Keynote Speaker: Amy Shecter

Amy brings a distinguished record of enterprise leadership and business success in the beauty, fashion, and fitness industry to her CEO role at Ever/Body, a personalized aesthetic dermatology company that combines medical-grade services with a high-tech, digitally-connected patient experience. 

As a 4x CEO and President, she has transformed industry-disruptive brands positioned at the intersection of technology and multichannel retail. Her experience spans consumer goods and services across beauty, fitness, and fashion industries. With a proven track record in creating scalable businesses and lifestyle brands.

Under Amy’s leadership, Ever/Body grew the business by 123% YOY, and launched a first-of-its-kind enhanced education program to support the brand’s mission of supporting each client on their personal beauty journey. Amy raised  $90 million dollars in back to back raises in less than a year which has only been accomplished by a handful of  women in venture capital fundraising.

Prior to joining Ever/Body, Amy was the CEO of GLAMSQUAD, a technology-powered, consumer-focused company that provides on-demand, at-home beauty services. At GLAMSQUAD, she rapidly scaled the business, opened new markets, launched proprietary technology, forged strategic partnerships and launched branded products with QVC and CVS.

Prior to GLAMSQUAD, Amy was the CEO of CorePower Yoga, President of C. Wonder, and held several senior executive roles at Cole Haan, DKNY and Tory Burch. Amy began her career at Bloomingdale’s. Amy received a Bachelor of Science degree in Fashion Marketing from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Workshop Hosts

Jenny Dell

Jenny Dell joined CBS Sports in 2014 as a sideline reporter for College Football and THE NFL ON CBS. In 2022, she was named the lead reporter on the SEC on CBS, the number one watched College Football Broadcast. She also hosts CBS Sports HQ, a 24-hour streaming sports news network. Additionally, Jenny hosts Campus Eats on Big Ten Network, which provides a first-hand look at the unique and iconic restaurants found across Big Ten Country. Prior to joining CBS Sports, Dell served as a reporter for New England Sports Network’s coverage of the Boston Red Sox, covering the team’s World Series Champion season in 2013. Dell began her career in production at ESPN, working on the coverage of the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, Monday Night Football, College Basketball and Women’s National Basketball Association. Later, she joined ESPN.com as an air-reporter, covering Super Bowl XLIV and XLV, and appearing regularly on NFL Countdown Daily. Dell is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts with a degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management and Sport Event Marketing.

Amy Pocsik

Amy Pocsik is the CEO and Co-Founder of the Women’s Business League - a community where powerful businesswomen connect, grow and prosper. Her superpower is working with female entrepreneurs to identify – both the challenge points and high points - so that they can exponentially increase their success. She is passionate about the power of connection and community to deliver results in life and business.

Amy is also the Founder of Bold Moves, a platform where she partners with female founders to make an impact, helping them own the role of CEO - professionally and personally. Because she knows what it was like to be in the opposite position, unfulfilled and longing for more. That’s why she made it her life’s work to make sure every woman is empowered to achieve a bold vision for her life and business.

Amy is a CPA who left the corporate world to blaze her own path forward. When she’s not helping others start and scale businesses, she’s spending time with her husband and two sons, traveling and writing.

Tiffany Greene

Tiffany is an enthusiastic Career & Leadership Coach with 25 years corporate HR experience. In her past as an HR VP, Tiffany has guided her organizations to operational excellence in recruiting and selection, compensation and benefits, and professional development. She has fostered cultures of trust and engagement through visible leadership. Tiffany is familiar with the challenges associated with changing business cycles and has seen her organizations through rapid expansion as well as downsizing due to changes in market demand.

Today, Tiffany helps clients navigate the thoughts and feelings arising from career transitions by exploring awareness around mindset and conscious choices. She enjoys partnering with clients to find clarity and connection in their work, leading to greater confidence and professional purpose. Tiffany combines her knowledge of the HR field and career development with compassionate and intuitive coaching to accelerate the client's opportunity for true growth and progress. She works with all levels of professionals including Executives.

Tiffany has completed the coach training program with the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching. She is a Certified Professional Coach and also certified in the Energy Leadership Index (TM) Assessment.

Tiffany graduated from the Isenberg School of Management in 1996 and has a son attending Isenberg as a Sports Management Major, Class of 2026.

Claudia Mott

Claudia is the Principal at Epona Financial Solutions LLC, a fee-only financial planning and investment management firm. Her 13 years of Wall Street experience enable her to offer unique skills in developing custom solutions for her clients. As a sell-side analyst, she regularly appeared on CNBC and was frequently quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Investors’ Business Daily and Money Magazine. She has published research in the Journal of Portfolio Management and was named to Institutional Investor magazine’s All-Star team for nine consecutive years.

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® practitioner, Claudia is a regular contributor to the financial website NJMONEYHELP.com and NJ.com. She is also licensed as a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst and has been specially trained to assist individuals in all stages of the divorce process.

Claudia earned her undergraduate degree cum laude from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and her MBA from Boston University. She is a founding member and past-President of the Long Hill Library Foundation and is the Treasurer of the Blinknow Foundation. She is a member of Impact100 Garden State and is on the Women United Steering Committee for United Way of Northern New Jersey.

She is a member of the Financial Planning Association, National Association of Personal Financial Planners (NAPFA) and the New Jersey Center for Collaborative Divorce and Mediation.

She lives in the Millington section of Long Hill Township, is the mother of three adult children and one horse. Her other interests include a golf and gardening.

Panelists

Sabrina Victor

Sabrina Victor (she/hers) is a Haitian-American performance activist, passionate about sharing diverse stories through all art forms. Hailing from Brockton Massachusetts, Sabrina graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst receiving two undergraduate degrees in Theater and Journalism, a Multicultural Theater Certificate, and Commonwealth Honors. Throughout her college career, she performed in numerous mainstage productions, producing and directing her own theatrical research piece as a capstone endeavor. She is currently an MFA Acting Candidate at Columbia University.

Her credited work includes award-winning American Repertory Theatre, SpeakEasy Stage, and Company One, all companies dedicated to new and diverse works. Sabrina has been featured on screen in national commercials and short films. She also reigned as Miss Massachusetts USA 2020. As an advocate for the arts, especially amongst marginalized groups with a lack of access to arts education, she encourages others to change the narratives of today through methods of performance that allow them to share their truths. Her journey as a naturalista also signifies her dedication to embracing all forms of beauty, and she hopes to inspire other women to continue embracing theirs. ​

She is based in New York and Boston as an actor, model, and content creator, as well as a professional speaker and host.

Karina Herold

Karina Herold is Vice President, Major Events at the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission (LASEC) and oversees operations, special events, legacy programming and community engagement for high-profile events that have included the Super Bowl and the College Football National Championship. Herold previously served as the Sports & Entertainment Sales Director at LASEC from 2008 - 2011.

Before re-joining LASEC in 2020, Herold served as the Deputy Director of Athletics at Pepperdine University and was responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the athletics department including external operations, facilities operations, business operations and compliance as well as the student-facing units of academic support, leadership development, sports medicine, sports performance, mental health and diversity, equity and inclusion. As the department’s senior woman administrator (SWA), Herold served as one of Pepperdine’s representatives on the West Coast Conference’s Executive Council.

In 2016, Herold was named the Division I Administrator of the Year by Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly NACWAA). The Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management at UMass Amherst named Herold an Alumni-on-the-Rise Award winner in 2017.

Herold graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Sport Management and the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development where she was a member of the women’s basketball team.

Eliza Pesuit

Eliza is the founding executive director of Global Glimpse, an innovative nonprofit organization that works to make travel, leadership and global learning opportunities accessible to young people from diverse backgrounds. Under Eliza's leadership Global Glimpse has provided over $14M in travel scholarships and served over 8,000 students and teachers. She is skilled in organizational strategy, cross-sector partnerships, financial planning, fundraising, and board leadership. Eliza has built multi million dollar funding partnerships with fortune 500 companies and received awards for her work in education across the US and Latin America. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2008 and she leads Global Glimpse from her home in Western Massachusetts.

Alaina Macaulay

Alaina M. T. Macaulay is the Senior Director for Inclusion and Strategic Engagement at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Within Macaulay’s scope of work, she is responsible for developing, executing, and supporting institutional engagement initiatives that center inclusion which include the University Employee Resource Groups, the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Collaborative, the Black Advisory Council and Native Advisory Council, Campus Climate Grants, and large programming which engages the UMass and Amherst community.

Macaulay previously served as Executive Director for Diversity and Inclusion in the Isenberg School of Management where she chaired the Isenberg DEI committee as well as a taskforce for the Dean’s priorities, launched a student DEI council, and advised the Advancement for Diversity in Business student organization. Alaina was heavily involved in the planning of Isenberg's Inaugural Inclusive Leadership Summit and grand opening of the Suit Shop in Fall 2019.

During her career, Alaina has led workshops and presentations nationally and internationally on the importance of DEI. Alaina serves on the boards of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield, Girls Inc. of the Valley, the Holyoke Community College Foundation, and the Chester Theatre Company and was named BusinessWest Forty Under 40 class of 2022 for her work.

Claudine Gallagher

Claudine Gallagher is Head of Human Resources for CIB Americas. In this role, she is responsible for leading overall human resources strategy and reinforcing the firm’s values in all aspects of the employee lifecycle. She oversees employee relations, talent acquisition, leadership and development, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, compensation and benefits, and HR operations. She is a member of the CIB Americas Executive Committee and the Group Human Resources Executive Committee. She has been honored by American Banker for the past five consecutive years as one of the ’25 Most Powerful Women in Finance.’ Claudine most recently served as Chief Conduct and Controls Officer for BNP Paribas USA and CIB Americas       

Claudine was with the Bank from 1995 to 2001 in Paris, Brussels and New York, where she was responsible for the strategic development of the Bank’s European custody and clearing business. She then worked at JP Morgan for 10 years in a variety of senior management roles. In her most recent role, she was global head of Depositary Receipts, a position she had held since 2006. Claudine returned to BNP Paribas in 2012 as Head of North America for Securities Services, later becoming Head of the Americas for the business. She was responsible for the strategic development of the region, spearheading its client and product development, as well as its marketing initiatives.      

Claudine is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Arts in French Literature and Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance.

Sade Luwoye

Sade Luwoye is a senior specialist systems engineer at L3Harris Technologies—a technology company, defense contractor, and information technology services provider that produces a range of systems and products. During her time at UMass Amherst, Luwoye majored in electrical engineering and minored in mathematics, and was president of the student chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers during the 2014–2015 academic year. She went on to earn a master’s degree in systems engineering from George Washington University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science. Due to her excellence in her field and her dedication to making science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) more equitable, Luwoye is the recipient of the 2022 UMass Alumni Honors Outstanding Young Alumni Award, which goes to an alum who has graduated within the past 10 years and utilized their UMass Amherst education and professional pursuits to change the world for the better.

 Julia Sears

Altus Power- Chief Digital Officer

Before joining Altus in 2021, Julia was the Head of B2C/B2B Digital Technology and User Experience at TIAA, a Fortune 70 company. In this role, Julia was responsible for transforming the technology delivery for 16K institutions and 6M participants, focusing on mobile, web, cyber capabilities, data strategy, and a labs division. Julia began her career as a technologist at NASDAQ and held various software development and technology roles, creating and patenting digital, scalable solutions for the global exchange for trading, indexes, and corporate solutions using Amazon Cloud Solutions, Apple, and Google. Julia attended the University of Massachusetts and studied communication and international studies.

Fran Hutchins

Fran Hutchins is the Executive Director at Equality Federation, the national strategic partner to state-based organizations working to win equality in the communities we call home. She has been with the Federation since 2012 and has worked on the ground with our partners to build strong organizations, develop tailored strategies, and create data-driven solutions to meet the needs of our movement.

Fran’s career has focused on building a strong progressive movement that changes the way we approach some of our most pressing social problems: poverty, homelessness, education, economic inequality, and discrimination. She is especially proud to have served as Regional Field Director for Mainers United for Marriage, the successful 2012 campaign to win marriage for same-sex couples in Maine.

Fran completed her MBA and Masters of Public Policy and Public Administration at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Fran grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and now lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her wife, Laura Kalba, a professor at the University of Minnesota, and their orange cat, Oscar Wilde, and fluffy dog, Otis.

Nina Carrara

For nearly three decades Ms. Carrara has been privileged to hold leadership roles in the events/experiential marketing industry, creating dynamic, compelling, and engaging experiences for audiences, fans, and sponsors. Her work on iconic events such as Macworld Expo, Schneider Electric’s Innovation Summit, COMDEX Fall and Anime Expo - the largest North American anime convention – has provided the opportunity to collaborate with world-class speakers, well-known brands, legendary venues, and incredibly talented event teams.

Additionally, Nina has held strategic managerial positions inside two experiential marketing agencies supporting companies such as IBM, AbbVie, Qualcomm, and Oracle. As the event executive inside two different corporate marketing teams, she shaped and reimagined face to face marketing tactics through experiential activities, sponsorship activations and innovative event elements.

Outside of her professional life Nina enjoys cooking, kayaking, yoga and reading and spending as much time as possible with her family, including their mini dachshund, Fenway, and rescue Breya. #adoptdontshop

Carla James

Carla is an accomplished executive and leader with over twenty years’ professional experience in business operations and program management with an acumen in government support services. She served in the U.S. Air Force and the Massachusetts Air National Guard. Carla has held numerous executive roles and served as a board member for both non-profit and for-profit organizations. Carla earned her MBA from the University of Mary Washington, in Fredericksburg, VA and her Bachelors of Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA.

Carla is the CEO of Solidus Technical Solutions, an engineering and software services firm. As CEO she is responsible for providing strategic, financial, and operational leadership for the company. She works closely with her leadership team to plan, organize, and deliver consistent growth in revenue and profitability, while managing risk.

Prior to joining Solidus, Carla co-founded and served as the COO and President of The Mayvin Consulting Group where she was instrumental in developing a sustainable business model. Through her career Carla has served as a subject matter expert providing programming, budgeting, and rapid acquisition expertise to the DoD and government agencies.

Originally from New Hampshire, Carla enjoys being outdoors and staying active with her husband Craig.

Rachel Spates

Rachel Spates is the Director, Communications for Sun Life U.S. A marketing communications professional with extensive experience in the sports and financial services industries, Rachel’s specialties include event management, integrated marketing, sponsorship activation, social media, executive communications, business continuity and crisis communications, and employee engagement.

She also plays a lead role in supporting Sun Life’s sponsorship and philanthropy initiatives and is actively involved in the company’s DE&I efforts.

Rachel is currently in her third term as a member of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst Alumni Association Board of Directors, where she currently serves as the Board’s President-Elect. She assumes the Presidency of the UMAAA Board in July.

She has served as a Vice President and board member of the Boston Chapter of Women in Sports and Events (WISE) and on the Boston Young Professionals Board of Good Sports, Inc. and has previously held positions at Major League Lacrosse and the Boston Celtics.

When not working, Rachel can be found skiing, rowing, hiking, biking, or ice climbing and completed a successful summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in 2018. She began taking flying lessons in 2022 and is working towards obtaining her private pilot certificate.

Rachel graduated from the Isenberg School of Management with Master’s degree in Sport Management and is also a graduate of Boston University, with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science.

Michele Equale

Michele Equale is a Relationship Manager in Government Markets. In her role, she is responsible for delivering world-class service, supporting plan management, and creating meaningful engagement with clients, intermediaries, and participants. She is adept at helping her clients manage complex issues and fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities while driving results and achieving milestones using a collaborative approach.

Michele joined the organization in January 2007 and has a passion for working with clients. She has deep industry experience including previous roles in product, investments, transformation, and project management. She prides herself on uncovering the real needs of her clients and ensuring that clients are highly satisfied and bringing solutions that optimize the retirement plan experience.

Michele also serves as the National Co-Chair of Empower’s Women’s Empowerment Network (WEN), the largest Business Resource Group (BRG) at Empower, with primary oversight to develop and execute WEN’s strategic plan and lead the various committees towards closing the gap of women in leadership roles.

Michele holds a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Isenberg School of Management. Additionally she has several certifications including a Data Analytics Certification from e-Cornell, an Investment Foundations Certification from CFA Institute, and a Managing Organizational Transitions Certification from Linkage, Inc.

Melissa Sparr

Melissa Sparr, CPA – Senior Vice President - Human Resources, The NPD Group

As NPD’s Head of Compensation, Benefits, HRIS and Payroll, Melissa Sparr is responsible for leading the Global Compensation (including Executive Compensation programs) and HRIS functions along with the US and Canadian Benefits and Payroll teams. In addition, Melissa manages the budgeting and forecasting of HR departmental expenses, as well as some corporate expenses such as bonuses, 401k contributions and the US Health and Welfare plans. Prior to joining the NPD Group, Melissa was the Financial Director – Shared Services for Essence , In Style and Real Simple magazines at Time Inc. Before that, Melissa had a 25 year career at Time Inc. holding numerous positions in Corporate Finance, as well as at Time, People and Real Simple Magazines. Upon graduation from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst with a BBA , Melissa worked as an Auditor for Ernst & Whinney.

Xiomara Albán DeLobato

Xiomara currently serves as the Vice President and Chief of Staff for the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council (EDC), where she facilitates the growth and development of a vigorous regional economy by encouraging, influencing, and sustaining capital investment and quality job growth in Western Mass.

With over a decade of experience in the public and private sector, she has dedicated her career and community involvement in serving as an active change agent and steadfast advocate for equitable access to economic and academic opportunities in the region and beyond.

She previously served in leadership roles at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Elms College, Springfield College, and the University of New Hampshire – as well as professional experiences with the Office of Mayor Domenic Sarno of Springfield, MA and Office of Congressman Richard Neal.

Xiomara also serves on numerous boards and committees such as an active board member for Girl's Inc. of the Valley, trustee for Veritas Prep Charter School in Springfield, MA, Advisory Board Member for the Jandon Center for Community Engagement at Smith College, town appointed member for the Wilbraham Economic Development Committee and for Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

Kokui Adesokan

Kokui Adesokan is a Technical Project Manager in the Program Management Office at Bridgewater Associates, a premier asset management firm. As a certified scrum master, she partners with investment engineers, software developers, product managers and tech leads to plan and execute trading technology improvement projects.

Prior to joining Bridgewater, Kokui was an associate director at Pratt and Whitney, a jet engine manufacturer, where she led teams of engineers to design, analyze and industrialize hundreds of engine hardware for the Externals component on the revolutionary Geared TurboFan engines.

Kokui’s leadership and passion for the community has been recognized with the UMass Amherst College of Engineering Young Alumni award, the Professional Achievement in Industry Award at the Women of Color STEM Conference; a Trailblazer Spectrum Award at the Black Engineer of the Year Conference; a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Production (STEP) Emerging Leader Award; sponsored by The Manufacturing Institute. Kokui earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering degree from UMass Amherst and an M.B.A. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Kokui serves on the UMass Amherst College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory board. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters, exploring various cuisines, and traveling internationally.

Judi Vigna

As a workforce development specialist and CEO of Specialized Career Guidance, Judi Vigna is focused on bridging the divide between leading industries seeking to hire motivated talent, and the abundance of capable young people seeking pathways to successful careers. Judi works with educational teams, employers, and industry associations to build organizational systems for sustainable and scalable school-to-work pipelines. Adept at building strong coalitions of community and state-wide partners, she meets with education and industry leaders throughout the Commonwealth to advance career pathway programming for young people. Her life’s work has been guided by a deep commitment to strengthening communities and a belief that there is no ‘one size fits all’ pathway to education and career success. Judi is a Certified Diversity Executive® and trained in career pathway development.

Tanya Neslusan

Tanya V. Neslusan

Tanya is an LGBTQ activist, currently serving as the Executive Director of MassEquality, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization. She also currently serves as co-chair of the Bay State Stonewall Democrats, as the Affirmative Action and Outreach Officer of the Sturbridge Democratic Town Committee and as one of the co-chairs of the LGBTQ Outreach Subcommittee of the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee. She is also a member of the Emerge Massachusetts Alumnae committee.

She has formerly been on the leadership team of the Showing Up for Racial Justice Worcester Chapter and a member of the Massachusetts Women of Color Coalition. Additionally, she was the 2018 Democratic Nominee for State Representative in the 1st Hampden District.

Debra Wein

Debra Wein, MS, RDN, CWPD, CHWC is the CEO and Founder of Wellness Workdays (2004) and has over 25 years of experience working in the health and wellness industry. Clients include New Balance, City of Portland, ME, Turner Construction, Maine Bankers Association, Rockland Trust and Brown University.

Debra holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Cornell and Columbia Universities and is a nationally recognized expert on employee health and wellness. Focused on education in many formats, Debra has lectured for the US Coast Guard, US Navy Seals, USA Olympic coaches, MIT and Harvard Business School. Debra has spoken about worksite wellness on many major networks and cable stations in NY and Boston and has written articles for Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Muscle & Fitness and many others. Debra is a member of the President’s Council of Cornell Women (PCCW), a group of highly accomplished women including Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Janet Reno, Senator Gabriella Giffords, Mae Jemison, and many others; a member of the Cornell University College of Human Ecology Dean’s Advisory Council; and serves on the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences Dean’s Advisory Board.

Debra is also the Program Director of the Wellness Workdays Dietetic Internship, one of the largest programs in the country training nutrition students to become Registered Dietitians, including those at the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Washington Football Team, Minnesota Twins, University of Alabama, Duke University, and Notre Dame.

Margery Piercey

Margery is a CPA and Chartered Global Management Accountant. After three years of accelerated studies at Isenberg, she started her career with a Big Four firm. She went on to hold many leadership roles in public accounting, including Partner-in-Charge of a national firm’s Boston office. She is now CFO/COO of Mass Insight Education & Research, a non-profit improving equity in public K-12 education across the country. Prior to taking on her current role overseeing finance, accounting, marketing, fundraising and IT, Margery was a Mass Insight Board member.

While at Isenberg, Margery was President of the accounting honors society, Beta Alpha Psi, which ignited a passion for leadership and volunteerism. She is a past Board Chair of the Massachusetts Society of CPAs and of the United Way of Tri-County and the first female from Massachusetts to serve on the Board of the American Institute of CPAs in that organization’s 135-year history. Margery is a former Isenberg Accounting Dept Alum of the Year and a member of the Accounting Department Advisory Council.

Margery managed career and family, partnering with her husband. She has two adult kids. Fun fact – Margery has sung the National Anthem for the Celtics and Red Sox.

Shantel Palacio

Shantel Palacio is the Principal Advisor at Urbane Advisory and a consulting partner at the Perception Institute. She consults on education policy and on implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Her community work and research have been featured across several mediums including NPR, GQ Japan Magazine, West’s Education Law Reporter, The Gotham Film and Media Institute, and citations in Harvard’s IOP. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of New Hampshire.

Karen Peters

Karen is a 1987 graduate of UMass Amherst and has lived in Massachusetts ever since. Karen met her husband Chuck in her senior year at UMass, and they have 6 children. Karen's oldest 4 children graduated from Isenberg, Henry is currently a sophomore majoring in Political Science and Brendan is a freshman at Isenberg. Karen works with her husband Chuck at New England Wire Products in Leominster, Massachusetts. New England Wire Products is a family business and currently their three oldest children are working there. New England Wire helps the world’s leading retailers and consumer products goods (CPG) companies maximize point-of-sale impact and convert shoppers into buyers. Karen became a grandmother in 2022 and is thoroughly enjoying her new grandson Steve!

Kavya Krishna

Kavya is the CEO and Co-founder of Society of Women Coders.SOWCoders is a non-profit organization that believes in equitable access to Digital literacy to girls in all communities and through their platform has trained over 5K girls directly in Coding and Digital Literacy in 57 countries around the world and impacted over 25K lives indirectly. Through SOWCoders, Kavya has worked with government agencies and civic organizations in Haiti, Kenya, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan,Kenya, Zambia and Belize to establish coding camps, and has personally taught at several of them. She majored in Computer Science from Umass Amherst and worked in Data science and Finance roles at SiriusXM for five years in NYC before making the switch to run SOWCoders full time in 2021. Kavya enjoys mentoring and has also taught Python at Code in Place at Stanford. She is an advocate of Equitable Access and Women's Education and has represented the cause and mission of SOWCoders at various prestigious public platforms. Outside of work, she loves to dance and train in aerial yoga.

Nicole Tessein

Nicole is currently a manager at RSM US LLP and has over ten years of audit experience. She works with a variety of clients, performing audit and review services in various industries with an emphasis in consumer products and employee benefit plans. Prior to RSM, she had worked in both public and private accounting, including Big 4 experience. Outside of work, Nicole spends much of her time with her family. She volunteers on the Parent Teachers Together committee at her daughters' elementary school, as well as being an active participant in her local running club. Nicole graduated from Isenberg School of Management in 2007. During her time at UMass Amherst, she was a teacher's assistant for Introduction to Accounting, President of Beta Alpha Psi, and was a member of the Synchronized Skating Team.

Rachel Fitzgerald

Rachel is a Manager in RSM's Risk Consulting practice, specializing in the life science industry. During her 8 years at RSM, Rachel has primarily focused on assisting public companies with their Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) compliance efforts. Rachel's experience includes designing and developing process documentation, assisting clients with implementing procedures and improvements related to internal controls, assisting clients with their assessment of the design and operating effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, and managing the overall planning, execution, and coordination of her engagements. Rachel serves as a subject matter professional for RSM SEC integrated audits. Rachel holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Rachel is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and serves as an officer for the Institute of Internal Auditors Greater Boston Chapter.

Carolyn Warger

Carolyn is a Partner in Grant Thornton’s Accounting Principles Group, part of the National Office of the Audit Practice, where she works with audit teams and their clients as a subject matter expert in accounting areas such as leasing and revenue. She recently completed Professional Practice Fellowship at the Financial Accounting Standards Board, where she worked on accounting standard-setting projects for revenue, leasing, goodwill, and digital assets. Carolyn began her career with Grant Thornton in the Boston audit practice, serving clients in international not-for-profit, higher education, manufacturing, restaurant, and services industries. Carolyn has been an active leader of Grant Thornton’s Women@GT Business Resource Group throughout her career. In her free time she enjoys travel, scuba diving, and cross-stitching. Professional qualifications and memberships American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants Education Bachelor of Science in Accountancy summa cum laude University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Jenn Putnam

Jenn Putnam is a Senior Manager within the Tax practice of KPMG LLP. She spent the first eight years of her career with KPMG as part of the firm’s Business Tax Services practice, providing tax compliance and planning services to clients across a variety of industries, including corporations, partnerships, and high net-worth individuals. In 2013 she took was meant to be a two-year rotational opportunity with the firm’s Tax Learning & Development group. The opportunity to pair her Tax knowledge with her interest in education and love of teaching others was a perfect fit and turned into a long-term career shift. In her current role with KPMG, Jenn develops national training programs and digital learning resources for the firm’s Tax practice and is a frequent national training facilitator. Jenn holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Babson College, a Master of Science in Taxation from Suffolk University, and is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Massachusetts. Outside of work her interests include Broadway musicals, crocheting amigurumi, and the New England Patriots. Jenn resides in Easthampton, MA.

Jennifer Belanger

Jennifer is a Managing Director in EY’s Tax practice with over 20 years of experience in corporate taxation, income tax accounting, and auditing. She serves clients in the financial services industry, specializing in banking & capital markets institutions. The tax services that Jennifer provides are focused on ASC 740 (provision assistance and auditing), and federal tax compliance and consulting for both publicly and privately held companies, as well as domestic and global/inbound companies. She has extensive experience in applying income tax accounting guidance to financial institution specific transactions, merger and acquisition transactions, financial instrument taxation, tax-advantaged investments, and tax credits.

In addition to her client responsibilities, Jennifer leads an EY Banking sector team that is focused on income tax compliance process transformation. She also serves as part of the firm’s Audit and Tax Quality Review network, and she is an instructor in the EY Tax training program.

Education: Bachelor of Science, Business Administration & Accounting, Worcester State University; Master of Taxation (Spring 2023), Villanova University Professional Designations: IRS Enrolled Agent; Tax Law Certificate in Employee Benefits, Villanova University

Alyssa Biscotti

Alyssa Biscotti is a Senior Audit Assistant at Deloitte and serves Life Sciences Clients in the Boston area. Alyssa graduated from UMass Amherst in 2021 with her Master's in Accounting. During her time at UMass, Alyssa served as a Student Ambassador for the WOI Conference, became the Co-President of Women in Business, worked as an Isenberg Ambassador, and played on the Club Volleyball team. At Deloitte, Alyssa is involved in the LGBTQIA+ & Allies group, as well as the recruiting efforts of her firm. In her free time, Alyssa serves on the Board for the Doli Atamian Campership Program, a non-profit that provides camp experiences for children of low-income families in Acton Boxborough, her hometown, and is a Big Sister as part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters group. Alyssa loves to connect with others and foster strong relationships, travel and experience new places, laugh with friends and family, and spend time at the beach.

Kate Holt

Elyse Blum

Elyse is a tax senior manager in the Boston office of EY’s Financial Services Wealth & Asset Management practice. Elyse has over 10 years of experience working in the financial services industry focusing on hedge funds, private equity funds and fund of funds. She provides tax advisory and compliance services to her clients relating to the taxation of financial products and fund structuring.

Elyse has managed several tax compliance engagements for small and large hedge fund and fund of fund managers in Boston and New York. She has extensive experience working with domestic and offshore funds to determine the tax impact and reporting of their activities. Elyse has gained vast experience in the areas of state and local tax compliance, international tax compliance, and federal and state withholding. Elyse has deep knowledge of partner reporting obligations such as K-1s, 1042-Ss, 8805s, international tax disclosure reporting and state tax reporting. Elyse is a Certified Public Accountant in Massachusetts. She earned her BBA in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, as well as an MS in Taxation from Northeastern University. She is also a member of 100 Women in Finance.

Lauren Aquilano

Lauren graduated from Isenberg School of Management in 2010 with a degree in Marketing. She began her career at TJX Companies shortly after in their Planning and Allocation division. After spending 5 years as an analyst and planing manager she was promoted into Buying. She has bought merchandise for the Pet department for and has recently joined the Jewelry team. Her role as a Buyer involves finding great merchandise, buidling relationships, and negotiating exciting deals to keep the TJX customer happy and drive sales. She is passionate about training and developing new associates, inclusion and diversity at work, and practicing vulnerable and authentic leadership. She lives with her husband in Arlington, Massachusetts and enjoys cooking, running, thrift shopping and going to the beach with her 3-year-old nephew.

Heather Lashway

Heather Lashway is a Managing Director at PwC, a global professional services firm that delivers assurance, tax and advisory services. Heather is part of the Northeast Market and has over 20 years of experience within the asset management practice, including serving venture capital, private equity, real estate and fund of fund advisors. Heather works with a variety of clients, spanning large global organization to small start up funds. She has extensive experience in providing technical accounting and industry-specific guidance to her clients including fair value accounting, and working through various accounting, reporting and operational issues such as implementation of new standards, auditing investment portfolios and sharing of industry best practices. She also has considerable amount of experience working with industry specialists and bringing additional value to clients beyond the core audit.

Heather is a Certified Public Accountant with a Bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

She lives in Southampton, Ma with her husband, Gerry, and three children (Ashton – 16; Magdeline – 13; and Sophia – 11). She enjoys skiing, running, reading, spending time with friends and family, and watching her kids sports activities.

Stephanie O’Leary

Stephanie is a Manager is KPMG's Technology Assurance- Audit practice where she has substantial experience working and organizing Technology Assurance engagements across several industries, with a focus on financial services. She is a member of Bay Path University's Board of Trustees from which she has 3 degrees and a patient partner as part of the 2023 Dana Farber Boston Marathon Challenge Team.

Rose Raimo

Rose Raimo is an Assistant Vice President of Planning & Allocation for HomeGoods & Homesense US at The TJX Companies, Inc. She started with the company in 2015, after working in Macy's department stores with the Store Management Executive Development Program. Her career in retail came as a surprise, not knowing in her younger years that a passion for shopping could translate to the workforce. She currently leads a division of managers by leaning on her passion for creativity to unlock success in others.

Rose is an approachable and authentic leader who always shows up with a positive attitude.