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WE SOUGHT AND FOUND...

...visionary innovators who, with proper support and open pathways, have exceptional potential to advance to the highest levels of leadership and make profound impact in addressing the world's challenges. The 2022-23 class of Fellows is a diverse group of leaders inside major companies, founders of industry-changing startups, and heads of transformative private sector organizations⁠. Over the course of their JOURNEY year, these extraordinary women will work with our Champions and with one another to scale their leadership and impact.

The 25 Fellows in the 2022-23 class are U.S.-based leaders in the private sector, reflecting a diversity of race, ethnicity, industry, geography, and background.

OUR FELLOWS

The 24 Fellows in the 2022-23 class are U.S.-based leaders in the private sector, reflecting a diversity of race, ethnicity, industry, geography, and background.

Ivy Barney

Regional VP, Store Operations, Walmart

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Ivy began her career as a computer programmer with Accenture, designing and developing systems for Fortune 500 companies in telecom, media and entertainment. In 2010, she joined Walmart, where her leadership has extended beyond supply chain and operations to include introducing a Racial Equity Institute and, as Black ERG chair, playing a key role in shaping Walmart’s strategy in the wake of George Floyd’s 2021 murder. 

MELISSA BARRA

EVP, Chief Sales and Services Officer, Sleep Number

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Melissa is one of the most prominent Latina executives in corporate America. Her background spans financial services and retail in the U.S. and internationally, with roles at GE Capital, Citibank, Grupo Futuro, and Best Buy. Today she leads Sleep Number’s strategy as a wellness company that deploys technology such as biometrics to improve sleep and overall health. Melissa serves on the boards of Pentair and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. 

Shenna Bennett

Director, Global Logistics Operations, Dow

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After earning a degree in chemical engineering and an MBA, Shenna joined Dow, where she now drives sustainable practices to reduce CO2 emissions in the company’s supply chain. Over her 24-year career at Dow, she has held progressive leadership positions including Production Engineer, Six Sigma Improvement Black Belt, and External Manufacturing Sourcing Director. An active DEI champion, Shenna has opened the company’s global supplier base to provide greater opportunities to diverse business owners.

REGINA BORDA

Managing Director, Pizza Hut Latin America and Iberia, Yum! Brands

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Regina created Pizza Hut’s New Founders Program to give women and minority entrepreneurs access to the capital and connections they need to start businesses. She also co-wrote Pizza Hut’s strategy for equity, opportunity, and unity and led efforts to create new entry-level jobs. Originally from Switzerland and now based in Texas, Regina has lived and worked in dozens of countries and is fluent in six languages.

ADRIENNE BROWN

Group Vice President, US Diabetes, Eli Lilly and Company

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Adrienne’s focus at Eli Lilly is Type 2 diabetes, a global epidemic affecting more than 463 million people worldwide. In her two decades at the company, she has brought innovative treatments to market and made it her team’s mission to enable breakthrough outcomes on diabetes and obesity by 2030. Adrienne serves on the board of BioCrossroads. She has an MBA from Florida A&M University.

LISA DYSON

Founder and CEO, Air Protein

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Lisa holds a PhD in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is a mission-driven serial entrepreneur. Her current venture, Air Protein, uses half-century-old NASA technology to create meat from elements of the air. Lisa’s startup has been recognized as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer company. Previously she founded Kiverdi, an industrial biotech company that harnesses space age science to create planet-friendly commercial solutions and new products through carbon transformation.

KAREN FANG

Global Head, Sustainable Finance, Bank of America

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Karen drives Bank of America’s strategy to mobilize and deploy $1.5 trillion in sustainable finance capital for climate transition and social inclusive development by 2030. Karen sits on BofA’s management committee and ESG committee. She is a national board member of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), one of the largest Community Development Financial Institutions in the U.S. Karen has been recognized on the Fortune 40 under 40 list and as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.

EMMA FULLER

Founding Team Member, Fractal Ag

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Emma is a founding team member and leads data science at Fractal Ag, a fractional farmland investment platform. Before joining Fractal, Emma created a groundbreaking program that pays farmers to reduce their carbon emissions at Corteva Agriscience. The program has potential to scale to millions of acres of farmland. After receiving her BA in biology and environmental studies at the University of Chicago, she earned a PhD in ecology at Princeton, where she investigated the environmental impact of U.S. commercial fisheries. Now she’s dedicated to solving private-sector environmental problems at scale.

TONI Y. HICKEY

General Counsel, Cummins Filtration

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Fewer than 2 percent of intellectual property lawyers are African American, and Toni Hickey is one of them. As deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, she helped launch the Patents for Humanity Initiative to incentivize the development of technologies addressing humanitarian needs. At Cummins, Toni has led efforts on COVID-19 personal protection equipment, diversity, and global sustainability. She serves on the board of the Indianapolis Urban League.

Cherée Johnson

SVP and General Counsel, Dentsply Sirona, Inc.

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Cherée began her journey as a chemical engineer at 3M before pivoting to law school and a career as an intellectual property lawyer. A passion for clarifying complex challenges took her from Cargill to Kraft Heinz to McCormick to W.R. Grace before she moved to Dentsply Sirona in early 2022. Cherée is on the board of the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Lindsay Jurist-Rosner

CEO, Wellthy

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Lindsay spent 28 years as the primary caregiver for her mother, who suffered from Multiple Sclerosis. That experience led Lindsay to create a company to help people navigate the confusing caretaking landscape. Before starting Wellthy in 2014, Lindsay worked in advertising, technology, and media, as well as SVP of Marketing at New York-based startup Simulmedia, and in product and strategic marketing at Microsoft.

ELLI KAPLAN

CEO and Co-founder, Neurotrack

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Elli had one goal when she started Neurotrack: To change the way Alzheimer’s is diagnosed and treated. After losing two grandparents to the disease, she created a company that develops digital cognitive health solutions to enable people to assess, monitor, and strengthen brain health. Elli began her career in government, working at the White House and the State and Treasury Departments before moving to private equity and then the United Nations. She has an MBA from Harvard University and is on the Business School’s Healthcare Advisory Board.

CINDY KENT

Chief Operating Officer, Everly Health

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Cindy began her career at Eli Lilly and moved to Medtronic, where she turned an underperforming women’s health franchise into a $500 million business focused on treating women who have pelvic floor disorders. At 3M, Cindy created a “virtual startup” to accelerate the development of inhaler devices for asthma and COPD patients. Now at Everly Health, she’s charged with scaling a unicorn. Cindy is on the board of Accolade and Vanderbilt University, her alma mater. She is a former director of Best Buy.

APRIL KOH

CEO and Founder, Spring Health

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April founded Spring Health, an AI-driven mental health services company after health struggles close to home—her own and those of friends—convinced her that the system was broken. Spring Health is valued at more than $2B, and April is the youngest woman to build a unicorn company. She has been recognized on Forbes 30 Under 30 list, as one of Goldman Sachs’ 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs, and as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer. She is also a Yale Entrepreneurial Institute Fellow.

Elena Kvochko

Chief Trust Officer, SAP

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Elena has dedicated her career to making cyberspace safer—from starting as an IT specialist at the World Bank to building innovative cybersecurity partnerships at the World Economic Forum to fighting cybercrime and fraud at Barclays, Bank of America, and SAP. Elena holds more than 30 patents for inventions in her field. She is an adjunct professor at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, and she serves on the board of Refugees International.

Jaclyn McQuaid

President and Managing Director of GM Europe

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Jaclyn joined General Motors 20 years ago and sees herself as a model for women and girls to reach the highest levels in the male-dominated auto industry and other STEM fields. A mechanical engineer, she was Executive Chief Engineer of Full Size Trucks before GM promoted her to President and Managing Director of GM Europe in 2022. Now based in Zurich, Jaclyn speaks proudly of her Chaldean heritage and actively promotes women and diversity across GM.

Shally Pannikode

EVP and CIO of GRS at Liberty Mutual

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Shally is EVP and CIO for Liberty Mutual’s global commercial and specialty businesses. She began her career in IT as a developer at Amerigroup. She rose to lead technology strategy and innovation there before moving to Anthem, WellStar Health System, and Humana, where she was the first woman SVP & CIO. Shally is passionate about advancing women in technology. She is also co-founder and Chairwoman of the Freedom Council, a coalition of businesses combating human trafficking.

CORBIN PETRO

CEO and Co-founder, Eleanor Health

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After gaining expertise in healthcare via stints at Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, Bain, and Massachusetts Medicaid, where she was COO, Corbin decided she wanted to revamp the ways substance abuse treatment and mental healthcare are paid for and delivered, particularly for marginalized populations. Eleanor Health, which Corbin founded in 2019, applies technology, data, and compassionate teams to provide at-home and in-clinic care. Corbin serves on boards that support equity for women and the LGBTQ+ community.

Laura Weidman Powers

Operating Partner, Base10

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Laura co-founded Code 2040, a nonprofit focused on dismantling structural barriers to diverse and inclusive leadership in tech. She then worked on access to capital and DEI as a senior policy adviser in the Obama White House and was head of impact at social innovation fund Echoing Green. In 2021, Laura joined Base10 Partners, the first and only black-led VC firm to cross $1B in assets under management, as operating partner. Laura has taught social innovation at Stanford and at the American University of Rome.

YOLANDA SANDERS

Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Gap Inc.

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Yolanda began her career at the law firm Morrison & Foerster and moved to Gap as a contract attorney in 2003. Today, she’s General Counsel of Athleta—a Gap brand focused on “igniting the limitless potential of all women and girls”—as well as Deputy General Counsel at the parent company. Yolanda co-leads Gap’s Legal Diversity Committee and has developed initiatives to provide jobs for attorneys who may be overlooked in traditional recruiting efforts.

ELISE SMITH

Co-founder and CEO, Praxis Labs

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After starting her career in education, Elise worked at IBM Watson and then in venture philanthropy. While pursuing her MBA/MA in Education at Stanford, she co-founded Praxis Labs to create immersive VR-enabled learning platforms to train employees to be empathetic and inclusive—and drive inclusion across the workplace.

SHELLY STONEMAN

SVP, Government Relations, BAE Systems, Inc.

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Shelly spent nearly 15 years in public service, working at the upper reaches of national security in the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, White House, and Pentagon. In 2022, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin appointed Shelly to chair the high-level Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. At BAE Systems, she is leading efforts to diversify the board, in addition to running legislative and government affairs. Public service remains a passion for Shelly, who serves on the boards of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security, Food for Others, and the USO National Capital Region. 

Martina Welkhoff

Founding Partner, WXR Fund

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Martina founded two tech startups in mobile gaming and virtual reality before moving into venture capital. At WXR Fund, which invests in early-stage women-led spatial computing (Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality/Artificial Intelligence) companies, she has backed 11 startups. Her goal is to use XR (Extended Reality) to build an ecosystem that supports and enables women-founded companies to access resources and build community. Martina serves on the boards of several startups and nonprofit advisory groups.

DENISE WOODARD

CEO and Founder, Partake Foods

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Denise spent her career in consumer packaged goods, including seven years with Coca-Cola, before launching a company inspired by her daughter’s struggles with food allergies. After starting Partake Foods in 2017 with her personal savings, Denise raised $7.5 million and is now on a fast-growth track, selling Partake’s allergen-free cookies and snacks in Walmart stores in 47 states as well as in other retailers, including 1,600 Target stores. Denise’s mission is to fight food insecurity and open doors for HBCU students to pursue careers in the food and beverage industries.


Photography: Heather Crowder
https://www.heathercrowder.com/
Instagram: @heathercrowder @lightbox209

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