On October 18, a panel event and networking session will mark the launch of the New Girls Network powered by Big Sister Boston. The kick-off event will be hosted at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM, and feature moderator Liz Brunner, journalist and CEO of Brunner Communications, and opening remarks from mentoring expert, Boston University professor and chair Dr. Renée Spencer. One hundred women are expected to attend. Panelists include: Alison Quirk, former EVP and Chief Human Resources & Citizenship Officer, State Street Corporation; Fredi Shonkoff, former Senior Director, Daily Table; Zamawa Arenas, Founder/CEO, Flowetik; and Courtney Leonard, CEO of HerVision Media & Consulting, COO of Boston Showstoppers Girls Academic & Athletic Enrichment Program, and On-Air Personality at B87.7 FM, Boston.
“We are so fortunate to have these women on our panel to share their experiences and to have 25 of Boston’s most successful women from diverse backgrounds as mentors in this program,” said Sharon McNally, a Big Sister Boston board member, president of the Camp Harbor View Foundation, and head of the New Girls Network. “We are committed to building up the next generation of women leaders, getting more women in top positions within their field, and ultimately creating more space at the table for their voices to be heard.”
The New Girls Network is a group of female corporate, non-profit, and public sector leaders who have assembled with the purpose of providing advice and counsel to women at various career stages, in the interest of advancing the professional futures of female leaders. At this time, the program is open to Big Sister staff and volunteers, with plans to expand the offering to the larger community in the future. The group’s aim is to share some of the many pathways they have travelled in their own careers. Through mentoring relationships they will offer assistance and information on topics common to women in the workplace.
“The New Girls Network represents a continuum of mentoring critical to the success of young women in Greater Boston,” said Deborah Re, President and CEO of Big Sister Association of Greater Boston. “We match hundreds of women with Little Sisters each year, but who’s mentoring the Big Sisters? The New Girls Network is an opportunity to foster sisterhood and leadership among the women of our City.”
New Girls Network Mentors
Holly Baillargeon, Senior Vice President, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
Liz Bane
Kate Barrand, President & CEO, Horizons for Homeless Children
Maggie Butler, Co-founder, CM Group
Lori Cashman, Founder & Principal Investor, Victress Capital, LLC
Muy Chan, Vice President, Senior Manager Product Capabilities, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
Denise Coll, Board Member, Big Sister Boston & Simmons College
Sara Conahan, Director of Community and Philanthropy, Suffolk Construction
Maureen Connolly
Deb Daccord, Partner, Mintz Levin; Board Chair, Big Sister Boston
Fotene Demoulas, Principal, D&D Management Group
Susan Donahue, Co-chair, Boston Medical Center’s capital campaign
Kristen Giarrusso, Limited Partner, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
Lorrie Gordon, Managing Director & Co-Head of IT, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
Joanne Grady-Savard, Founder & former CEO, Abbott Personnel
Maureen Griffin, Vice President of Human Resources, The CM Group
Barbara Hayes, Principal & Founder, Integrated Insights Consulting
Sarah Holmes, Senior Vice President & Head of IT Administration, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
Laura Hoult, Senior Director, Client Relationship Management, Cambridge Associates
Cathy Judd-Stein, Governor Charlie Baker’s Deputy Chief Legal Counsel
Jo Frances Meyer, Executive Director, Landmarks Orchestra
Olivia Nakimera, Senior Financial Analyst, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
Julie Rosen, Board Chair, Hebrew Rehabilitation Hospital.
Abbe Ross, Associate Justice, Suffolk Probate & Family Court in Suffolk County, MA
Karen Wood, Former Director of Development for Beaver Country Day School and The Riverview School, and for Any Baby Can and LifeWorks
