Soaring Together Women’s Summit

Sue Bevan Baggott is a human-centered Executive Advisor, Innovation Catalyst, and Intentional Investor dedicated to empowering leaders to create positive impact, accelerate life-improving innovation, and invest in transformative change.  Her career spans global innovation leadership at Procter & Gamble (growing mega-brands from Pantene and Pampers) to founding Power Within Consulting, a firm focused on human-centered strategies for meaningful leadership and business success.

As an “accidental” angel investor and startup advisor, Sue supports diverse portfolios of innovative startups addressing critical global challenges. She also advocates for inclusion in entrepreneurship and investing as an Associate Producer of Show Her the Money, a multi-award-winning documentary promoting investment in underrepresented founders. Through speaking, writing, consulting, advising, and board roles, Sue strives to inspire purposeful leadership and meaningful innovation.  She also encourages more open discussions about money and investing to empower more people to invest in positive change.

Marlena Boesch ('18) is a HR Generalist at Eldridge Industries, an asset management firm. After graduating Lehigh University in 2018, Marlena started as Receptionist at the firm, and quickly became the Executive Assistant to the Chief Talent Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, and the Human Resources team. Over two years, she gained incredible knowledge and insight, and joined the Human Resources team in August of 2021. Marlena's focus is on the employee life cycle and engagement and on campus recruitment.

Marlena is also the Operations and Risk Prevention advisor to the Eta Xi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta at Quinnipiac University. During her time at Lehigh, she was the Chief Operations Officer and HR Director of the Epsilon Rho Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta and Morale Captain for Lehigh University's Dance Marathon.

Marlena now lives in Stamford, Connecticut with her cat, Sammy. She enjoys engaging with the Stamford community, her food blog, reading, and lifting weights in her free time.
 

Sandra Denton, of NYC and Bedminster, PA, is a retired management executive of Pipefy and four acquired software start-ups, where she was responsible for building and growing global indirect revenue as VP of their Channel and Alliance organizations. Prior to that, Sandra successfully navigated the high-tech industry while working with proven global companies – Bell Laboratories, Siemens AG, Accenture, Cisco, and IBM. She was a four-time recipient of CRN’s “Top Women of the Channel” (Computer Reseller News) and recognized by The Software Report as “Top 50 Women Leaders in SaaS of 2021.”. She has presented at numerous technology conferences in Europe, Asia, and the United States, has authored telecom publications in German and English, and has been cited in a Harvard Business School entrepreneurial case study. Sandra Denton received her B.S. in Computer & Information Science from Lehigh in 1983, M.S. in Management Information Systems from Pace University in 1989, and an MBA from Columbia Business School in 1993. She is currently an advisor to software start-ups and a member of Chief, a private executive women's network that connects, supports, and advances female leaders.

Emily Federico graduated from Lehigh in 2002 with a BS in Industrial Engineering. She is a Senior Managing Director with Ankura Consulting’s Construction Disputes & Advisory Practice, based out of Fairfield, CT. Emily is a highly experienced professional in the construction industry, specializing in planning and scheduling. With nearly 25 years of experience, she is a certified Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP) and an expert in schedule delay analysis. Her clients include project owners, developers, contractors, construction managers, subcontractors, design professionals, and insurance companies. Her work involves preparing and analyzing claims related to schedule delays, acceleration, loss of productivity, and cost overruns for both public and private sector construction projects. Emily has provided expert testimony on construction schedule delays and costs and has expertise in schedule development and monitoring from both technical and risk management perspectives. Additionally, she is an experienced presenter, having delivered numerous presentations on project scheduling, schedule delay, and forensic schedule and damages analysis within the construction industry.

Amy Gare is an employment attorney with more than 20 years of experience rebalancing corporations to ensure that they provide equal opportunities for all humans. Throughout her extensive career, Amy has guided C-Suite executives as they navigate the ever-evolving culture and legal framework governing diversity and equity in the workplace. Amy is currently the managing partner of Gare Law, LLC, where she serves as external general counsel to a variety of corporations with a focus on employment law, management strategy, executive coaching, and training. She guides boards and executives through internal investigations to eliminate systematic discrimination and creates effective training to eradicate unconscious and conscious bias. No stranger to difficult conversations, Amy prides herself on her ability to educate individuals who may need extra support in understanding the changing paradigm of expectations in the workplace regarding diversity, equity, and inclusivity. A dynamic and experienced speaker and trainer, Amy has repeatedly been invited to present on topics concerning harassment and discrimination in the workplace at various legal and finance industry events including the Women’s Energy Network, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Compliance and Legal Society Annual Seminar, the Global Outsourcing Association of Lawyers Annual Global Litigation Conference and Exhibition, and the ALFA International Client Seminar. Before establishing Gare Law, LLC, Amy served as Assistant General Counsel of Employment Law and the Deputy Ethics and Compliance Officer for Capgemini, North America, and she served as the Head of Employment Law for The Royal Bank of Scotland, Markets and International Banking, N.A. f/k/a Greenwich Capital Markets. Amy began her career as a general commercial litigator at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver, and Jacobson, LLP in New York, New York and she went on to hone her skills as a commercial litigator and an employment lawyer at the Connecticut law firm, Cohen and Wolf, P.C. Amy is admitted in both the States of New York and Connecticut as well as the Southern District of New York and the District of Connecticut. Amy received her B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy with High Honors from Lehigh University and her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.

Kyle came to find yoga after an injury that prevented her from doing her normal exercise routine over 23 years ago. After taking only a few classes Kyle fell in love with yoga and all its benefits. At the time she was living in Mexico City. She and a friend decided to take their passion for yoga and start teaching yoga to the ex-pat community.

When she returned to the US and the NY area, she decided to deepen her practice by getting her Yoga teacher certification. After completing her certification she immediately started teaching yoga in her community to both adults and children.

Kyle loves the calmness and focus that yoga brings to her hectic life. She believes that Yoga should be accessible to people of all levels and complement their other activities and sports by increasing strength, resiliency, and flexibility. When she isn’t practicing or teaching yoga, Kyle loves to play tennis, paddle tennis, and pickleball. Hiking, traveling, visiting museums, and attending theater are some of her other interests.

Kyle teaches a class that is focused on alignment, challenging students in a safe and mindful way.

Dr. Rita M. Jones (she) has been Director of the Center for Gender Equity and an affiliate faculty member in Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies at Lehigh University since 2008. During this time, she has worked with innumerable graduate and undergraduate students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community members, all of whom have been dedicated to achieving gender equity. Their spirit and commitment make the work possible and joyful.

After graduating with her Ph. D. in English Language and Literature from Washington State University, Dr. Jones moved to Greeley, Colorado and directed the Women’s Studies Program at the University of Northern Colorado where she grew the number of declared students, expanded faculty affiliation with the program, and developed sustainable connections with Student Affairs, the Women’s Resource Center, and Campus Safety.

Since moving to the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania, Dr. Jones spent a great number of hours at her sons’ hockey and soccer practices and games, swim meets, tennis matches, music lessons, recitals, and performances. She enjoys thought-provoking conversations with both of her sons who are now Dean’s List students at Lehigh University. She enjoys watching her spouse, an internationally-renowned Jane Austen scholar, continue to write and publish books, edited collections, and articles on Austen and on masculinity and devote countless hours to amplifying the voices of Sierra Leonians in the Mothers of Sierra Leone project at Lehigh University.

During her time at Lehigh, Dr. Jones secured funding for an Associate Director position and an annual Graduate Assistant position and quadrupled the size of the student staff. She led a working group to develop Lehigh’s lactation/chestfeeding policy and continues to advocate and lead the work around securing additional, dedicated, and inclusive lactation/chestfeeding spaces on all of Lehigh’s campuses. She maintains strong connections to dozens of Lehigh alumni and regularly provides workshops, trainings, and guest lectures about gender to student organizations, courses, and external organizations. She has published chapters in edited collections of scholarship on both college and university women’s and gender centers and also mothering. She also regularly presents at national conferences.

She will not stop and pet a cat, refuses to let the Lehigh Spring rains dampen her peonies, and enjoys creating sewing and needlework gifts for family and friends. She has been honored by Lehigh students with the Multicultural Greek Chapter Advisor Award and the Student Club/Org Advisor of the Year Award and by colleagues with the Lehigh University Exempt Staff Distinguished Service Award. She has completed several leadership institutes, including the Standards of Professional Practice Institute, delivered by the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education. In addition to being a proud member of the AAUW-Bethlehem, Dr. Jones is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the St. Luke’s Visiting Nurses Association.

Stacy spent almost 23 years practicing law as an in-house attorney and now claims she is fully in recovery as a Legal Operations Professional. She currently serves as the Chief of Staff to the General Counsel of Organon, heading up Strategic Planning and Legal Operations. Before joining Organon, Stacy spent the last 15 years developing the skills to become a Legal Operations specialist with deep experience in department analytics, process mapping and improvement, workflow automation, operational efficiency, cost control, vendor and budget management, and legal tech implementation. Skilled in driving and building operational efficiencies to improve business performance, Stacy has worked in Fortune 500, Global Corporations in the Banking, Entertainment, and Education industries as well as with Global Startups building Legal Operations Teams. She is passionate about using data to drive decision-making and reduce risk, working closely with top executives to develop strategic plans that align with corporate objectives and implementing creative solutions to complex operational issues. Stacy did her undergraduate work at Lehigh University and holds a JD from Rutgers University. In addition, she currently serves on the CLOC Value Brand Counsel, is an active member of CHIEF, and sits on the Priori and Wolters Kluwer Advisory Boards.

Dr. Cynthia Izuno Macri (CAPT MC USN-Ret.) served 35 years as a US Navy medical officer. CAPT Macri is licensed in Maryland and board-certified in gynecologic oncology and OB/GYN. She earned her undergraduate degree at Lehigh University where she played on the Men’s soccer team and started the women’s soccer team when Title IX funding became available in 1977. After graduating from Temple University School of Medicine, she served in a variety of academic and executive leadership roles at the National Naval Medical Center, Naval Hospital Jacksonville, FL, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Naval Medical Education and Training Command, and the Uniformed Services University before moving to the Pentagon to serve as Special Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations for Diversity.

She is the author or co-author of over 20 scientific papers, 3 book chapters, and over 250 invited presentations. In addition, she has received numerous community service awards for her innovative youth outreach programs to inspire middle and high school students from educationally, economically, and experientially diverse backgrounds to pursue STEM careers.  She currently volunteers as a physician to provide services to uninsured or underinsured patients and serves in leadership roles on various community-based nonprofit executive and advisory boards including the Japanese American Veterans Association (JAVA), Lift-A-Vet, the Asian American Center of Frederick (AACF), Asian American Health Initiative Steering Committee (AAHI) and Asian Americans for Community Service (AACS). Dr. Macri has fully embraced the Stanford University evidence-based program concepts of Self-Management strategies and has led numerous workshops in Montgomery, Frederick, Howard, Fairfax, and Baltimore Counties on Chronic Disease Self-Management, Chronic Pain Self-Management, and Diabetes Self-Management.

She was appointed to the Advisory Committee for Women Veterans, the Maryland Governor’s Commission on Suicide Prevention, the Maryland Commission on Veterans Affairs (MD-08), and the Montgomery County Suicide Prevention Coalition. She also serves on the Lehigh University Sports Alumni Network (Soccer), the Lehigh University Asian Alumni Network, and the Lehigh Women's Soccer Alumnae Leadership Council. 

Dr. Macri is still an active adult soccer player, representing Maryland and Northern Virginia on several National Championship teams, and is a member of several adult recreational soccer teams in Howard, Montgomery, Fairfax and Arlington Counties.
In December 2017, Dr. Macri joined EagleForce Health, as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. 

Kerry Mallett graduated from Lehigh with a BA in Journalism and Political Science and a minor in History of the Visual Arts and went on to earn an MA in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She worked at higher education institutions and related non-profits for a number of years, implementing research-based methods to improve student outcomes and teaching students how to lead in a diverse, modern world. She currently works at a digital marketing agency where she leads teamwide efforts of developing and implementing go-to-market plans. 

She is on the Board of Directors of the Lehigh Alumni Association, has served as a member of the Advisory Committee for Celebration of 50 Years of Women at Lehigh, and is a board member for the Lehigh Club of Philadelphia. She is a member of the Junior League of Philadelphia, a volunteer for the National Panhellenic Conference, and champions voter access and information in local and federal elections through work with Indivisible. 

As a Venture Partner at a female-focused venture fund, Lakshmi Reddy is dedicated to empowering founders and driving innovation. With a background in marketing, strategy, innovation, and digital transformation, she had a unique journey, working at iconic client-side organizations like American Express, JPM Chase, and Citi before shifting mid-career to the services industry working with market-leading Advertising Agencies including the Publicis Groupe family. She pivoted into technology consulting, ultimately becoming a partner at a London-based management consulting firm, Elixirr. Lakshmi has led initiatives for iconic brands like Chase Sapphire, TIAA, Sanofi Pasteur, and Chapstick, as well as pioneering efforts in AI-driven marketing and technology transformation.

Lakshmi is currently a Venture Partner at Mastersfund where she has been able to focus on female-founded startups and is also the Founder of ReddySetGrow.com, a coaching platform designed to support transformation leaders and professionals navigating career pivots. Through her work, she helps founders and executives gain clarity, confidence, and strategic direction as they embrace leadership in this dynamic moment in history.

In addition to her business ventures, Lakshmi serves on three nonprofit boards, championing education, female leadership, and scientific research:

• Darwin’s Ark – Supporting the largest genomic dataset for dogs, led by researchers from MIT, Harvard, and UMass.
• ROX – A leading organization focused on collecting and activating data-driven insights into girls’ confidence and empowerment.
• Promise Village Academy – A school in Tanzania dedicated to educating children from the Maasai tribe.

A passionate advocate for female leadership and innovation, Lakshmi’s career is defined by her commitment to mentorship, impact, and transformation. Through venture capital, executive coaching, and nonprofit leadership, she continues to shape the future for entrepreneurs and professionals alike.

Sharon Richter is an executive, career, and business performance coach and strategist focused on getting results.  She has coached leaders in various industries, combining her 35+ years of experience in corporate and non-profit management to effectively help her clients make positive changes to improve workplace performance. 

Sharon has a passion for helping leaders develop executive presence, strong communication and presentation skills, and confidence in their leadership abilities.  Her process starts with understanding the business context for the coaching and defining what success will look like.  Through conversations, assessments, and observations, Sharon assists her clients in developing their self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management as a catalyst to improve their leadership.  She creates tangible goals and measurable outcomes as part of each coaching engagement to ensure alignment with organizational goals. 

Sharon also has a proven track record of success in strategy development, operational excellence, and process design, and leverages this expertise to help business leaders achieve their full potential.  As a business performance coach, Sharon helps you grow and manage your business.  She helps you to understand and implement proven business concepts, which are guaranteed to generate a quick “Return on Investment.”  Finally, she works with you to develop plans in key areas related to achieving success:  leadership, management, delegation, sales, marketing, productivity, growth, decision-making, and execution.  Sharon has successfully managed and coached business executives, leaders, and teams both professionally and personally, and has delivered outstanding results throughout her career.

Sharon has a wide range of solid business skills that she draws upon to assist in building a road map to higher levels of achievement.

• Executive Leadership
• Financial Management
• Business Development
• Marketing
• Strategic Planning
• Product Management
• Product Development

Sharon draws on her extensive experience in public accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers, having rendered audit, business advisory, and tax services to large investment management clients which included Fidelity, Vanguard, and T. Rowe Price.  She is known as a process improvement expert in the areas of performance, portfolio management, trading, fund accounting, and customer service. 

She launched the North American Process Excellence Management Team at Deutsche Bank, yielding annual savings and developing key business initiatives to grow assets and revenues and achieve higher margins.  As Deutsche Asset Management’s Global Head of Institutional Strategic Planning, she built operating models for specific new products and market opportunities. 
Sharon extended her knowledge into Higher Education at Columbia University, methodically instituting organizational changes to enhance the student experience and outcomes, improving budget transparency and accountability, and maximizing resource utilization.

Sharon is a certified FocalPoint Business Coach because she believes that business success can realized through leadership, time management, team building, and improving profitability.  Sharon brings this passion to her clients while utilizing Brian Tracy’s tested and proven concepts, the foundation of FocalPoint Business Coaching. Sharon is also the NYC Area Representative for FocalPoint Coaching & Training and is building a strong network of coaches throughout the New York City area (5 boroughs of New York City, Westchester/Rockland Counties, and Long Island). 

Sharon is a frequent speaker and podcast guest in the NYC business community on topics relating to strategy and making career pivots.  She was a Verizon Comeback Coach, helping small business owners during the COVID-19 pandemic, and featured in a 4-part webinar series. 

Sharon has her B.S. in Accounting from Lehigh University and M.S. in Taxation from Temple University.  She is a Certified Public Accountant, and a Black Belt in Six Sigma, a set of techniques and tools for process improvement.  She has been a volunteer in a variety of capacities at Lehigh, serving as a University Trustee and board-level director for over 25 years providing advice on policy, implementing strategies, and achieving goals.  She has served as the Secretary of the NYC Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).  She is also the Group Leader for NYC4 of ProVisors, a national community of senior-level professionals who are trusted advisors to their clients.  

Maddie H Scheler, Chief of Staff for Circle Wealth Management, has been with Circle for over 5 years, focusing on firmwide and client service project management. Circle is an SEC-registered investment adviser and multi-family office that provides holistic and customized financial and philanthropic planning and portfolio management to individuals and multigenerational families across the globe. Circle was founded in 2007, is majority-owned by women, and manages approximately $15B, having grown exclusively through referrals. One of the things that particularly attracted Maddie to join the firm was Circle’s emphasis on providing financial education for women. Before joining Circle, Maddie obtained an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business. She also holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from Lehigh University. Currently, she serves on Lehigh’s Zoellner Advisory Council and Tina’s Wish Leadership Council and is a member of the Family Wealth Alliance Young Professionals Network and 100 Women in Finance. She lives in Westchester County, NY with her family and enjoys doing the NY Times crossword puzzle and playing tennis.

Kristin Schroeder joined WCAS as an Operating Partner, Talent within the Technology team in 2021. She partners with WCAS’s technology companies to build world-class leadership teams and has nearly two decades of talent experience spanning executive search, corporate recruiting, and talent advisory. Most recently, Kristin served as a Senior Director at Bain & Company, where she led the Private Equity and Financial Services verticals in the Americas for the Bain Executive Network. She was a key architect of Bain’s LeadershipLink solution which translates portfolio company value creation plans into leadership talent strategies. Earlier, she was with Russell Reynolds Associates and The Blackstone Group.

Kristin lives with her husband, two sons, and a wild Labrador Retriever in Summit, NJ. Outside of work, she has proudly earned the additional title of “Hockey Mom” whose responsibilities include operating a car service for her boys.

SJS Consultants CEO Safiya Jafari Simmons has more than 20 years of experience in communications, PR, and media relations strategy and management. A former adjunct professor in PR and public affairs at Howard University, she’s had the honor of being the spokeswoman, strategist and providing PR counsel to several high-profile clients, including the late U.S. Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; former DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee; and former President Obama advisor Joshua DuBois, to name a few.

Previously, Mrs. Simmons secured the contract to have SJS Consultants lead media operations for former First Lady Michelle Obama’s inaugural United State of Women Summit.  Mrs. Simmons was also Communications Director for the Congressional Black Caucus; National Media and Communications Consultant for Save The Children’s Campaign for Healthy Kids; and media and communications strategist for several local and federal government officials and nonprofits, among them the District of Columbia government, the Virginia NAACP, the Center for Policing Equity, the Community Art Center (Cambridge), Urban Word NYC, and the Center for Global Policy Solutions.        

An author, connector, strategist, and public speaker, Mrs. Simmons has a heart for working with people and organizations who are mission-focused and purpose-passionate. Her favorite clients and projects are those that impact social change: amplifying the voices of those unheard, advancing the work of those unseen, or advocating for causes that improve the quality of life for others.

Mrs. Simmons previously sat on the Board of Trustees for Lehigh University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.  She earned a Master’s degree in Writing Studies from St. Joseph’s University and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Currently, Mrs. Simmons is Chair of the Board for the Katal Center for Equity, Health & Justice.

Lori, the founder of The Pitch Collective, is a storyteller-meets-strategist who has been winning pitches for over 25 years. She’s a creative agency alumnus who has been helping countless big and emerging brands around the globe craft and refine their pitches and presentations. From pharmaceutical to automotive, and from health tech to FMCG, she takes a strategic approach to crafting powerful narratives that help her clients win their pitches and close deals. She also teaches a graduate course on storytelling and runs storytelling workshops in London and NYC.

As EVP at NBCU Cable, Ellen oversees the development and execution of Brand and Social Marketing, Bravo Growth & Innovation, and Brand Strategy for Bravo, E!, Oxygen, USA, and SYFY, ensuring consistency of the cable group’s six network brands.  Stone joined NBC in 2006 after prior stints at Lifetime and in brand advertising.

A Bravo veteran, Stone is an integral member of the senior management team and instrumental in shaping the network's overall strategy and brand identity.  Under Stone's leadership, Bravo became the #1 cable network among female viewers with multi-million dollar campaigns for network hit franchises like "The Real Housewives,” “Vanderpump Rules”, “Below Deck,” and the Emmy Award-winning “Top Chef” & “Project Runway.” Spearheading Bravo’s Brand Growth & Innovation, Stone is behind profitable ventures and brand extensions for “Top Chef” including a culinary cruise, Healthy Choice frozen food line, and the ultimate Fan experience, BravoCon.

Stone added Oxygen to her purview in 2013 where she was behind the network’s rebrand to a full-time crime destination in July 2017.  Stone oversees all consumer marketing strategies for the network and played a critical role in Oxygen becoming the fastest-growing cable network in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022 with double-digit growth.

In 2019, Stone broadened her role by adding all platforms for E! with buzzy unscripted programming, and all marketing efforts for the network's popular live events coverage, including signature franchise “Live from the Red Carpet”.

Most recently, Stone added USA and SYFY to her responsibilities overseeing the successful launch of the highly touted scripted series, “Chucky” and “Resident Alien”, as well as the hit reality show, USA’s “Barmageddon” and WWE’s “Raw”.

Stone was honored by Multichannel News as a “Wonder Woman” in 2016, one of CableFAX’s “Most Powerful Women in Cable”. Ellen and her team have earned awards in marketing excellence including the CableFaxies, Mark Awards, Mobile Excellence Award, Digital Publishing Awards, Shorty Award, and Promax/BDAs.  Stone holds a bachelor's degree in Marketing and a minor in French from Lehigh University School of Business.

Maura Walters is a brand strategist, business mentor, and founder of Ignite Studio, a full-service marketing firm bringing big-brand energy to new businesses through powerful storytelling. Maura has worked with Fortune 500 companies as well as mom-and-pop brands, but all of her partners have one thing in common: They’re purpose-led and unafraid of creative thinking.

A journalism major at Lehigh, Maura spent a decade in national media working for New York Magazine, Harper's Bazaar, and Conde Nast Traveler prior to launching her own business.

Maura is passionate about helping founders build businesses they love. She writes a bi-weekly business column for Inc. magazine, guest teaches an entrepreneurship class at The Rauch Business Center, and hosts numerous group programs for ambitious, mission-driven entrepreneurs.

Renee has worked as a sports analyst and sideline reporter with ESPN, Fox Sports, SNY, FloSports, NBC Sports, the NWSL, and USL. She also recently led NBC Sports broadcasts on Peacock for USA Curling for the Winter Olympic Trials. The Ewing, NJ native has hosted shows for the Ivy League, MSG Networks, PHLY Sports, and the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Pennington Prep standout grad has covered several sports collegiately or professionally (NBA, MLB, WNBA, NFL, MLS, NWSL, NLL) as well as music and entertainment coverage through networks such as BET.

Outside of reporting, Renee is a motivational speaker who’s spoken on several stages including a TED Talk. She speaks at various schools, conferences, and panels in roles as an emcee, keynote speaker, and panelist. 

Athletically, in her playing career, Renee is a former three-time all-American and soccer hall of famer from La Salle University. She had an opportunity to play professionally with Sky Blue FC (now Gotham FC) before transitioning to coach at Lehigh University. As an assistant coach, she received her Masters in Educational Leadership which eventually led to her journey as a sports reporter. 

Board Member, CEO, Entrepreneur, and Angel Investor with over 35 years of experience in technology, due diligence, mergers and acquisitions, financing, business development, IP licensing, marketing, and operations experience across various industries including commercial real estate, software development, cable television, and angel investing. Personally responsible for debt and equity financing, budgeting, forecasting, business development, legislative affairs, recruiting, operations, and external relations. 
Industry experience includes enterprise and web B2B and B2C technology, education, and legislative affairs. Leadership in board governance and fiduciary responsibilities with the ability to establish innovative approaches to execute on strategic initiatives, marketing and operations as an executive committee member of various boards, audit, governance, technology committees, and chair of committees in finance, regulatory affairs, public affairs and community relations. 

Founder of several tech initiatives with experience in enterprise technology, patents, networks and security, business development, and new technologies. Successfully financed, acquired, and sold various organizational assets. Facilitated a $100 million merger with a publicly held telecommunications business, pursued litigation with various publicly held companies, and successfully negotiated cash settlements from $100 thousand to $52 million.