Women We Admire is pleased to announce the Top 50 Women Leaders in Finance of 2022. This award showcases the achievements of women who are leading in areas including accounting, banking, investments, corporate finance, mortgage broking, insurance, and more. Their expertise and industry knowledge contribute to the ongoing success at organizations, large and small. They are leaders within their community and role models for future women interested in careers in finance.
Among this year’s awardees is Doreen Pryor, the Chief Financial Officer at Siemens Gamesa. Her leadership and expertise have continued to place Siemens Gamesa at the forefront of the transition to renewable energy. Awardee Kimberly Stemley is combining her unrelenting work ethic with her drive to better the lives of underserved communities as she works as the Chief Financial Officer at the YMCA of St. Louis. As if any more evidence of her talents was needed, she recently became an international bestselling author with her release of Overcoming: Living Our Best Life in Spite of… Amanda Norwood, an awardee who is shaping the consumer experience at Nike, is using her financial expertise to impact international markets.
The continued success and dedication of these individuals has contributed to advancements locally and across the globe. Please join us in recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of Top 50 Women Leaders in Finance of 2022.
2. Daniah Robertson
VP of Finance, North America Energy & Resources, Sodexo
Daniah Robertson is the Vice President of Finance for Sodexo’s North America Energy and Resources portfolio. Sodexo North America is part of a global, Fortune 500 company with a presence in 55 countries. Sodexo’s Energy and Resources segment provides facility management, food service and accommodation management for onshore, offshore, remote camp, industrial and corporate offices for energy and mining clients and consumers.
Daniah has two decades of experience translating strategic objectives into tactical plans and navigating operational challenges to deliver financial results, inclusive of international multi-industry expertise in mature Fortune 500 companies and scaling operations. Before joining Sodexo, Daniah established herself as an operationally adept finance leader and top performer in the oil and gas industry, holding various senior finance roles in BP’s Downstream Refining and Renewables operations in the U.S. and U.K., earlier in Sunoco’s Midwest Refining operations and prior to that in automotive manufacturing start-ups. Throughout her career, Daniah has built a reputation as a collaborative business partner and leader, delivering constructive challenges and results at all levels of the organization. She also serves as an executive board member at Bread of Life International, working to help eliminate hunger and food insecurity in poverty-stricken communities in Africa. Daniah is an Eastern Michigan University graduate with an MBA in finance and supply chain management and holds an undergraduate degree in computer science and engineering from the University of Toledo.
5. Tricia Schumann
Chief Investment Officer, MedTherapy Biotechnology
Tricia Schumann is the Chief Investment Officer of MedTherapy Biotechnology. MedTherapy is a global biotechnology corporation for gene cell therapies for cancer. Schumann has a career that spans 35 years in the technology and healthcare sectors.
Before joining MedTherapy, Schumann was chief marketing and communications officer at Arches Health Plan. Arches Health Plan was one of several dozen health plans launched through HHS for the Affordable Care Act. Prior to her role at Arches, she held various executive roles at over a dozen companies including a venture fund. Schumann serves on various healthcare and community boards including Steward Health Care and she is a graduate of Harvard Business School.
7. Susan Jenull
SVP of Texas Commercial Banking, U.S. Bank
Susan Jenull is a Senior Vice President for U.S. Bank's Texas Commercial Middle Market. She first joined the organization in July 2017. Jenull has responsibility for the development of new business in Texas to commercial middle market public and private companies across a broad range of industries. She has worked in the banking industry for over 20 years, including seven years with Wells Fargo, three years with Frost Bank, three years with PNC, and over three years with Comerica. During her diverse banking career, she has worked in international, healthcare, and real estate as well as the commercial banking groups with each financial institution.
Prior to her banking career, Jenull worked as a tax consultant for KPMG and Deloitte, focusing mainly on state and local taxes. She is a Certified Public Accountant. Jenull earned her MBA degree in finance from Southern Methodist University in Dallas and her master’s and undergraduate degrees in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin.
8. Katie Henry
Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton
Katie Henry is a finance leader in Booz Allen’s national security business. She and her team manage strategic financial planning and forecasting, operational and management reporting, and modeling and analysis across our national security portfolio. Before this role, Katie was the firm’s financial planning lead and steered its finance transformation program, including a complete redesign of the cost management approach. She built a dynamic infrastructure to support the growing diversity of Booz Allen's business, including organizing the firm's cost structure, supporting processes, and enabling technologies to adapt to future needs. For this work, she recently won the Northern Virginia Technology Council Rising Star Award.
Over her 18-year career with Booz Allen, she has worked in all facets of finance and held primary responsibility for Booz Allen's annual operating plan, rate management process, metrics design, and more. In addition, she was instrumental in developing an internal financial management training program for our finance organization. Since its standup in 2017, more than 200 employees have completed the program, leading to innovative finance solutions for the organization’s most complex issues. Katie earned an undergraduate degree in finance and international communications from American University and completed the KPMG Executive Leadership Institute for Women program.
10. Alison Engelhardt
VP & Assistant Director of Asset Management, U.S. Bank
Alison Engelhardt is the Vice President and Assistant Director of Asset Management for U.S. Bank. In her roles, she manages a team of asset managers and reviews and approves the team’s equity installments and credit actions. She currently manages a portfolio of solar and wind assets, a $1bn commitment across 18 solar/wind developers. She has over a decade of experience with investment/production and new markets tax credits.
11. Joanna G. Burish
Managing Partner, Custer Burish Financial Services
Joanna G. Burish moved to Wisconsin with her family in January of 1976 from Nazareth, Israel. She graduated in December of 1996 from the University of Wisconsin - Madison with a degree in accounting, with a focus on finance and real estate. She has a lifelong passion for both business and the performing arts, combining extraordinary business and artistic sensibilities into a rich and diverse career. In 1998, she launched a music production company with studios in Los Angeles and New York, and a film/TV production company. She developed and produced feature films, television pilots, and web-based films. She co-produced the film, 'MADISON', becoming the # 1 viewed film at the 2008 Wisconsin Film Festival and she produced the soundtrack with the renowned international talents of Tom Waits. Along with her film production company, she was involved in international acquisitions and sales working worldwide including the Cannes Film Festival. She served on film festival executive and leadership panels, as well as being a judge on worldwide screenwriting competitions.
Joanna joined a family-owned real estate company in 2002 as VP developing a golf course and residential neighborhood, and in 2008 joined another real estate family portfolio becoming their CEO in 2011. She launched her company MTI-RED, LLC focused on real estate development, family and business consulting, and equity fund raising for real estate partnerships. Due to the 2008-2011 financial and real estate crisis, the family business and individual consulting service grew strongly as there was a demand for Joanna's strategic planning and financial restructuring skill sets. In 2015, Northwestern Mutual approached her and she joined the firm as a financial advisor to develop her holistic financial planning services.
In 2022 Joanna joined Custer Financial Services and became Managing Partner of Custer Burish Financial Services 2023 as the named successor of the firm. Among her proudest endeavors is founding The Brauds Network in 2012 with the mission of women empowering women. Joanna is a community leader involved in various start-ups and nonprofit businesses consulting on best business practices, leadership, and sustainable growth.
13. Rachael Crump
SVP of Global, Corporate Controller & Principal Accounting Officer, Insight
Rachael Crump began her professional career 25 years ago. Today, she is the Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Controller and Principal Accounting Officer of Insight, a publicly traded global technology company that focuses on business-to-business and information technology capabilities for enterprises. Crump joined Insight in 2016 as vice president, North America controller. In 2018, she became Insight’s global corporate controller and principal accounting officer. Her responsibilities include supporting leadership on financial decisions, ensuring Insight meets its fiduciary responsibilities and empowering her team to succeed.
From the beginning, her career merged technology and finance. Crump first supported Phoenix’s burgeoning tech industry at Ernst & Young, auditing firms for their initial public offerings. In 1999, she transitioned to Sage Software as a controller. After a two-year stint at MedAire, she entered the semiconductor industry, joining Amkor Technology in 2006. As the senior director controller of global accounting, Crump was the finance lead of Amkor’s SAP global implementation. Through that experience, she saw firsthand how finance could accelerate the agility and speed of a company, a critical perspective she brought to her work at Insight. Crump is a Certified Public Accountant with an undergraduate degree in business administration accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
View the complete list of awardees.
15. Nora Yousif
Senior Financial Advisor, Empow(Her) Wealth Group of RBC Wealth Management
Nora Yousif is a Senior Financial Advisor at the Empow(Her) Wealth Group of RBC Wealth Management in the greater Boston area. She was honored as a top “40 Under 40 Professional” by Boston Business Journal as well as by her industry for going above and beyond to serve her clients.
Nora is committed to empowering her community through financial literacy having presented to over 300 organizations like the Partners Hospitals and Harvard Business School. She also frequently contributes to TV segments on NBC News, CBS News, Channel 5 News. She has been published in Yahoo! Finance and Forbes. Nora received her MBA from MIT Sloan, having been immersed with some of the brightest minds in the world of finance.
16. Jasmine Ahmed
Strategic Finance Transformation Leader, News Corp
Change is hard - Jasmine Ahmed recognizes that and her career has been focused on helping people embrace disruption to deliver transformation, accelerate growth and achieve personal success. She is recognized for building high performing teams and winning trust-based business partnerships by simplifying the complex to carve out a path for everyone to win. Jasmine’s in-depth transformation expertise across operating model, talent investment, technology stack and data has driven her success in multiple global industries to directly transform the way 7000+ employees work in multiple functions across the globe to create an empowered workforce while delivering over $100M in benefits. Her diverse industry experience includes highly federated media organizations, global pharmaceuticals, complex financial service companies and regulated utility companies.
Jasmine’s passion to drive progress and innovation goes beyond her day job. She provides thought leadership on a regular basis for many professional organizations focused on transforming the ways of working. She serves on the New York Advisory Board for the Asian University for Women to help women for disadvantaged communities to access higher education. Jasmine also services as a board member for the National Chorale where she is helping them increase their digital footprint. She obtained her MBA from Johns Hopkins University, Carey Business School, and her Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia. Jasmine completed her Leadership in Digital Transformation post-graduation program with Columbia University Business School.
17. Shaundra Clay
Global Vice President of Finance, Beam Suntory
Shaundra Clay is a global finance and strategy executive who delivers results through strategic vision, financial stewardship and planning, and with a passion for driving impact and sustainable change. She currently serves as the Global Vice President of Finance for Beam Suntory, a world leader in premium spirits. Originally from Chicago, she has spent almost a third of her career working and living abroad.
As a multidimensional leader, she has had progressive experience in large, multinational organizations and proven commercialization acumen to expand markets, grow market share, increase margins and reduce costs. In addition to traditional CFO responsibilities, she has led large diverse teams of more than 700 invidious, strategic plans with large-scale cost containment strategies across multiple regions, and market development efforts focused on creating unique customer solutions that balance revenue and profit growth with operational efficiency. Shaundra is on the Board of Directors of Integra Lifesciences and the Executive Leadership Council. She is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University, the University of Illinois Chicago and the Wharton Business School.
19. Debbie Merritt
Chief Financial Officer, Starrex International
Debbie Merritt is the Chief Financial Officer of Starrex International, a Canada-based company that acquires, manages and grows companies active in mortgage, real estate and other financial service sectors. It targets mortgage operations, mortgage servicing, mortgage-backed securitization, lead generation, staffing and recruitment operations. In her role, Merritt is responsible for all aspects of finance and accounting. She is primarily focused on analyzing merger and acquisition activities to grow shareholder value, as well as providing financial guidance and requisite reporting to the board of directors and governing public agencies. Merritt has 34 years of experience. She began her career in 1988.
Before joining Starrex International, Merritt was a CFO at National Asset Direct, and before that, a director of portfolio services at New Century Mortgage Corporation. Earlier in her career, she worked with Arthur Andersen as a manager of business and advisory services. Merritt graduated from UCLA Anderson School of Management with a PhD in global economics and management, and from The University of Memphis with an MBA and an undergraduate degree in accounting.
21. Quinby Dobbins
SVP, Corporate Finance, Carnival Corporation
Quinby Dobbins serves as the Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance for Carnival Corporation & plc. In this role, she is responsible for treasury functions, including capital markets transactions, as well as tax, insurance risk management, finance strategy, finance IT and strategic and short-term forecasting. In her previous role as chief corporate controller, Quinby was responsible for global financial reporting, accounting and internal controls. She served in this role for five years.
Previously Quinby had almost 20 years of assurance experience with eight years as an audit partner with PwC. She primarily served large multinational public companies. She also served clients forming new business operations and companies in periods of substantial change. She has experience with both mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings. Quinby served as a member of PwC's National Office as the chief auditor for Florida. Her style is thoughtful, collaboratively working with others to solve problems. She graduated from Georgetown University with an undergraduate degree in foreign service and international economics.
23. Stephanie Murphy
VP & Relationship Manager of Private Banking, Central Bank
Stephanie Murphy is the Vice President and Relationship Manager of Private Banking for Central Bank. She has over 12 years of relationship and small business banking experience. Murphy is passionate about building quality relationships and prefers to offer a personal approach. She is responsible for providing legendary service while assisting her client's with the right products and services for their personal and business credit needs.
Murphy holds an undergraduate degree in business administration from Vatterott College. She is an active board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks and is active with Springfield Chamber of Commerce, Springfield Chamber Small Business Council, Past Board member and current general member of The Network, and a member of the Catholic Business Network.
26. Shannon Nash
Chief Financial Officer, Wing
Shannon currently serves as Chief Financial Officer at Wing, a drone delivery company and subsidiary of Alphabet, Inc. She is the Lead Independent Director, Chair of the Nominating & Governance Committee, and member of the Audit Committee at UserTesting. She is also a board member and member of the Audit Committee at Lazy Dog Restaurants, one of the fastest growing restaurant companies with 41 locations in 8 states. Shannon was featured on Accounting Today’s 2020 list of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting and named one of 2020’s Most Powerful Women in Accounting by the AICPA and CPA Practice Advisor. She also received the 2021 Trailblazer Award from CalCPA.
Shannon is passionate about board diversity and serves as a board advisor to Black women on boards, an executive board member to How Women Lead, and a mentor for Santa Clara University’s Black Corporate Board Readiness Program. She is an attorney, CPA and recognized as a qualified financial expert by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Shannon holds an undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. She serves on the board of advisors for the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce. In her free time, Shannon is a fitness junkie and teaches Zumba and U-Jam Fitness. She’s also an award-winning documentary film producer with her film, Colored My Mind, winning best short at the 2013 American Pavilion in Cannes.
27. Mindy Bartnicki
Agency Vice President & Owner, Pursuit of Greatness
Mindy Bartnicki is the Owner and Agency Vice President of Pursuit of Greatness Financial. She first started the firm in 2019 and specializes in life insurance. Her goal is to help clients understand why it’s absolutely vital to have a plan for things to go wrong before they actually do. Whether she’s assisting clients, training agents or overseeing the firm, Bartnicki abides by the golden rule: treat people the way you want to be treated. She approaches every situation with a listening ear. With a degree in business management, Bartnicki carries a life, health and annuity license and can operate in Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Michigan, Florida, Nevada, California, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky and Indiana.
Prior to POG, Bartnicki had a career in the restaurant industry. Whether she was actually working inside a restaurant or finding the most efficient ways for one to operate, she has always made decisions with customers in mind. Her experience and expertise also offered many opportunities to be featured in the media, and she provided insight into the industry as well as cooking lessons. In addition to dedication to POG, she is a major supporter of organizations that fight cancer such as St. Jude, the American Cancer Association and the Livestrong Foundation. When she’s not at work, her activity in the community gives her purpose and a reason to fight.
View the complete list of awardees.
31. Mia Lao
VP of Consumer Lending, Wings Financial Credit Union
Mia Lao is the Vice President of Consumer Lending of Wings Financial Credit Union. She first joined the organization in 2021. Founded in 1938, Wings Financial Credit Union is Minnesota's largest credit union and one of the top credit unions nationally with over $7.8 billion in assets and over 329,000 members. Mia led the first fintech engagement with Wings which resulted in a total of over $16M loan production in just four months.
Previously, Mia was a major accounts manager of commercial finance at Toyota Industries North America, and before that, a commercial finance supervisor at Toyota North America. Earlier in her career, she worked with Bank of America as a customer service manager. Prior to her migration to the U.S in 1986, she attended an engineering school in the Philippines. She earned an MBA from California State University, Long Beach, and an undergraduate degree in technology and operations management from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
33. Yvonna Stevens
EVP & Chief Financial Officer, International Youth Foundation
Yvonna Stevens is an Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the International Youth Foundation. She is responsible for leading the organization’s global financial, accounting, human resources and information technology operations. Stevens is a dynamic finance and administration leader with over 20 years of experience in international nonprofit operations. She is known for her outstanding leadership, coaching and relationship-building skills and for developing diverse teams across global locations to collaborate and maximize results.
Yvonna currently serves on the boards of the Latin American Youth Center, Global Health Council and Poets & Writers. Additionally, she serves the Obama Foundation as a scholars program mentor and as the U.S. country representative of International Financial Reporting for Nonprofit Organizations. Yvonna graduated from Morgan State University with an undergraduate degree in accounting and from the University of Maryland with an MBA.
34. Jonna Turner
VP & Commercial Relationship Manager, Fidelity Bank
Jonna Turner is a Vice President and Commercial Relationship Manager for Fidelity Bank. Since 1908, Fidelity Bank’s mission has been to remain the long-term institution of choice in the marketplace. Fidelity Bank is client focused, community minded, financially stable, and operationally sound.
Jonna has been in finance for 25 years, specializing in commercial lending for over 20 years. She plays an active role in the Greater New Orleans community where she resides. She has served on several boards, both past and present, including Leadership Northshore Alumni Association, Olde Towne Main Street, Steel Mimosas, Junior Auxiliary of Slidell, Emerging Young Professionals, and Camellia City Kiwanis Club. She is a 2014 graduate of Leadership Northshore, was nominated for the Athena Leadership award in 2017, and has been a volunteer for East St. Tammany Habitat for Humanity as part of their “Rosie the Riveter” Women’s build program for the past 4 years.
36. Deanna Schiavone
SVP & Chief Financial Officer, ScionHealth – Specialty Hospital Division
Deanna Schiavone originally joined Louisville, Kentucky-based Kindred Healthcare in 2014 as the Controller of the Hospital Division, and she currently serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Specialty Hospital Division of ScionHealth, which launched in Louisville in 2021 following a transaction between Kindred and LifePoint Health. Deanna provides financial leadership for ScionHealth’s national network of long-term acute care hospitals that operates under the brand of Kindred Hospitals. She has also been an advocate for women in business, finance and healthcare, serving as co-chair of EMPOWER, ScionHealth’s Women’s Employee Resource Group, which helps to create an inclusive environment through support, mentoring and engagement.
Deanna has more than 20 years of healthcare finance experience. Prior to joining Kindred, she held multiple roles over 14 years at BrightSpring Health Services (formerly ResCare), including residential services controller and director of planning and analysis, where she managed the finance functions for operations in 16 states that totaled over $500 million in revenue. A Certified Public Accountant, she also worked at Vencor, Atria Senior Living and Clark Construction Group throughout her career. Deanna, who is from Rockville, Maryland, earned an undergraduate degree in business administration and accounting from the University of Mary Washington while also playing collegiate field hockey.
37. Kristin Ferge
Chief Financial Officer, Capri Communities
As Capri Communities’ Chief Financial Officer, Kristin Ferge is a well-rounded and highly accomplished C-level financial executive and business leader. Kristin’s holistic understanding of sustainable growth coupled with her expertise in the senior living industry has directly contributed to Capri’s growth during her tenure. Since joining Capri in September 2016, the company’s revenue has grown over 60%. She has been instrumental in enhancing the company’s executive committee to position Capri for continued growth and operational success. Kristin’s specialty is leading fast-paced, dynamic high-growth and business turnaround initiatives to a successful conclusion. She is able to lead multi-discipline teams across a wide variety of financial areas and brings expertise in both a for-profit and nonprofit setting. She leads capital-raising activities and is also responsible for building relationships with joint venture partners, investment bankers, commercial banks, lessors, auditors, attorneys and shareholders.
Kristin’s expertise includes debt and equity financing, IPOs, M&A, restructuring, SEC matters, strategic planning, governance, treasury, banking, and financial analysis and modeling, financial reporting, and auditing. She also has significant experience working with boards of directors and audit committees. Prior to Capri, Kristin was EVP, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer with Brookdale Senior Living which has revenues over $6.0 billion, making it the largest for-profit, publicly traded senior living corporation in the U.S. She also served as VP and CFO at Alterra Healthcare Corporation, a privately held senior living company, where she was responsible for the financial operations of 300 locations and overseeing a team of 300+ professionals. Kristin graduated with a master’s degree in healthcare administration and finance from the University of Wisconsin and an undergraduate degree from Marquette University.
39. Kim Bright
SVP of Operations & Finance, Campaign Legal Center
Kim Bright has extensive experience in leading and scaling effective policies and operational solutions in the public and private sectors. As Campaign Legal Center’s Senior Vice President, Operations and Finance, Bright leads the organization's operational, human resources, and financial functions. Prior to joining Campaign Legal Center, she led the finance and administration functions for the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program. Bright has served as the COO for the National Police Foundation, leading the foundation’s financial, human resources, information technology, and operations functions. During her tenure with Booz Allen Hamilton, she managed a multimillion-dollar technology solutions contract with the Department of Justice, including providing contract oversight, building and leading teams of subject matter experts to support national policies to improve information sharing capacity and the delivery of technical assistance to stakeholders and practitioners.
Bright is a highly effective strategist, with expertise in client service, solutions development, process improvement, and change management. She has a track record of success in linking strategy to effective operations, leveraging technology to increase efficiency, and leading high-performing, cross-functional teams. In addition, Bright is an exceptional listener with the ability to influence, engage, and build consensus and partnerships across diverse constituencies and stakeholders on complex issues. Bright holds a master’s degree in public policy from American University, an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University, and a Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute.
41. Erin S. Gore
Senior Vice Chancellor of Finance & Administration, University of California San Francisco
Erin S. Gore serves as the Senior Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration at UCSF, where she directs and facilitates highly complex initiatives and engagements to advance health locally, regionally, nationally, and globally. Her portfolio includes finance, real estate, public safety, human resources, IT, cyber security, transportation, housing, conference services, retail facilities and program management. She joined UCSF in February 2022, drawn to its mission and people. She is a seasoned executive with more than 20 years of experience in financial strategy at Fortune 100 Companies and top ten universities.
Prior to joining UCSF, Gore led in the areas of strategic planning and modeling, public relations, policy development, capital planning, change management, crisis communications, and financial and treasury management. Her expert knowledge of financial management and administration was grounded in leadership principles and experiences gained as the associate vice chancellor and CFO for the University of California, Berkeley as well as an executive at Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Her career has also been marked by public service and board leadership. She currently sits on the board of the NY Pops, and has recently completed five years of service on the largest captive insurance company in the U.S., Fiat Lux. She is an investor in and former advisory member for Reviver, the world’s first digital license plate company.
View the complete list of awardees.
43. Cathleen Nilson
Global VP of Finance, Turing
Cathleen Nilson is a results-oriented finance executive and industry thought leader. As an evangelist of Talent Cloud value creation in enterprise space, her advocacy was recognized in Fortune. In 2021, Cathleen was granted "Top 100 Diverse Leaders in Tech" Award by National Diversity Council for exceptional leadership qualities and organizational impacts. Cathleen has served on both nonprofit and enterprise advisory boards as finance chair for over a decade. Most recently, she served as an enterprise advisory board member and contributed to a successful IPO of Upwork.
Currently, Cathleen serves as Global Vice President of Finance at Turing. Reporting to the CEO, she is focusing on the company's financial strategy while building strong global finance teams. Turing's mission is to unleash the world's untapped human potential. Turing's Intelligent Talent Cloud uses AI to source, vet, match and manage over 2 million developers worldwide.
45. Kimberly Stemley, CPA
Chief Financial Officer, YWCA Metro St. Louis
Kimberly has more than 18 years of experience in finance, business strategy and nonprofit development, with positions in public accounting at Ernst and Young, AT&T telecommunications company, and Innoventor, an engineering firm previously recognized in St. Louis’ Top 50 Fastest Growing Companies. She has served as a leader in healthcare as the EVP of business development and CFO at Rx Outreach, the nation’s largest nonprofit, mail order pharmacy, and Patient Assistance Program. To date, she is the Chief Financial Officer at the YWCA Metropolitan St. Louis, recognized by the St. Louis Business Journal as one of the largest nonprofits in the region. At the YWCA, Kimberly is addressing the need for expanded early childhood centers to respond to approximately 1 million women that have not returned to the workforce since the pandemic.
Kimberly is fortunate to be a transformative leader, working passionately within the region to improve the quality of life for those most in need. This requires insight not just into financial matters, but the needs, the mindset and behaviors of the most underserved populations in the community; whether that is acquiring access to affordable medications or ensuring a working mother has access to quality and affordable childcare. In 2010, her commitment to helping those in need became personal when her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. This journey for relief and assistance for her mother began a movement in Kimberly’s life; revealing several systemic problems for those aging in our communities and the people who loved them. In conjunction with the Alzheimer’s Association, Kimberly became a champion for the 15 million caregivers supporting those living with Alzheimer’s disease. Her fight which started locally in St. Louis led to Washington DC, with her speaking at the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging and requesting Congress to increase research funding by $500 million to fight the disease; within 3 months after her testimony, they did. Kimberly is a contagious leader in the region, extending her business acumen from large corporations to the indigent in the community. She has tackled hard healthcare issues serving on the Community Advisory Council for the Missouri Foundation for Health as their chair, faced childhood education issues as a founding board member of Preclarus Mastery Academy – Charter School and previous Accounting Careers Taskforce Chair for the Missouri Society of CPA’s. In 2022, Kimberly became an International Bestselling author on Amazon with the release of Overcoming: Living Our Best Life in Spite Of. Kimberly’s voice is in demand, with requests from boardrooms to the White House. Her daily focus has been simple – ensuring the most disenfranchised in the region and the world have access to a better life.
46. Jamie Tipps
Managing Director of Accounting Advisory, CFGI
Jamie brings over 15 years of accounting and financial reporting experience to her current role as Managing Director in the Accounting Advisory practice at CFGI, the nation’s largest non-audit accounting advisory firm. She provides accounting advisory services to public and private companies in all industries, including technical accounting, financial reporting, and transaction support. Jamie consistently works with clients to find solutions to complex accounting issues and provides a tailored approach that fits each client's needs and circumstances.
Prior to joining CFGI, Jamie worked as a managing director at Ernst & Young in Orlando, Florida. During her fifteen-year career at Ernst & Young, Jamie was responsible for leading audit engagements for a variety of clients, including SEC registrants and privately held companies, primarily in the health and life sciences industry. Her experience includes working with clients on a broad array of technical accounting issues, including but not limited to debt modification, purchase accounting, accounting for investments, implementation of new accounting standards, and SEC reporting issues. She also has experience working with companies on initial public offerings, private placement offerings, and special purchase acquisition company transactions. Jamie, who is a graduate of Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, is a Certified Public Accountant in Florida and Tennessee as well as a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She also serves as chair of the finance committee for the Orlando Repertory Theatre, a nonprofit children’s theatre in Orlando, Florida.
48. Marisa Calderon
Executive Director, CDFI and Chief of Community Finance & Mobility, National Community Reinvestment Coalition
A veteran of the financial services industry, Marisa Calderon is an Executive Director of the NCRC Community Development Fund. She has been ranked as one of the most powerful leaders in the residential real estate industry and named one of HousingWire’s 2018 and 2021 Women of Influence for her work in increasing real estate and mortgage professionals’ understanding and appreciation of the Hispanic home-buying market. Frequently sought out as an expert, Calderon has been interviewed by numerous publications and media outlets including NPR’s Marketplace and regularly speaks at events such as those for Mortgage Bankers Association, Consumer Federation of America, the FDIC and the National Fair Housing Alliance.
Calderon previously served on the advisory board for the Banc of California and the Fannie Mae Affordable Housing Advisory Council, and also previously authored the State of Hispanic Homeownership Report. She currently serves on the board of Latinas Lead California, the first and only non-partisan political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of Latinas in elected office, appointments, and other prominent leadership positions. She previously served on the board of the Hispanic Wealth Project, which has a stated goal of tripling the median household wealth of Hispanics by 2024. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley and is in the process of completing her MBA.
View the complete list of awardees.