Aletha Akers

Dr. Aletha Akers is a faculty member at PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and an adolescent gynecologist and medical director of Adolescent Gynecology Consultative Services in the Craig-Dalsimer Division of Adolescent Medicine at CHOP. Aletha also leads a research group that assesses strategies for improving access and quality of reproductive health services for adolescents.

Catherine Barbieri

Catherine Barbieri is a partner in Fox Rothschild LLP who practices in the area of employment law. Catherine has extensive experience in a full range of employment matters, including discrimination, harassment and wrongful termination suits, restrictive covenant litigation, wage and hour compliance, whistleblower matters and counseling and litigation avoidance. For many years, she has been named a “Super Lawyer” and “Rising Star” by Philadelphia Magazine and Law and Politics Magazine. She was also recognized as a “2010 Lawyer on the Fast Track” by The Legal Intelligencer. As an avid author and speaker, Catherine lectures regularly to attorneys, human resource professionals and executives on disability and accommodation issues, managing leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act and responding to harassment complaints. Catherine serves on the Firm's Diversity Committee and the Steering Committee of its Women's Initiative. She is a Past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Women’s Law Project, and currently serves on its Board and the Corporate Executive Board of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Myra Brown

Myra Brown is the CEO and owner of NWON Opportunities a MWBE Certified (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey) workforce development, recruitment, and retention management company located in Center City Philadelphia. Throughout her long and honored career Myra has been an advocate for the disenfranchised to gain sustainable and long term employment. 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. 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.

Celeste Collins

Celeste is the Chief Human Resources and Inclusion Officer for Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC). Since 2005, she has been responsible for the strategic HR leadership and direction for one of the largest regional nonprofit public health organizations in the nation. Celeste is a key member of the senior leadership team at PHMC, participating in and contributing to decisions that effect the overall future direction of the organization.

Celeste has diverse and significant knowledge, insight and leadership in Human Resources. With a team of (18), she leads human resources strategy, policy and administration; benefits and compensation; employee relations; employment practices and procedures; and employee communications. This encompasses recruitment, selection, retention, compliance, employee learning and development, employee risk and safety, and overall talent management. She also has leadership oversight for ODL and Quality.

Denise E. Collins

Denise E. Collins is Vice-President of Bock Development Group, a real estate development company based in Philadelphia. She is also the owner of DEC Consulting, LLC which provides services for business and real estate development. Her prior experience includes more than 25 years as a health care executive with responsibility for strategic planning, marketing and government relations as well as operational responsibility for post-acute services. She received a Bachelor of Science from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Business Administration from Temple University.

Paula Crowley

Paula Crowley was recently recognized by the Real Estate Forum – Women of Influence as one of the top 45 female executives making a difference in commercial real estate. Paula is chair emeritus of Anchor Health Properties, the healthcare development and management firm she co-founded over thirty years ago. She is the former chair of WOMEN’S WAY as well as the former chair of the board of The High Company in Lancaster, Pa. Ms. Crowley currently is a member of the Board of Directors of Global Medical REIT based in Bethesda, Md. and also teaches a healthcare real estate development course in the MBA program at Villanova University.

Brenda DeFeo

Brenda DeFeo has more than 20 years of management experience in healthcare and hospital administration. She is currently a Vice President for Bryn Mawr Hospital where she directs clinical support services, outpatient services and the oncology and pediatrics service lines. Brenda currently serves on the board of WOMEN'S WAY and is a trustee of the Valentine Foundation. She has also served as the Chair of the Maternity Care Coalition’s Corporate Advisory Committee and is a board member and treasurer of the Women’s Resource Center.

Don Forcey

Don Forcey is an IT Executive at Vanguard where he has served in various roles across Data Center Operations during his 23 years there. He earned his undergraduate degree from Penn State University and holds a Master’s degree from St. Joseph’s University. Don is active with Home of the Sparrow, Adult Care of Chester County and is on the board of WOMEN'S WAY.

Gail Howard, Ed. D.

Gail Howard is Managing Director and a Senior Consultant at Liberty Business Strategies, Ltd. She brings to her position over 25 years of experience as a consultant, executive coach, and Human Resources leader. She incorporates the best practices of both “insider” practical experiences with “outsider” objectivity to support leadership and corporate excellence in her work.

Jennedy Johnson

Jennedy Johnson is an Assistant General Counsel at PECO Energy Company. In this role she advises senior management in all areas of regulatory law, including utility and administrative law and ethics. She also represents the company in matters before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Jennedy is a Pro Bono Coordinator for PECO and also maintains a substantial pro bono practice. She volunteers with numerous organizations including the Homeless Advocacy Project, the SeniorLAW Center, the Nationalities Service Center, and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. Additionally, Jennedy serves on the Boards of the Homeless Advocacy Project and Women’s Way.

She is a member of the Bars of the Supreme Court of the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She earned her J.D. (cum laude) from the University of Pittsburgh and her B.S. from Pennsylvania State University. Jennedy is also the proud mother of three daughters.

Julie P. Laine

Julie Laine is currently the Vice President, Chief Transaction Compliance Officer and Senior Deputy General Counsel at Comcast Corporation. Julie is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the College of William & Mary Law School. She is a member of Women in Cable & Telecommunications and a graduate of the Betsy Magness Leadership Institute. Julie is also a member of the Federal Communications Bar Association and is a former co-chair of the FCBA’s New England Chapter.

Adam 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.

Joanna Otero-Cruz

Joanna Otero-Cruz serves as Deputy Managing Director for the Community Services cabinet. Within this post, Mrs. Otero-Cruz leads and oversees’ operations for 311, the Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Community Life Improvement Program (CLIP), and the Office of Civic Engagement and Volunteer Services and Town Watch Integrated Services. Previously, Mrs. Otero-Cruz led Pennsylvania’s oldest Latino non-profit organization, Concilio, where she oversaw the organization’s foster care services, youth development programming, and children’s health work. She serves as Pennsylvania Commissioner for the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs, is a member of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence and served on the CEIBA Coalition. Mrs. Otero-Cruz holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Peirce College in Business Administration with a concentration in management.

Katie Quinn

Katie Quinn is an audit Senior Manager in the Philadelphia office of Grant Thornton, LLP. She has over ten years of experience serving 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.

Marguerite C. Weese Raab

Marguerite C. Weese Raab is a Director of Wealth and Fiduciary Planning at Wilmington Trust. She holds a Juris Doctorate and Master of Laws in Taxation from Villanova University’s Charles Widger School of Law and earned her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Maryland. Marguerite is also a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Probate and Trust Section’s Executive Committee and a prior chair of the section’s tax committee.

Cynthia Ritter

Cynthia Ritter is the Chief Financial and Administration Officer for ZogSports & ZogCulture, a community-focused recreational service company based in New York City. Prior to her current role, she was vice president at Tyco International where she held several roles, including strategic planning, operations and corporate finance. Cynthia has made a personal commitment to focus her time in organizations that have a direct social impact, particularly with girls and women. In addition to serving as the WOMEN'S WAY Board Chair, she coaches cheerleading at New Foundations Charter School, is an executive mentor for WOMEN Unlimited, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Arts Condominium and the Duttine-Cavataio Fund.

Johanna Rossell

Johanna Rossell is the Vice President of Launch Excellence at Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. In her role, Johanna works with Development and Brand Teams to enhance the strategic preparations of future launch brands Johanna has experience in developing, leading and delivering successful commercial strategies. Her experience spans global Marketing, franchise leadership, market research, operations, and sales leadership, digital and cross cultural marketing. She has gained her expertise across geographies spanning Latin America, North America and Europe and across major pharmaceutical companies, most recently at Merck, prior to that at Novartis, and Procter and Gamble. Johanna is a Computer Engineer by training and an MBA from Simon Bolivar University in Caracas, Venezuela.

Lauren Winchester

Lauren Winchester is a Privacy Breach Response Services manager for Beazley Group in Philadelphia where she guides policyholders through suspected and confirmed data privacy and cyber security incidents. Prior to Beazley Group, Lauren was an Associate in the Litigation Department of Fox Rothschild, LLP. She received her J.D., cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law where she served as an Articles Editor of the Seton Hall Law Review. Lauren also received a BS in Political Science at Carnegie Mellon University.

Mims Maynard Zabriskie

Mims Maynard Zabriskie is a partner at Morgan Lewis who advises on complex executive compensation and employee benefit plan matters. She counsels large publicly and privately owned businesses, including Fortune 500 enterprises, technology companies, and universities on a range of legal issues related to executive compensation governance, and employee benefit plans. She also represents executives in the negotiation of employment agreements and equity compensation, including in connection with transactions. She advises on benefits and executive compensation issues that arise during major corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, sales, IPOs, and spinoffs. Active in a variety of professional and civic organizations, she is listed in Chambers USA and Best Lawyers in America.