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Entrepreneurship -
Personal Finance -
Finance -
Entrepreneurship PanelMonica F. Murphy (Moderator)
Monica Ferguson Murphy is the Co-Founder of SoleMates, LLC. SoleMates is the creator of the SoleMates High HeelerTM, the discreet high heel accessory that prevents heels from sinking into grass and from getting ruined on other unsupportive surfaces (bricks, sidewalks, grates, etc). Monica graduated from Georgetown University with an undergraduate degree in finance and received her MBA from Columbia in 2007. She spent five years at Goldman Sachs in various sales and trading roles before attending graduated school. She returned to Goldman briefly before launching SoleMates in January of 2008. Sophie Pachella
Sophie Pachella is a nutritionist based in New York City with a successful private practice and a popular website, www.EatStrong.com. A real advocate for her twin passions, nutrition and fitness, Sophie is regularly invited to contribute to websites and consumer magazines, including iVillage.com and American Baby, and has been featured in numerous publications including Time Out New York, Shape, Body + Soul, Women's Health, Cosmopolitan, and Family Circle. Additionally, she is the spokesperson for Chobani TM Greek Yogurt, Mustela TM and was appointed as Nutrition Counsel to the board of YogaEarth TM. Sophie has also appeared on television as part of the WB11 morning news and CBS’ Up To The Minute and has spoken at colleges, spas and corporations. She was appointed as the nutritionist for the NYC chapter of the American Heart Association. She has worked as a fitness model for several publications and works with a team at AmericanBaby.com to manage a 2009 weight loss challenge featuring online support. Barbara Koz Paley
Barbara Koz Paley is the Founder and CEO of Art Assets, an art consulting firm that integrates art and culture into real estate projects and art programs for the corporate community. Innovative services of Art Assets include the tax-deductible ArtLease. Art Assets was founded in 1992. Ms. Paley is also a partner in Atlantic Assets Group, a company that acquires urban infill properties which require redevelopment and re-tenanting. The current area of focus is Downtown Brooklyn and Crown Heights. Her specialty is mixed-use properties with a retail component. Prior to founding Art Assets Ms. Paley helped create Realty Advisory Services, a real estate and advisory fund which purchased value-added commercial properties. Earlier companies include Kozmopolitan Gallery and Koz Enterprises Ltd, a real estate investment company. She received her B.S., in Social Psychology and Fine Arts from Boston University. Ms. Paley’s current civic affiliations include the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Urban Land Institute New York, Real Estate Academic Initiative at Harvard University, Columbia University Business School’s Lang Entrepreneurial Center, and the Storefront Artists Project in Pittsfield, MA. Geri Stengel
Geri Stengel is president of Stengel Solutions and Ventureneer, which specialize in "good businesses" – nonprofits, social enterprises and for-profit values-driven companies. Stengel Solutions is a strategic planning and marketing consulting firm. Ventureneer is an online professional development and peer-to-peer support service that will launch mid 2009. In 2002, Ms. Stengel co-founded Women's Leadership Exchange, which provides conferences for women led companies. In the 90's, Ms. Stengel headed marketing for Dow Jones Information Services, which included Dow Jones News/Retrieval (forerunner to Factiva), the Dow Jones Newswires, and The Wall Street Journal Radio and TV Reports. Later she launched Physicians' Online. Ms. Stengel is Vice Chair of Governance Matters, a nonprofit umbrella group in NYC and served on the NYC chapter of the National Association Women's Business Owners for eight years. She teaches Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise at The New School and mentors at Columbia Business School and NYU Stern business plan competitions. Anu Karwa
Anu Karwa is the founder and CEO of Swirl Events, a wine-tasting events company that takes a fresh, hip approach to wine. Swirl Events offers intimate in-home and corporate wine tasting parties that help people entertain effortlessly while leaving the typical wine pretense at the door. After earning her Advanced Certification from the internationally recognized Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) – and through her tasting experiences - she realized wine did not have to be complicated or stuffy. Thus began her dream of sharing her passion through Swirl. Prior to launching Swirl Events, Anu was a product junkie working as a brand manager in the beauty industry for L'Oreal, John Frieda and most recently, Victoria Secret Beauty (PINK brand). Anu holds a B.S. in Finance & Economics from The Ohio State University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Personal Finance PanelJessy Sepulveda
Jessy Sepulveda graduated from the University of Rochester with a double major in Economics and Italian Studies. In addition, she attained a Certificate in Management Studies. She started her career with Citigroup as an intern in 1999 in the Investment Banking Division of Salomon Smith Barney. After completing her double major, Jessy rejoined Citigroup as a Personal Banker/Assistant Manager at the 144th Street Financial Center. In 2005 she became the Citi At Work Champion for her Financial Center and led the center to achieve over 100% of their sales goal. In November of 2006 Jessy was promoted to Relationship Manager/Vice President of the Citi At Work Program. In her new role Jessy executes integrated sales, relationship, and credit strategies that are in alignment with the Commercial Markets business plan to achieve desired revenue and service hurdles within Citi. In addition, she also interfaces with Retail Distribution management structure to ensure ongoing and appropriate communication to support overall business objectives. Last but not least, Jessy maintains frequent interaction with centers of influence, diverse industry segments, community leaders, regulators, and senior business contacts.
Finance PanelJessica Aldridge (Moderator)
Jessica graduated from Columbia University (Columbia College) with Bachelor's degree in Economics in May 2008. She has worked at UBS Investment Bank since Summer 2007 as an intern in Equities, returning full-time in Summer 2008. Her roles with the bank have included single stock/cash block trading, marketing structured equity derivative products, prime brokerage services, and corporate access. Currently working in institutional equity and research sales with UBS, Jessica is also preparing to take her CFA Level 1 examination in June. As an undergraduate, Jessica dedicated time to membership in the Columbia Political Union and College Democrats, as well as the all-Ivy student council, Ivy Council. Always contributing to her community, Jessica also took an active role volunteering as a literacy tutor in New York's JCC Partners for Literacy and in many projects through her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta. Into the workforce, Jessica continued to give back by forming a leadership group to spearhead the Equities business group's charity and volunteer efforts for 2008--an effort that raised gifts, money, and volunteer time to assist over 600 needy New York and Connecticut families. Anna Davydova
Anna Davydova is a research analyst at Fidelity Investments, the largest mutual fund company in the United States, the No. 1 provider of workplace retirement savings plans and a leading online brokerage firm. Ms. Davydova joined Fidelity in 2005 as an equity research associate following coal, oil tankers and small cap energy services. In May 2008, she was promoted to analyst and assumed coverage of alternative energy – solar, wind and other clean energy stocks that she continues to follow today. Prior to joining Fidelity, Ms. Davydova was a summer analyst at Banc of America LLC in NYC, where she worked with the FX options team. During her internship, Ms. Davydova focused on global currency derivatives trading and macroeconomic research. Born in 1982, Ms. Davydova received a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics & economics from Wellesley College in 2005. Elle Kaplan
Elle Kaplan is a Vice President and a Financial Advisor in the New York office of Bernstein Global Wealth Management. Bernstein, established in 1967, manages some $110 billion in private capital invested in stocks, bonds, real estate investment trusts, and hedge funds, traded on markets throughout the world. In conjunction with Bernstein’s Wealth Management Group, Elle works closely with her clients’ tax and legal advisors on a wide variety of financial matters, including tax and estate planning, concentrated stock positions and the sale of privately held businesses. In particular, Elle focuses her practice on advising women on money management and financial planning. Elle believes that it is important and empowering for women, regardless of background or current financial situation, to have the skills necessary to control their own financial future. Prior to joining Bernstein, Elle was a derivatives specialist working for a British investment bank. Previous to that, Ms. Kaplan was a private banker at JP Morgan Chase. Ms. Kaplan earned a Bachelor of Arts, with honors, from the University of Michigan. Elle earned an Executive Master’s in Business Administration from Columbia University. Elle currently resides in the West Village, where she is an active patron of various artistic groups throughout Manhattan. Susan Fellner
Susan Fellner is a Vice President in the U.S. Retail and Consumer Products Group having joined Credit Suisse in early 2007. Ms. Fellner has over seven years of experience in investment banking covering retailers and consumer products companies, including two years in the M&A group at Goldman Sachs. In addition, Ms. Fellner was the Director of Strategic Planning and Development at Sunbeam Corporation and was involved in the turnaround of the business and the eventual sale to Jarden Corporation. Ms. Fellner’s experience covers a broad range of transactions in M&A, equity, and fixed income. Representative clients include Unilever, Altria, and Lorrilard Tobacco Company. Ms. Fellner is an active member of Credit Suisse Columbia University and Columbia Business School recruiting teams, as well as MBA Women and Diversity recruiting. Ms. Fellner holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in mathematics from NYU. Lisa Gill
Managing Director J.P. Morgan Equity Research Healthcare Technology & Distribution Lisa Gill is a senior equity research analyst covering healthcare pharmaceutical related services companies. She works closely with over 200 high profile clients, including both mutual funds and hedge funds. Lisa has been with J.P. Morgan since 1998, and currently serves as a co-chair on the Investment Bank Women’s Network. She has prior experience at Healthpartners, Coopers & Lybrand, and Ernst & Young. Lisa received her BBA in Accounting & English from Siena College. She currently resides in NYC with her husband and two children.
Marketing PanelDonna MacPhee (Moderator)
Donna MacPhee, a 1989 alumna of Columbia College, is the vice president for alumni relations and president of the Columbia Alumni Association. Donna earned her Bachelor's degree in Applied Mathematics and was one of the College's first female graduates. She went on to earn an MBA from NYU's Stern School of Business and then dedicated her career to companies related to professional athletics, including managing finances for various departments of the National Hockey League. Prior to returning to Columbia, she served as co-founder and managing director of Event Management Associates, providing event and meeting planning services for a broad range of not-for-profit and corporate clients. Donna was a member of the Varsity tennis team as an undergraduate, and has remained involved in Columbia athletics over the years as an alumna, serving on numerous committees and co-founding the Women's Leadership Council. In 2008, Donna was chosen as one of Columbia's 25 most influential athletic alumnae. Now in its fourth year, the Columbia Alumni Association continues to develop as an organization representing alumni from all of Columbia's schools worldwide. In early March 2009, the Columbia Alumni Center will open as the first dedicated space on campus for alumni. Bonnie Carlson
Bonnie is the President of the Promotion Marketing Association, the national non-profit trade association for integrated marketing. Prior to serving as President, Bonnie was a volunteer leader of the association including Chairman of the Board/CEO, Board and Executive Committee member, and chairperson of numerous committees. Bonnie’s business career has spanned corporate, agency, and entrepreneurial worlds, with emphasis on start-up and turn-around situations. In Bonnie’s most recent position as Vice President of Integrated Marketing for ConAgra Foods, a newly created position, she was responsible for integrating the portfolio of 70 brands and 4 divisions to leverage economies of scale, set planning strategies, manage agency selection and develop the function of shopper marketing. As Director of Nestle Foods, she re-organized marketing services and “chaired” the promotion function for all their 10+ companies in the U.S. Prior to Nestle, she started the Promotion Services Department at Unilever, and received her earlier training at General Foods. Bonnie’s agency experience includes three years as president and CEO of Comart Associates, a Euro-RSCG agency, the worldwide advertising and promotion conglomerate. Following Comart, Bonnie started her own agency, Carlson Draddy & Associates (CDA), which she co-owned with her partner for eight years. Before selling the agency to an independent advertising agency, her agency received a ranking of 4th fastest growing agency in the U.S.; clients included Nabisco, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, Unilever, Philip Morris, and more. Sarah Endline
Sarah is the Founder and CEO of sweetriot in NYC and a self proclaimed ‘hippie capitalist.’ Sarah grew up in a small town in Michigan with an annual CornFest, tractor rides, and large country ditches just a quarter of a mile from her grandparents’ farm yet has also traveled, lived, or worked in more than 50 countries. Sarah has launched products, created brands, founded and run organizations, and worked many places like Yahoo!, Microsoft, the World Bank, AIESEC, and The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). Since launching sweetriot, Sarah’s entrepreneurial work has been covered by The NY Times, The Today Show, Forbes, Newsweek, and Business Week. sweetriot was recently named in the Top 3 of Fortune’s Small Business Competition and as a finalist for the ‘Emerging Entrepreneur of the year’ award by Entrepreneur Magazine. Sarah has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor with Distinction from The University of Michigan. Amy Gruenhut
Amy is the Integrated Marketing Director for American Express' Travel + Leisure Magazine, where she strengthens the T+L brand creating innovative merchandising programs, major sponsorships and partnership opportunities. Her event marketing planning and management skills are solutions-based with a firm eye on brand growth and profitability. Prior to her position at American Express, Amy worked for ELLE, rising from Senior Merchandising Manager to Fashion Merchandising Director, and VOGUE, where she entered in Creative Services and rose to become the Promotions Manager. She graduated from Cornell University as a fashion and business management major. Outside of work, Amy serves on the Junior Board for the Step Up Women's Network, and is a New World Symphony Board Member. She is involved in the JEC, Young Philanthropists Committee with Michael Steinhardt. Amy is actively involved in Cornell Alumni Affairs including the Senior/Junior Women's Alumnae Programs and the Ivy Society. She was chosen to be part of the JEC Israel Leadership group this past summer to meet with Jewish political leaders and key media representatives. She plays an active role on the Young Friends Board for the Museum of Jewish Heritage. She is also involved with the Summer Search Young Leadership Committee and the Global Kids Young Leaders Advisory Board and serves as a mentor to young girls. Amy Feller
Vice President Amy began her insurance career in 1987 as a Personal Lines underwriting trainee for Chubb in New York City. She later became a Personal Lines Unit Manager before taking her first Marketing job in Chubb’s Downtown branch in 1993. She started working on the commercial underwriting side in 1994, when she was promoted to Customer Group Leader of the Midtown General Insurance Division, a pilot operation which handled underwriting and servicing for small business. In 1995 Amy was promoted to Marketing Manager of Chubb’s Long Island Branch. She later served as Special Projects Manager in the NY Broker Zone and held several other marketing roles prior to taking on her present position in 2000 as Marketing Manager for Chubb’s largest branch in New York City. Amy graduated from the University at Albany with a BS in Business Administration. She received her MBA degree, with a concentration in Marketing, from Fordham University Graduate School of Business. In 2009 Amy received the Industry Professional of the Year Award from the Professional Insurance Agents of New York State Inc. Amy was the 2007 recipient of the National Association of Insurance Women NYC Outstanding Achiever Award and has served on Chubb’s Chairman’s Advisory Council. She also serves as Division Chair, General Insurance Division of UJA Federation of New York. Amy lives in Manhattan with her husband and 2 children, ages 12 and 9.
Consulting PanelAllie Feldberg (Moderator)
Allie currently works as an Associate consultant for the management consulting firm, Katzenbach Partners. At Katzenbach she has worked to develop a comprehensive people model for a large energy company, a workshop to motivate junior level employees of a financial services company, and a diversity strategy for a global pharmaceutical company. Allie graduated summa cum laude from Columbia University with a degree in History. During her time at Columbia, Allie led the University’s affiliated non-profit, Community Impact, ran an advocacy group for low-income and homeless clients, and volunteered as a tour guide. For her academic and extracurricular work, Allie’s classmates selected her as the recipient of Columbia’s Rolker Prize, which recognizes one senior for a combination of scholarly and extracurricular achievement. During her senior year, she was also elected into Phi Beta Kappa, given departmental honors for her thesis and chosen for a King’s Crown Leadership award. Lori Dernavich
Lori Dernavich, Founder and President of Step Ahead Consulting, is a leadership development expert. Companies seek out Step Ahead Consulting to develop and improve their management’s leadership skills and to resolve employee issues. A partial list of clients include The Absolut Spirits Co., V&S Group of Sweden, Credit Suisse, Legal Sea Foods, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Dover Corporation, Vectron International, and IBM. Lori has a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and is a Certified Behavior Analyst. Prior to founding Step Ahead Consulting in 2002, she traveled extensively as a corporate leadership coach and trainer for the UNICCO Services Company, spent several years serving as a senior recruiting consultant in Boston’s thriving high tech industry, and was a psychotherapist. Lori relocated to New York City in 2007. Lori is Vice Chair the NY Board of Directors of Step Up Women's Network, member of 1000 Women for Mentoring, and belongs to the Society for Human Resource Management and Cosmetic Executive Women. She was formerly a board director for the New England Society of Applied Psychology. Lori has been published in SmartMoney magazine, Women's Business Boston, CFO Magazine, and HR Executive Magazine. Emily Emmett
Emily Emmett is a student at Columbia Business School (class of 2010), where she is the AVP for Professional Development for Columbia Women in Business. Prior to beginning at CBS, Emily worked in management consulting for Bain & Company in New York and London. Emily received a B.A. in English magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Rice University. In her free time, Emily enjoys cooking, traveling, and exploring New York's outdoors with her dog.
Dorothy Price Hill
Partner, CMH Partners & Colcomgroup Senior Managing Director, Mid-Market Securities, LLC Dorothy has more than 18 years of experience in global financial services including debt & equity capital markets, risk management and alternative investments. The global practice of CMH Partners and the Colcomgroup includes publicly-listed and privately-held companies within the alternative investments, financial and business data reporting (including XBRL) technology, and alternative energy sectors. She was a consultant with McKinsey & Co in Europe within the Financial Services practice following business school. At Goldman Sachs International, she spent nearly seven years in risk management and global client financing for Debt Capital Markets and Private Wealth Management. This included assignments in Tokyo, London and Frankfurt. Her work experience includes the Council on Foreign Relations and Siemens Corporation as well as the Investment Committees of Zug, Switzerland-based Capital Dynamics and NY-based SV Investment Partners, a middle-market buyout firm focused on business services. She has served on the fundraising committees of Hedge Funds Care since 2003, Mt. Sinai Hospital's Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) since 2002. She is a New York Chapter Co-Head of 85 Broads, the Goldman Sachs alumnae network with more than 21,000 members globally. She advises regional and global environmental groups, inspired by the legacy of her grandparents, Professor Douglas Wade and Dot Wade who were both charter members of the Nature Conservancy in 1951. Dorothy graduated from Dartmouth College with a double major in Government (International Relations) and German. She received her MBA from NYU's Stern School of Business in 1995 with a double major in Finance and IT. She resides in Manhasset with her husband, seven-year old boy/girl twins and two stepsons (ages 9 and 11). Jill Zucker
Jill Zucker is an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company in the corporate finance and financial institutions practices. She serves leading global financial institutions in Retail and Commercial Banking, Investment Banking, Wealth and Asset Management, Payments and Insurance. She has served clients in financial services across a broad range of engagements on corporate and business unit strategy, organizational design, marketing and innovation. Prior to joining McKinsey & Company, Jill worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley. Jill is the President and on the Board of St. Joseph school in the Tremont section of the Bronx. A not-for-profit school that is member of the Patrons Program, an adopt-a-school program that facilitates systemic changes in 30 inner-city schools in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island. She has a B.A. in Economics from Barnard College and an M.B.A from Columbia University.
Community Impact PanelBarbara Iyayi (Moderator)
Barbara Iyayi graduated from Columbia University (SEAS) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. She was part of the SEO Career Program, an intensive summer internship program for talented students of color, and this led to a full-time position at JPMorgan Private Bank. At JPMorgan, she worked in project management and business analysis. Barbara mentored students through SEO and participated in initiatives related to women and girls empowerment. She served as a member of the Young Women's Leadership Board at the YWCA-NYC. She also founded and led a financial literacy and leadership program. The program focused on building financial literacy, entrepreneurial, leadership and career development skills in young women in Brooklyn, NYC. In recognition of her achievements, she received the Young Women's Visionary Award from the YWCA-NYC and the National Center for Black Philanthropy awarded her the Outstanding Achievement in Philanthropy by a Youth Award. Barbara recently received her MBA at Harvard Business School. At Harvard, she was the co-chair of the Africa Business Conference, one of the largest student-run business conference focused on Africa. She is currently an Associate at UBS Investment Bank's Financial Sponsors, Leveraged Finance and Restructuring group. She maintains her commitment to women and girl empowerment through building a nonprofit organization focused on providing women and girls in Africa access to empowerment resources to succeed. Karen Dhillon
As an Associate in the Public Finance Department at Morgan Stanley, Karen collaborates with municipalities (including universities, school districts, utilities, cities, and states) to raise capital through a variety of innovative financial structures. In the past few years, Karen has helped raise over $9 billion to fund projects ranging from the construction of new schools to the repair of bridges and highways. Karen joined Morgan Stanley in 2005 after completing a two-year commitment with Teach for America (TFA). During her TFA commitment, Karen taught middle school math in the Bronx. Previously, Karen worked as a counselor in a locked psychiatric facility in Los Angeles and also developed a youth center in her hometown of Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada. She maintains her commitment to improving public education through both community involvement (including recently serving as the board member of a charter school) and collaboration with Teach For America. Karen received a BA in Psychology from the University of British Columbia and an MS in Education from the City University of New York. She also completed the Stanford Graduate School of Business Summer Institute. Kristen Baldwin
Kristen Baldwin serves as the Teen Empowerment Program Manger for Step Up Women's Network, a national non profit membership organization dedicated to strengthening resources for women and girls. Kristen manages all Step Up after school programming for 200 underserved teen girls and volunteer opportunities for Step Up members. She also collaborates with Board members and national program staff to develop strategy and execute programming. Prior to joining Step Up, Kristen was the Assistant Director of Leadership Development Projects at Prep for Prep, a non profit which identifies talented students from minority group backgrounds, prepares them for placement in independent schools, and provides them with a sense of community, peer support, critical post-placement services, and a range of leadership development opportunities. Kristen coordinated Prep for Prep’s travel programs for high school students, managed and developed a public policy internship program, and mentored students through a series of professional skills workshops. Prior to joining Prep for Prep, Kristen worked for NYC-based non profits, Do Something, Inc. and the Financial Services Volunteer Corps. In 2002 and 2003 she coordinated political fundraisers for the primary campaign of NY State Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, and assisted the political campaign of former US Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle in Washington, DC. Kristen received her B.A. in political science and classical humanities from The George Washington University where she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. Kristen received her MSc in political theory from The London School of Economics and Political Science. Marlena Hubley
Marlena Hubley is the Director of Network & Corporate Strategic Relations at 85 Broads, a global women’s network of over 18,000 trailblazing, visionary women who are inspired and empowered to think big. She manages all operational aspects of the network, including strategic planning, corporate and member relations, and the development of 85 Broads clubs and chapters in locations including Sydney, Tokyo, São Paulo, Beijing, Stockholm, Mumbai, and Lisbon. Previously, Marlena interned with the Wexley School for Girls Creative Agency, Elisa Monte Dance, and the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Marlena graduated Summa Cum Laude from Mount Holyoke College in 2006, double majoring in dance and anthropology. Her dance choreography was chosen three years running to represent Mount Holyoke College in the New England American College Dance Festival. She also co-chaired The Lyons Network, a leadership and career mentoring organization for young women. In this role, she led the organization of regional conferences on leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Illana Feiglin
Illana Feiglin earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) in 1997. Upon completing a 2-year commitment with Teach For America's national teaching corps as a 7th and 8th grade English teacher in the South Bronx, she joined JPMorgan in 2000. Illana initially completed an analyst training program rotating through the firm’s various lines of business before settling into the Investment Bank where she worked as a business and risk manager. In 2008, Illana left JPMorgan Chase to join the not-for-profit space, working as the global grants manager for The Smile Train, an international charity focused on eradicating cleft lip and palate in developing countries. When not tied to her 'professional ball 'n chain' (aka Blackberry), you can find Illana volunteering with several organizations in NYC – in particular, the ASPCA and Gen Art - and remaining active with the University of Michigan Alumni Association as an Executive Board Member and Vice President of the local NYC chapter.
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