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IWF Announces 2024-2025 Mentors

February 27, 2025

The IWF Leadership Fellows Program accelerates the career paths of accomplished women, catalyzing their potential, and elevating their impact within organizations worldwide. Now in its 31st year, the program addresses the three barriers that have consistently restricted the potential of women leaders by providing leadership training, access to professional networks, and mentors. We celebrate the generous IWF members who have volunteered to devote their time and counsel as mentors to our 2024-2025 IWF Leadership Fellows Program class.

IWF Mentors break down one of the three top barriers to women fulfilling their leadership potential: A lack of mentorship. Mentors are matched to meet the specific leadership development needs of Fellows, and work with them one-on-one throughout the fellowship.

Mentors are a crucial component of the broader IWF Leadership Fellows Program, which was created in response to the US Department of Labor’s 1991 Glass Ceiling Report which identified three key forces that propelled men in their careers but weren’t there for women: Formal leadership training, mentorship, and access to networks. These forces have been confirmed repeatedly over the last three decades by institutions like Harvard, and companies like Deloitte and Accenture.

Our program was custom built to provide women with these important resources. In partnership with world class resources like INSEAD and Harvard Business School, the Leadership Fellows program provides customized leadership training, as well as global networking opportunities with both a peer cohort and IWF members around the world.

This year’s IWF Member Mentors are from 27 IWF forums in 8 countries, including Australia, Canada, Finland, South Africa, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, and United States.  Nine Mentors are Leadership Fellows program alumnae. Fifteen Mentors have shown exceptional commitment to the program, having served as Mentors for Fellows in previous program years.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FELLOWS PROGRAM

Cathy Allen

  • Founder and Chair
  • Board Risk Committee
  • IWF New Mexico

Paloma Alonso Cuesta

  • CEO
  • Globesalud Consultores
  • IWF Spain

Lydia Beebe

  • Principal
  • LIBB Advisors, LLC
  • IWF Northern California

Nina Boone

  • North America Organizational Strategy Commercial Leader
  • Korn Ferry
  • IWF New York (former member)

Dana Born

  • Brigadier General (retired), U.S. Air Force
  • Senior Advisor, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
  • IWF Washington, DC

Kathy Bremer

  • Managing Director
  • BoardWalk Consulting
  • IWF Georgia

Holly Cannon

  • Executive Vice President and General Counsel
  • The Conservation Fund
  • IWF Washington, DC

Debra Caplan

  • Executive-in-Residence
  • The Forbes Funds
  • IWF Pittsburgh

Maura Carley

  • Founder and President
  • Healthcare Navigation, LLC
  • IWF Connecticut

Carolyn Cassin

  • President and CEO
  • Michigan Women Forward
  • IWF Michigan

Kathryn (Kathy) Checchi

  • Co-Founder
  • Checchi Capital Advisers
  • IWF Southern California

Sharon Christopher

  • Founder and CEO
  • Sharon Christopher and Associates
  • IWF Trinidad and Tobago

Elizabeth Christopherson

  • President and CEO
  • Rita Allen Foundation
  • IWF New Jersey

Tekisha Everette

  • Executive Vice President
  • Trust for America’s Heath
  • IWF Washington, DC

Debra Facktor

  • Head of U.S. Space Systems
  • Airbus U.S. Space & Defense, Inc.
  • IWF Washington, DC

Jennifer Ferro

  • President
  • KCRW
  • IWF Southern California

Donna Fraiche

  • Founder and President
  • Fraiche Strategies
  • IWF Louisiana

Mary Francis

  • Corporate Secretary and Chief Governance Officer
  • Chevron Corporation
  • IWF Northern California

Grace Francisco

  • Founder
  • m2i
  • IWF Pennsylvania

Renee Fraser

  • CEO
  • Fraser Communications
  • IWF Southern California

Dr. L. Lloys Frates

  • President
  • Frutura
  • IWF Southern California

Karina Funk

  • Partner, Portfolio Manager, Chair of Sustainable Investing
  • Brown Advisory
  • IWF Massachusetts

Wei Gao

  • Chief Digital and Product Officer, Re:Build Manufacturing
  • Former Vice President and General Manager, Amazon
  • IWF Washington State

Julie Goldstein

  • Director of Strategic Planning
  • Goldstein & Lee, PC
  • IWF United Kingdom

Carol Goss

  • President
  • Warrior Women Against Poverty
  • IWF Michigan

Kristiina Helenius

  • CEO
  • International Sanctions and Export Control Society
  • IWF Finland and IWF Washington, DC

Daisey Holmes

  • Former President
  • BNY Mellon Foundation
  • IWF New York

Rosalind Kainyah

  • Non-Executive Director
  • discoverIE plc, Gem Diamond Limited, BTE Renewables, and WE Soda
  • IWF United Kingdom

Musimbi Kanyoro

  • Board Chair, UWC International
  • Former President and CEO, Global Fund for Women
  • IWF Northern California

Louise L. Léger

  • Director General (retired)
  • Global Affairs Canada
  • IWF Canada

Jenny Luray

  • Senior Vice President, Strategy and Communications
  • Research!America
  • IWF Washington, DC

Françoise Lyon

  • Non-Executive Board Director
  • IWF Canada

Kate Mason

  • Co-Founder and Co-CEO
  • Social Value
  • IWF Australia

Alison (Ali) Maxwell

  • Partner and US Chair, Tax Practice
  • DLA Piper LLP
  • IWF Washington State

Ann Marie Mehlum

  • Corporate director, advisor, and former banker
  • IWF Oregon

Doris Meister

  • Chairman and CEO Emeritus
  • Wilmington Trust
  • IWF New York

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

  • Founder, Umlambo Foundation
  • Former Executive Director, UN Women
  • IWF South Africa

Tiffany Olson

  • Board Member
  • Castle Biosciences, Inc., MiMedx, and Telix Innovations
  • IWF Chicago

Vivian Pickard

  • President & CEO, The Pickard Group
  • Former President, General Motors Foundation
  • IWF Michigan

Coral Wong Pietsch

  • Judge
  • United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
  • IWF Hawaii

DeRetta Rhodes

  • EVP and Chief Culture Officer
  • Atlanta Braves
  • IWF Georgia

Elizabeth (Liz) Rodbell

  • President and CEO
  • Hudson’s Bay
  • IWF New York

Kathy Sendall

  • Corporate Director
  • Pan American Silver
  • IWF Canada

Donna Shalala

  • Former President, Clinton Foundation Former Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Former Chancellor, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • IWF Florida

Cecelia Smith

  • Vice President & General Manager, Analog Foundry Services
  • Texas Instruments
  • IWF Dallas

Terrie Sterling

  • CEO
  • Terrie Sterling Consulting
  • IWF Louisiana

Inez Tenenbaum

  • Of Counsel
  • Wyche
  • IWF Carolinas

Bentina Terry

  • President and CEO
  • Southern Linc and Southern Telecom
  • IWF Georgia

Van Ton-Quinlivan

  • CEO
  • Futuro Health
  • IWF Northern California