LOS ANGELES (May 23, 2018) – National nonprofit Step Up has announced the newest members of its national board of directors, along with additions to its Chicago, Dallas and New York chapter boards, and its first-ever Atlanta chapter board. Barri Rafferty, chief executive officer and president of Ketchum, will chair the national board, while six women will form the first board for the organization's new Atlanta chapter.
Rafferty became the first woman to lead a top-5 public relations agency when she was named CEO of Ketchum in late 2017. She inherits the Step Up national chair position from Sara Holoubek, CEO of Luminary Labs, who helmed the board for the past two years.
Of the nearly 100 total leaders, 12 represent Fortune 100 companies, and 10 hold the rank of CEO, president or founder at their respective organizations.
"I am grateful to these leaders for guiding Step Up toward continued growth in our communities," Step Up CEO Jenni Luke said. "As we celebrate our 20th year of service, our board members are our treasured ambassadors, inspiring others to join us in our vision of a world where all girls have the opportunity to fulfill their potential."
Step Up provides after-school and weekend mentoring programs for over 1,800 high school girls in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta, with the mission of empowering girls living or going to school in under-resourced communities to be confident, college-bound, career-focused and ready to join the next generation of professional women. The nonprofit's vision calls for it to have reached 8,000 girls with mentoring programs by 2020.
Many of the board members are mentors and role models for the students and help the organization access resources on a local and national level. In addition to the board, the organization relies on nearly 1,500 professional women members who volunteer their time, talents and resources to mentor the teens in the program. To nominate yourself or a colleague as a member, please email national@suwn.org.
Below are the full regional and national boards, with new members italicized and listed first.
National Board of Directors
Tamika Chambers, director of national accounts, Northwest Evaluation Association
Molly Luetkemeyer, interior designer, M. Design Interiors
Cindy Sobel, partner, Barlit Beck, Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP
Maria Walker, partner, KPMG
Marnie Kain, partner, Grey Group
Margaret Coady, executive director, corporate and social responsibility & Coach Foundation, Tapestry
Erin M. Collins, managing director, KPMG LLP
Leslie E. DeHoff, partner, Ernst & Young LLP
Angela Elbert, partner, Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, LLP
Heather Foster, vice president, Widmeyer Communications
Diane Holland, global CFO, Wunderman
Sara Holoubek, CEO, Luminary Labs
Todd Kahn, president & chief administrative officer and secretary, Tapestry
Kaye Popofsky Kramer, founder, Step Up
Keli Lee, managing director, international content, platforms and talent, ABC Studios International
Sara Link, head of Oath For Good, president, Oath Foundation
Jenni Luke, CEO, Step Up
Barri Rafferty, CEO and president, Ketchum (board chair)
Kelley Schadt, senior director of marketing, The Container Store
Wendi Sturgis, chief customer officer, Yext
Marcy Twete, division manager, corporate responsibility, Americas; executive director, USA Foundation, ArcelorMittal
Atlanta Chapter Board
Tamika Chambers, director of national accounts, Northwest Evaluation Association (board chair)
Lydia Glaize, co-chair, Education Collective Aerotropolis, former City Council, college/career administrator
Sharon Green, educational consultant, Bloomtree Education Services
Nadia Rashid, area vice president, sales, Marketo
Terri A. Winston, managing principal, T.A. Winston & Associates
Charisse Works, engineering manager, Mobilite
Chicago Chapter Board
Nicole Durham, director of HR operations, Exelon
Ashley Forman, enterprise architect, vice president, Northern Trust
Karen French, property manager, Sag Harbor Ventures
Baaba Holland, CEO/creative director, Baaba Holland Agency
Stephanie Kensicki, director of global marketing, SC Johnson
Julieta LaMalfa, director, dispute advisory & forensic services, Stout Risius Ross, Inc.
Melissa Mann, senior associate, BayFirst Associates LLC
Ana Perez, vice president of marketing, League, Inc.
Kiran Pinto, managing partner, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
Maria Salcedo, vice president, corporate strategy and program management, Ulta Beauty
Gauri Chawla, head of global business development and alliances, Showpad
Jessica McLaughlin, mutual fund investment specialist, vice president, Northern Trust
Christy DeMott, associate general counsel and vice president, BMO Financial Group
Liz O'Connor, associate principal, Daggerwing Group
Rose Ann Abraham, partner, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP
Dana Hall, partner, EY
Gina Judge, director, consumer relations, PepsiCo
Cecilia Largura, environmental strategy manager, NiSource
Shelby Parnes, associate, Vedder Price
Kristin Prinz, principal, The Prinz Law Firm
Cindy Sobel, partner, Barlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP (board chair)
Meghan Sporleder, corporate relations division manager, Allstate Insurance Company
Beth Spurgeon, corporate responsibility manager, ArcelorMittal
Andrya Smith, assurance partner, PwC
Dallas Chapter Board
Vanessa Salinas Beckstrom, forensic services director, PwC
Laila Brock, senior director of operations and logistics, College Football Playoff
Alyce Alston, CEO, Hunt Hendrix Ventures
Celina Blanks, assistant vice president, Lockton companies
Andrea Carter, principal, EY
Steve Idoux, senior vice president, Lockton Dunning Benefits
Robyn Sills, public relations, communications, and global marketing, Fossil Group
Kim Burgan, partner, Nine-Eighteen Fine Jewelry
Dara Engle, senior vice president, human resources, the Howard Hughes Corporation
Sarah Engel, chief marketing officer, DynamicAction
Meredith Hampton, corporate counsel, At Home Group
Lindsey Kilbride, independent consultant
Torrey Littlejohn, senior vice president, Jones Lang LaSalle
Elizabeth Watters Roberts, vice president, Ketchum
Kelley Schadt, senior director of marketing, The Container Store (board chair)
Kim Schwartz, managing director, Accenture
Kimberly Scott, director of communications, PepsiCo Inc., Frito-Lay North America
Los Angeles Board of Directors
Molly Luetkemeyer, interior designer, M. Design Interiors (board chair)
Jana Augsberger, VP, Eden Rock Media
Erin M. Collins, managing director, KPMG LLP
Jan Coonley, VP, strategy and transformation, U.S. Bank
Tara Crimin, senior consultant entertainment industry, CompuMark | Clarivate Analytics
Channing Dungey, president, ABC Entertainment
Jeanne Elfant Festa, partner & head of documentaries & director of features, White Horse Pictures
Phoenix Gonzalez, president of sales, co-founder, dotstudioPRO
Jessica Goodman, entertainment executive
Kelly B. Hanker, attorney
Brittany Hveem, head of business affairs, Hulu
Margie Moreno, international executive, YouTube Originals
Kelsey Patel, CEO, Kelsey J Patel Inc.
Amanda Silverman, entrepreneur & philanthropist
Vanessa Rodriguez Spencer, casting director, Out TOO MUCH Productions
Alissa Vradenburg, partner and talent manager, Untitled Entertainment
New York Chapter Board
Garnesha Crawford Ezediaro, director of leadership & learning, Oath
Jill Chammas, VP business development Solomon Page
JoAnna Foyle, chief operating officer, OpenSlate
Lauren Ezrol Klein, former EVP, general counsel and corporate secretary, Time Inc.
Maureen Lippe, founder & CEO, Lippe Taylor
Elizabeth McCune, chief growth officer, GroupM
Michelle Aragon, SVP of Business Solutions, Magna Global
Katrina Craigwell, VP, global market innovation, GE
Marietta Daniel, NYC DOE Specialized High Schools Diversity Outreach Team Manager
Alethea Hanneman, chief operating officer, In God's Love We Deliver
Marnie Kain, partner, Grey Group (board chair)
Marta Martinez, director, agency platform sales US, Google
Cathy Mayone, managing partner, Publicis Health+Sapient
Maggie Neuwald, VP enterprise accounts, Media Math
Hilary Smith, SVP, NBCUniversal Corporate Communications and Social Responsibility
Danielle White, Private Client Advisor, Brown Advisory
ABOUT STEP UP
Step Up believes all girls should have the opportunity to fulfill their potential. Through after-school and weekend mentorship programs, the nonprofit works with girls from under-resourced communities on becoming confident, college-bound, career-focused, and ready to join the next generation of professional women. Connect at suwn.org.
