The 2011 Women's Leadership Fellows are supported by expert mentors who can provide critical knowledge and insight to help them through the growth process.
2011 MENTORS
BARBARA ANNIS
Title: Founder
Organization: Barbara Annis and Associates, Inc.
Location: Washington, DC
Ms. Annis is a recognized leading expert in Inclusive Leadership and Gender Initiatives. She and her associates are dedicated to removing organizational and leadership barriers by bringing the latest research and thinking on Leadership, Gender Diversity and Inclusiveness into the workplace, so that organizations can turn gender diversity into a powerful technology of success. Over the last 20 years, Barbara Annis & Associates has facilitated over 3,000 corporate workshops, keynotes, and executive coaching sessions on Gender Intelligent Leadership to Fortune 500 Corporations, including Deloitte & Touche, IBM, Smith Barney Citigroup, UBS, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Intel.
Ms. Annis is Chair of the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government (www.hkswomensleadershipboard.org). Her extensive studies have included work with exceptional thinkers such as linguist Dr. Fernando Flores at Berkeley, neuroscientist Ruben Gur at the University of Pennsylvania, psychologist Virginia Satir, Dr. W. E. Deming, and Dr. Willis Harman, Founder of the Noetic Sciences Foundation and The World Business Academy. She was recently awarded the International Alliance for Women Word of Difference Lifetime Achievement Award.
She is also a recognized author – her first book, Same Words, Different Language, uncovers groundbreaking insights and tools for creating powerful win-win relationships between the genders, and provides ways to break through gender barriers. Her new book, Leadership and the Sexes, published last month by John Wiley, reveals the latest brain-based research on gender differences in leadership, and shows how to maximize the innate talents of both genders in the workplace and in the world.
RHONDA BROWN
Title: Owner
Organization: RMB Consulting
Location: Washington
Ms. Brown has been a leadership coach for the last 7 years. Her approach to coaching is focused on the entire person; helping clients learn more about who they are, the values that are important to them, and developing specific actions to meet their goals.
She worked in the Information Technology Industry at IBM for over 30 years. Her background includes significant leadership and management roles in sales, marketing, project management and Human Resources.
She is a graduate of Seattle University’s Executive Leadership Program in 2006. Ms. Brown is a certified professional coach and a member of the International Coaching Federation.
Ms. Brown is the past board chair of Centerpoint Institute for Life and Career Renewal and is actively involved with the organization. She recently joined the Impact Center as an advisory board member. She developed and continues to work with a group of Seattle University Executive Leadership graduates leading a food bank delivery program. Other hobbies include running and jewelry making. She is married and has two children.
JANET FELDMAN
Title: Managing Principal; Global Leader, Executive Coaching; Leadership and Talent Consulting
Organization: Korn/Ferry International
Location: Minnesota
As an executive coach, licensed psychologist, and former certified public accountant, Ms. Feldman brings over twenty-five years of experience advising C-suite and other senior executives. Her broad business knowledge and acumen bring insight and clarity to complex leadership issues.
Ms. Feldman specializes in the areas of senior leadership development, key talent strategy, and executive succession. She has earned a reputation for helping individuals and organizations “get to the heart of the matter” quickly and thus focus on meaningful value creation, impact, and return on investment.
Ms. Feldman has diverse coaching experience with senior executives from more than forty countries worldwide. Her clients span the Fortune 50 to Fortune 500, mid-sized companies and private colleges in a wide array of industries such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare, biotechnology, consumer goods, financial services, and professional services.
Additionally, Ms. Feldman has served on boards of directors for professional and community organizations, and as a partner in an entrepreneurial philanthropic venture aimed at improving the educational impact for at-risk youth.
With three decades of expertise and a solid track record in thought leadership and the creation of leadership and talent development solutions, Ms. Feldman is a key contributor to the development of several firm-wide solutions. She has created programs for the leadership pipeline, succession planning, talent review, mentoring, career management, and leadership development.
Ms. Feldman holds a master’s degree in human development from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Minnesota. She also received formal Coaches’ Training through the New Ventures West “Coaching to Excellence” program and is a Minnesota State Licensed Psychologist.
SOFIA GRUSKIN
Title: Associate Professor of Health and Human Rights; Director of the Program on International Health and Human Rights
Organization: Harvard School of Public Health
Location: California
Professor Gruskin, JD, MIA, is an Associate Professor on Health and Human Rights and the Director of the Program on International Health and Human Rights in the Department of Global Health and Population at the Harvard School of Public Health. Her work emphasizes the conceptual, methodological, policy and practice implications of linking health to human rights, with particular attention to HIV/AIDS, women, children, gender issues, and vulnerable populations. She has extensive experience in research, training and programmatic work with nongovernmental, governmental and intergovernmental organizations working in the fields of health and human rights around the world. She has been particularly engaged in shaping the work of these organizations to fully reflect the integration of human rights into their work, as well as helping to conceptualize the ways in which human rights can impact the research agendas of academics and policy makers concerned with public health.
Professor Gruskin is the principal investigator for several UNAIDS, WHO and UNFPA sponsored projects intended to strengthen the health and human rights research and policy agenda – particularly in the areas of HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health, child and adolescent health and gender-based violence. At a programmatic level, current efforts include clarifying the value of human rights for making public health work more effective through the design and testing of models and tools in a range of countries.
Professor Gruskin serves on numerous boards and committees nationally and internationally, and within the Harvard School of Public Health serves as co-director of the Interdisciplinary Concentration on Women, Gender and Health and as Faculty Chair of the Group on Reproductive Health and Rights at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. She was recently appointed to the Institute of Medicine's Committee for the Outcome and Impact Evaluation of Global HIV/AIDS Programs Implemented Under the Lantos/Hyde Act of 2008 (PEPFAR). She is a member of the Technical Advisory Group of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law and the UNAIDS Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group, and was a permanent member of the NIH Behavioral and Social Consequences of HIV/AIDS study section (2005-2009), and Chair of the UNAIDS Global Reference Group on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights (2002-2006). Professor Gruskin was editor-in-chief of the international journal Health and Human Rights from 1994-2006, and is currently an associate editor for The American Journal of Public Health, Global Public Health, and Reproductive Health Matters.
JULIE ANDREEFF JENSEN
Title: Director
Employer: Brunswick
Location: Washington, DC
Julie Andreeff Jensen joined Brunswick in February 2009 and manages the Washington office's grassroots campaign work. She brings a wealth of political, legal and strategic campaign expertise from both inside and outside Washington as an organizer, lawyer and political operative. Most recently, she served as Get-Out-the-Vote Director for Barack Obama 's 2008 presidential campaign in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. Prior to the Obama campaign, she served in several senior roles within Senator Chris Dodd’s presidential campaign, including Deputy Political Director and National Field Director.
In 2006, she ran the regional political operations for Governor Mark Warner and was part of the team that helped elect Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and Senator Ben Cardin. In 2004, she was part of Senator John Kerry’s come from behind victory in the Iowa caucuses that launched him to the Democratic nomination. During the general election, she ran Get-Out-the-Vote efforts in Cleveland in the key battleground state of Ohio. Prior to the Kerry campaign, she practiced law with Powell Goldstein Frazer and Murphy, LLP in Washington, DC where she advised clients on regulatory matters and election law. She has also worked as a consultant in Washington advising corporations on telecommunications, grassroots outreach and organizational issues. She started her political career as an aide to the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. She holds both an undergraduate and a law degree from American University in Washington, DC.
NICOLE LAMBROU
Title: President
Employer: ThreeTenets, Inc
Location: San Francisco, CA
Ms. Lambrou provides leadership and organization development consulting and coaching support to organizations in both the for-profit and non-profit fields. She supports entire organizations, teams, and individuals in aligning their strategy and people processes, success profiling, selection, development, performance, and succession practices. In addition, she coaches senior leaders and supports them in building their awareness, understanding their impact in the world and focusing their energy in developing various leadership skills. She has been running her own business since 2005 and is an associate of Lominger International, a KornFerry company, and Jackson Hole Group.
She works across industries and with various sized companies across the world. Ms. Lambrou is certified in the full suite of the Lominger Leadership Architect tools, as well as Myers Briggs Step II and several other assessment and development tools and is a certified New Ventures West Integral Coach, currently serving on their faculty as a mentor for their Professional Coaching Course. In addition, she is a student of the Ridhwan School, a 7-year program in the process of Inquiry.
Starting her career as a strategic human resources management consultant, Ms. Lambrou has held various internal roles within consumer products, retail, and apparel companies including PepsiCo, Williams Sonoma Inc., and Levi Strauss & Co. She is serving on the leadership advisory team of The Red Poppy Art House in San Francisco and is an emeritus advisory board member of Oasis for Girls and previously served as their advisory board chair. She is a current supporter of various non-profit organizations and offers a percentage of her consulting and coaching services pro bono to developing non-profits in the arts and leadership fields.
Ms. Lambrou brings a curiosity and openness to the experience of life, often questioning traditional forms and boundaries that exist. Most recently she is bringing that creativity to how people connect in the world and is exploring the topic across different communities, through her work, and as part of a residency with The Red Poppy Art House in 2011.
Ms. Lambrou holds a PhD and MA in Psychology from Hofstra University of NY and a BA from Binghamton University of NY. She also served as an adjunct faculty member at Hofstra University. She speaks conversational Greek, beginner Spanish and Italian. She is a student of violin and flamenco, and enjoys reading, watching movies, listening to live music, and writing. She is a first generation Greek Cypriot and was born and raised in NY. Ms. Lambrou holds dual US and Cypriot citizenship and has been living in San Francisco since 2002.
WILLIAM MARSHALL
Title: Kenan Professor of Law
Organization: University of North Carolina
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Professor Marshall is currently the Kenan Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina. He was Deputy White House Counsel and Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States during the Clinton Administration and also served as the Solicitor General of the State of Ohio. He has published extensively on first amendment, federal courts, and presidential powers issues and is also a leading expert on judicial selection matters.
He teaches media law, civil procedure, constitutional law, first amendment, federal courts, church-state, and the law of the presidency. Professor Marshall received his law degree from the University of Chicago and his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a native of Nashua, New Hampshire.
PATRICIA MCGINNIS
Title: Professor of Practice, Georgetown Public Policy Institute
Organization: Georgetown Public Policy Institute
Location: Washington, DC
During her fourteen year tenure as President and CEO of the Council for Excellence in Government, Ms. McGinnis created and led a number of innovative programs to improve the performance of government. She is currently serving as an Advisor to the Obama White House on leadership programs for Presidential Appointees. She also serves as a panelist and blogger for the Washington Post’s “On Leadership” website. She has worked as a management consultant in the private sector, including the FMR Group, a firm she co-founded. She is also an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, serves on numerous boards and has advised several presidential administrations on leadership and transition efforts.
CHERYL PERSIGHEL
Title: Consultant
Organization: Consultants Consortium, Inc.
Location: Minnesota
Ms. Persighel has over 30 years of organizational development, communications and marketing experience in a wide variety of industries. She has worked as a consultant, facilitator and coach with executive teams and collegial work groups for the past 15 years.
She is also co-founder and co-chair of Allina Health System’s biannual conference, “Caring for the Sorrow of Pregnancy & Infant Loss: a conference for the caregiver”.
Ms. Persighel holds an MBA degree from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, and a Liberal Arts degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. She is a certified facilitator of Crucial Conversations, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Thomas Kilman Conflict Modes, and Bar-On Emotional Intelligence Inventory. She is also a certified Gallup Strengthsfinder Performance Coach.
She brings to her consulting practice a history of helping individuals and groups increase their effectiveness through one-to-one coaching and through participation in a variety of customized group processes focused on:
- Developing leaders
- Building teams
- Valuing diversity & inclusivity
- Strategic planning
- Work process design/redesign
She is currently providing consultation, facilitation and executive & physician coaching services to the following healthcare organizations:
- Allina Health System
- Creative Health Care Management
- Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation
- Novartis Pharmaceuticals
- Park Nicollet Health Services
DINA RAUKER
Title: Senior Consultant; Leadership and Talent Consulting
Organization: Korn/Ferry International
Location: Minnesota
Ms. Rauker is an executive coach and licensed psychologist with more than a decade of consulting experience in management and executive coaching, as well as personnel assessment and selection, team effectiveness, and organizational development.
Ms. Rauker brings a broad and global perspective to her consulting work, with international program development and management experience. She has worked with a wide range of client organizations across the consumer goods, manufacturing, hospitality, and nonprofit industries.
In her coaching, Ms. Rauker addresses individual development in the context of organizational needs, goals, and culture. She helps clients hone and integrate leadership behaviors that foster business success, and personal and career satisfaction. Ms. Rauker has the ability to keenly discern individuals’ experiences within their multiple life contexts and to appropriately challenge them to think and make decisions in new ways.
Ms. Rauker’s research interests include multiple-role women and career decision-making processes. She is a former board member of the YWCA of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Jane Addams Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Ms. Rauker received her doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and her bachelor’s degree with honors in agricultural economics and in rural sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a licensed psychologist in the State of Minnesota, and is a member of the Consulting Psychology and Counseling Psychology Divisions of the American Psychological Association, Minnesota Professionals for Psychology Applied to Work, and the National Career Development Association.
KATHLEEN SACK
Title: Senior Director, Talent Development
Organization: American Red Cross National Headquarters
Location: Washington, DC
Kathleen Sack joined the American Red Cross in October 2010 as the Senior Director of Talent Development. In this position, she and her team will provide enterprise wide strategic solutions for leadership and talent development, organizational assessment, performance management, and succession planning – all aligned to the mission and goals of the organization.
Prior to joining the American Red Cross, she worked as a Managing Principal in Korn/Ferry International’s Leadership and Talent Consulting group for 15 months, and owned her own consulting company for four years, focusing on talent management, learning solutions, and performance strategies.
Ms. Sack has experience in a variety of industries including retail, petroleum, aerospace, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing, including working for four Fortune 500 companies. In her career, she has successfully designed and implemented enterprise-wide talent management systems, large scale leadership development programs, and performance management processes.
As an adjunct faculty member, Ms. Sack teaches in the human resources curriculum at Peace College in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has also been a guest lecturer at Rutgers University and has spoken at several national conferences about her work in the areas of talent management and leadership development.
Ms. Sack earned her master’s degree in human resource management from Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia and a bachelor’s degree from Radford University in Radford, Virginia.
ELLEN WINGARD
Title: Principal
Employer: Ellen Wingard & Associates
Location: Massachusetts
Ms. Wingard is an organizational consultant and author who partners with corporate and non-profit organizations in inclusion practices, career navigation, socially responsible business and workplace resiliency for leaders at all levels. As an early innovator in the field of leadership development and executive coaching, Ms. Wingard has 28 years of experience coaching senior and emerging leaders in pharmaceuticals, healthcare, consumer goods, technology and higher education. A partial list of clients includes Baystate Health System, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Diageo, Harvard Business School, Harvard Medical School, KPMG, Novartis, Partners Healthcare, Pfizer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Visa and Wells Fargo.
Ms. Wingard is a member of the Women’s Leadership Board, Harvard Kennedy School and a faculty member of the Institute for Women’s Leadership in Redwood City, California. She has been a commentator on: career navigation, intergenerational mentoring, the neuroscience of mindful leadership and the strategic advantage of women in leadership to the Committee of 200, the Fletcher School International Business Program, Harvard Kennedy School, and NPR Marketplace. Ms. Wingard is a certified Birkman consultant in career planning with post graduate work in mediation and multiple executive leadership assessments. She is a board member of World Pulse Media, a global social media network linking women across 180 countries to foster grass who gender roots empowerment of women worldwide.