EVENTS
Women’s Leadership Program Fellows
Apply for the Pathways to Power: 2011 Women's Fellowship Program
Pathways to Power: 2010 Women's Fellows
Erica Borggren, Speechwriter, U.S. Central Command
JJ DiGeronimo, Enterprise Manager, Vmware
Alycia Kellman, U.S. Director, Institute for Democracy in Africa
Dr. Jennifer Lee, Assistant Professor & Physician, George Washington University
Emily Lenzner, Executive Director, ABC News
Jeri Powell, Associate, Davis Polk & Wardell LLP
Allison Rogers, Program Manager, U.S. House of Representatives -- Green the Capitol Office
Karen Sommer Shalett, Editor-in-Chief, DC Magazine
Rachel Sterne, CEO, Ground Report
Alexandra Traber, Research Associate, White House Office of First Lady
Katariina Tuovinen, Chief Administrative Officer, National Park Service, Yosemite National Park
Hua Wang, Student, Northwestern University School of Law
A recent émigré from the U.S. Army, Erica Borggren is a speechwriter for the Commander of U.S. Central Command, General David Petraeus. She first wrote for the General as an active duty captain, deploying to Baghdad to serve as his speechwriter and as a member of his Commander’s Initiatives Group, a small group of strategic analysts and “designated thinkers.” Her work has earned her the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, and the Iraq Campaign Medal.
Erica’s Army career included seven years of active duty service as a Medical Service Corps Officer. In addition to her time in Iraq, she spent three years in Seoul, South Korea with the 18th Medical Command, first as a company Executive Officer, then as a Brigade Resource Management Officer, and finally as a company commander. Erica graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and as her class valedictorian. A Rhodes and Truman scholar, Erica spent two years at Oxford University immediately after graduation from West Point, earning a master's degree in Comparative Social Policy and a Postgraduate Diploma in Theology.
JJ DiGeronimo is a strategic initiator who has an innate ability to reveal new revenue streams. In 2003 she created an online business that addressed technology workforce development. Entrepreneur Magazine featured the site in January 2005 and Smart Business awarded her the Innovation award of 2005. As an external voice, she educates and participates in panels and keynotes such as Project World, WITI, EURADA, Emerging Technology Forum, Business Expo and COSE and is an author of articles for the Small Business Forums. In August 2008, JJ launched Tech Savvy Women (300+ members) to bring women with technology skills together across various industries to create and foster relationships while enhancing their knowledge and network.
She has a portfolio of customers and relationships across multiple verticals including Accenture, Inktomi Corporation, National City, Eaton Corporation, Sprint PCS, Carolinas Medical Center, BellSouth, Duke Energy, and Bank of America. Outside of work, JJ is writing a book about women and their journeys. She also contributes her time and funds to support many nonprofits including Shoes and Clothes for Kids, Dress for Success, Cleveland Scholarship Program, Cleveland Foodbank, and the Animal Protective League.
Alycia Kellman is the U.S. Director and General Counsel for Idasa, the Institute for Democracy in Africa. In this position, she facilitates strategic partnerships with nonprofit organizations, liaises with donors, and works with the United States Government in an effort to build support for Idasa and its programs. In addition, she consults for FINCA International on microfinance regulatory and legal issues. She was a member of the Obama Presidential Campaign’s Africa Policy Group and previously worked as an international project finance attorney at Dewey & LeBoeuf, LLP. Alycia earned her bachelor’s degree in political science at Yale University. She spent two years working in South Africa and obtained a master’s degree in Human Rights and Democratization from the University of Witwatersrand. She received her law degree from Georgetown University and is a member of the New York and DC bars.
Dr. Jennifer Lee is an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at George Washington University. Her area of interest is in health policy and access to care, especially for vulnerable populations. She is currently the director of the emergency medicine department’s Health Policy Fellowship Program, which trains early-career emergency physicians in the skills of policymaking and advocacy. Jennifer works clinically in the ER at George Washington Hospital and the National Naval Medical Center, and volunteers at the Arlington Free Clinic. She is the Vice-Chair of the Northern Virginia Access to Care Consortium and the Chair of the Board of the Hepatitis B Initiative of DC. She was also appointed by Governor Tim Kaine to serve on the Virginia Board of Medicine.
Emily Lenzner is the Executive Director of Media Relations for ABC News in Washington. She is responsible for all public relations and communications for This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Nightline, and the Washington Bureau. In this role, she manages all media for Mr. Stephanopoulos, Nightline’s current anchors and previously Ted Koppel, as well as ABC News’ DC-based on-air talent. Emily took a year off from ABC to run media relations for National Public Radio in Washington, where as the number two communications executive for the network, she established new procedures to make the company’s media relations efforts more effective.
She filled in as George Stephanopoulos’ editorial producer on This Week for eight months in 2007 and 2008 before returning to her current role in ABC’s media relations department. From 1995 to 1997, Emily was the associate producer for the News at Noon at KIRO TV in Seattle. Before that she worked on the picture desk at the Washington Post. Ms. Lenzner was an original founder and board member of the International Organization for Adolescents (http://www.iofa.org), an NGO committed to the health and well being of adolescents around the world and with a focus on stopping adolescent trafficking. Emily received a B.A. in English from Vassar College.
Jeri Powell is an attorney at the New York law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, where she has been an associate since 2007. She is currently assigned to the Capital Markets group and from 2007 to 2009 she was assigned to the corporate department in the Paris office. She was a law clerk in the asset management and hedge fund strategies group at Goldman Sachs from 2005 to 2006. Prior to starting her career in law, Jeri was a motion picture talent agent trainee at Creative Artists Agency, a top talent agency in Los Angeles. She worked as a field organizer in Iowa and outreach coordinator in Wisconsin during the 2004 campaign primary season for John Edwards.
An active student leader, Jeri graduated from Duke University with an A.B. in Economics and French, where she was elected student body president and served as a student representative on the Duke Board of Trustees. She earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School and is admitted to the Bar of New York.
Allison Rogers serves as the Program Manager for Speaker Pelosi’s Green the Capitol Program. She has worked for the House’s Chief Administrative Officer Dan Beard and the Green the Capitol Office since 2007. Allison’s day-to-day work includes overseeing the programs within the office, including the energy reduction strategy coordination and measurement of impacts; the environmental educational efforts for Members of Congress, their staff, and the millions of visitors who visit the U.S. Capitol; the project management for the design to relight the Capitol Dome; and many other exciting projects.
The first contestant in Miss America to run on a “Go Green!” platform, Allison was the recipient of the Miss America Organization’s Quality of Life Award, an award that goes to one of the 52 national contestants to recognize dedication to her platform and service to her community. During her time as Miss Rhode Island, Allison worked with Former Vice President Al Gore as one of the first 50 people trained by The Climate Project and spent her 14 months of service traveling the country speaking to thousands of people on going green. Allison’s previous professional experience includes climate science research at Brown University, conservation corps programs for inner-city youth in Boston, outdoor experiential learning programs in the White Mountains, and the coordination of green living programs at Harvard University, where she trained over 100 Harvard College, Business, and Law School students to become environmental leaders. Allison has studied within Harvard’s Sustainability and Environmental Management program, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Law School, and the Harvard School of Public Health/Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment. She holds an undergraduate degree in the Comparative Study of Religion and a Master of Education in organizational leadership and sustainability from Harvard University.
Karen Sommer Shalett is editor-in-chief of DC Magazine. As a freelancer, she wrote for over a dozen publications including Women’s Wear Daily and Lucky. In her previous position as a reporter for New Orleans’ Times Picayune, she reported on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She then launched the luxury shopping magazine Wish for the Times Picayune, where her work earned her a Louisiana Press Association award.
Having lost her home in Katrina, Karen decided to move her family to higher ground and took a position with the Washington Post as shopping columnist for the paper’s Style and Sunday Source sections before becoming Executive In Chief of DC Magazine.
Rachel Sterne is CEO of GroundReport.com, a global citizen news platform that empowers anyone to publish original, intelligent reporting. She founded the platform in 2006 with the mission to democratize the media and help the world share its stories. To date, GroundReport has broken original news on the Iranian protests, Mumbai terrorism attacks, and Beijing Olympics.
Prior to founding GroundReport, Rachel worked in Business Development at peer-to-peer platform LimeWire and as a political reporter on the Security Council for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Her experience observing political inertia at the U.N. during the Darfur crisis inspired her to launch GroundReport, a tool that empowers people to share on-the-ground reports and opinion, and discover what’s really going on in the world.
Named one of “America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs” by BusinessWeek, Rachel has discussed citizen journalism for CNNMoney, NBC Universal, FOX News, and the Aspen Institute. Rachel consults on digital media for startups, corporations, and government agencies, applying GroundReport’s expertise. She is co-founder of the Citizen Journalism Think Tank and was a 2007 Architect of the Future for the Waldzell Institute.
Alexandra Traber currently serves as a research associate in the Office of the First Lady Michelle Obama. As part of Mrs. Obama’s Communications Office, Alexandra assists with the drafting of talking points, press releases, and briefings for the First Lady and other members of her staff. She is responsible for all the vetting for Mrs. Obama’s office and assists with events for the White House Social Office. Prior to joining the First Lady’s office, Alexandra served as a research associate for President Obama’s speechwriting office. She was responsible for researching both domestic and international issues. Before joining the Obama Administration, Alexandra served as the Women’s Vote Director in Pennsylvania for then-Senator Obama’s presidential campaign. Alexandra’s efforts contributed to the Obama-Biden ticket winning the women’s vote in Pennsylvania by an 18-point margin. In this role, Alexandra directed the women’s outreach strategy and oversaw all outreach and communications efforts.
Before joining the Obama campaign, Alexandra served as the Women’s Outreach Director for then-Senator Hilary Clinton’s successful primaries in both Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Alexandra was also a part of the Clinton campaign’s Finance Team and helped to develop, preserve, and grow the donor base to raise critical campaign funds. She assisted with the planning of fundraising events in addition to staffing and briefing campaign surrogates. Alexandra is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. She has a Bachelor of Science in International Affairs with a focus on Human Rights and Social Justice.
Katariina Tuovinen is currently serving as Chief Administrative Officer at Yosemite National Park where she oversees all of the park’s administrative functions including budget, finance, information technology, housing management, acquisition management, property management, warehouse operations, and human resources. Katariina has held several positions within the National Park Service including as a Business Management Specialist in the Intermountain Regional Office, as a Special Assistant in the Washington Office of the Comptroller, and as the Budget Officer for Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Before joining the National Park Service, Katariina worked on natural resource management issues in the United States and South Asia. In addition, she has private sector experience working on international business management strategies. Katariina has a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources and International Agriculture from Cornell University, an M.A. in International and Area Studies from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.S. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from the University of California at Berkeley, and an M.B.A. from Stanford University
Hua Wang is currently pursuing her law degree at Northwestern University. During her undergraduate years at Duke University, she worked as an investment banking analyst at Lehman Brothers. Hua developed a passion for financial markets and the business world. After college, she joined Accenture and focused on healthcare consulting and business development for outsourcing. She has worked on global projects and helped guide large companies and organizations through difficult market corrections while advising them on growth strategies and acquisitions.
Hua’s experiences being an English as a Second Language student and first-generation immigrant have helped her to realize the difficulties of succeeding in a foreign nation and the importance of paving the way for new generations.