Nicole Boyson, Former President
Nicole Boyston is the Marketing Manager of Solvus Global.
Amba Nair, Former President
Amba Nair is an Associate Director, Program Management, Portfolio Management, R&D at Eyepoint Pharmaceuticals. She works on clinical and commercial programs that deliver drug and device combinations. She received her Bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering from Manipal University, India, and her Master’s in Biomedical Engineering, focusing on Maxillofacial Implants, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY. Throughout her career, she worked at various Pharmaceutical and Medical Device companies on the East Coast.
Growing up in multiple countries, Amba was exposed to different cultures and thought processes regarding women’s issues. Amba has always prioritized supporting, mentoring, and learning from other women in and outside her field throughout her career in the Pharmaceutical/Med. Device & Non-Profit worlds.
As the founder of the Women at Medical Devices Centre of Excellence (MDCoE) at Takeda, she was able to create an organization led by women to deliver programs that contributed to the personal and professional development of members, enabling the success of the entire MDCoE by championing a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Lola Ciccone, Website Management Volunteer
Lola Ciccone is a Sophomore at Leomi
nster High School’s Center for Technical Education Innovation (CTEi) who is enrolled in Honors Electronics with a passion for all things technology. She is part of the Leominster Marching Blue Devils (LMBD) as a former color guard member and current flute player, as well as a part of crew in the Leominster High School Theater Company.
In December of 2024, she marched in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses as part of the New England Honor Band, and has since marched in the Plymouth Thanksgiving Day Parade with more exciting opportunities to come.
Kristen DeFranciso, People Specialist
Kristen currently works as a Supervisor in Process Development at T2Biosystems and was previously a Scientist in Molecular R&D at Becton Dickinson. She attended Hofstra University for her bachelors in biochemistry and Johns Hopkins University for a masters in chemistry with a focus in bioorganic chemistry. Kristen is passionate about her work to improve patient outcomes by providing fast and accurate diagnoses to help guide treatments. Kristen believes it is important to have strong female leadership in industry and is looking forward to the networking and mentoring opportunities that the Women Accelerators provides to empower women.
Shruti Parikh, Events Head
Shruti Parikh is the Packaging Design Lead at Takeda Pharmaceuticals based in Massachusetts, USA. She is leading and building Industrial Design, Sustainable Design, and Patient Engagement Interaction Design capabilities globally. In practice, she uses design thinking for problem-solving to capture and amplify the user’s voice, never letting it get drowned out by conflicting interests or unnecessary features.
She believes in respecting diverse people’s experiences, identities, knowledge, and strengths and striving to empower all to realize their full rights. She is currently volunteering with the employee resource groups within Takeda to build a wellness culture and work-life balance. In her free time, Shruti loves to paint and pamper her beautiful 4 yr old Shih Tzu.
Colleen M Beaumont, Financial Advisor
Colleen M Beaumont is a Lowell Five Bank employee for 30+ years, joined as a Teller 1988 and has been the VP/Cash Management Officer since 2013. She worked at multiple branches in various positions including being a Branch Manager for 12 years, opening two new branch locations. Colleen enjoys working with local business owners, large and small, and learning about how they run their business. She finds it rewarding to collaborate with business owners on their goals and customizing solutions to fit their specific needs.
Colleen is a current member of the Lowell Transitional Living Center Development Committee and a past board member. She also enjoys volunteering with Lowell Five coworkers for the annual Alternative House holiday donation drive. Past associations include New England Safe Deposit Association – Board Member and Past President, Girl Scout Troop Co-Leader, AIB General Banking Diploma, New England School of Financial Studies graduate. She enjoys time with family, cooking, and cheering on the Patriots!
Ajeeta Dash, Programs Head
Ajeeta Dash has a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and is currently Senior Director (Global Program Leader) at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Takeda, Ajeeta worked at Genzyme Corporation. She has 21 years of experience in the Biotech/Pharma industry.
Ajeeta believes her career success is due in part to the various mentors, advocates, well-wishers that have guided her along the way. She was drawn to volunteering at Women Accelerators as a great way to give back. Ajeeta likes to travel, enjoys cooking and hiking with her dog Lola. She leans on yoga and meditation to keep her grounded and got certified as a yoga instructor during the pandemic.
Kim Meninger, Lowell Chapter President
As a certified executive and leadership development coach, Kim Meninger empowers individuals and organizations to reach their full leadership potential. Kim has coached hundreds of clients and has presented on career advancement and leadership topics to corporate, non-profit and academic audiences, including Pfizer, Fidelity Investments, GE Healthcare, Harvard University Women in Technology and many others.
Before coaching, Kim held a variety of cross-functional leadership roles in the high-tech industry where she experienced first-hand the unique challenges and opportunities facing women in the workplace. She is passionate about helping women leaders to develop their confidence, visibility, and influence to maximize their impact and advance their careers. Kim has a BA in psychology and an MBA from Boston College. She is an ICF Associate Certified Coach and CCE Board Certified Coach with certifications in career, executive and leadership development coaching. Kim also holds a certificate in Executive Leadership from Cornell University. In addition to her involvement with the Women Accelerators Lowell Chapter, Kim serves as president of the Groton Business Association, Global Director of Client Relationships for WITI, Chair of Alumnae Initiatives for the Council for Women of Boston College, and Co-Chair of the MassTLC Women’s Peer Group. She lives in Groton, MA with her husband and two young boys.
Jodie Bruneau, Lowell Chapter Communications Chair
Jodie is an Associate Managing Editor at DynaMed in Ipswich, MA, where she leads content development projects to support clinical decision making. In her current role, Jodie works with a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, medical writers, and editors to maintain an online clinical reference database to help busy clinicians find the best available evidence to help them manage their patients’ health.
Before joining DynaMed, Jodie was a Postdoctoral researcher at UMASS Medical School, working under an NIH Career Re-entry grant supplement. Jodie received her Masters and Doctoral degrees from Trinity College, Dublin. A Lowell native, she looks forward to networking with other like-minded women to foster career development and support in the area.
Miriam Margala, Lowell Chapter Chair and Advisory Board Member
Miriam Margala, PhD
: In both her academic and professional careers, Miriam’s interest has always focused on gender equality. What started off as research of gendered and androcentric language use and communication, soon developed into practical involvement with and passion for helping women to achieve equality. She holds a dual PhD in English and Linguistics (University of Rochester) where one area of her expertise is communication and gender. Miriam has presented and published on the topic nationally and internationally.
Miriam teaches at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. She also works in the areas of art and literature both in the US and Europe and through her work continues to research and be actively involved with gender issues as they relate to professional, social and cultural aspects of communication.
In her free time, Miriam enjoys singing – any genre – and performing with her chorus. Wherever she finds herself, she looks for galleries, museums, theatres and performance places to visit. Miriam enjoys a good power walk, especially very early in the morning when it’s accompanied by a beautiful sunrise.
Robin Rose, Chapter Liaison
Robin is a customer-focused operations leader with extensive experience creating and delivering inventive business strategies and client-focused solutions that improve margins and increase customer retention. For over 20 years she has worked with companies in the software and services industry helping them establish process and create efficiencies to improve business outcomes. She is passionate about optimizing the customer journey to provide a best-in-class experience, aligning customer’s expected outcomes to build adoption, create delighted brand ambassadors, and develop new business opportunities.
An engaging communicator and relationship builder Robin enjoys unifying diverse resources and cultures to build high-performing teams. She has a strong interest in empowering women in the workplace, and is a member of several boards charged with supporting women, particularly in their local communities, and increasing leadership opportunities.
Robin graduated from Trinity College with a BS in Computer Science and a minor in Psychology. She is a voracious reader, local sports fan and loves to travel.
Sophie Wadsworth, Fundraising Advisor
Sophie brings to her executive coaching and nonprofit consulting a passion for helping leaders craft compelling, mission-centered stories while nurturing a culture of storytelling throughout their organizations. She provides trainings and webinars on storytelling, how to craft winning pitches and presentations, and public speaking skills for leaders. Sophie is the author of an award-winning collection of poetry and a selected storyteller for WGBH’s Stories from the Stage on World Channel. She has worked with leaders at companies and organizations including Greater Lowell Community Foundation, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Fidelity, and the Framingham History Center.
She lives with her family and one very animated cat near Boston, Massachusetts. Learn more at sophiewadsworth.com
Emily Goh, Sponsorship and Fundraising Head
Emily Goh, a seasoned Marketing Leader with over a decade of expertise in the software and B2B sectors, is dedicated to ensuring the success of organizations through her focus on assembling the right team, process alignment, and metrics. While her proficiency lies in marketing, Emily recognizes that a cohesive team is crucial for organizational success.
Dr. Suhasini M Iyengar, Project Manager
Suhasini M Iyengar, often referred to as “Suha,” is a skilled Computational Chemist with expertise in structure-based drug discovery and molecular modeling. Hailing from the vibrant city of Mumbai, India, she commenced her academic journey at the Vivekanand Education Society’s College of Arts, Science, and Commerce (VESAC), where she earned her B.Sc. with a focus on Chemistry. It was during her M.Sc. at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, that she discovered her passion for Computational Chemistry, working on a thesis project involving modeling heterocyclic sulfones as non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.
Suha’s academic pursuits led her to Northeastern University in Boston, where she finished her PhD in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology under the mentorship of Prof. Mary Jo Ondrechen. Her research primarily centers on structure-based drug discovery, with a specific focus on neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Simultaneously, she has actively contributed to the fight against COVID-19 by identifying novel inhibitors for various protein targets associated with the virus.
Beyond her scientific work, Suha embraces a rich tapestry of interests. Suha has actively engaged in personal and professional development, participating as a mentee in the Women Accelerators (WA) mentorship program in 2022. This experience proved invaluable, shaping her growth and inspiring her to pay it forward by becoming a mentor herself within the WA community.She’s a passionate reader and writer, finding solace in the world of words. Her photography captures the beauty of everyday life, and she enjoys the simplicity of hiking. Traveling offers her a chance to explore different cultures and landscapes, while journaling is her way of reflecting on her experiences and thoughts. In addition, Suha shares her adventures with her beloved Ausie pup, Sky, who joins her on hikes, providing companionship and adding an extra dash of joy to her explorations of nature’s wonders.
Dr. Lakisha Brinson Thomas, Mentoring Volunteer
Dr. Lakisha Brinson Thomas is our 2023 Thrive and Strive Mentoring Program Mentoring Chair. Lakisha serves as the Director of Instructional Technology for Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), locally in Nashville TN. In this role, she oversees and supports the use of instructional technology, digital learning, and library programming across 150 schools. Dr. Brinson’s passion for teaching has afforded her a plethora of experiences and accolades including being a member of the 2022 CoSN Early Career Academy and 2015 School Library Journal National Librarian of the Year Finalist.
Akena Andonegui Segovich, Events Volunteer
Akena Andonegui Segovich was born in Caracas, Venezuela. She participated in many activities such as tennis, horseback riding, piano, theater, languages, music, and swimming, which she enjoyed doing in her free time and summer camps. She enjoyed winter sports in the US, Italy and Switzerland. She knew she wanted to pursue humanities, and after attending summer school in Switzerland, she knew it was the best fit. She completed an IB in humanities near a boarding school in Switzerland that her father attended when he was in high school. Her drive to better herself led her to become a NeuroptimalR trainer, encouraging her to help others and let people know about the benefits of Neurofeedback.
She continues to be a global ambassador for NeuroptimalR. She is a lifelong learner, continually looking to develop her skills. She enjoys teaching and is TEFL certified. She is passionate about helping support wellness and education. She has a blog to educate readers, promoting learning and teaching. She enjoys volunteering at her alma mater, supporting multicultural dialogue between cultures, and promoting advancement in the workplace. She is a role model and volunteers in conferences, networking, and mentorship groups to give back to the community.
Deusto’s Humanities program opened the door to another level of education in the Humanities field. She transferred to Umass Lowell’s BS in Business Administration. The program aligned with her humanities background and Entrepreneurial interests. The Global Entrepreneurship Program became a pivotal guide in her career development. The Master in Quantitative Management from Duke University gave her the skills to help manage company’s data, including ADV Source Biomaterials, HP Hood, and Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Kate Hardy
Kate Hardy is a Director of Global Services at Arxspan in Boston, MA, coordinating and leading research data management software projects in the biotech, pharmaceutical, and academic research industries. She is passionate about connecting women in meaningful ways and believes that a strong community and social network can help women achieve their goals in all areas of life. She is excited to be working with the very talented people of Women Accelerators to help grow and strengthen their network,
Born and raised in New Hampshire, Kate moved to Boston in 2007 to pursue her Bachelor’s of Chemistry at Northeastern University. She has experience working as a research chemist for federal government agencies and biotechnology companies before making the move to the software technology industry. In her free time, Kate can often be found training for 10K and half marathon road races, practicing yoga, hiking, writing, reading, and playing video games. She especially loves winter days in the mountains on her snowboard, or leasurely summer days on sandy beaches.
Sneha Hariharan
Sneha Hariharan is currently a Field Application Scientist with PALL Laboratories. Sneha moved to the United States in 2011 to pursue Graduate Studies in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrated Biosciences at Pennsylvania State University. She started her career in Boston in 2016 when she worked as a Research Associate with Rubius Therapeutics. She loves traveling, reading books, and trekking.
She joined Women Accelerators later in 2017 after attending a couple of events with her colleague. After a few conversations with Susu, the co-founder of WA, she realized that she had found an organization whose goals and directions aligned with hers and wanted to contribute to its success. She hopes to help maximize the reach of this fantastic community of talented and driven women with the vision to set women, from all walks of life, up for success and to provide them with a much-needed support.
Angela Kaczmarczyk
Angela Kaczmarczyk received her Ph.D. from UC Berkeley where she studied developmental biology and investigated regeneration of germline cells in crustaceans. After graduate school, she moved out to Boston and taught molecular biology lab classes at Harvard University and scientific communications at the Broad Institute.
She currently works at Addgene as an outreach scientist. In her free time she enjoys outdoor activities, serving on the board of directors for BosLab, and volunteering at Women Accelerators.
For leisure, she likes to travel, try new things and watch movies.
Pragya Rampuria
Pragya Rampuria is a volunteer at Women Accelerators. She is currently working as a Scientist (contractor) at Pfizer, developing biotherapeutics. She completed her Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in 2015. She is excited to join this team at Women accelerators because this organization is a great place to connect with brilliant women, and to learn from their experiences.
For leisure, she likes to travel, try new things and watch movies.
Huan Rui
Huan is a computational chemist at Amgen. She grew up in China where she studied bioinformatics at Huazhong University of Science and Technology. She moved to the United States in her early 20s to pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Kansas where she embarked on her journey in computational chemistry. After finishing, she went on to the University of Chicago as a post-doctoral scholar to study membrane proteins involved in cell signaling. She likes physics and she hopes to understand how the world works with physics theories and computer simulations. She identifies as a gay woman and she is passionate about having more women and minorities in STEM fields.
In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, traveling, going on hikes, and reading books about strong women. She hosts a monthly book club for queer ladies on the Autostraddle Social Club Boston chapter.
Anna Welland
Anna currently serves as the HR Operations Manager at Platelet BioGenesis driving organizational design and scale-up of this startup. Her 20-year career of supporting and leading continuous improvement initiatives of human resources and finance functions include roles held at Cornell Medical College, MIT, NYU School of Medicine, Partners, The Gillette Company, among others. Anna is an active volunteer for Taproot and professional organizations she is also a member of. While Anna only recently joined WA she already feels a great sense of connection to the group and is looking forward to contributing her knowledge as well as learning from other great women.
Anna earned her MBA from Northeastern University and her BA from Clark University. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring Boston, networking, reading articles on every topic, and listening to live music.
Kana DeLuca
Kana DeLuca moved to Boston from Tokyo in 2015. She studied Government and International Relations at Clark University and returned to Tokyo to kick off her career in international real estate, facilitating business expansion for her clients.
Kana joined Lightstone Ventures as an Investor Relations/Operations Manager upon her move to Boston. She is excited to tap into the Women’s Network in Boston and to learn from and grow with diverse, talented team at Women Accelerators.
Born in Tokyo and raised in California, Michigan, Singapore, and Tokyo. Kana is passionate about interacting with varied cultures, values, and networks. In her free time, Kana loves to go on nature walks with her husband and dog, snuggle with her kitties, tag along on her husband’s craft beer adventures, and to try out anything life has got to offer!
Meng Tao
Meng Tao was a Project Manager with Central Maine Healthcare and is currently volunteering at Mass General Hospital. Prior to moving to the U.S. to pursue her MBA in Connecticut and transition to the healthcare industry which she is very passionate about, Meng holds a BS and an MS in Electrical Engineering and IT and has multiple years of cross-industry work experience in both Germany and China.
Meng started volunteering at Women Accelerators in summer 2019. As a career-oriented woman, she is thrilled to be part of a team that promotes women’s advancement and growth.
Besides, Meng likes to travel, explore the nature, learn different cultures, and take on new challenges.
Satoko Onozawa
Satoko Onozawa is from Tokyo, Japan. She studied Sports Management at Juntendo University in Japan. She moved to New Hampshire in 2017 for her MBA at Southern New Hampshire University. Upon completing her MBA, she moved to Boston in 2019.
She is excited to join the Women Accelerators team for the opportunity to meet wonderful women and to learn from them. She plays tennis and enjoys playing many other sports. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies, traveling, and playing outdoor sports.
Herdeline Ardoña
Herdeline Ardoña is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Disease Biophysics Group at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University. She is originally from the Philippines, prior to moving to the U.S. for pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University. She is very passionate about participating in outreach activities that focus on science mentoring—especially for promoting science to children and encouraging more women to be a part of the scientific community.
Herdeline started as a volunteer for Women Accelerators in 2018 and is excited to join the team that keeps on inspiring talented women to succeed.
Shauna Corcoran
Shauna Corcoran is currently working at Jnana Therapeutics as a research intern testing therapeutic hypotheses for the of treatment inflammatory diseases. Shauna gained her bachelors in Genetics from University College Cork, Ireland in 2019 and moved to Boston soon after to launch her career in science.
She noted a lack of female mentors throughout her academic career and felt by becoming involved in an organization with a diverse group of inspiring people, she could help to encourage more inclusiveness in the world of business and science.
Shauna has a keen interest in travel and loves experiences and cuisine on her travels. She also had a passion for animals and agriculture stemming from her background in Ireland.
Julianna Joyce
Julianna graduated from Emmanuel College in May of 2019 and is currently working as a content specialist at a marketing agency called SocialMadeSimple in Newton. In this role, she curates and schedules content across a variety of different industries. Julianna also helps with the marketing collateral for SocialMadeSimple itself, such as blog posts and social media content. She is pursuing marketing as a career and is consistently learning new things and growing in her field.
Julianna is now the Communications Chair at Women Accelerators and is excited about this opportunity to share and utilize her expertise for a greater cause. She believes that connection is one of the most valuable assets in life, and Women Accelerators provides just that! She is excited for the opportunity to connect with other like-minded woman and help to provide a platform for women to succeed in their professional life.
Outside of work, Julianna runs a wellness and self-development blog where she provides valuable information to women who are looking to improve their lives. She also loves to read, exercise, and one her favorite things to do is explore Boston!
Stephanie Puzak
Stephanie is currently a consultant working on various projects globally. She moved to Boston in 2018 after serving almost a decade in the United States Air Force as a cyber operations officer. Her specialties included test, analysis, and tactical communications.
Stephanie felt the need for strong female mentors, in both a male-dominated industry (cyber) and profession (military). When she separated from the military, Stephanie sought a way to get involved with the network of smart and talented women in Boston. She joined Women Accelerators in 2018 and is excited to be part of a team truly passionate about empowering and helping each other succeed.
Stephanie received her BS from the United States Air Force Academy and holds an MS in Applied Psychology from Sacred Heart University. On a personal note, Stephanie was on a sky diving team in college and enjoys all forms of adrenaline sports. She also enjoys travel, cooking and almost any outdoor activity with her man and blue heeler pup, Frank.
Ayushi Agrawal
Ayushi Agrawal is currently working as an Associate Computational Biologist in the Chemical Biology and Therapeutic Sciences Program at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. She moved to USA from India in 2016 to pursue her Masters’s in Biotechnology at Johns Hopkins University. Ayushi is inspired by the impact and power of data in the field of biology. She uses technology to explore new ways to look at data and drive decisions informed by them. Overall she hopes to find novel therapeutics to improve the quality of life for patients.
Ayushi started as a volunteer for Women Accelerators in 2019 and is excited to be a part of a diverse and inspiring team. She is passionate about promoting and supporting the representation of women in the scientific and computational community. In her free time, she likes to travel, read, and spend time with friends!
Ekaterina (Kat) Cleary
Ekaterina (Kat) Cleary, Ph.D., is a Professorial Research Associate at the Center for Integration of Science and Industry at Bentley University. She received her BS in Biology/Bioinformatics from UMass Lowell and MS degree in Bioinformatics from Boston University. She holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology from UMass Lowell, where her thesis work focused on discovering complex geomedical patterns in Alzheimer’s disease.
Her current research at Bentley examines the public sector’s contribution to the science underlying new drug discovery, as well as the public value created from this science. She also teaches Data Visualization in Bentley’s Graduate Business Analytics program.
Kat is the Ambassador for the Women Accelerator’s chapters.
Hagir Mohamed
Hagir is a PhD student in the Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology Program at UMass Lowell. Hagir enjoys working on her research, validating protocols and working on projects concerning new products. Her research involves collecting samples to test the efficiency of different cleaners. In addition, she’s working in the new microbiology lab at TURI to validate the devices. She has a sponsorship as a teaching assistant in the Basic Microbiology and Pathology Lab at UMass Lowell. She has a medical doctor degree in her home country of Sudan and she plans on taking the board exam to match for residency in US hospitals.
In her spare time, Hagir likes exercising in fitness group classes such as Zumba, spin, and strength classes, listening to motivational speeches, reading developmental books and cooking. She is excited to join Women Accelerators Lowell as the Communications Chair, to inspire and be inspired by a group of unstoppable women.
Annabel Pino, Events and Event Marketing
Annabel Pino is currently a student at Emmanuel College majoring in Marketing and minoring in Economics with graduation in May of 2021. She’ll be joining our events and marketing team and is excited to assist in building connections while empowering women through Women Accelerators!
Annabel has a passion for the entertainment industry, specifically in music, and photography. She also enjoys dancing, exploring the city, and cooking! She looks forward to spreading kindness and assisting in confidence building, both professionally and internally, within her role at Women Accelerators
Michelle Fabiano, Marketing Chair
Michelle Fabiano is an Inside Sales Representative at GAP Promo which is a full-service promotions agency helping some of the world’s leading companies increase brand recognition and grow their sales. She attended Fisher College where she graduated with her Bachelor of Art in Communications and Media Studies. Prior to her role at GAP, Michelle worked in the Wedding and Event Industry and has planned hundreds of events creating unforgettable memories for her clients.
Michelle joined Women Accelerators in October 2020 to gain more experience in the marketing and social media industry as well as have the opportunity to meet and network with successful women while empowering others to do the same.
In her free time Michelle loves to hike, camp, explore new cities trying every oatmilk latte she can get her hands on, working out and spending time with family and friends.
Gianna Iantosca, President
Gianna Iantosca is an associate scientist at Atavistik Bio working on drug discovery and characterization of novel therapeutic targets. She received her bachelors from Emmanuel College with a distinction in the field of biology and a concentration in biochemistry. She has experience working in industry at Jnana Therapeutics, Agios Pharmaceuticals and Navitor Pharmaceuticals. She is also pursuing her MBA part time at Boston University. Her focus is bringing therapies to patients with rare disease.
Gianna was inspired to pursue a career in science at an early age, being a first hand witness to a family member with a rare disease. She was sparked to learn more about rare disease, which led to her education in biology and later career. She believes in order to be truly successful a person must be well balanced. She does this through her passion for fitness and well-being, which includes runs along the Charles. In the push to continue her career and be in a position to inspire others, she joined the team as the Event Coordinator in October 2019, hoping to bring the values and insight that she learned along the way to young women. From January 2020 to July 2021, Gianna was the President of Women Accelerators.
Razan Hadad, Vice President
Razan has diversified professional experience in the biotech and healthcare industries and has recently moved to Boston from Jordan. She is looking to combine her passion for science and business to find her next career opportunity. Razan has an undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Kentucky and an MBA in management from German Jordan University.
Being inspired by women in STEM and in business, she finds her purpose by being a part of a network of women in leadership, while volunteering her time to be a valuable resource within her community. Her last position was a project coordinator with the Business and Professional Women Association, where she successfully implemented a project with the Embassy of Sweden on ‘The Challenges that Face Women in Jordan”. She led a research paper and presented outstanding results that generated extra funding for the association. She enjoys writing, networking, and being a source of inspiration and love for her family.
Vanessa Chumbley, Events
After graduating with a BFA in Violin Performance, Vanessa began a career in Stage Management. She has worked for opera and dance companies all over the country for almost ten years, most recently with Houston Ballet. With COVID-19’s devastating effects on the performing arts industry, Vanessa is excited to bring her expertise and experience coordinating events to Women Accelerators and be a part of supporting women and bringing them together. Vanessa enjoys travel, salsa dancing and photography.
Hailea Palmer, Blogger
Hailea Palmer is a New England native; she is from Southern New Hampshire. She is currently halfway through achieving doctorate in Chiropractic in Upstate New York.
Hailea was brought on by Gianna after they connected through social media. Hailea will be writing our blog on a regular basis.
Hailea is passionate about helping others realize their own happiness. She enjoys spending time outside, hiking, reading in her free time, and cuddling her black lab.
Sandra Mohr, Mentoring Chair
Sandra Mohr is the Dean of Academic Resources and Administration at the New England College of Optometry. She is known for being a change agent in higher education institutions through engaging multiple stakeholders and investing in modern learning environments for the 21st century. She has proven talent for aligning institutional strategy and objectives with established departmental paradigms to achieve maximum faculty and student success. Sandra has earned a doctorate degree in Global Educational Leadership from Lamar University, a master’s degree in Higher Educational Leadership and Administration from West Virginia University, and a master’s degree in Counseling and bachelor’s degree in Psychology from California University of PA.
Sandra comes to Women Accelerators with a passion for mentorship and looks forward to supporting the mentoring program as well as furthering diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Hiral Kapadia, Event Co-Chair
Hiral Mehta is a graduate student at Bentley University pursuing her MBA with a concentration in Business Analytics. Prior to pursuing her MBA, she worked across various industries – Insurance and Food Manufacturing. She worked with General Mills as the Process Coach where she trained new hires and existing employees on new processes and changes to existing processes where she helped develop the training metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of learning initiative. She received her Bachelors in Management Studies from Usha Pravin Gandhi College of Management, India with a distinction and a concentration in marketing.
Hiral comes to Women Accelerators with a passion for empowering women, building opportunities to network and engage with other women; thus, paving way for women to rise to leadership positions. At Bentley University, she is the Vice President for Graduate Women’s Leadership Organization, Manager of Alumni and Inter-University Relations as well as the Manager of Events and Operations.
Hiral is a trained classical dancer and enjoys spending her free time hiking, exploring new places, traveling, creating her own art pieces, and socializing with friends and family.
She currently shares all her travel, food tales, and DIY tips via her lifestyle blog – My Bite of Life.
Divina Hernandez, Business Development and Operations Chair
Divina Hernandez is from Oceanside, California. She is an experienced community development programs professional with proven competencies in community outreach, program management, and program development. She earned her BA in Ethnic Studies and Theology from the University of San Diego. Divina has many years of experience serving her community in Oceanside, California. She specializes in program development and management for the empowerment of the Latino/a community. She has created and managed the Noche de Damas (Ladies Night) program, a monthly event that gathered 20 women in the community and focused on education, self-empowerment, and job development through interactive activities. She also created a resource, “Guide on how to accompany Migrant & Refugee families” specifically for vulnerable communities.
Divina joins Women Accelerators as a volunteer with a passion to empower individuals to reach their full potential. She enjoys singing, dancing, and inspiring others to be the best versions of themselves.
Debby Fowler, Vice President
Debby Fowler grew up in central Massachusetts and attended UMass Lowell for her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, which she received in May 2018. Currently, she is a graduate research assistant in the Structural Dynamics and Acoustics Systems Laboratory at UMass Lowell, where she is pursuing her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Her research focuses on experimental nonlinear structural dynamics, test data expansion, and damping estimation. She is passionate about STEM outreach, as well as developing vibrant spaces for women to empower and support each other.
She is the founder and President of the Graduate Society of Women Engineers and a former Vice President of the Society of Women Engineers at UMass Lowell. She is excited to be involved with growing the Lowell chapter of Women Accelerators.
Samantha Stone, Event Co-Chair
Samantha Stone is a Clinical Medical Writer for MJH Associates. Previously, she served as the Medical Science Liaison for ADM Protexin specializing in probiotics relating to various health conditions. She holds a Bachelors degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Westfield State University, a Masters Degree in Human Nutrition from Columbia University, and a Doctorate in Food Science and Microbiology from the University of Reading. Most of her career has been spent spreading proper and factual scientific information to health care and lay communities. Besides her academic training, Sam is also a 200hr registered yoga teacher and a Mad Dogg Certified Spinning® instructor.
Sam was continually supported and driven by strong women throughout her scientific endeavors and hopes to continue to pay this kindness forward. She wishes to inspire and instill confidence in all women to push past and overcome any obstacle by providing a collaborative and encouraging community to engage with.
Jonathan Rubins, Ambassador Team Chair
Jonathan Rubins is currently a Research Associate II at Jnana Therapeutics, working on genetic target validation for IBD. Prior to Jnana, he was an Associate Scientist I at Emulate, Inc., where he helped develop of a novel Liver-on-Chip device for drug toxicity screening. He received his Sc.B. in Biomedical Engineering from Brown University, where he completed his honors thesis in computational profiling of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer cells.
Jonathan comes to Women Accelerators with a passion for mentorship as well as driving diversity and inclusion initiatives. At Brown, he was an LGBTQ+ Student Mentor with the Queer Alliance, and remains an active member of the alumni-student career mentoring network.
Jonathan has received his 200hr Yoga Teacher Certification and enjoys spending his free time hiking, skiing, and raising his dog Luke.
Sally-Joe Akiki, Blogger and Mentoring Program
Sally Akiki holds a bachelor degree in Architecture and Master’s degree in Conflict, Peace, and Security. Sally used to work in the Middle East- Lebanon and moved back to the US recently; she is currently in the management of the operations department in a medium scale construction company.
Born in USA and raised in Lebanon, Sally grew in a diverse family and community. The diversity she was surrounded with is reflected in the interdisciplinary line of thinking she developed- In one of her talks about sharing the street with the ‘other’, Sally elaborated how the built environment with its unspoken languages plays a role in diversity integration.
With her interest in interdisciplinary approach within this male dominant field, construction, Sally is looking forward in pushing women to be more involved in infrastructure. At the end of the day, infrastructure does affect both men and women; thus, both should have an effective role in decision making when it comes to infrastructure/ development.
Feel free to reach out to Sally by email- [email protected] and she will be more than happy to brainstorm with you on development, diversity, and interdisciplinary thinking.
Megan Campbell, Event Co-Chair
Meg Campbell is a Senior Workplace Strategist at Unispace, a global design and construction firm. She has extensive experience in people-centric design and change strategies for both public and private sectors. She’s a trained facilitator and works with a range of clients to develop bespoke design strategies and solutions that are aligned with the organization’s overall goals.
In today’s current climate, Meg leads her client engagements with empathy and optimism with a keen focus on how the built environment can and will impact the overall wellbeing and purpose of employees
Having worked in male dominated sectors for her entire career (corporate real estate and construction), Meg has a passion for fostering diverse and inclusive teams and environments. She is an advocate for women to always have a seat and a voice at the table and currently sits on the Global Leadership Council of the Women’sa ERG at Unispace.
She holds a B.A. from Bridgewater State University in Marketing and Public Relations, as well as an MBA from Sawyer School of Management at Suffolk University.
Currently, Meg resides in Quincy with her husband, Griffin and twin toddlers Evelyn and Daniel. She enjoys boxing and teaching spin class to support a healthy work-life balance.
Emily Goh-Marchese, Fundraising Chair
Emily is a Director of Field Marketing at Sovos. As a leader at Sovos, she leads the strategic direction and operations of the demand/field marketing department, specifically within the VAT NA and Sales & Use Tax Line of Businesses while promoting and advocating for growth within her team members.
Emily takes a vision and turns it into a reality despite the obstacles. Originally from Malaysia, she overcame the preconceived notion of how women were expected to fare and looked upon there and continues to strive to tell her story to women in her own voice.
Today, she’s accepted a role at Women Accelerators as the Fundraising Chair and aims to continue to inspire, empower, and help other women of all walks to find their own voice.
Diya Malhotra, Business Development and Operations Chair
Diya is currently a Senior Research Associate at Jnana Therapeutic, working on both immune and neuroscience-focused projects. Prior to Jnana, she worked at the Broad Institute for two years where she developed assays for isolating primary neurons. Before moving to Boston, Diya lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan for 22 years where she received her B.S. in Neuroscience from the University of Michigan.
Looking forward, Diya hopes to become a leader in the biotechnology industry where women leaders are not the norm. Through women accelerators, she strives to help enable women to succeed in both their personal and professional life and learn from this inspiring group.
Diya played tennis competitively throughout high school and college and still enjoys playing recreationally with friends in her spare time. In addition, she embraces her creative side by painting and taking pottery classes.
Marta Uglik Garcia, Mentoring Chair
Marta Uglik Garcia is an experienced translator and a EuRA certified relocation specialist.
She holds an M.A. degree in translation and international relations from the Brussels-based Institut Supérieur des Traducteurs et Interprètes (ISTI). Having worked for several years at the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee, Marta went on to intern at the International Organization for Migration in Nicaragua. She also supported the administrative team of the Global Forum on Migration and Development in Geneva.
Currently, she continues to work as a freelance translator specializing in EU and corporate affairs and a consultant for a Philippines-based relocation company. On a mission to relaunch her full-time career, she is proud to support the Women Accelerators’ Team and help empower women in professional advancement as a co-chair of the 2022 edition of the Mentoring Program.
Marta currently lives in Cambridge with her husband and two kids. She enjoys cycling, eating out, discovering Massachusetts with her family, and learning new skills.
Madeleine Hoebenstreit-Spitzbart, Head of Business Development and Operations
Madeleine Hoebenstreit-Spitzbart moved to Boston from Austria in January 2020. She holds a master’s in marketing from Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) and a certificate in online marketing. Before Madeleine moved to Boston, she has worked in marketing communications in the banking and pharmaceutical industries and is now a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Specialist at Tripadvisor.
Madeleine joined Women Accelerators in June 2020 to enable women to broaden their network and use their strengths to accelerate. She supports the team with marketing campaigns and website design and is excited to work in a passionate and driven team.
In her free time, she enjoys going to concerts, snowboarding, skiing, yoga, and an inspiring and motivational read.
