ABOUT US
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
The Women's Leadership Council is the advisory group to the Pathways to Power Women's Leadership Program. This group of accomplished and talented women are dedicated to empowering the next generation of women leaders.
The Leadership Council includes:
Julie Andreeff Jensen
Barbara Annis
Anne Chahal
Stefanie Conahan
Suzy George
Jessica Grounds
Anne Madison
Betsy Myers
Marianela Peralta
Patti Solis-Doyle
Karen Sommer Shalett
Ann Walker Marchant
Marilyn Yager
Judith Zarin
Julie Andreeff Jensen brings a wealth of political and campaign experience to Brunswick. Most recently Julie served as Get-Out-the-Vote Director for Barack Obama in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. Prior to that, she served in several senior roles within Chris Dodd’s presidential campaign including Deputy Political Director and National Field Director. In 2006, Andreeff Jensen ran regional political operations for Governor Mark Warner and helped elect Governor Martin O’Malley and Senator Ben Cardin. In 2004, Julie worked on Senator John Kerry’s primary and general election campaigns starting in Iowa and ending in the battleground state of Ohio. back to top
Barbara Annis is the new chair for the Women's Leadership Board at Harvard. She is a recognized leading expert in Inclusive Leadership and Gender Initiatives. Barbara and her associates are dedicated to removing organizational and leadership barriers by bringing the latest research and thinking on Leadership, Gender Diversity and Inclusiveness into the workplace, so that organizations can turn gender diversity into a powerful technology of success. Over the last 20 years, Barbara Annis & Associates has facilitated over 3,000 corporate workshops, keynotes, and executive coaching sessions on Gender Intelligent Leadership to Fortune 500 Corporations, including Deloitte & Touche, IBM, Smith Barney Citigroup, UBS, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Intel.
Barbara is the Chair-elect of the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. back to top
Anne Chahal founded Janalent International, a consortium of award winning companies providing collaborative enterprise management, technology and software development solutions to the midmarket, enterprise, and public sector. Under her leadership, Janalent has grown from a few people working in a spare bedroom to an international organization with offices in multiple cities around the world and annual growth measuring into the triple digits. Janalent has earned numerous awards for innovation and excellence since 2004, with the most recent being the prestigious 2009 Microsoft Worldwide Partner of the Year Award for Unified Communications and Messaging Solutions. In 2009, Anne was invited by former President Clinton to join the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), for her vision of an innovative model that integrates philanthropy with business, across industries. In her personal time, she has helped chair, fund and volunteer with numerous nonprofits, including: the Clinton Global Initiative, the Clinton Foundation’s Millennium Network, Child Advocates of Silicon Valley, Second Chance Dog Rescue, the Las Vegas Opportunity Village, Toys for Tots, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training, and many others. back to top
Stefanie Conahan is a political fundraiser and strategist. She provides counsel to organizations and candidates in the areas of development, partnership outreach and relationship management. Stefanie served as Deputy National Finance Director to Senator Evan Bayh from 2005 – 2006 and from 2007 – 2008 worked as Deputy Regional Finance Director for the Hillary Clinton for President Campaign. She organized a series of National Women’s Summits, fundraising campaign events that took place in Washington, DC and New York City with thousands of women from across the country. Since 2009, Stefanie has been working on behalf of women candidates and causes. She serves as a consultant to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of NY, Speaker Karen Bass of CA and the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum, an organization that is dedicated to honoring women who demonstrate progress toward equality. Additionally, Stefanie is a volunteer and supporter of Horton’s Kids and the Washington Middle School for Girls in Anacostia, non-profit organizations that offer educational and tutoring programs to children in DC. back to top
Suzanne A. George brings more than 15 years experience in strategic project management focusing on operations and resource allocation to her role as a Principal of The Albright Group LLC and as a Principal of Albright Capital Management LLC. Ms. George manages an extensive portfolio, including market entry strategy, business development, contract negotiations, operational execution, and financial oversight. She served as the Deputy Chief of Staff at the Department of State during the Clinton Administration with responsibility for management and coordination of travel and meetings in over 100 countries for Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Ms. George also served as a liaison to the White House and other Cabinet agencies for the Secretary of State. back to top
Jessica Grounds is the Executive
Director of Running Start, non-profit organization that educates young
girls and women about politics. She is the former President of
Women Under Forty Political Action Committee and a former Senior Strategist
for Stones' Phones, a Democratic consulting firm based in Washington,
DC. Jessica has worked with organizations supporting young women
running for Congress for the last five years. In 2008, she worked
for Senator Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign in Iowa.
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Anne Madison
Anne Madison is senior vice president of corporate communications
for Choice Hotels International, Inc., one of the world’s largest
and most successful hotel franchisors. She is also an officer of the
company. She has 25 years of experience at national and international
organizations, with expertise creating compelling public relations campaigns
to support the launch of new products; garnering prominent media placements;
establishing investor relations strategies that help maximize market
value, credibility and visibility; leveraging emerging media and social
networking strategies to build strong brand awareness; and developing
employee communications programs to enhance the employment brand of
a variety of organizations. In addition, she has a broad range of experience
in strategic planning, legislative affairs, and marketing. Prior to
Choice, she was vice president of marketing and communications for Enterprise
Community Investment, a leading national provider of community development
capital for affordable housing. Prior to Enterprise, she was a senior
executive with The Ryland Group, a Fortune 500 company and one of the
nation’s largest homebuilders. Earlier in her career she held similar
positions with Commerce Clearing House/CT Corporation System in Washington,
D.C. and with the Springfield Metropolitan Housing Authority in Ohio.
Active in the community, she has volunteer and board member experience
with the National Family Resiliency Center, the Norbel School, the Domestic
Violence Center of Howard County, and Leadership Howard County.
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Betsy Myers most recently served
as a senior advisor to Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign. She joined
the campaign in January 2007 as the Chief Operating Officer and served
in this capacity from the start-up phase of the campaign through the
primary season. She is known for establishing the campaign with a business
operational model and customer service mentality. During the general
campaign, Betsy represented the campaign as Chair, Women for Obama.
Prior to this appointment, Betsy was the Executive Director of the Center
for Public Leadership at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. As
senior official in the Clinton Administration, she was the President's
senior advisor on women's issues and the first Director of the White
House Office for Women’s Initiatives and Outreach (1995–1997).
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Marianela Peralta has been a Shareholder at Littler Mendelson, P.C. since 2007. Ms. Peralta represents and counsels management clients in connection with all types of labor and employment matters arising under state and federal laws. Ms. Peralta is a former Assistant United States Attorney who has the distinction of having served in both the Criminal and Civil Divisions of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, a role not many AUSAs serve. Prior to joining Littler Mendelson, Ms. Peralta was a Counsel in the Employment Practice at the law firm Dickstein Shapiro, LLP where she focused her practice on all phases of employment litigation and counseling. Ms. Peralta also previously served as an Attorney Advisor with the NLRB in Chicago where she worked on a number of matters involving Spanish-speaking employees. Ms. Peralta is a trained Mediator and has mediated complaints involving charges of discrimination in the workplace, public accommodations, and housing. back to top
Katheryn recently joined the House Financial Services committee after working at JP Morgan in NY. She is very involved with NARAL Pro Choice NY and the UJA Federation of New York. back to top
Patti is a partner at Utrecht & Phillips, a Washington, DC law firm that offers strategic counseling and representation before Congress and the executive agencies as well as federal and state campaign finance and ethic law. In addition, Solis Doyle is President of Solis Strategies, a company that offers strategic communication and political advice. Solis Doyle is a political organizer and campaign strategist with unprecedented insight into several of the most important campaigns of the past 30 years. Solis Doyle served as a senior advisor to Hillary Clinton from the earliest days of then Governor Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign, through two terms in the White House, her election and re-election to the U.S. Senate, and her presidential campaign. As campaign manager of Clinton’s presidential bid from January 2007 through February 2008, Solis was the first Hispanic woman to lead a presidential effort in the United States. Solis has been honored with the “2007 Latinas of Excellence Award” by Hispanic Magazine for her accomplishments in the area of government, politics and civil leadership. Hispanic Business Magazine recently named her one of America’s “100 Most Influential Hispanics.” back to top
Karen Sommer Shalett is editor-in-chief of DC Magazine. As a freelancer, she wrote for over a dozen publications including Women's Wear Daily and Lucky. In her previous position as a reporter for New Orleans' Times Picayune, she reported on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She then launched the luxury shopping magazine Wish for the Times Picayune, where her work earned her a Louisiana Press Association award. Karen took a position with The Washington Post as shopping columnist for the paper's Style and Sunday Source sections before becoming EIC of DC Magazine. back to top
Ann Walker Marchant is the founder and CEO of the Walker Marchant Group (WMG) - a public relations firm specializing in corporate communications, litigation communications, issues management and media planning. WMG provides senior-level strategic communications counsel to some of the world's premier corporate brands, such as Eli Lilly and Company, Best Buy, Arbitron, Walgreens, Merrill Lynch, Viacom, Sodexho, Johnson & Johnson, Schlumberger, GEICO, SSP America and the Washington Convention Center Authority. Prior to founding WMG, Ann was Executive Vice President and Director of Global Business Development at Weber Shandwick International; an Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG). Ann spent six years in the White House where she served as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Research and Special Projects for Communications for President Clinton. She was responsible for developing and implementing communications strategy in support of key Presidential initiatives. back to top
Ellen has 27 years experience partnering with organizations in the private and public sector to empower women leaders and advance business as an engine for social change. As an early innovator in the field of executive coaching, Ellen has designed and coached leaders in organizations spanning consumer goods, government, health care, higher education, pharmaceuticals and technology with clients such as Diageo, Harvard Business School, KPMG, Novartis, Pfizer, Small Business Administration and the UN World Food Programme. Ellen was an early supporter of Obama for America as a member of the New England Steering Committee and Women for Obama. Ellen is a member of the Womens' Leadership Board, Harvard Kennedy School, a senior faculty member of Barbara Annis & Associates, and a board member of World Pulse Media, a web based global women’s news wire recently featured in Half the Sky, by Kristof and WuDunn. She has been a speaker on NPR, Committee of 200, Babson Women in Leadership Series and the Fletcher School International Business Program and co-editor of Enlightened Power: How Women Are Transforming the Practice of Leadership, 2005. back to top
Marilyn Yager is a senior policy advisor in Alston & Bird’s Washington, D.C. office. She provides policy and political expertise on a variety of health care issues, assisting clients in developing, designing and implementing their legislative and regulatory strategy. She has 25 years of senior management, policy and government affairs experience in both the public and private sectors. Her non-profit experience includes serving as executive director of The Kenneth B. Schwartz Center – a non-profit organization, housed at Massachusetts General Hospital, dedicated to improving the communication between patients and their clinical caregivers. In the field of government relations, Ms. Yager was the director of health policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the director of federal relations for the Massachusetts Hospital Association. back to top
Dr. Zarin has been a political and social activist since 1999. Currently, Dr. Zarin is a Majority Trust Member of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, a Founding Member of the DSCC Women’s Senate Network, a member of the National Advisory Board of the Democratic National Committee and a Majority Council Member of EMILY’S LIST. In October, ’09 she co-chaired, along with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) and Senator Debbie Stabanow (D- MI), the 2009 Women’s Senate Network Policy Conference in New York. In addition, Dr. Zarin is a Founding Member of the American Democracy Institute and is Co-Chair of their Women’s Leadership Program. Dr. Zarin has also been a board member of National NARAL for five years and serves on the Board of Governors of the School of General Studies, the New School, New York. Dr. Zarin has created scholarships for New York City young women at both New York University and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Dr. Zarin is a former film producer and holds a Ph.D from the Graduate Faculty of the New School and a J.D. from Cardozo School of Law. back to top