Co-Chair, Program Committee, & Co- Chair, Revenue & Governance Committee Member
A licensed mental health counselor, licensed professional counselor, entrepreneur, advocate, and motivational speaker, Amanda Ready
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works to inspire, motivate, and equip others to empower and heal themselves.
She offers mental health wellness, educational support, and job training stateside and globally through her private practice Ready Therapy Practice and nonprofit work. In addition to Ready Therapy Practice, she has founded two nonprofits: Ready to Empower, a US-based foundation, and Árbol de Esperanza, a Costa Rica based association that provides support to at-risk women. Ready donates a portion of this practice’s proceeds to helping others in need access mental health support. Ready has been honored in 2018; Humanitarian of the Year Award, bestowed by the I’m Here For the Ladies And You for advocating women’s empowerment, 2015; Amway Hero Award in the Generosity Category, recognizing the commitment one person makes to improving the world through extraordinary volunteerism or philanthropy, 2014; Unsung Hero Award, given by the Westchester Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, for outstanding achievement in protecting the safety and well-being of Westchester’s children, 2014; Rising Star Award given by The Business Council of Westchester, recognizing Westchester County’s best young talents.
Marketing Committee & Revenue Committee Member
Olivia Skiffington is a marketing and demand generation executive with over 18+ years experience as a marketing professional.
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Olivia has both her undergrad and graduate degrees in marketing and it is her passion along with her extensive work with non-profits. She currently heads up demand generation teams for tech start-ups. Before her work with RTE, Olivia volunteered and then managed the Norwalk Special Olympics team for 11 years. Olivia was born and raised in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is where her heart is, which is one of the reasons she is so passionate about Ready to Empower.
Chair, Governance Committee & Co-Chair, Revenue Committee
Joseph is the Executive Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer of Cadilus Inc. Joseph has more than 10 years of experience as
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a C-Suite leader within the management consulting, non-profit, and construction industries. His leadership experience spans the areas of business development, fundraising, strategic planning, finance and change management. Joe has driven significant top-line & bottom line growth with expertise in business analytics, performance measurement and quality control testing. He embraces continuous improvement, organizational learning and a customer centered approach. Joseph holds a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration, Finance from Eastern Connecticut State University, has done graduate studies at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and holds a Master of Business Administration from Yale School of Management.
Co-Chair, Program Committee, & Revenue Committee Member
Samantha Clark is a volunteer Board Member of Ready to Empower (RTE). Samantha is experienced in the non-profit world, as
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professionally she works in quality assessment for Westport, CT based non-profit that provides camp experiences for children with serious illnesses. Previously, she has worked in the camp industry, youth development, as well for the YMCA. Samantha has earned both her Masters in Community Development and Planning and her Bachelors in Sociology with a concentration in Urban Development from Clark University in Worcester, MA. Samantha’s Masters work revolved around female participation in a male dominant youth development atmosphere, so empowering women is a cause near and dear to her heart.
Program & Revenue Committee Member
Born and raised in Costa Rica, Dan Coto is a seasoned operations leader with 20 years of experience in a variety of high tech services
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companies like Hewlett Packard, Akamai Technologies and Carlson Wagonlit Travel.
He has spent the last two decades working with the professional services and support organizations of a handful of multinational companies that have decided to invest in the Costa Rican talent pool. He has a demonstrated history of delivering positive business impact in a global corporate environment by developing results-focused team environments, a never ending pursuit towards improvement and a strong focus on clear communication to ensure direction and awareness. His leadership strengths are in strategic planning, customer experience, continuous improvement, leadership development and performance management. Having started in the frontline roles and risen through the ranks, his most recent roles have been as the country leader for Akamai and most recently CWT, and in both cases demonstrated commitment and passion for corporate social responsibility efforts. He has been involved in volunteering activities that give back to the communities since he first became a volunteer leader in 2006 when he joined HP’s volunteering committee. Since then he has always made it a point to remain active in volunteering activities focusing on environmental protection, education and community efforts. Dan is fluent in both English and Spanish.
Program & Revenue Committee Member
Catherine Aprile began her career as an AmeriCorps VISTA member in Washington DC where she used data to improve program outcomes and help clients get jobs, housing, and education.
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Catherine Aprile began her career as an AmeriCorps VISTA member in Washington DC where she used data to improve program outcomes and help clients get jobs, housing, and education. It was there that she discovered her passion for using data to solve the world’s problems. She has performed program evaluations for public health programs in Chile, ESL programs in New York, and parent education programs in various school districts across the east coast. As a Program Manager for the nonprofits LIFT in Washington DC and Neighbors Link in New York, Catherine customized client management systems to ensure consistency of program indices and recording across regions, designed training materials for staff, and used data to improve management impact. Currently Catherine works as the Senior Manager of Business Applications at Synopsys, Inc., where she designs client management solutions to solve business challenges. She holds a Masters Degree in Data Analytics and Policy from Johns Hopkins University and an undergraduate degree in Public Policy from Hamilton College.
Marketing & Revenue Committee Member
Sue Bunn has a background in health and wellness, having attended Bastyr Naturopathic University in Washington State.
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She is active in the clinical nonprofit sector in Orange County California and has close to 10 years of experience in nonprofit outreach, marketing, funding, and talent acquisition.
Program and Revenue Committee
Jasmeet is an experienced Business Operations and finance leader with a career spanning across both pharmaceutical and financial services
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industries, including spending early part of her career as a consultant and financial auditor.
Jasmeet was also part of a technology startup where she was part of the launch team for their first customer! Through her career she has been responsible for leading various teams to define and execute business strategies, launch new commercial products, served as Chief of Staff as well as defining portfolio strategies. She currently leads a Patient services team with a large pharmaceutical company to ensure patients can access and afford critical therapies.
She is driven by her passion to serve others and her community and is an active volunteer – helping adults learn English, disaster recovery work or supporting NGOs with business processes. She resides in NJ with her family and is looking forward to empowering women within their own communities.
Governance and Revenue Committee
Kimberly Culbertson is a Partnership Strategist with Goldman Sachs Transaction Banking focusing on embedded finance solutions
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for corporates. Kimberly has spent her career focused on cash management solutions for corporations of all sizes. In this capacity she helped businesses scale and expand overseas by gaining visibility into their balances and helping them manage their cash flow. Currently she has been focused on building new financial products in conjunction with her clients which involves sales, structuring and execution. She has held various sales roles and led a team of 25 people. Kimberly is a hard working motivated employee who is great at relationship building and mentoring. Kimberly was born and raised in Costa Rica, is fluent in Spanish and is passionate about traveling and embarking on new experiences.
Governance and Revenue Committee
Mona Soni is the CTO of Sustainable 1at SPGLOBAL, leading a global technology team focusing on delivery and sustainability solutions
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to financial services customers. Over the years, Mona has also been the founder and mentor of several women’s technology leadership groups and served on national D&I councils. Prior to joining S&P Global, Mona was Vice President of Engineering at Dow Jones and has held prior roles at Amplify, Intent Media, and Thoughtworks. Mona currently lives in Connecticut; she enjoys cooking for her three kids and is working on her stamina to match their energy by practicing mixed martial arts.
Governance and Revenue Committee
Salomi is a finance and management professional with a focus on commercial lending, credit analysis, and risk management.
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With over 10 years of experience in two different countries, she brings a unique perspective to her work, which is greatly appreciated by her colleagues as it adds more value. As a lifelong learner, Salomi enjoys devoting her time to education and development. She has a master's degree in finance from Mumbai University in India and an MBA from the University of Manitoba in Canada. In addition to her current role at Royal Bank of Canada as Finance Specialist, Salomi is passionate about using her knowledge and talents to address social issues. In her free time, she assists start-ups and small enterprises with their business plans.
Program and Revenue Committee
Edna is a public health enthusiast who is passionate about global efforts that support the girl child.
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With over 25 years of international research experience and more than 17 years implementing clinical research studies Edna’s career spans both the pharmaceutical, non-profit and academic research settings. As the Assistant Director, Prospective Studies at AmerisourceBergen, she manages a team whose focus is the clinical operations of study protocols on multiple medicinal products. Edna has led national clinical trials as well as local community based research assessments in Breast Cancer, HIV/AIDS, Stroke, Maternal & Child Health, Women’s health that have been implemented internationally across all continents. Edna’s earned her MPH from the University of North Carolina, specializing in Global Public Health Leadership, and has a honors Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto. Her credentials include being as a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) by the Society of Clinical Research Associates(SOCRA), she also is also a named author and acknowledged in numerous scientific peer reviewed and critically acclaimed journals. Edna is an active member of the SOCRA and Association for Clinical Research Professionals(ACRP).
Co-Chair, Marketing Committee
Tanya attended the University of Connecticut where she obtained her B.A. in Psychology and Sociology and her MBA in Marketing and
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International Business. Tanya holds her Management Certification from Yale University and her Digital Marketing Certification from Northwestern University. She is a seasoned individual who has an array of experience in the Non-Profit sector, Legal field, Education, Investment Banking, Asset Management, and Digital Marketing field. She actively volunteers in her community and is affiliated with the following organizations: United Way, the Stamford Public Education Foundation (SPEF), and SoundWaters. Tanya is very passionate about helping others and making a difference in her community.
General Counsel & Governance Committee Member
Thais is an attorney admitted to practice law in the State of New York and licensed by the Brazilian BAR.
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She graduated from UFPR Law School and holds a Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law from Sorbonne Universities (Panthéon-Assas – Paris II). Thais also holds an LL.M. Degree in International Business and Trade Law from Fordham Law School. Thais has extensive legal experience, working for private law firms, representing clients in civil litigation and previously as a judicial clerk. Thais worked for the United Nations supporting UNDEF, a trust fund that promotes democracy related projects around the globe. She is fluent in Portuguese, French and English.
Program & Revenue Committee Member
Matt is an operational and people leader in the green industry who currently oversees several agronomic and nursery sites in CT and NY for
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a large national corporation.
He earned his BS in Justice and Law Administration from Western Connecticut State University and an MA in International Studies with a focus on human rights from the University of Denver. Previously Matt has worked in urban non-profits in Denver, Colorado developing and implementing programs offering mental health and housing assistance to the growing homeless population. He is interested in improving end user results through operational excellence and the development of strong interpersonal relationships.
Program Committee Member
Trystan is an LMSW working as a Bilingual Mental Health Clinician at Family Centers. Trystan works with elementary aged students
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and their families providing counseling and case management. Most of the clients she works with are Spanish-speaking or have recently moved to the U.S. Trystan enjoys serving her community and being able to connect people to resources. She has always made it a personal goal to give back to those less fortunate and be a voice for others in need. RTE is important to Trystan because we are making strides to eliminate barriers for women and families so that they can succeed. She enjoys being part of a team that is driven and working hard to support others abroad.
Marketing Committee
Nafissatou Misriyatou is a holder of a higher National Diploma (HND) In marketing, a graduate with a bachelor's degree in marketing
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from HIBMAT University Institute of Buea under the mentorship of the university of Bamenda.
Additionally, she holds training in digital marketing and graphic design. Nafissatou works as a program coordinator who coordinates partnership negotiations with NGOs having similar vision and mission, She organizes events and training for the organization. She has 2 years of experience in the domain of a non profit organization called pathway to Psychological Support care.
Nafissatou is passionate about volunteering with different NGOs, helping people around and her community.
Anya Smith, a professional analytics expert currently working at Meta, originally from Siberia, Russia. Alongside her professional work,
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and a recent MBA, she is wrapping up her MS in Computer Information Systems and Business Analytics. When she's not working or studying, she's busy running after her three energetic boys, aged 10, 3, and 10 months. With a passion for marketing projects, Anya has always sought out opportunities to work on them in her professional career.