Julee Brooks
CEO
Woodcraft Rangers
Julee Brooks is a true leader, endowed with a palpable charisma that is fueled by a deep sense of purpose and unwavering integrity. Her commitment to creating positive impact in the lives of those she serves infallibly guides her decisions at the helm of the institutions she has served, which include the Zimmer Children’s Museum, Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House, and most recently Woodcraft Rangers.
At each institution she leads, Brooks builds organizational strength by uplifting staff – inspiring them to deploy their best selves for the highest good. This authenticity translates to a deep sense of personal responsibility and organizational pride among staff, which currently numbers over 500 at Woodcraft Rangers. Now she is guiding Woodcraft Rangers through the process of school re-openings as the organization more than doubles its frontline staff in order to meet the needs of school district partners and families for enrichment programs and supervision for up to eight hours a day.
Christina Miller, Ph.D.
President & CEO
Mental Health America of Los Angeles
Since becoming president and CEO of Mental Health America of Los Angeles in 2017, Christina Miller, Ph.D. has led a strategic and cultural change process that has resulted in the integration of agency staff and services, a 47% increase in agency funding, a five-fold increase in private revenues, the development of critically needed new functions, and an expanded reach and partnerships with the larger community.
Even in this past pandemic year, MHALA thrived and grew in its ability to serve more people and expanded its programs and services, largely due to Dr. Miller’s leadership in reinventing MHALA’s service delivery in the face of the unpredictable and unforeseen challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. This past year, MHALA served 10,484 individuals with mental health needs, surpassing 2019 outcomes. Plus, Dr. Miller has created a highly inclusive and collaborative culture, which engages staff, supports them and motivates them to grow in their roles and take on new challenges.
Anne Miskey
CEO
Union Station Homeless Services
Anne Miskey is a nationally recognized expert on strategic, innovative, and effective solutions to ending homelessness. She is a passionate proponent of the most vulnerable in society and of creating long term, positive change and effective systems that support those experiencing poverty, violence, racism and homelessness.
Miskey oversees Union Station Homelessness Services, which has been serving the community for almost 50 years. As the lead agency coordinating homeless services in the San Gabriel Valley, the organization serves a region with a combined population of over 1.5 million across more than 36 cities and communities. With a mission to help individuals and families end homelessness and rebuild their lives, Miskey has been at the helm of helping more than 4,100 people find shelter, housing and services as well as 887 people moving from homelessness to housing with a 97% retention rate.
Renata Simril
President & CEO; President
LA84 Foundation; Play Equity Fund
Renata Simril’s career is defined by her dedication to public service, her love of sports, and her talent for leadership. Simril is the president and CEO of the LA84 Foundation, an organization that is committed to closing the play equity gap. As CEO, Simril oversees an endowment of $165 million, provides strategic direction, and manages all operational aspects of the foundation.
Simril has a visionary plan for developing a new national youth sports system. This model will ensure that all kids can participate in sports by prioritizing funding school-based and community-based programs. Simril has also achieved amazing results over the past five years with the LA84 Foundation. To date, 3,900,900 kids have participated in sports programs funded by LA84. This means nearly four million children have reaped the benefits of playing sports, including lower BMIs and lower stress, plus higher GPAs and higher graduation rates.
EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Tonja Boykin
Chief Operating Officer
Weingart Center Association
Tonja Boykin is chief operating officer of Weingart Center Association, a nonprofit homeless services agency serving Los Angeles since 1984. With over 30 years’ experience in high-performing nonprofit management, Boykin is a solutions-oriented leader that works tirelessly to support efforts to end homelessness for thousands of Angelenos every year.
In her career, Boykin has contributed to the creation of over 180 affordable housing developments for youth, families, seniors, and special needs individuals. Prior to joining Weingart Center Association, she served as the COO for Skid Row Housing Trust and the regional director of Philanthropy for Mercy Housing California. Since joining Weingart Center Association in 2016, Boykin has led efforts to scale and diversify the organization’s network of programs and services in order to help some of Los Angeles’ most vulnerable homeless individuals access housing and stabilize their lives.
Ann Marie Mortimer
Managing Partner, Los Angeles; Co-Head, Commercial Litigation Practice
Hunton Andrews Kurth
As one of only a handful of female managing partners in California, Ann Marie Mortimer has served as a member of her 1,000+ lawyer firm’s executive committee, and co-heads its commercial litigation practice. Mortimer leverages her leadership roles to better the legal profession and those around her. She makes it a priority to mentor young female lawyers and serves as a counselor to the firm’s new associates, taking them under her wing to help them grow as lawyers.
Leading clients in navigating the novel challenges posed by cybersecurity and privacy regulation, Mortimer speaks regularly on timely issues, preemptively guiding companies to avoid costly financial and reputational damage, including California’s recently enacted Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA). At the cutting edge of class action litigation and data security matters, she is advising companies that having a compliance program in place is critical, including preparing for the inevitable onslaught of class action litigation.
Myra Nourmand
Principal and Luxury Real Estate Agent
Nourmand & Associates
As one of the owners and principals of Nourmand & Associates, Myra Nourmand is an industry leader and a key figure in the Los Angeles community. She began her tenure at Nourmand & Associates during a time in which males dominated the industry. Despite this, she made a name for herself and is now fondly known as Los Angeles’ “First Lady of Real Estate.” With over 30 years of unrivaled experience, she has commanded over a billion dollars in sales.
As principal, Nourmand plays a key role in Nourmand & Associates’ growth, which started with a small number of agents in one office in 1976 and now includes over 175 agents across three offices in the key LA markets of Beverly Hills, Brentwood, and Hollywood. Her wide-ranging expertise in selling luxury properties across the region’s most covetable neighborhoods make her one of the industry’s most sought-after agents.
Dayle M. Smith, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Business Administration
Loyola Marymount University
Dayle M. Smith, Ph.D., the dean of the College of Business Administration at Loyola Marymount University, holds her Ph.D. in Organizational Communication from the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California. She was named to the international collaborative of deans and directors of the Globally Responsible Leadership Institute to engage in dialogue and joint initiatives focused on developing responsible leadership and business practice worldwide.
At LMU, Dr. Smith’s vision and mission are premised on “advancing knowledge and developing business leaders with moral courage and creative confidence to be a force for good in the global community.” Her new strategic plan prioritizes three key business goals: embracing business as a force for good; ensuring an entrepreneurial and agile perspective; and, shaping global, transdisciplinary leaders. She has authored more than 25 books in her discipline, and her research has focused primarily on leadership, communication and organizational behavior.
INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Natasha Case
Co-Founder & CEO
Coolhaus
Natasha Case, co-founder and CEO of Coolhaus, is deeply committed to investing in the next generation of diverse women to feel empowered to be entrepreneurs or creators and using Coolhaus ice cream as a platform for change.
Some specific examples of Case’s commitment to harnessing innovative practices for positive change include creating a flavor for Black Girl Ventures where all proceeds will fund one of the organization’s grants for a Black or Brown female founder; the “Enjoymint for All” SKU for Pride that raises funds for Okra Project; the “Queens Coffee” SKU sourced from a women-owned farm in Africa; raising funds for developing nation female entrepreneurs; mentoring and public speaking with Girl Scouts of America; parterships with Girls Inc to help with STEM resources; partnership with Goldieblox, Teen Vogue, No Kid Hungry; and many more.
Renee Fraser, Ph.D.
Founder & CEO
Fraser Communications
In everything she does, Renee Fraser’s aspiration of “doing well by doing good” follows her closely – and in innovative ways. It’s unusual for a PhD psychologist to run an ad agency, but Fraser was convinced that advertising communications could be a powerful force for positive behavioral change, so she started Fraser Communications in 1998. She brings a unique perspective to marketing by studying neuroscience, tapping into deeper brand values, finding insights about consumers’ wants and subconscious expectations, and thereby developing unusually creative ways to engage and persuade consumers.
One of the largest independent agencies and one of the fastest growing woman-owned companies in LA, Fraser Communications is known for smart strategic thinking, insightful branding, research, successful social media, traditional media, and website content creation.
Jackie Keller
Founder, NutriFit LLC, SimpliHealth LLC, TxokoUSA
Board of Directors, Foundation of Women Presidents’ Organization
Jackie Keller is the founding director of NutriFit, LLC and is a national board-certified health & wellness coach. She holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Southern California and received culinary training from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France. Her father passed away from a heart attack when she was just a teenager. She has made it her mission to help people live longer and healthier lives. She has said, “I have a personal commitment to help people circumvent heart disease and other chronic ailments. It drives almost everything I do. It is my passion.”
NutriFit, Keller’s and her husband’s healthy meal delivery business, began in 1987. It provides custom meal solutions that help clients achieve optimal health and well-being and live longer and healthier lives. NutriFit also offers full-service nutritional support, biometric testing, wellness coaching, and health-related products.
Deborah J. La Franchi
President & CEO
SDS Capital Group
Deborah La Franchi is the founder and CEO of SDS Capital Group, a national leader in impact investing with over $1 billion in assets under management. Each impact fund on SDS’ platform employs a unique investment strategy developed by SDS to generate positive impacts for low-income communities, families and individuals.
La Franchi recently launched SDS’ new Supportive Housing Fund, a first of-its-kind private equity fund financing permanent supportive housing with a focus on the homeless population in Los Angeles. The Fund uses market-rate equity and zero taxpayer dollars to finance 100% of acquisition and construction costs for homeless housing developments. These units cost less than half the typical homeless housing unit costs in California, creating a new paradigm for housing the homeless. The SDS Supportive Housing Fund will finance a minimum of 1,800 units of permanent supportive housing in California.
EMERGING WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS LEADER FINALISTS
Ahyoung Kim
CEO
ARQ Tex
Five years ago, after some success as an executive and entrepreneur in retail, Ahyoung Kim was recruited by an investor in China to launch a textile business in Los Angeles. The investor privately owned one of the largest garment dye-houses in China was seeking to diversity his business globally and vertically within textiles.
Kim’s knowledge in the manufacturing of garments, her rich comprehension of apparel retail, and ultimately her perseverance, grit, and integrity presented a spark for the business to grow. Being a Korean-American without knowing how to speak Mandarin, Kim would spend days ideating business plans and then evenings presenting the business plans through a translator. Working two shifts and two time zones, she earned trust and ARQ Tex was launched. She has since bridged two nations in textile importing with a start-up that has grown from zero revenue in 2018 to now more than $15 million in sales.
Yanghee Paik
CEO & Co-Founder
Rael
Yanghee Paik is an immigrant who left Korea to come to the US and found a company in a challenging, competitive space (feminine care) and out of a less than sexy VC market (Orange County) to become the leading brand and #1 best seller on Amazon, D2C, and wholesale retail channels both domestically and globally.
Today, Paik runs an all-female team that is authentic to the brand that they are building. At Rael, her mission is to empower women with healthier and more effective solutions for their needs around their hormonal cycle. To that end, she and her team have been working diligently to deliver on promises with product innovation, exceptional customer service, and philanthropic efforts. Plus, for her employees, she actively looks for opportunities for them to grow, develop their skills, and have a clear career path at the company.
Alix Peabody
Founder & CEO
Bev
Alix Peabody, founder and CEO of Bev, decided to create a company that would center around women (and men) having fun together, that would address issues in drinking culture head-on, and that would – of course – be the most consumer-friendly product in the market.
Since Bev’s inception in 2017, Peabody has been working to change the way individuals see the male-dominated alcohol industry, making it a space that’s more welcoming to women. Through an online platform, products, and mission, Bev has created a community that promotes empowerment and togetherness and appeals to both the male and female consumer for its approachability and joyful perspective. Bev’s mission to “Do it Different, Do it Better, Break the Glass” is embodied not only in Peabody’s approach to fostering better drinking culture, but in a groundbreaking digital agility and consumer-centric approach.
Denise Pines
CEO, Founder
Tea Botanics, Wisepause
A longtime community health advocate and media pioneer, Denise Pines is a trusted resource for women as they pursue midlife wellness. She’s the founder of Tea Botanics and WisePause, a pro-ageing health and education platform. Her project The FemAging Project provides health and tech industry leaders and investors with research and education that helps drive global innovation focused on the health and wellness needs of women ages 40+.
Pines is also the co-founder of Women in the Room, an award-winning filmmaker producing 11 documentaries including the award-winning film “PUSHOUT: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools.” Her next documentary, “Anthony Face” will air on PBS Winter 2022. She is also the immediate past president of the Medical Board of California and serves on the Martin Luther King Community Hospital Foundation board.
CHAMPION OF WOMEN AWARD FINALISTS
Cyndie Chang
Managing Partner, Los Angeles
Duane Morris LLP
Cyndie Chang is a dynamic and inspirational leader in her law firm and the legal industry. She currently serves as a current commissioner on the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession and as a board member of the National Association of Women Lawyers. She is a past president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, which serves as the national voice of the APA legal community.
Chang is also a member of Duane Morris LLP’s governing Partners Board and the firm’s Los Angeles managing partner, the youngest and first Asian American female to serve in that role and one of the few Asian American women that serve in upper law firm management at AmLaw 100 firms. She received Duane Morris’ Women’s Impact Network for Success Award and the Margery Reed Professional Excellence Award, for mentoring and advancing women in the legal profession in 2019.
Dianne Gubin and Beth Hilbing
Co-CEOs
C-Sweet
Dianne Gubin and Beth Hilbing are co-CEOs of C-Sweet, a premier national networking association for female executives across industries. C-Sweet fosters executive level relationships for business development, collaboration and expanded career paths, as well as expanded professional networks of female colleagues in leadership positions to foster innovation.
Gubin and Hilbing created C-Sweet to generate opportunities for trusted and confidential exchange and business / career development, as well as to connect women to freely brainstorm and discuss challenges in business. C-Sweet facilitates the exchange of ideas, strategies, and tactics for success. C-Sweet produces live and virtual events, as well as CEO and peer executive roundtables. The organization recently launched a Women on Boards initiative for women to gain access to corporate and government board positions.
Genie Harrison
President and Lead Trial Lawyer
Genie Harrison Law Firm, APC
Genie Harrison is a leader among lawyers and a top women’s rights and employment lawyer who handles among the most high-profile sex abuse, sex harassment and equal pay cases each year and devotes hundreds of hours annually giving back to the legal community.
Harrison represents women against Harvey Weinstein as a core member of the plaintiffs’ lawyer team to achieve a precedential settlement of $17 million on behalf of Weinstein’s victims, despite Weinstein’s financial ruin. Harrison worked closely with Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey in their explosive expos about Weinstein and The Weinstein Company bankruptcy proceedings. In another example of her many high profile cases, when the women employees of Riot Games were dissatisfied with the proposed settlement of their equal pay class action, they chose Harrison to take over the case.
Nina Marino
Partner
Kaplan Marino, PC
Nina Marino has championed women’s issues for more than two decades. She has helped change the gender composition of the ABA’s educational programming and spoken at the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Women’s Summit and the Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Women Leadership in the Law series.
Marino is the founder of the Criminal Defense Law Section of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles and of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association. In addition, she serves on the board of directors’ executive committee of C5LA, a non-profit focused on creating a path to college for underserved youth. A prominent member of the criminal defense bar, Marino was recognized for more than 25 years of professional excellence as the recipient of the American Bar Association’s 2017 Charles English Award, the highest national award for work in the field of criminal justice.
MENTOR OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Jesse-Justin Cuevas
Associate
Susman Godfrey LLP
Jesse-Justin Cuevas has emerged as a leader at national litigation trial boutique Susman Godfrey. Not only because of her innate legal skills and litigation savvy but also for the significant role she has played as a mentor for so many at the firm and for creating a sustainable, impactful firmwide mentor program. Cuevas has served as an incredible mentor and guide to diverse, young lawyers and students for years and has translated that into a broader reach through her work at the firm and groups that advance in the interests of women in the profession.
Cuevas played a central role in reinventing the firm’s existing mentoring efforts into a new, formal mentoring program, improving the associate experience overall while also ensuring that new and diverse lawyers receive the support needed to thrive at the firm. Thus far, the new Mentoring Program has received overwhelmingly positive feedback.
Maja J. Mataric
Chan Soon-Shiong Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Neuroscience and Pediatrics, Interim Vice President of Research, Founding Director, USC Robotics and Autonomous Systems Center
University of Southern California
Dr. Maja Matarić is a stellar mentor and advocate who has mentored early students at every stage of their careers and has and helped to place large numbers of women and members of other underrepresented groups in graduate programs and faculty positions. More than 60% of Matarić’s former PhD students are in tenure-track research positions at major universities, while the rest are in high-level leadership roles in major robotics and computing companies.
Matarić has trained over 100 undergraduate researchers, and has one of the highest rates of women and underrepresented minority students in her group across ranks, from undergraduate to PhD. Matarić also designed and oversees USC’s engineering K-12 STEM outreach program.
Heather Nielsen
Project Manager, Concrete
Webcor
It’s safe to say that Heather Nielsen, who currently balances her time between Webcor’s general contractor (Webcor Builders) and concrete (Webcor Concrete) divisions, has had a busy year. As project manager of 960 W 7th Street in Los Angeles (Webcor Builders), she’s been managing project costs and owner relations while closing out Four Seasons Private Residences Los Angeles (Webcor Concrete) and managing John Wayne Airport’s concrete scope (Webcor Concrete).
Despite a heavy workload, Nielsen regularly speaks to Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) student organizations about her vast industry experience in hopes of inspiring the next generation of young architecture/engineering/construction leaders and disruptors. As a CPP Civil Engineering alumnus who has built an admirable career in the construction industry, she’s found these opportunities to share her professional experiences in the field and to outline the plethora of options available to civil engineering majors extremely rewarding.
COMMUNITY IMPACT ADVOCATE FINALISTS
Christina Gagnier
Shareholder
Carlton Fields
Carlton Fields shareholder Christina Gagnier grew up in a household where the importance of quality education was front and center. After working her way through school, Gagnier opened her first business. From there, she went on to found her own law firm – a tech-focused firm comprising mostly women – and after exiting that firm, she still remains one of the few female partners in a male-dominated industry.
Gagnier seeks to encourage women and girls to pursue careers in technical fields and ensure that all young women are empowered to make choices about their futures. Outside her practice, she is an adjunct professor at the UC Irvine School of Law and teaches the only privacy law class offered there. She has also served as a policy adviser, helping draft legislation and testifying before the California State Senate on issues relating to consumer privacy.
Teena Hostovich
Vice Chair
Lockton Insurance Brokers, LLC
Since joining Lockton in 2001, Teena Hostovich has been a valued partner who has demonstrated strong leadership within the company as well as in the community. She is vice chair, a member of the company’s Executive Committee and a leading producer who manages a significant book of business for Lockton. Her expertise in complex risk, higher education, law firms and other professional services spans more than 30 years.
Hostovich has carved a path and has served as a positive role model for many more women who are pushing forward in their careers and climbing the ladder today. She has been passionate about mentoring women in leadership and currently is the executive sponsor for the Lockton Women’s Leadership Committee. As vice chair, she has advanced women’s leadership initiatives and cultural growth in diversity and inclusion for Lockton and is championing the company culture and community impact through strategic philanthropy.
Lizbeth Nevarez
Managing Director and Nonprofit Tax Practice Leader
GHJ
Lizbeth Nevarez, CPA, is a dedicated and committed volunteer and trailblazer in the Los Angeles nonprofit community. She is also a champion of women in the workplace and a nonprofit business leader. She currently sits on multiple boards of organizations where she provides her expertise to help propel their growth and act as a champion for their causes.
Nevarez is also a thought leader and frequent guest speaker on nonprofit tax issues, board governance and more. She is also dedicated to providing one-on-one mentorship time to individuals to help them grow in their own careers, especially in regards to serving the nonprofit community and actively encourages mentee involvement in the community and promotes the benefits of giving back and volunteering. As the Women’s Empowerment Initiative Committe co-chair, she focuses on helping women achieve success by providing leadership training.
Angela Reddock-Wright
Employment Mediator & Arbitrator
Reddock Law / Judicate West
A practicing attorney for nearly 25 years, Angela Reddock-Wright is a leading employment mediator, arbitrator, workplace, and Title IX investigator. After working as an employment litigator for the first 15 years of her career, ten years ago, Reddock-Wright opened the Reddock Law Group and transitioned to being a full-time neutral.
In the course of her legal career, she has served as the lead investigator for some of the most sensitive and high profile investigations involving private, public, and non-profit sector employers. This past year, she was the lead investigator in several high profile investigations in the gaming industry and stemming from claims of race discrimination and other claims stemming from the death of George Floyd and the enhanced engagement of the Black Lives Matter movement. Her life’s work and mission are to help employers and employees create great, healthy and thriving workplaces.
WOMAN TO WATCH OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Perica Bell
Managing Director, Division Manager for Community Development Finance – Originations
Union Bank
Perica Bell’s career has focused on financing and building successful real estate projects, providing value to external shareholders and creating attainable, affordable housing for low/moderate income residents. Today, within the Real Estate Industries Group at Union Bank, she leads the administration of Community Development Finance (CDF) originations activities throughout the bank’s footprint. Bell was promoted to this role earlier in 2021, a reflection of her being an instrumental leader and contributor to the success of the CDF team within Union Bank over the past 11 years.
Bell and her team originate debt and low-income housing tax credit equity for the bank’s affordable housing developer relationships throughout California, and lead community development investment activities in wholesale markets outside of California.
Krystle Hogan
Vice President, Sales and Service
LA Clippers
Krystle Hogan is the LA Clippers’ vice president of ticket sales and service, and she oversees the day-to-day sales and service efforts for Clippers events held at STAPLES Center. Hogan has been leading the Clippers’ sales and service team through the uncertainties and ever-changing landscape of the pandemic and working from home, while still meeting sales goals and maintaining relationships with Clippers season ticket members and fans. Since joining the Clippers as director of membership services in 2018, Hogan has built a dedicated service model for season ticket members and increased renewals. Following the 2018-19 season, the Clippers renewed more than 90% of full-season equivalents.
Hogan has taken on leadership roles for the Clippers outside of her everyday responsibilities. She serves as co-chair of the LACED UP committee, focused on promoting a culture of diversity and inclusion.
Jasmin Larian
Founder and Creative Director
Cult Gaia
Jasmin Larian, a Los Angeles native, is the founder and CEO of popular fashion brand, Cult Gaia. After graduating from The Fashion Institute of Technology, Larian used a $7,000 investment and built a brand that is now projected to do over $30 million in sales this year. She derives her inspiration from her hometown of Los Angeles, nature and women and always focuses on designing pieces that are “objet d’art.” The brand is known for creating top-selling, show stopping pieces which began with Flower Crowns, then the coveted Ark Bag which amassed a waitlist of thousands, followed by the iconic Serita dress that stole the summer of 2020.
She has built a brand that celebrates women and the beauty and culture of Los Angeles, while simultaneously giving back and supporting philanthropic causes. Recently hitting the milestone of one million followers on Instagram, her brand has no plans of slowing down.
Heba Nowyhed, Ph.D.
Scientific Advisor; Vice President; Board Member
Vida Ventures; Translational Research, IconOVir Bio; Kyverna Therapeutics
A scientist whose work as part of the Translational Sciences team at Kite Pharma contributed to the historic approval of the first CAR-T therapy for adult patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Heba Nowyhed, PhD has dedicated her career to the development of transformative technologies to benefit patients in areas of significant unmet need. Dr. Nowyhed’s extensive training and over 14 years of experience have equipped her to make an immediate impact and to address challenges faced in the field of immunobiology across various disease settings including oncology, autoimmunity, chronic inflammation, and metabolic disorders.
After Kite, Dr. Nowyhed transitioned to Vida Ventures, a venture capital firm with a mission to expand life sciences in LA and beyond by advancing transformative biomedical innovations.
NEXTGEN WOMAN OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Jennifer Caravello
Senior Operations Analyst/Intern Manager
Halbert Hargrove
Jen Caravello’s story and rise at Halbert Hargrove is nothing short of inspiring. In 2015, she was on the heels of graduating from California State University, Long Beach, and was starting a position with Halbert Hargrove as an intern. Fast forward six years, she is now running the internship program herself, serves as a senior operations analyst with the firm, and is positioning herself within our next generation of leadership for the firm as she continues to contribute, mentor and guide her cohorts as well as the firm.
Since 2018, Caravello has been solely responsible for shaping and developing the company’s next generation of talent.
Lyndee Fletcher
Chief Operating Officer
Vcheck Global
Vcheck Global’s COO, Lyndee Fletcher joined Vcheck Global as a marketing associate in 2016 when she was just 22 and was employee #7 at the company. At that time, the business was still operating with manual processes and completely on paper.
As the company grew, Fletcher pioneered an entirely new, tech-driven, and transformative operating infrastructure that fully digitized the company’s case management system and facilitated the virtual onboarding and training of an increasing number of remote hires. In 2019, at the age of 25, Fletcher took this a step further by conceiving of and building an artificial intelligence-driven platform.
Erin Khan
Construction Solutions Director
Suffolk
Erin Khan is the construction solutions director at Suffolk Construction in Los Angeles. She is responsible for driving construction operational excellence through data analytics, process innovation and technology in the Southern California region.
In her current role at Suffolk, Khan is testing and evaluating groundbreaking technology to improve overall operational excellence across construction projects. A recent example of this is her efforts to experiment with startups that provide enhanced site communication through augmented and virtual reality application integrations. Her goal is to solve construction team’s operational pain-points.
Marissa Lepor
Vice President
The Sage Group
Marissa Lepor is a vice president at The Sage Group, specializing in corporate financial advisory for fashion, beauty and other branded consumer businesses. She plays an instrumental role in prospecting new brands, managing investor relationships, and executing mergers, acquisitions, and capital raises.
Since joining the firm upon graduating from Columbia University in 2016, Lepor has stretched beyond the responsibilities typically associated with her title in business development, financial analysis, legal negotiation, deal strategy, and problem solving.
