:shakira niazi

Born in Afghanistan; Shakira's family relocated to the United States when she was a child and provided her the kind of upbringing and education she never would've gotten otherwise.

Her drive to achieve the "American Dream" led her to complete a Masters in Business Administration and pursue on a career in finance.  She spent several years in corporate banking  and eventually founded of a private mortgage company in residential and commercial lending that managed loans of up to $5 million.

"Having grown up with very little," she explains, "I was convinced that a lifestyle full of luxuries and name brand items would give me the happiness and respect I longed for. As I reached my goals, I realized that money, to some degree, can and will buy respect. However, my inner soul-the part of me with childhood memories growing up in a third world country; didn't have much respect for this person who simply lived a comfortable life."

This was the beginning of Shakira's re-evaluation of her career and search for her purpose in life...Her search awoke her to the prevalence of dirty drinking water and its dramatic impact on the lives of so many people, especially women and children around the world. That's when she realized she had found her purpose. SALVARE LA VITA was born.

:shyam kamath

Dr. Shyam J. Kamath is the author of more than 70 articles in leading management and economics journals, nd three books including the recent “Corporate Governance Failures: The Role of Institutional Investors in the Global Financial Crisis” (with Jim Hawley and Andy Williams eds), University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. He has been a consultant to over 100 international firms on four continents and has worked for multinationals and government agencies as a manager and strategic planner. He is the recipient of a number of international teaching and program excellence awards. His current research focuses on issues of global business strategy and marketing, the role of technology and entrepreneurship in economic development ,and business and livelihood creation at the base of the economic pyramid (those who earn less than $1 a day). Dr. Kamath earned his M.A. and Ph.D. fro

:starla sireno

Starla is the co-Founder and CEO of Fearless Women Entrepreneur Network, an organization that fosters emerging women entrepreneurs through business building programs, monthly events and business consulting. Fearless Women is dedicated to providing programs, tools, resources and connections that enable women to reach their full economic potential through entrepreneurship.

Prior to Fearless Women, Starla spent 12 years in institutional finance as a portfolio manager and in multinational sales and service. Starla holds a Masters in International Economics and Finance, but it has been the past 6 years as an entrepreneur that has given her the education of a lifetime.  

:virginia turezyn

Virginia M. Turezyn has more than 25 years of technology, investment, M&A, strategic planning, finance and executive management experience across a variety of industries and markets. She is currently advising entrepreneurs and early stage companies. Virginia was most recently Managing Director and Co-Head of a new private equity technology initiative in Palo Alto, CA for American Capital. She built a bi-coastal team and spearheaded the Firm’s investments in various internet and media growth businesses including industry roll-ups and strategic acquisitions. Key investments included HomeAway, Moxy Media, CreditCards.com, and PeopleMedia.

Previously, Virginia spent 3 years in New York City with Constellation Ventures II, a digital media, internet and communications focused Fund. She was brought in by a member of the Investment Committee whom she formerly hired and worked with at Morgan Stanley. She joined two digital media operating professionals and assisted them in restructuring and selling several businesses amidst turbulent market conditions and played a role in making successful new investments including K-12, a recent IPO in the educational market.

In the mid 1990s, Virginia was a co-founder and partner in Information Technology Ventures (ITV) and a successor Fund, Infinity Capital. She assisted in raising 3 funds totaling over $400 million targeted at early stage technology venture investing over a 9 year span. Their first Fund was one of CalPERS most successful venture funds in history.

Prior to launching ITV, Virginia spent 12 enriching years at Morgan Stanley, originally in New York City and then transferring in 1988 to the San Francisco office where she helped establish and build a west coast technology investment practice as part of the Venture Capital group. She started at Morgan Stanley in the Finance, Planning and Administration group managing investments for the partners of Morgan Stanley during its private ownership. Virginia worked on the Firm’s IPO and she transitioned the Firm’s internal lending to the partners to bank sponsored financing. She was also part of the fund raising team for several Morgan Stanley Venture Capital Funds.

Virginia started her professional career at Ernst & Young (formerly Ernst & Whinney) and was a Senior Accountant and CPA for a diverse set of clients and industries.

Virginia has a B.A. in Accounting from Queens College and is a CPA emeritus in NY. Virginia has been named to the Forbes Midas List and has been recognized by Money Magazine as one of the Smartest Women in the Money Business. She has been a Registered Representative (Series 7) and enjoys helping women in business independently and through angel investing with Golden Seeds, and working with Watermark and the Women's Initiative for Self Employment.

:sergio garcia

Sergio is Chair of the Global Technology Transactions Team. He advises clients in industries as diverse as clean technology, renewable energy, biotechnology, medical devices, Internet and digital media. Sergio serves as outside general counsel to many of his clients, and as transaction counsel in venture capital investments, strategic transactions and mergers and acquisitions. Sergio also assists clients in structuring and negotiating complex technology transactions, including international and domestic strategic alliances, joint ventures, licensing arrangements and other transactions involving intellectual property. One of Sergio's more notable recent transactions was his representation of the University of California and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in connection with a $500 million ten-year research collaboration with British Petroleum for the development and commercialization of alternative fuel technologies through the Energy Biosciences Institute, created specifically for this purpose.

Prior to joining Reed Smith, Sergio was a partner at a prominent Silicon Valley-based law firm, and previously served as Vice President, Legal and General Counsel of PDL BioPharma, Inc., where he was responsible for securities and regulatory compliance matters, and for negotiating strategic alliances, collaborations, strategic partnering and technology licensing transactions.  

:karen maggio

Karen is principal and founder of POM Resource Group. She is a LEED AP, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional, with over 20 years of experience in campus planning and facilities management.

Karen has lead and directed projects and programs including campus strategic planning, capital projects, facility operations, public safety and emergency operations. Under her leadership, Mills College was awarded LEED platinum from the United States Green Building Council for the Betty Irene Moore Natural Sciences Building, received a prestigious Getty Grant for campus planning and launched an award winning sustainability program. The Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business at Mills College, a POM project, received a LEED Gold designation for sustainable design.  

:ken munson

Kenneth is the President and Co-Founder at Sunverge Energy, LLC. Sunverge Energy is built on a 15-year foundation of electric utility engineering, design and automation, Sunverge Energy is a California-based company that optimizes the value of solar power by leveraging the practical advantages of distributed generation and storage. Previously, served as Vice President of Business Development for a large private equity group serving motor, gearing, and control automation markets. /p>

He was responsible for leading their global brand management, marketing, and joint-venture activities, as well as, supporting global acquisition efforts. He received my MBA in International Business Administration and Economics from Saint Mary's College of California and my BA in Marketing from California State University at Sacramento.

:steve hernandez

I have been a career development professional for over 15 years. I am currently the Associate Director of Career Management Services for the Wharton MBA for Executives in San Francisco. I design and deliver programming to support our Executive MBAs in achieving their career objectives. I advise and counsel WEMBA students regarding long-term career development and as necessary, immediate job search strategies. I conduct outreach to companies throughout the country for partnering, industry segment education, and middle to senior management career opportunities.

Prior to joining Wharton, I was an adjunct career advisor for the UC Berkeley Haas/Columbia and Executive MBA programs. As a former partner and executive recruiter for a local search firm, I have helped Bay Area companies identify, screen, and hire professionals ranging from staff to senior management. During this time, I have been exposed to a variety of industries, including banking, software, technology manufacturing, financial services, retail, consumer goods, biotechnology, and non-profit. In partnering with decision makers such as C-level executives, senior and middle managers, as well as human resources, I have gained in-depth knowledge of the skills, communication, leadership, and behavioral traits that lead to success within organizations.

In addition to recruiting, since 2004 I have managed a private Career Services Practice, working mostly with mid-life, mid-career professionals in one-on-one, group, and workshop settings, coaching in the areas of professional development, self-assessment, transition, workforce re-entry, career planning, job search, resume writing and interview effectiveness. I hold a Master's degree in Career Development.

:linda herkenhoff

Linda is the former Vice-President of Human Resources within EDS - Electronic Data Systems (a Fortune 500 company with over 117,000 employees), and played a consulting role for senior management in Bechtel. She is the immediate past Director of Human Resources for Stanford University. She is currently a Senior Advisor for the Andrew Mellon Foundation in association with a healthcare initiative for higher education, and is also a faculty member in the Graduate School of Business at Saint Mary's College in Moraga, CA, where she specialises in Organisational Behavior.

:aaron anderson

Aaron Anderson, Ph.D. is currently the Executive Director for Graduate Business Programs at San Francisco State University, and actively teaches a course called "Managing Organizational Change" in the Executive MBA program at the University's Downtown Campus. His areas of expertise include Management, Leadership and he has a special interest in understanding organizational behavior and change within a wide array of industries. His recent book, released this February by the Stanford University Press, is titled, "Engaging Resistance: How ordinary people successfully champion change."

:mark starik

Mark Starik, PhD, is a Visiting Professor of Management and Sustainability in the San Francisco State University College of Business and a Professor of Strategic Management and Public Policy in the George Washington (GW) University School of Business. Mark is also the former Interim Director of the GW Institute for Sustainability and former Director of the GW Corporate Responsibility Environmental Sustainability Program, and is a co-founder of several sustainability organizations, including the Institute for Sustainability Education & Action, and the Academy of Management Organizations& the Natural Environment (ONE) Division.

He researches, teaches, and advises organizations and individuals in the areas of Strategic Environmental Management, Environmental and Energy Policy, Environmental Entrepreneurship, and Implementing Solutions to Climate Crises. He is also interested in the connections among the fields of strategic management, business and public policy (including civil society), and sustainability, both domestically and internationally. His research includes publications in a wide variety of both academic and practitioner outlets, including the Academy of Management Review, the Academy of Management Journal, the Journal of Business Ethics, and Business Strategy and the Environment and in the proceedings of several international organization conferences

:yelena takhtamanova

Yelena Takhtamanova joined the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in 2005. As an economist, her research, analysis, and outreach activities support both the Economic Research and Public Information Departments.

Yelena’s current research focuses on topics in macroeconomics, monetary economics and international economics. Her recent research projects address exchange rate pass-through to inflation, inflation-output tradeoff (the Phillips curve), the link between household wealth and consumption (wealth effect), the differential effect of monetary policy on male and female employment, mortgage choice and default, and the labor market experiences of different demographic group during the recent economic downturn. The abstracts of her research papers are available on the Bank’s website (http://www.frbsf.org).

Yelena holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Johns Hopkins University. Prior to joining the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, she has been an assistant professor at the California State University, Sacramento. She also lectured on macroeconomics and international monetary economics at the Johns Hopkins University.

:robert trujillo

Robert is the District Team Leader (Director Level) of Target Stores. He received his MBA From Regis Jesuit University and has served on the board of the Denver Public Library and has also volunteered his time to local college universities including SJSU, University of Colorado at Boulder, and Colorado State University to advance business principles to students. He has also been an active member of the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and has been designated as the Northern California captain for Target to further Diversity and Connection efforts. Robert has represented Target at NSHMBA conferences for the past five years across the country.

Robert is passionate about developing leaders to their full potential ~ and has a track record of identifying and promoting leaders throughout the Target organization.

Robert has been with Target for nearly 14 years, where he first began as a cart attendant in Boulder, Colorado.

:cheryl blalock

Cheryl Blalock is Senior Manager of Global Business Processes for the Residential and Light Commercial Business Unit of SunPower Corporation, the World's Standard for Solar. She drives the global process roadmap and manages the teams responsible for implementing systems to support SunPower's new and existing channels . A graduate of Saint Mary's College Executive MBA program, Cheryl has had extensive experience in both Sales and Operations, having been Business Unit Director for the Cisco account at Worldmark, General Manager for WiMAX customers at Elcoteq, Director of Global Programs for HP at Sanmina-SCI, and Outsourcing Manager at Compaq.

:mary wardell

Dr. Mary J. Wardell has been working in various roles in higher education administration for the past 18 years and is currently part of leadership at the University of San Francisco as the Associate Vice Provost for Diversity and Community Engagement. Working with faculty, staff and students, and diverse communities through the San Francisco Bay area, she promotes an understanding of diversity as core to a holistic and sustainable higher education organization. Mary is an adjunct professor and teaches organizational behavior, leadership, and communication to graduate and undergraduate business students in the USF School of Management.

Prior to USF, Mary worked as the Dean of Student Affairs at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, overseeing all student affairs programs and academic support services. She worked to bridge educational opportunity for underserved youth in San Diego County, working with children of migrant families, and first generation college bound African American, Native American, Pacific Islander and Latino students, as an outreach coordinator for California State University San Marcos (CSUSM). Mary received a BA in Communication from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, her hometown; a MA in Cross Cultural Counseling from San Diego State University; and a doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Pepperdine University in Los Angeles. Her research interest and professional practice focuses on transformational leadership within organizations and women in leadership. Mary has an avid love for the arts and is a vocalist and photographer. She lives in San Francisco with her two daughters.

:kristina gutierrez

Kristina María is the Founder of WomenGoGlobal, a global event series which highlights, educates and mentors women entrepreneurs, leaders and women's resource networks and awards them for their work in Green Business, Techie Business, Social Mission Business, Global Innovation & Collaboration, the Arts, Education and Wellness, incorporating online tools for global resource-sharing. WGG Teams include Bay Area, NY, Egypt, Amsterdam, Barcelona and India.

KristinaMaría is also Co-Founder of both KaMasaJei BioDynamics and Fearless Women Entrepreneur Network. Each of her organizations has been featured at NASA/SU's Women@theFrontier Exhibition. KristinaMaría is Chancellor's Award Recipient of University of California in Molecular Genetics/Engineering & Microbiology, and a distinguished graduate of the Alvin Ailey Academy in New York City. She is a speaker and advisor for the Women of ALPFA Summits, and was nominated as a 2011 Small Business Influencer.