SOLD OUT: International Women’s Day | Virtual Speed Mentoring Event

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT. Contact ypin@world-affairs.org to inquire about joining the waitlist.

We are excited to announce that the Young Professionals International Network (YPIN) is returning its 2021 sold-out virtual event: the Annual International Women’s Day Speed Mentorship event. Mentees will have a chance to rotate through mini mentorship sessions with the Northwest’s top female leaders and hear from this year’s keynote speaker Julie Pham, CEO of CuriosityBased!

This event is perfect for early career women seeking to enhance their leadership potential, mid-career professionals looking to make a career change, or folks who are looking to accelerate their current trajectory. You will have the opportunity to gain industry insights, learn about new organizations, and build a network of exceptional women.

Before the event, we will follow up with registered participants with a form to collect your mentor preferences. We look forward to seeing you soon!

*This event will take place on Zoom with an optional evening happy hour to follow.

Keynote speaker:

Julie Pham, PhD is the CEO of CuriosityBased — a consulting practice that helps build connection, collaboration, and inclusion through fostering curiosity in the workplace. She headed community engagement at Washington Technology Industry Association from 2014-2020. She has also worked in marketing at Microsoft and Avidian Technologies. She got her “real life MBA” by running her family’s Vietnamese-language newspaper, Northwest Vietnamese News, during the 2008 recession. Before turning to business, Dr. Pham lectured at UC Berkeley and Vietnam National University-Hanoi and was the first managing editor at Journal of Vietnamese Studies. Dr. Pham serves as the Vice Chair of the Leadership Tomorrow Curriculum Committee and as the co-chair of the Community Involvement Commission (City of Seattle). She has served on the boards of Impact Hub, Social Venture Partners, MLK Business Association, and National Association of Asian American Professionals. She was honored as the winner of 2019 Female Founders Alliance Champion Awards in the Advocate category, a member of the 2018 Harvard Business School's Young American Leaders Program, a 2015 German Marshall Memorial Fellow, and a 2011 Puget Sound Business Journal ’40 under 40’ honoree. She earned her PhD in history at Cambridge University as a Gates Cambridge Scholar and graduated magna cum laude from UC Berkeley, where she studied history. She blogs for the South Seattle Emerald.

Meet the mentors:

Maya Babla Appiah is a diversity, equity & inclusion, and talent acquisition leader. Her vision is to create equitable access to employment for historically overlooked communities. Maya leads a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team at Amazon and previously led the Inclusive Hiring function at Microsoft.  After starting her career in the nonprofit global development sector in Washington, DC, she moved to San Francisco with the goal of mobilizing the immense talent and resources in the tech sector towards social impact goals through her work at LinkedIn.  Maya's areas of expertise and curiosity include women's leadership, employment access for immigrants and refugees, and workforce development.

Majd Baniodeh is a Senior Associate Director at APCO Worldwide based in Seattle, Washington. She specializes in the intersection of social impact and social justice and is a member of the firm’s Sustainability & Social Impact team. Ms. Baniodeh brings over a decade of experience driving social justice, social impact and equity programs & strategies in the U.S. and abroad. Prior to APCO, Ms. Baniodeh built the strategy and framework for Zillow’s DEI efforts in support of the company’s three-year commitment to create a more equitable workforce. She worked directly with senior leaders and their teams to build their equity muscle by designing the company’s first Leader Self-Assessment tool to determine a baseline of organization culture and leadership and putting a plan of action in place to address inequity. Ms. Baniodeh facilitated equity centered training for all employees, and through her license in Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), worked one on one with managers to effectively support their teams and build a culture where everyone could thrive. At Starbucks, Ms. Baniodeh led the implementation of Starbucks’ Refugee Hiring Initiative by fostering global partnerships with refugee focused nonprofits and government entities, leveraging the Starbucks Foundation to invest in job training programs in the U.S., and launching cultural competency trainings and manuals across U.S. stores and operations. Her work advanced the company’s goal of hiring and welcoming 10,000 refugees globally by 2022. Ms. Baniodeh holds a master’s degree in Applied International Studies from the University of Washington, and a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Seattle University. She was born and raised in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and speaks Arabic, English and French.

Robin Barr brings over fifteen years of international experience working with companies to procure responsibly produced materials and achieve corporate sustainability goals to her work as Earthworm Foundation’s Global Lead for Development and Community & Indigenous Rights.  This includes working with international brands, multinational commodity processors and producing companies in the palm oil, pulp and paper, soy and solid wood sectors to develop responsible global supply chains and transform their practices.  Her work has especially focused on implementation of policies ensuring respect for human rights and protection of forests and other critical ecosystems.  Robin is also Global Lead for the Centre of Social Excellence, a network of training centers focused on training Social Practitioners and building enabling environments for fulfilling human rights. She has worked extensively with programs in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia on how to ensure that land rights are respected, and that companies are treating local communities with respect.  She is also currently exploring how to help those working on environmental and social issues to learn new ways of thinking and engaging with the natural world from Indigenous knowledge holders. She holds a Master of Environmental Management degree from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Suman Bhat-Kincaid, a career relationship builder, has always believed that forging strong connections grounded in mutual respect are at the core of every successful partnership. For the last 9 years, she has worked in the nonprofit sector raising awareness and expanding financial support for healthcare organizations working both in the US and abroad. With specialties in corporate and foundation partnerships, she last served as Senior Corporate Partnerships Officer at Bloodworks Northwest, building strategy to increase institutional support around blood research, blood banking and transfusion services in the Pacific Northwest. Prior to Bloodworks, she spent nearly seven years at SightLife, a global health organization focused on restoring sight to the blind. Suman was the Manager of Corporate and Foundation Partnerships, supporting SightLife’s programs in India, China, Nepal and Ethiopia. Before she joined the nonprofit sector, she specialized in customer care, logistics and planning in the transportation industry, where she established customer care systems and built customer service departments from the ground up. Suman holds a BS in International Management from Butler University and an MPA from the University of Washington.

Kristen Borg graduated from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington in 2012 with her Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations. She started working at Google in 2016 as an Administrative Business Partner. In 2019, she transitioned to a Program Manager role and relocated to Seattle from the Bay Area. In addition to her core role, Kristen is a member of the Women@ ERG at Google and volunteers with Dog Gone Seattle and the Phinney Neighborhood Association.

Kipepeo Brown is the Chief Creative Officer for Strategies 360 and their creative agency, The Hilt, a role that integrates her experience in marketing, brand development and management, CRM and CEM, organizational strategy, communications, PR, advertising and community outreach together. Pep has worked for international, national and regional companies and non-profits across diverse B2B and B2C industries. She is a recognized leader of large and small multidisciplinary teams that execute strategic and creative results to drive engagement, thought-leadership and brand loyalty as well as profit and market share growth. With 20 years of experience spanning health care, architecture and design, public affairs and agencies among others, she has mastered the integration of creative services and business goals. Additionally, Pep is an advocate for diversity in education and has volunteered and served on the boards of several non-profit organizations including The Martinez Foundation and currently, The Technology Access Foundation (TAF). She is a Seattle native with a young son as well as a proud Husky and graduate of the University of Washington with degrees in communications and ethnic studies. As a self-described adrenaline junkie away from work, she enjoys high-speed motorsports and any activity outdoors.

Marsha Botzer has served the LGBTQIA+ and progressive communities for over 44 years. She has served on boards of Pride Foundation, Safe Schools, Lambert House, Seattle Counseling Service, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Marsha founded Seattle’s internationally known Ingersoll Gender Center. She is a founding member of Equality Washington, a founding member of Equal Rights Washington, an early member of Seattle’s Out In Front Leadership Project, and an early co-chair of Seattle’s first LGBTQ Commission. She served as co-chair of The National LGBTQ Task Force in 2005-6 and 2009-10. Marsha served as national co-chair of the 2008 Obama Pride Campaign and is a founding member of Seattle’s Generations Aging With Pride organization. She currently serves on the Martin Luther King County Labor Council Executive Board and is a founding member and current Commissioner of the Washington State LGBTQIA+ Commission. Awards include the Distinguished Scholar Award from Antioch University, the William O. Douglass Award from the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, the Dr. Robert Deisher Founder’s Award from Seattle Counseling Service, and the Washington State LGBTQ Bar Association Award for Community Service. Marsha Botzer has served the LGBTQIA+ and progressive communities for over 44 years. She has served on boards of Pride Foundation, Safe Schools, Lambert House, Seattle Counseling Service, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.

Julie Budkowski has over 15 years of experience in education and non-profit management and has spent her career empowering change through the development and growth of innovative programs. She received her Masters' in Education from Griffith University. After spending a year at sea as the School Director for Class Afloat, Julie's love and passion for the ocean blossomed, and upon immigrating to the United States, she took on the role of Global Operations Director for Future of Fish. In addition to overseeing the operations and management of Future of Fish's USA, Peru and Chile offices, she serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Museum and Center for Service.

Ghaddra González Castillo has more than twenty years of experience working around the world helping vulnerable populations in their healing process.  She is currently the Community Arts Liaison with Path with Art, a Seattle-based non-profit organization that provides arts opportunities to low-income adults recovering from trauma.  Ghaddra focuses on reaching underserved communities and has launched Latino and military veteran programs.  Previously, Ghaddra was Path with Art’s Program Director, where she led the conversion of the program to online at the outset of the COVID pandemic. She has also volunteered with Mary’s Place, Casa Latina, and the Fair Work Centre. Ghaddra spent 16 years living in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa where she worked with vulnerable populations, primarily women and children, to help them leverage art to move beyond the challenges they faced and recover from trauma.  She also worked at leading art museums in Budapest, Sharjah, and Singapore. Prior to that, she spent 13 years serving multinational corporations as an advertising executive with major agencies in the United States and Venezuela. Ghaddra has a BA in Communications from Universidad Central de Venezuela.

Chelsie Frank Chan Like many people, Chelsie found herself reflecting on life, priorities, and career goals amidst the pandemic and after 15+ years working as an international non-profit leader, she decided to make a change. She leapt into the corporate world of recruiting. She now works for Google as a technical recruiter, building relationships for personal change and social progress. Leveraging her skills in networking, partnership management, cross cultural humility, and commitment to building a more just and equitable world she invites talented engineers to join Google’s security team. These engineers keep billions of users safe and secure Google’s infrastructure. Before joining Google, she served as Key Partnerships Advisor at World Vision stewarding faith-based relationships in the PNW and then pioneering a national speaking program as the Manager of the Speakers Bureau. Most recently she worked as an International Fundraising Director for Tearfund USA leading strategic relationships with Trusts and Foundations. Prior to that, she spent 4 years in Eastern DR Congo acting as a liaison between church communities in the Twin Cities and indigenous-led Christian NPOs. While in Congo she established the Service-Learning Program at Universite Chretienne Bilingue du Congo. This program created an institutional structure for service-learning, trained Congolese professors in service-learning methodology, and fostered partnerships between the community and university. Her professional experience in America, South Africa, Kenya, Brazil, and DRC spans across sectors: higher education, faith-based programming, sustainable agriculture and animal husbandry, fundraising, public relations, youth empowerment, and advocacy. A lover of language, she is fluent in Swahili, with proficiency in French and Spanish.

Sara Cubillos is a Planner for Seattle Public Utilities within their Drainage and Wastewater Planning and Program Management Division. She is currently a lead for Shape Our Water, a 50 year plan for Seattle’s water resilience. Her career has focused on creative engagement and collaboration with cross sector stakeholders, especially communities that have been historically underrepresented in environmental decision making and investments. Before Seattle Public Utilities, she was the Equity & Environment Program Coordinator at Seattle’s Office of Sustainability & Environment where she supported the creation of Seattle’s Equity and Environment Agenda.  Sara holds a BA in Public Affairs from Seattle University and a Master of Urban Planning from the University of Washington. Outside of municipal work Sara serves as a Board Member for Community Roots Housing, an affordable housing developer and is a mentor for the University of Washington’s College of Built Environment’s Professional Council.

Amanda Daylong is a partner at Floyd, Pfluger & Ringer, P.S. – a litigation firm in Seattle, Washington that specialises in trial advocacy and complex litigation matters. Before practicing at FPR, Amanda was a judicial clerk for the Honorable Lisa Sutton in Division 2 of the Washington State Court of Appeals. The law is Amanda’s second career. Before entering law school, Amanda worked with start up small businesses, non-profits, and future Fortune 500 companies—strategically planning growth, financing, human capital, and allocation of resources. Amanda’s breadth of knowledge and experiences provides her with a unique perspective in her law practice and to her clients.  Outside of practice, Amanda enjoys connecting and mentoring collegians and young professionals from all backgrounds, and spending time with her husband behind home plate watching their teenage son play baseball.

Kathleen A. Doty is an Advisor for Treaties & Agreements at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). She has more than ten years of international law experience and specializes in international security governance. Prior to joining PNNL, Doty served as Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center at the University of Georgia School of Law. There, she taught and conducted research on international law issues ranging from the DPRK sanctions regime to the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. Previously, she practiced treaty law as Assistant Counsel for International Law and Arms Control at the U.S. Department of the Navy, Office of the General Counsel. She has also held staff positions with the American Society of International Law, the California International Law Center, and served as a judicial clerk on the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals. Doty’s leadership positions have included Vice Chair of the Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict, and Chair of the Non-Proliferation, Arms Control, and Disarmament Interest Group of the American Society of International Law. She served as an NGO observer at the U.N. High Level Meeting of the General Assembly on Nuclear Disarmament, the 63d Session on the Commission of the Status of Women, and Guantánamo military commissions proceedings in the case of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. Her writing has appeared in law reviews and online at IntLawGrrls. Doty received her Bachelor of Arts cum laude from Smith College and her Juris Doctor from the University of California-Davis School of Law. 

Yvonne Eldridge works within Nike, Inc. Global Marketplace Procurement as Senior Manager, leading global efforts in strategy development, tactical execution, contract structuring and negotiations, and cross-functional collaboration that most closely touches the digital and in-store consumer experience. Yvonne is a WNS – Denali consulting alumni previously based in Bellevue, WA, prior to joining Nike, and worked as Director of Operations for Self Service Networks software. She holds a BA in Public Relations and brings more than 20 years of experience in operations, business development, program and team development, procurement, and vendor management. Yvonne finds her balance in triathlon, yoga, and the PNW outdoors, and serves on professional committees for the advancement of culture and community and phenomenal females in the workplace.

Harini Gokul is a global business leader helping customers accelerate their digital transformation. In her 20+ years at Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, she has built, grown, and scaled cloud businesses to accelerate customer transformation and value realization. Her leadership experience spans strategy, product marketing, partner, and customer facing roles. Harini is a thought leader in customer success with experience building,and leading customer success across a range of customers including enterprises, ISVs, and startups. At AWS, she currently leads Customer Success for the most innovative and hypergrowth startups and platform solutions. Her global experience spans India, Europe and the United States. Harini is a strategic leader recognized for thinking big, building high-performing teams, and enabling scale. Harini is an investor and advisor to B2B startups. She is a speaker and thought leader on technology, innovation, and the future of work. She is also an elected council member for the city of Medina, WA and is on the board of the Washington Technology Industry Association. Harini is an engineering graduate and received her MBA from Vanderbilt University.

Alejandra Gonza is Director of Global Rights Advocacy, a Seattle based non-profit dedicated to use international human rights mechanisms. Formerly, she was the Director of the International Human Rights Clinic at the University of Washington’s School of Law, where she now teaches Human Rights Advocacy as an Affiliate Professor of Law. An Argentine lawyer, Gonza served as an attorney at the Inter-American Commission and the Inter-American Court, and has litigated before both institutions. She has published on several topics on human rights, such as freedom of expression, personal liberty, indigenous rights and property rights. She was a visiting scholar at the University of Notre Dame Law School.

Adi Hanein is the communications, education and outreach coordinator for NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. At PMEL, Adi works to communicate laboratory research results on a variety of topics such as ocean sound, tsunamis, ocean acidification, and climate. She also leads PMEL's education efforts by leading tours, running the summer intern program and leading outreach activities with K-12 students and the public. Prior to NOAA, she got her Masters in Marine Affairs from the University of Washington School of Marine and Environmental Affairs and was a Sea Grant Marine Policy Fellow working in the marine biotoxin program at the Washington Department of Health analyzing their data and supporting the recreational shellfish program. She has a bachelor's of science from the University of California - Davis in evolution, ecology and biodiversity where she began her love for all things invertebrates and shellfish! Originally from Israel, Adi now lives in Seattle, WA and enjoys traveling, spending time outdoors (when the weather is nice), cooking/baking, and trying out new restaurants.

Claudia Harner-Jay is the Deputy Director of PATH's Market Dynamics program, with 20 years of experience developing markets and creating and overseeing partnerships with private, public, and international organizations to solve global health and agricultural problems. In her current role, she oversees a portfolio of projects across child health, maternal health, reproductive health, and WASH; designs, develops and implements health technology market access strategies globally; and provides technical guidance and managerial leadership to project teams. Before joining the Market Dynamics program, Claudia led PATH's Innovation Countdown 2030 initiative to identify 30 high-impact innovations that can transform global health by 2030. She also led the commercialization team for the $25 million Safe Water Project to increase access of water treatment and storage products for low income consumers in four countries through innovative public-private partnerships. Two business models were scaled after project completion and have reached over 500,000 consumers. Claudia also led PATH's collaboration with Merck for Mothers to increase access to life-saving maternal health technologies, where the team's recommendations led to Merck's investment in two innovations for reducing maternal mortality. Prior to PATH, Claudia worked at Monsanto Company, where she created the company's strategy to enter the smallholder farmer market in Mexico and obtained funding for startup activities; at the Harvard Center for International Development; at Nike; and at UBS Financial Services Company in Zurich, where she earned her Swiss Banking Diploma. Claudia has presented at Clinton Global Initiative Panels; published numerous papers on market development and product introduction in developing countries; and briefed the leaders of multinational companies, donors, and public sector agencies on promising technology partnerships with PATH. She holds an MBA and an MS in Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan, and a BA in International Affairs from the University of Puget Sound. Claudia is fluent in German and Spanish. She has worked in Switzerland, Mexico, Brazil, India, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Cambodia, Panama, Ecuador, Indonesia and South Africa.

Teresita Heiser is an innovative systems thinker with extensive corporate citizenship, government affairs, public policy, philanthropic, and advocacy experience. She has led global initiatives in the private and public sectors including work across Africa, Asia, South America, and Eastern Europe. Teresita has successfully designed, launched and managed groundbreaking programs with focus on risk analysis, economic development, environmental sustainability, and global health. She worked with the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence and is currently a Sr. Product Manager with Amazon in the Community.

Abigail Hils is the Program Associate of the Inclusive STEM Ecosystems for Equity & Diversity at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), in Washington, D.C. She is a mix of Niitsítapi (Blackfeet), Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk), and white.  Over the last decade, she developed engaging K-20 environmental education programs, facilitated professional development training for high school to postdoc students, and collaborated with government agencies to enhance the quality and scope of their science education. Abigail's research and work focus on catalyzing and sustaining systemic change and transformation to achieve inclusive and equitable access in the STEM workforce. Her areas of expertise are community/collaborative science (she refers to as c*science), making science accessible and inclusive (language, disability, and gender identity), and ecological monitoring methodologies. She also advises several organizations for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusive practices, culture, and policies.

Katie Hultquist is the Director of Leadership Giving for OutRight Action International, a U.S-based non-profit advancing human rights and equality for LGBTIQ people around the world. She has more than 25 years of experience in nonprofit management, fundraising, and social justice activism for local, national, and international organizations. Previously, Katie served as the Northwest Regional Director at NPH USA, where she raised more than $11 million to support vulnerable children in Latin America and the Caribbean, and helped launch a training institute for young leaders from Central America. Katie was also the Executive Director of Passages Northwest, a Seattle nonprofit dedicated to building courage and leadership in girls and women through the outdoors and the arts. Katie has worked in leadership roles with the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Ashoka/Youth Venture, and Harvey Gantt’s 1996 U.S. Senate Campaign in North Carolina. She holds an Executive Masters degree in Nonprofit Leadership from Seattle University and a B.A. in International Studies from the University of North Carolina. Katie is originally from San Francisco and now lives with her wife and three children in Seattle.

Vanessa Laughlin left a career in management consulting in early 2018 to focus full time on developing Banister Advisors.  Her 15+ year professional background spans a variety of functional areas, including strategy development, implementation planning, business process improvement, product marketing, technology implementations, organizational design, and change management. Vanessa holds an MBA with distinction from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington and a BA in Economics from Tufts University. When she's not building spreadsheets to plot out home improvement plans or volunteer activities, she might very well be found in her sewing room working on a creative project or spending time with her husband, two young sons, and beloved chocolate lab.

Susan Lee was born in China and immigrated to the United States at a young age. Her personal experience growing up in an immigrant family has empowered her and inspires her to help those of similar circumstances so they too can become successful, starting with the very young. As the saying goes, ‘the children are our future’, what better way to support our next generation than to support, guide, and educate those who will help shape our future? Susan has vast years of experience in both corporate and non-profit agencies. Those experiences include Sales, Communications, Financials, Organizational Development, Management, Human Resources, Early Childhood Education, Professional Development Trainings, Speaker and Presenter to Communities & Universities, Volunteering, Fundraising, Leadership, and Mentoring. Susan has been an active member of the Levy Oversite Committee appointed by the Mayor of Seattle. She is also in numerous committees to bring guidance, direction, and support on funding for education and resources for the marginalized community. Susan has a BAS in ECE, EMPA from University of Washington, and is currently enrolled at Seattle University pursuing her Doctorate of Education, Organizational Learning and Leadership. ReWA, under Susan’s mentorship, welcomed four PFP Fellows in 2015 and 2016. Susan has led many meaningful discussions with visiting international leaders on a wide array of topics ranging from Women in Politics and Civil Society to Human Rights Advocacy to English Language Teaching and Social Inclusion.

Leslie Llado is a program management professional with 10+ years of experience leading strategic initiatives in Africa, Asia, Central America, and the United States for corporate, non-profit, and government organizations. She joined Splash in October 2017 and currently serves as the Director for Infrastructure and Product Development, in charge of overseeing Splash’s global water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure standards and supply chain and leading Splash’s social enterprise to sell best-in-class handwashing stations. She has eight years of experience working on sustainable water resource initiatives, with the last five focused on projects in rural Ethiopia with A Glimmer of Hope Foundation. Leslie is a trained hydrogeologist and environmental scientist who is passionate about working with local stakeholders to solve complex problems. Outside of the office, you can find her digging in her community garden, listening to live music, or exploring the PNW outdoors.

Sharon London is an experienced nonprofit leader in the environment and global realms with expertise in fundraising, strategic planning, project management, board development, facilitation, and communication. She currently helps protect the world’s forests as the Development Director at the Forest Stewardship Council, Investments & Partnerships. She has worked at a number of nonprofits including the National Wildlife Federation, EarthCorps, and Seattle Urban Nature, with roles ranging from Executive Director, to Director of Strategic Partnerships, to Director of Development. Sharon spent 4.5 years in Southeast Asia, both as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in a Northern Thai National Park, and in Laos, where she worked for the World Wildlife Fund as a Protected Area Manager. Sharon has a B.A. in Geography from UC Berkeley and an M.S. in Geography from Oregon State University with a GIS/Forestry focus. She’s also a certified True Colors International personality assessment facilitator, a graduate of Leadership Tomorrow and the Global Leadership Forum, and currently the board President of Kavana in Seattle. Sharon loves to spend time with her family, two cats, and seven chickens. She also likes to travel, bike, hike, dance, garden and cook.

Pamela J. Oakes, Managing Director of The Profitable Nonprofit, has remained at the forefront of driving racial equity solutions across the globe. She consulted with the top 100 corporations in South Africa during the post-apartheid Racial Reconciliation period, conducting training workshops for government, corporate, community, and faith-based organizations in the areas of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Gender Equity, Employment Equity, Affirmative Action, Organizational Transformation, and Change Management. Currently a Nonprofit Fund Development expert with a passion for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA), Pamela is a certified state trainer for the Washington Nonprofit Association, the Nonprofit Association of Oregon and well as a certified specialist for 501 Commons. She has conducted nonprofit training workshops for Social Venture Partners, Global Washington and delivered presentations at the 2018 and 2019 Washington Nonprofit Association annual conferences. Pamela worked for nearly a decade with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As a grant maker managing a multi-million dollar portfolio, her team worked to create a more equitable system of promoting social mobility and economic development for low-income, underrepresented, student populations of color. She remains a champion for empowering women and girls in developing nations and is on a personal mission to increase the distribution of philanthropic resources earmarked for under-resourced, under-represented, marginalized communities by building capacity in BIPOC-led nonprofits, charities and social impact enterprises Pamela attended the University of Washington where she majored in Political Science. A native of Seattle, Pamela enjoys travelling the globe, experiencing new cultures and collecting African-American art.

Alinne B. Oliveira joined Bryant Christie Inc. in November 2017 as a Trade Policy Specialist. As part of the Global Access team, she works to open foreign markets for U.S. agricultural commodities, monitors trade policy issues, and supports BCI’s MRL monitoring systems. Prior to joining BCI, Alinne served as Head of the International Relations department for the Brazilian Confederation of
Agriculture and Livestock (CNA), an organization that represents over two million farmers in Brazil. At CNA, she was responsible for advising the president on international and trade policy matters, developing advocacy strategies, and leading the work of seven international specialists as well as offices in Brussels and Beijing. She also worked as International Negotiations Specialist for the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry (CNI), and for the Brazil Industries Coalition, in Washington D.C., as a registered lobbyist representing the Brazilian private sector interests in the United States. She has experience volunteering and working in multiple countries. Alinne is a Project Management Professional (PMP), earned a Master’s in Latin American Studies from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, an executive certificate in Mastering Trade Policy from Harvard University, and a Bachelor’s in Political Science from the University of Central Florida.

Francesca O'Malley is a natural problem solver and finds joy in finding efficient and effective solutions for clients, working as an Associate Consultant at Slalom. She is currently consulting for the Business Advisory Services practices, focusing in program management and business analysis for large Seattle technology companies. She excels in communication, project management, and logistics, working for organizations of varying sizes—from growing startups to large legal practices. Prior to Slalom, Francesca provided expert project support consulting for high-profile clients such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Climate Leadership Initiative. Outside of work, Francesca enjoys exploring with her fiancé and Golden Retriever. You can find her skiing through the winter, then mountain biking and hiking through the summer. Francesca holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Washington.

Ellie Page was born and raised in Western Washington. She received her undergraduate degrees in Politics and Spanish from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. She graduated from the University of Washington School of Law in 2017. During law school, she interned at the Office of Program Research for the House of Representatives where she assisted legislators in writing bills and briefed bills during the 2015 legislative session. She also interned at the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office where she assisted in court calendars and two jury trials. After law school, she completed a two-year clerkship for a State Court of Appeals Judge, which primarily involved drafting court opinions and reading and assessing litigants’ briefing. In 2019, she obtained her current position as an Assistant Attorney General in the Sexually Violent Predator unit of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office where she is a civil prosecutor. Individuals are civilly committed (as opposed to criminally convicted) as sexually violent predators when the State can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they meet a number of criteria outlined by statute. As an Assistant Attorney General who civilly prosecutes sexually violent predators, she manages cases from the initial commitment stage to unconditional release, which involves trial work, hearings, pleadings preparation, and working with various stakeholders. She also does limited appellate work. Outside of work, she enjoys playing tennis, running, reading, traveling, and spending time with friends and family

Tamara Power-Drutis is the director of research and strategy at The Vida Agency, a boutique woman and minority owned creative agency that helps public agencies and businesses have human conversations with our community. She leads qualitative and quantitative research initiatives to inform communications, strategic change, infrastructure development, and campaigns. Tamara is the writer and co-creator of the Growing Old Project, an audio series exploring Seattle's urban forest and the humans that live within it. Active in our Northwest community, Tamara has served as a commissioner for Earth Day Northwest 2020 and on the Leadership Council of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation and World Affairs Council board. She is a product of Washington State, a graduate of Tacoma’s Pacific Lutheran University, and a proud card-carrying member of the U.S. National Parks.

Simone Schofield currently resides In Seattle, Washington and has lived and worked in four cities across the United States as well as in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. She started in the Radio Industry where she transitioned from behind the microphone to behind the scenes, ultimately running a team of 36 Commercial Inventory Managers responsible for an annual revenue of $110M+. In 2010 she left New Zealand for a long-term working holiday, after joining Accenture in Melbourne she was placed on a major Telecommunication company account as a Training Lead. Enjoying IT Consulting but wanting to get broader international experience she and her husband moved to Singapore where she joined Avanade (a joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft focused on the Microsoft platform) as Resource Lead for the Southeast Asia Region. After 1.5 years (and many fabulous holidays across Asia) she transferred to Avanade USA, initially continuing as a Regional Resource Lead then transitioning into North America Business Management, Global Operations Management and now Global Strategy and Transformation. Her current role is Global Program lead for a five-year transformation of Avanade, bringing the 58k strong workforce on the journey to Advance the world through the power of people and Microsoft, including doubling our revenue and increasing to 85k people by 2025. Simone credits her diverse background both culturally and geographically as well as a natural inclination for building networks for her opportunities – and rates a sense of humor as one of the most important things you can bring to work. Her absolute favorite thing about any role she has held is the development of people within her teams and she celebrates their promotions just as heartily as her own!

Amy Stillion has a passion for creating collaborative partnerships that positively impact people and communities. As the Chief of Staff at Mojang Studios, the creators of Minecraft, Amy focuses on the operational rhythm of the franchise, builds diversity and inclusion and team health initiatives, and develops leadership communications and company narratives. She is both personally and professionally committed to improving the human experience and creating inclusive and nurturing environments where everyone can feel safe and secure and supported in doing their best work. Before joining Microsoft and Mojang Studios, Amy worked across the non-profit space building programs and partnerships aimed at improving human experiences and health outcomes. She has advised corporate partners on their strategic planning processes related to social responsibility and worked with individual philanthropists to focus their giving in ways that achieve the highest impact outcomes. In 2019, she co-chaired The Walt Disney Company’s Hospital and Wishes Advisory Committee to establish the focus of Disney’s five-year, $100M commitment to improving the pediatric experience and she served as an advisor to the CHARIOT program at Stanford Children’s Health. Currently, Amy is a member of the Board of Directors for the Seattle Universal Math Museum, a local organization focused on making math accessible and fun for all.

Sarah Studer is the Director of Platform for Techstars Seattle and the new Filecoin Techstars Accelerator program. Techstars is the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed by investing in startup founders and connecting them to investors, corporations and cities to help build thriving startup communities. In her role at Techstars, Sarah is responsible for the operations of both accelerator programs, supporting the 130+ companies in the portfolio and driving community engagement throughout Seattle as well as the larger Techstars ecosystem. Prior to joining Techstars, Sarah was the Assistant Director at the University of Washington’s Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship, located at UW’s Foster School of Business. In this role, Sarah coordinated the Dempsey Startup Competition, a multi-round business plan competition for students across the region. She also managed the Jones + Foster Accelerator program which supports student-led companies through the decisive first six-months of their startup journey. Sarah developed and launched the annual Davis Consumer Product Workshop which was designed to support students interested in developing consumer product goods. Sarah received a Staff Excellence Award from the Foster School of Business in June 2021. From 2013-2018, Sarah held various positions at Impact Hub Seattle, a 40,000 square foot coworking and office space facility located in Pioneer Square (Seattle’s first and oldest neighborhood) which shuttered in 2020. As Managing Director, Sarah was responsible for maintaining 100% occupancy of the building’s 40+ private offices, a robust event rental space line of business and building community experiences for a membership of over 700 individuals and companies. Sarah received her bachelor's degree from the University of Puget Sound, and started her career with an internship with Teens in Public Service where she supported the selection and administration of the program which paired 50 high school students with internships in non-profit organizations. Following that experience, she became the Grants Manager at Social Justice Fund NW, a progressive, philanthropic organization that made grants to grassroots, social change organizations in WA, OR, ID, MT and WY. Sarah is passionate about civic engagement and volunteerism. She has served on the boards of the Pioneer Square Business Improvement Area, Seattle CityClub, and Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys cooking from her extensive collection of cookbooks, reading, playing tennis, and staying organized and creative through bullet journaling. You can find Sarah online on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Cara Kadoshima Vallier brings a broad range of varied experience to her work in government at the City of Seattle. A proud graduate of Franklin High School, Cara grew up in Seattle, earned her BA from the University of Washington and MPP (Masters in Public Policy) from the University of California, Los Angeles. She was a consultant with McCabe & Company, assisting clients ranging from single-family homeowners to local governments with land use planning and advocacy for projects before the California Coastal Commission, a statewide regulatory body. In both private law firms and at the Seattle City Attorney's Office as a paralegal in the Torts and Environmental Protection sections, she focused on regulatory compliance, city ordinances, state and local permits, and public records requests. While working for a Seattle City Councilmember for the previous two years, Cara focused on legislation and policy issues related to Homelessness, Human Services, Rental Regulations, Affordable Housing, Economic Development, Libraries, Education, Technology, and Public Health. Aside from her time in private, public, and non-profit organizations, Cara has participated in several statewide and local political campaigns and has enjoyed working in public affairs, development, and advocacy. She was appointed by the Mayor of Los Angeles to serve on the Committee to Apply the Convention to End Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and served on the boards of the California League of Conservation Voters, and the Little Tokyo Service Center, an organization committed to improving the lives of underserved individuals and families and promoting the equitable development of ethnic communities and their rich cultural heritage.

Leslie Womack is Director of Sales at the historic Mayflower Park Hotel in downtown Seattle. With over 25 years in the tourism and hospitality industry, Leslie has held management and business development roles for various tourism entities. Before the Mayflower Park Hotel, Leslie developed the group sales program at Experience Music Project (now MoPop).  As Regional Director with Aramark Park & Resorts, she led the sales efforts for Lake Quinault and Kalaloch Lodges and lodges in Denali National Park in Alaska.  She was recently honored with the “Encourager” award by Visit Seattle. Leslie earned her B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from Fisk University and a Master’s degree in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh. She has a Certificate in Fundraising Management from the University of Washington.  Leslie’s board activity includes the World Affairs Council, State of Washington Tourism, Sleeping Lady Resort and Central District Forum for Arts and Ideas. She is passionate about hosting international visitors in her home. In her free time, she loves to travel and listen to music.

Nancy Woodland, a partner with Ampersand Community, fuels nonprofit transformation and excellence through trusting relationships and anti-racist diligence.  After 13 years as Executive Director of WestSide Baby, a nonprofit providing diapers, clothing car seats and other basic needs items to more than 300,000 children and grew the staff from 2 to 25, Nancy stepped away in 2019.  She learned to lead and manage alongside incredible staff, board members, supporters and volunteers.  Most of those individuals are white people while that has shifted considerably since 2017. The children and families receiving WSB’s items are mostly Black and brown. Representation to those impacted by a nonprofit’s activities matters. At Ampersand Community, she partners with nonprofits working towards a definition of excellence that connects traditional focus areas such as board governance and recruitment and retention strategies to mission impact in accountability to those affected.  This includes engaging Black and brown community members to share the solutions they already have forthe many challenges nonprofits are tackling. Nancy is a wife, mom to two almost-adults, sister, aunt and friend.  She’s a learner, lawyer and collaborator.  She propelled a non-profit forward by making mistakes in public, bringing in expertise and outside voices.  She took risks, with support. She wasn’t afraid to “do things differently”, speak at large events or throw on rubber boots if the toilets backed up.  All in an ED’s day. Nancy has a BA from Michigan State University and a JD from Loyola University in Chicago.   She litigated child abuse, neglect and foster/childcare licensing cases for four years as an Assistant Attorney General She proudly serves as a board member for the National Diaper Bank Network, King County Children and Youth Advisory Board and Verity Credit Union.