and has previously launched the administrative professionals-focused DEI initiative at Ballard Spahr LLP and led workforce diversity and external DEI engagement initiatives on the Comcast NBCUniversal D&I team. Before that, Maithili worked at Seneca Women, a boutique consulting firm working at the intersection of gender justice and corporate social responsibility, and led by Former U.S. Ambassador for Women Melanne Verveer. Maithili started her career as a human rights lawyer at the Center for Women and Justice at Cornell Law School, where she led research and advocacy projects focused on the rights of women and girls, and taught human rights law clinics.
Maithili received her B.A. from New York University and holds a J.D. from Cornell Law School with a joint degree, Master II - Droit et Globalisation Economique, from Sciences Po and the University of Paris I: Pantheon-Sorbonne. She is also a ceramic artist and writer, and a mentor with Heights Philadelphia.
Katie Quinn
she/herKatie Quinn
Katie Quinn is a Partner in the Philadelphia office of Grant Thornton, LLP. She serves publicly-traded and privately-held audit clients. Katie has assisted clients with technical accounting issues in an array of areas including, but not limited to, business combinations, consolidation and variable interest entity analysis, share-based compensation, complex debt and equity instruments and derivatives. Katie has helped clients with audit needs through all phases of their life cycle including formation and SEC registration, capital raising, investment and joint ventures structuring, consolidation, financial reporting, internal control implementation and testing, and liquidity events.
Katie is a certified public accountant in the state of Pennsylvania and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Pittsburgh.
Roopa Seshadri
she/herRoopa Seshadri
Roopa Seshadri is a quantitative social scientist whose work focuses on the impact of human services programs on health and wellbeing outcomes in vulnerable and underserved populations. She is a consultant with Hygieia Consulting, focusing on social impact strategy, evidence-informed decision-making and helping organizations towards a learning culture
Roopa was most recently the Director of Impact and Evaluation at Philabundance and oversaw evaluation, monitoring and learning across programs and initiatives, and was involved in the organization’s effort to move from relieving hunger now to ending hunger for good. Before that, Roopa conducted research at PolicyLab at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, and Lurie Children’s Hospital, partnering with stakeholders and policymakers in the public sector to evaluate and improve programs and policies that impacted child wellbeing. This included developing and evaluating a parenting training, job training and education services for young mothers of children in the Head Start program and an HHS-funded evaluation of a teen pregnancy prevention initiative in Chicago Public Schools.
Roopa was a domestic violence survivor advocate for over six years in Chicago and is currently a CASA/EDM volunteer in Philadelphia. Roopa earned a Ph.D. in Applied Statistics and an A.M. in Public Policy.
Britainy Stephens
Britainy Stephens
Britainy is a driven leader and community advocate. She is the Director of Operations for Benchmark Real Estate Partners, an MBE commercial development company that focuses on creating employment and affordable housing opportunities in underserved and underrepresented communities.
Stephens’ graduated with a BA in Afro-American Studies from Smith College and received her MSW in Clinical Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. Post graduation, she spent almost 6 years working for Jefferson Hospital, with 4 of those years at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center performing compassionate social advocacy services for underserved cancer populations.
Britainy’s journey into real estate started in 2018 after attending city-wide real estate investor workshops. In 2020 she began working with residential investors and developers in the city as a real estate agent. It was always important that her work in real estate also incorporated a way to help others. She began looking at the social and environmental impacts of real estate development and received her LEED AP designation. As a private developer she believes in employing tools and practices that will ensure the health, safety, and economic opportunities of the communities she works in.
Britainy also volunteers her time through board service. She sits on the advisory boards of Compass Working Capital, Progress Trust Inc, and The Urban Developers Association.
In her free time, she enjoys playing golf, tennis, and spending time with her boston terrier.
Ashlie Thornbury
Board Secretary she/herAshlie Thornbury
Ashlie Thornbury proudly serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors and is a member of the Development committee for WOMEN'S WAY. Ashlie also serves on the American Brain Tumor Association’s Volunteer Advisory Council.
Ashlie has built her career working with employers and early career talent. She currently manages employer partnerships at Handshake, a tech company with the mission to democratize access to job opportunities.
Ashlie lives in Fishtown with her husband, Tim, and two children, Zoa and Thea. Ashlie graduated from Temple University with a Bachelor's in Studio Art.