Women We Admire is pleased to announce The Top 50 Women Leaders of San Diego for 2023. Known as one of the leading tech hubs in the country, the city’s economy is grounded by many well-established industries including software, life sciences, communications, medical devices and more. This year’s awardees are guiding individuals and organizations through growth and expansion, delivering exceptional leadership year after year. They are influencers and role models, looked upon by their peers as a motivational force.
Among this year’s awardees is Tanya Saracino, Chief Operating Officer of Cherry Street Energy. With her focus in the renewable sector, she helps companies like Porsche, Gulfstream and Emory University transition to renewable energy. Awardee Reema Poddar, President and Chief Executive Officer of Diagnostic Imaging & the Digital Pathology Informatics Business of at Philips, is passionate about making a difference by using technology to solve truly hard human problems. She believes in delivering products that are safe, easy to use and beneficial to humanity. Also awarded is Teri Fenner, Vice President of Environmental Planning & Permitting at AECOM, who has led teams throughout Southern California on critical projects to improve key transportation corridors, reuse closing military bases, nourish beaches from Imperial Beach to Oceanside, and restore lagoon ecosystems.
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of The Top 50 Women Leaders of San Diego for 2023.
1. Reema Poddar
President & CEO of Diagnostic Imaging & Digital Pathology Informatics Business, Philips
Reema Poddar is recognized as a Bold Technology & Business Transformative Leader, Strategist, and an Innovative Executioner. Currently she serves as the President & CEO of Global Diagnostic & Pathway informatics business at Philips. Reema has 29 years of experience in successfully, defining, implementing, transforming, delivering, and growing commercially viable digital portfolio offerings. Fueled by an unwavering customer focus, she is considered an expert in driving digital innovation and bridging the gap between existing complex, legacy product, technology ecosystems and emerging cloud + modern technologies. She has delivered business results valued in multi-billions across industries.
Having previously held the positions as chief product & technology Officer at Teradata, EVP of global software & solutions at GE, and independent board of director of public & private companies, Poddar has honed her skills as both a result driven business leader and an experienced technologist. She is a respected change agent who brings people along to deliver on results by utilizing deep experience and lessons learned in organizational and operational practices, commercial product delivery, go-to-market strategies and driving innovative customer centric solutions and outperforming competition.
Poddar is a passionate leader who empowers teams to take risks, fail fast and learn. She dedicates a lot of her time focusing and sharing her lessons learnt helping women in all areas of technology to reach their potential and succeed in work life and is very active in public speaking STEM and Women in Technology forums. She is always drawn to a challenging environment or where a disruptive approach could deliver exceptional purpose driven business growth and customer satisfaction. Poddar holds dual master’s degrees in computer science and applications and in physics.
2. Amy Butler
President of Biosciences, Thermo Fisher Scientific
Dr. Amy K. Butler serves as the Division President of Biosciences at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Prior to her current role, Amy led the Cell Biology business, including efforts to support Cell and Gene Therapy customers. Amy has held multiple general management and functional leadership roles at Thermo Fisher, including overseeing Marketing & e-Business, Global Customer Care, and the Gene Expression Profiling business unit. Amy joined Invitrogen, then Life Technologies, and now part of Thermo Fisher, in 2004.
Prior to joining Invitrogen, Amy served as an engagement manager with McKinsey & Co. where she worked predominantly with large pharmaceutical companies on R&D, sales and marketing strategies. Prior to that, she was a developmental neuroscientist at the Salk Institute. Amy obtained her doctorate in neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania. She also sits on the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine board of directors and the Biocom California board of directors.
3. Teri Fenner
VP of Environmental Planning & Permitting, AECOM
Teri Fenner is a Vice President with 30 years of experience at AECOM and legacy firms. AECOM is a Fortune 500 infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle. Teri’s career has focused on environmental planning and permitting, supporting a wide variety of federal, state, and local government clients in executing their most complex projects. She has led teams throughout southern California on critical projects to improve key transportation corridors, reuse closing military bases, nourish beaches from Imperial Beach to Oceanside, and restore lagoon ecosystems. She serves in contract manager roles for multi-year, multi-million-dollar environmental services on-call contracts for numerous government agencies and utilities.
In addition to her technical and program management roles, Teri provides operational and people leadership. Over time, she has grown her span of control from a 30-person natural resources team in San Diego to serve as the Environment Business Line, West Region Practice Lead with teams of biologists, archaeologists, and planners in nine states, from Ohio to the West Coast/Hawaii. In 2022, that practice had a gross revenue over $90M and a headcount over 450 people.
Teri focuses on creating environments where people want to come to work and to work together, which can be challenging in the constantly changing business environment. She leads through example, connects people, focuses on communication, and exemplifies a strong work ethic. She has a history of participation in local causes and is a long-time supporter of Ocean Discovery Institute (ODI), a nonprofit that uses ocean science to empower young people from underserved urban communities. She served as ODI college-application mentor for two aspiring Hoover high school seniors. She was named a finalist in the 2018 Business Women of the Year Awards from San Diego Business Journal (SDBJ), for several years was the only female leader in SDBJ’s Top 5 Environmental Consultants, and is an Executive Mentor in the San Diego chapter of Women in Transportation Society. Teri has a master’s degree in geography from San Diego State University and undergraduate degrees from UC San Diego in political science and urban planning.
4. Ana Padilla
VP & Senior Business Growth Strategy Consultant, Wells Fargo & Company
Ana Padilla is a Vice President at Wells Fargo serving as a Senior Business Growth Strategy Consultant for the Home Lending Diverse Segments group. Acting as a diverse segment subject matter expert in this role, Ana works through internal and external partnerships and strategic alliances to advance homeownership, serving diverse customers and underserved communities. She is responsible for a disciplined approach developing and executing strategies focused on helping households successfully achieve and sustain the dream of homeownership.
Ana has over 20 years of combined experience in sales, including B2B, B2C, business development, marketing, public relations, and consulting. Prior to her current role, she was a home mortgage consultant serving an array of clients across the diversity and the economic spectrums. She is passionate about empowering others through homeownership, especially in diverse communities.
As a philanthropist and community advocate, Ana serves currently as the marketing director for the NAHREP San Diego Chapter, is part of the AREAA Corporate Advisory Council, and has been nominated for the San Diego Reinvestment Task Force (RTF) as an Alternate Commissioner. Ana is a San Diego State University alum, holding an undergraduae degree in international business with a triple emphasis in marketing, Spanish and Latin America.
7. Ann Chaplin
General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Qualcomm
Ann Chaplin is General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Qualcomm Incorporated. Chaplin reports directly to president and CEO Cristiano Amon. In this role, Chaplin serves as a member of the executive leadership team with global responsibility for all Legal operations and functions. She has broad experience across the legal, technology and business spectrum, as well as litigation and transactional matters, intellectual property law and management, corporate law and governance. Most recently, she has served as corporate secretary and deputy general counsel for General Motors (GM).
While at GM, Chaplin assisted in the overall management of the legal department, overseeing corporate governance, advising on product and technology transformation initiatives, managing the interface with the board of directors, leading the securities team, and advising on ESG initiatives. She directly managed many areas across GM’s legal operations at various times, including the litigation of thousands of cases ranging from class actions to complex product litigation, antitrust, IP, securities, and multidistrict matters. She also resolved complex regulatory issues and investigations; managed the IP portfolio, including patent, trademark, copyright filings and maintenance, and trade secret protection; and served as chief compliance officer for North America while providing oversight for compliance functions worldwide. Additionally, Chaplin led the legal team responsible for M&A and strategic transactions, and supported global supply chain and purchasing operations, as well as employment and labor matters.
Prior to GM, Chaplin was a partner at Fish & Richardson, where she managed the firm’s litigation practice group and focused on patent, trade secret, trademark and copyright litigation. She was a member of the firm’s management committee and led its Minneapolis office. She earned her JD from Harvard Law School and her undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Chaplin is admitted to practice in Minnesota, and registered in-house counsel in California.
10. Shiloh Swanson
VP & Director of Strategy, Sales, and Business Development, Stantec
Shiloh Swanson is a Vice President and Director of Strategy, Sales, and Business Development for Stantec’s Water Business Line. She has 30 years of business development, sales, and marketing experience. She joined Stantec in 2019 after managing and/or leading major campaigns for most of ENR’s Top 10 Engineering firms, including Stantec (formerly MWH), AECOM, URS, Jacobs/CH2MHill, CDM, HDR, TetraTech, Black & Veatch, and Brown and Caldwell.
In the last nine years, Shiloh has managed and/or led strategic growth strategies, major business changing campaigns, and coached interview teams on over $1 billion in contracted wins and personally holds a 90% win rate in the last 24 months. She is a Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Fellow, a Certified Professional Services Marketer (CPSM), and regularly provides training on various aspects of sales, business development, and marketing for SMPS.
11. Monique Rodriguez
Vice President Government Affairs, QUALCOMM
Monique Rodriguez is Vice President of Government Affairs for QUALCOMM Incorporated. In this capacity, she manages part of QUALCOMM's international public policy agenda on a range of issues, including international trade, technology policy, competition and innovation, and intellectual property. In addition to maintaining and strengthening QUALCOMM's relationships with branches of the United States and foreign governments, she often represents the company before industry associations and multilateral institutions, such as the United Nations and World Trade Organization (WTO).
Rodriguez also manages all legislative matters at the local and state level, including political fundraising and acting as the QUALCOMM liaison to local and state government in all 50 states. In this capacity, she is responsible for creating and executing corporate strategy in areas ranging from quality of life, technology neutrality, environmental stewardship and taxation. She also manages the Qualcomm Political Action Committee (QPAC).
Rodriguez serves as a member of the San Diego & Imperial District Export Council. She also serves on the boards of the National Center for APEC, National Foreign Trade Council, Voices for Children and LEAD San Diego. She graduated from the University of California, San Diego in 2002 with an undergraduate degree in economics. Rodriguez also received an MBA from the Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego in 2008.
View the complete list of awardees.
13. Tanya Saracino
COO, Cherry Street Energy
Tanya Saracino is the COO of Cherry Street Energy, an Atlanta based renewable power company. Tanya started her career in advertising and quickly realized she had a knack for operations. After graduating with her MBA she transitioned full-time into operations, working in the Silicon Valley tech industry for 10 years. She held multiple roles in operations, product development and sales & marketing before starting her own consultancy, Execution Over Theory.
As a consultant Tanya has worked with a variety of clients including Smartnews, Tempo and Volkswagen. She is now focused on the renewable sector helping companies like Porsche, Gulfstream and Emory University transition to renewable energy. Tanya received her undergraduate degree in marketing from San Jose State University and graduated summa cum laude with an MBA from San Francisco State University.
15. Kathy Cullen-Cote
Chief Human Resources Officer, Teradata
Kathy Cullen-Cote is Teradata’s Chief Human Resources Officer. In this role, she is responsible for the corporation’s talent strategies and programs and leads a global team of human resource professionals responsible for talent acquisition, compensation, benefits, equity programs, employee engagement and retention, and employee relations. Additionally, she oversees Teradata’s talent management as well as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program.
With more than 30 years of experience in all facets of human resources, Kathy is a skilled leader in building a robust and caring culture of employee engagement, creating and guiding execution of human resources programs that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion and enhance the employee experience.
Kathy joined Teradata from PTC, a Boston-based software company, where she was serving as EVP and CHRO. At PTC, she served in HR roles of increasing responsibility as she guided the organization’s growth through cultural transformation programs, global employee engagement initiatives, diversity, equity and inclusion, and the implementation and adoption of cutting-edge HR systems. Prior to PTC, she served in HR leadership roles at Johnson and Johnson, Raytheon, Imark Communications and Barry Controls. Kathy was awarded the 2018 Bob Gatti HR Leadership Excellence Award.
16. Nina Antinora
CEO, Change It Up
Nina Antinora is a #1 bestselling author, Smart with Heart™ thought leader, and Chief Executive Officer at Change It Up®. During Nina’s time spent in her previous career as an executive producer for global events and training, she realized a huge unmet need to help her clients increase self-awareness, breakthrough silos, overcome limiting beliefs, re-frame change, and enhance internal & external engagement. This was the catalyst for Nina’s own transformation and inspiration to reinvent her entire career in order to align with her innate calling and passion. She absolutely loves helping her clients show up each day as their best selves by tapping into the human side of business and mastering soft skills.
Since launching Change It Up® in 2015, Nina has created numerous mindful leadership and change agility programs for her corporate clients in order to redefine success by bridging strategy, process, and analytics with emotional intelligence. Change It Up® is a women-owned, LGBTQ+ small business comprised of adult learning experts, creative thinkers & doers, mindset re-setters, and heart-centered subject matter experts. Under the Change It UP® umbrella Nina launched the groundbreaking ‘walking workshop’ known as TrailChats® which focuses on individual capabilities development through laser-coaching in the great outdoors. She also created the virtual leadership toolkit called Opportunity Wednesday® that enables managers to enhance team performance by reinforcing key initiatives and upskill touchpoints, as well as gain vital insights remotely. In addition, Nina created the self-awareness & emotional regulation tool, known as the TEBB Method® which enables clients to identify barriers and triggers in order to self-regulate emotions and transform mindset. She has been voted San Diego’s Most Inspiring Women, Los Angeles' Top Success Strategist, and has appeared on various podcasts and interviews sharing her unwavering passion to change the trajectory of business mindset, behavior, and results— one mindful step at a time!
19. Kristina Hysler
SVP & California Water Quality and Engineering Lead, WSP USA Earth & Environment
Kristina Hysler is an experienced water quality leader on a mission to support, enhance, and champion the best scientists and engineers who are working to improve our understanding of the natural world and how to protect it. As a Senior Vice President lead overseeing WSP’s California Water Quality and Engineering team in San Diego, she is responsible for executing several high-profile water-quality contracts valued at more than $30M throughout Southern California and manages a team of 26 water quality professionals. By combining her understanding of the regulatory environment and client needs she has built a thriving consultancy that provides clients with a forward-looking vision. She has developed strong strategic partnerships, thereby helping to grow the WSP water quality practice by 200%. She also served as an environmental science, permitting, and compliance global technical expert supporting a vast network of biologists, archeologists, environmental scientists, and engineers working across the built and natural environment to create and implement the digital tools of the future.
After graduating from University of Texas Austin with a Master of Science in Environmental and Water Resource Engineering, Hysler started her engineering career in 2002 at Limno-Tech, Inc, then in 2006 joined MACTEC Engineering & Consulting, Inc., as a senior engineer in its Water Resources Group and remained with that firm through subsequent mergers and acquisitions, which was previously known as Wood Environment & Infrastructure Solutions, Inc. up until October 2022 when it was acquired by WSP. She is currently an active member of the California Stormwater Quality Association, and a registered professional engineer in California.
22. Vanessa Hunter
Chief Operating Officer, The Higdon Group
A direct sales industry veteran, Vanessa Hunter is the current COO for The Higdon Group, a global social media, marketing and personal development training company based in Naples, Florida. She has over 25 years of experience in the direct selling and network marketing industry. With a proven track record of sales growth and operational efficiency, Vanessa’s experience in business operations, leading high performance sales teams, executing effective marketing strategies, field leadership training, and strategic business development is instrumental in executing the company’s goal of achieving greater global impact and brand awareness.
Prior to this appointment, Vanessa held various c-suite positions within the industry for over 20 years, and served various clients as the CEO of her own company, The Brand Muse Creative Marketing, established in 2017. Her results-driven, people-centric leadership style has unified high-performance teams and facilitated rapid revenue growth for several global companies.
26. Lisa Marie Knight
Chief Operating Officer, Engage Youth Co.
Lisa Marie Knight is a passionate leader, advisor, and mentor at Engage Youth Co., a creative agency in North County, San Diego, California, since 2018. Lisa has spent the last 20+ years managing and redefining processes and procedures, working with a multitude of different types and levels of professionals. Lisa bridges the space between the execution of strategy and business operations by aligning and overseeing the managed research and creative campaigns by maintaining a foundation for scale and growth. In addition to her passion for mentoring and developing strong leaders, she emphasizes high-quality collaboration company-wide. She ensures all aspects of customer service care, project and productivity funnel improvements, payer operations and contracting services by creating a smooth organizational operating rhythm.
A tenured professional, Lisa has managed teams for previous clients such as Adobe, Constellation Brands, and Spartan, as well as for clients in the TV_Y television program space, youth e-sports, youth-focused mental health, GenZ political campaigns to get out the vote, education, and nonprofits for the protection of youth social engagement. Working with the teams that help create awareness and education with these campaigns to either increase knowledge or provide social good is what sings to Lisa’s heart. Her US and international team created a cause campaign where Engage Youth Co. started from scratch with brand identity creation, strategy, and implementation to create awareness and tools for youth digital safety. Another example of managing teams across different time zones is in the science and education arena, where Engage Youth Co. launched the client's social education channel with video production that includes experiments that wow and excite youth! These great campaigns were executed with a company culture that includes enthusiasm for the process and a focus on high-quality client experiences.
A lifelong learner, Lisa graduated recently from Touro University, in a COAMFTE-accredited program, with a double masters, summa cum laude, in December 2022. She is adding the title, in addition to her title of COO as an associate therapist. Lisa believes you are never too old to learn and plans on utilizing her new title to enhance youth mentorship programs as well as continue cultivating and leading Engage Youth Co.’s collaborative local and international working environments.
31. Lisa Cuestas
Chief Executive Officer, Casa Familiar
Lisa Cuestas is currently Chief Executive Officer of Casa Familiar, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community-based organization in San Ysidro, CA. Lisa has worked for Casa Familiar for 20 years and nearly 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She is the embodiment of an emerging Latina leader. She is a Fronteriza – raised along the US/Mexico border. Her mother is from Ciudad Juarez and her father from Tucson, Arizona. Lisa’s parents and grandparents imparted on her the importance of community and the notion of rising by uplifting others, which are the values she and her husband are now passing along to their own children. Lisa has committed her life in service to her communities and this trajectory has led to becoming the Chief Executive Officer for Casa Familiar (Casa), a community service and development agency dedicated to ensuring residents of San Ysidro and the South Bay have a leading role in all aspects of the development and sustainability of their community.
As Casa Familiar’s Chief Executive Officer, Lisa oversees an annual budget of $5.0M+ with a growing portfolio of 1,300 affordable housing units in San Diego’s South Bay. Under her leadership, Casa Familiar secured $10 million of New Markets Tax Credit Financing in 2018 for its Living Rooms at the Border project completed in February of 2020 which is a 13,469 square- foot mixed-use project in San Ysidro, a predominantly Latino community in the City of San Diego. Also in 2018, Senator Hueso recognized Casa Familiar as the 40th District Non-Profit of the Year. Lisa holds an undergraduate degree in human services and management from the University of Phoenix.
View the complete list of awardees.
38. Lynette Wilkerson
Chief Financial Officer, Freedom Forever
Lynette Wilkerson is an accounting and finance professional with experience working with diverse entities ranging from privately-held companies, nonprofits, and multinational organizations. Possessing an active CPA license, she worked in public accounting for several years providing tax, accounting, and financial services to hundreds of her client base and was the lead CPA in new client acquisitions.
Converting to the corporate arena, she has served as both controller and CFO to high profile privately-held companies. She implemented and coordinated financial and tax reporting practices and policies and managed commercial relationships which allowed the enterprises to thrive and grow economically, including working with international business partners and assets.
Lynette holds several degrees, including an MBA with an accounting emphasis. She has served as a volunteer mentor in financial education programs in local high school and college work-study programs. She has served on the boards of several organizations, and currently serves on the financial advisory board of an organization that serves US Military personnel.
39. Veronica Dela Rosa
Executive Vice President of Operations, San Ysidro Health
As Executive Vice President of Operations for San Ysidro Health, Veronica Dela Rosa leads the organization with key oversight of clinic operations,information technology, population health and performance excellence, compliance, HR, and diversity and inclusion initiatives. With over 25 years of healthcare experience, Veronica spent 20 years as a healthcare administrator for Kaiser Permanente where she oversaw the medical group’s Primary Care Services Division focusing on quality, access and innovative healthcare delivery services to over 600,000+ patients.
Veronica has a special place in her heart for San Ysidro Health. In the summer of 1984 and while in high school, she entered the organization as a volunteer. Thereafter, she was hired as a receptionist, and for the next 11 years her continual growth and development ensued as she prepared to become a healthcare leader and executive. In both her career and community involvement, Veronica has a long history of advocating for women’s health, social justice and health equity. She has helped shape multiple nonprofit organizations as a board member, and continues that work today.
43. Ali Selbo
Strategic Account Director, Oracle CX Advertising & Marketing, Oracle
Ali Selbo is a marketing technology leader with 15+ years of progressive experience in SaaS marketing technology and revenue growth. Beginning her career in marketing overseeing revenue operations, Ali has a unique ability to drive new business acquisition and positive digital transformation business outcomes.
Selbo thrives as an individual contributor and left her previous leadership role to pursue an enterprise sales role with Oracle's most strategic customers helping other marketing leaders evangelize the way they go to market. She is passionate about marketing technology and has an excellent track record of partnering with organizations to reach next-level growth. She is a collaborative leader and thoughtful in her approach to effective problem-solving, focused on forming trusted partnerships.
Those who know her will tell you her passion runs deep, and her energy is contagious. In her spare time, she's an investor and advisor in several consumer product goods and SaaS-based companies. She is also devoted to women's empowerment and supporting the VP of training and development at the Junior League of San Diego. Selbo was at the forefront of evolving the JLSD's training curriculum and building a network of partnerships with local businesses, executives, and coaches to further expand on JLSD's mission to empower, develop and promote women's civic leadership in the Greater San Diego community. Born and raised in Santa Barbara, CA, she holds an undergraduate degree in business administration from Sonoma State University.
44. Morgan Reno
Director, Cushman & Wakefield
Morgan Reno currently represents landlords on 3 million square feet of Class A and B offices in Downtown and Central San Diego. Some of her key landlord clients include Lebeau Realty, UBS, Casey Brown Company, Westbrook Partners, DivcoWest, Manchester Financial Group, Highbrook Partners, Ocean West, Cypress Office Properties, HP Investors and more. Morgan also represents multiple corporate tenant accounts throughout San Diego, including Deloitte, Bank of America, PAR Technology Corporation, and AARP.
As the daughter of the largest locally-owned general contractor in San Diego, Morgan was fortunate to grow up on her father’s job sites, including DiamondView Tower and Kilroy Center Del Mar, which is where her affinity for office and biotech projects began. Beginning her career in brokerage with Cushman & Wakefield in 2016, Morgan has risen to the top as one of only a handful of female office brokers in San Diego County. She has represented and/or transacted with some of the most impactful companies in San Diego who have played a large part in the corporate ecosystem and shaped the skyline of San Diego, including Illumina, Torrey Pines Bank, Arrowhead Insurance and Alliant, and major tech and biotech companies, and more.
45. Colleen Sullivan
Senior Director of Strategic Marketing, Homepoint
Colleen Sullivan is the Senior Director of Strategic Marketing for Homepoint, the third largest wholesale lender and the seventh largest non-bank lender in America. Homepoint’s mission is to create financially happy, healthy homeowners by empowering individuals and brokerage partners during the homebuying or refinancing process. In addition, she markets third party partnerships Branch insurance and Sawa, which is building a technology platform that incorporates behavioral science to create a community support system.
Sullivan has over 15 years of marketing experience. Aside from working with top lenders and housing developments, her career consists of digital advertising for some of San Diego’s most successful SEO, SaaS and political start-ups. Prior to marketing and advertising, she worked within local government agencies for Area Agency on Aging and Criminal Justice Mental Health.
She received a Master of Science from the University of Southern California, Iovine and Young Academy in integrated design, business and technology. Prior to, she earned her undergraduate degree in business administration and marketing from California State University, Fresno. Additional studies include USC's Marshall School of Business and Hong Kong Baptist University in business development, production and operations management.
From her associate’s to her master’s degrees she has worked and done school both full-time. She participated in various internships, hackathons and service-learning assignments in the marketing, advertising and public relations sectors. An avid learner and educator, Colleen is an instructor with CareerFoundry since the international program launched their digital marketing courses. In her spare time, she contributes and fundraises for various animal rescues and for her alumni associations.
46. Kim Macmartin-Moglia
Vice President of Business Development, InterVenn Biosciences
Kim MacMartin-Moglia is the Vice President of Business Development at InterVenn Biosciences, a life science company pioneering glycoproteomics to improve human health. During her tenure at InterVenn, Ms. MacMartin-Moglia has developed relationships with partner companies to enable the discovery of novel glycoproteomic biomarker signatures utilized for early diagnosis, disease prognosis and therapeutic response. In addition, she has developed a team of business development professionals to support the company's rapid growth and evolving business development needs. The company is developing a robust pipeline of proprietary tests and diagnostic applications that apply novel glycoproteomics insights to clinical decision-making.
Prior to joining InterVenn, MacMartin-Moglia was the director of business development at Werfen, where she was responsible for in/out-licensing of IP, negotiating key supplier relationships and managing their IP portfolio with outside counsel. Before Werfen, she held other business development/marketing roles related to precision medicine at Prometheus Laboratories and Quest Diagnostics. MacMartin-Moglia received her MBA with emphasis in finance in marketing at University of San Diego and her undergraduate degree in biochemistry and cellular biology from the University of California at San Diego.
47. Vera Stoddard
Director of Portfolio Management, Silvergate Bank
Vera Stoddard is Director of Portfolio Management at Silvergate Bank. Vera has over 20 years of banking experience in commercial and residential mortgage lending and credit risk management. She manages the portfolio management department of the bank with her team working with the bank’s borrowers during the life of their loans. The department excels at responding to the bank’s client needs while providing the highest level of customer service. In her management role, Vera has implemented new methods and best practices in creating a more efficient process of monitoring and assessment of credit risk of the bank’s loan portfolio.
Vera previously held a variety of roles in commercial loan underwriting and credit risk management. She led teams of underwriters and credit analysts at Swedbank and Rabobank in Europe. During this time, Vera was involved in credit process improvement, development of new credit policies, procedures, and credit risk rating models.
Vera strongly believes in leading by example. She provides mentorship and coaches her team giving them opportunities to grow professionally, learn new skills and stay actively engaged in new projects. Her greatest satisfaction comes from seeing the quality of work her team performs while excelling in their individual positions.
Vera earned her MBA degree in business economics from California State University (East Bay) and undergraduate degree in applied mathematics from Moscow University of Electronics and Mathematics. Vera is Credit Risk Certified by the Risk Management Association since 2017.
View the complete list of awardees.
48. Stepheni Norton
Director of Platform Security, Accumulus Synergy
As a retired Chief Petty Officer and decorated military veteran, Stepheni Norton has transitioned her passion for security and compliance into the digital landscape. With extensive experience in cloud compliance and data governance, she specializes in helping organizations secure their data and maintain regulatory compliance in the ever-evolving world of technology.
Stepheni's expertise includes a range of cloud technology and compliance strategies such as Azure Public Cloud, Google Cloud Platform, and Amazon Web Services, as well as regulatory compliance frameworks such as 21 CFR Part 11, GDPR, and FedRAMP. Drawing on her proven track record of success, she works collaboratively with teams to understand their goals and challenges, and develops solutions that ensure security and compliance, without hindering workflows.
As a skilled communicator, Stepheni is able to break down complex concepts into easily understood language that resonates with stakeholders at all levels of the organization. She is deeply committed to protecting data, believing that it is essential for patient safety and the long-term success and viability of an organization. She is dedicated to helping organizations of all sizes and industries achieve their cloud compliance and data security goals.
49. Mona Minton
General Manager for Social Services, Neighborhood House Association
Dr. Mona Minton has an extensive background working with children, adolescents, adults and older Americans struggling with chemical dependency, homelessness, life skills and mental health disorders. She speaks and understands multiple languages (English, Spanish, Hindi and Gujarati) and currently serves on five committees throughout the East/Central San Diego and North County regions. While working for other organizations such as Circle of Friends, Department of Family Services, North County Serenity House, mental health clinics and psychiatric units, state prisons, and San Diego County jails, Dr. Minton has made significant contributions in women and men’s prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery programs.
She was born and raised in India until the age of 8 and she is passionate about improving the quality of life for women, children, and families. Her multi-cultural background enables her to view treatment options from varying perspectives that address socio-economic, gender inequality, and stereotypes common to women of color.
Dr. Minton serves on various boards and committees such as the Mental Health Contractors Association, California Association for Adult Day Services, External Advisory Committee of the San Diego Center for AIDS Research, Rotary 33, Volunteer Advisory Committee for Donovan State Prison, and San Diego County Suicide Prevention Council.
Inspired by her own personal recovery and an extensive work history with over 33 different employment positions, her lived experience as a trauma and cancer survivor, Dr. Minton remains dedicated to men and women’s mental, behavioral, and physical health, wellness, and family advocacy, and shares her expertise with those in need.
With over 18 years of experience in clinical research, couples counseling, program development, and individual and group counseling, Dr. Minton is an expert at working with diverse groups such as but not limited to adults, transitional youths, homeless, and incarcerated populations. She specializes in services that target drug and alcohol dependency, domestic violence, sex offenders, trauma, adolescence support, trauma, and mental and behavioral health. Dr. Minton has a doctorate degree in clinical psychology and a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. She is a Certified Emergency Response Team member as well as a Certified Trauma Recovery Coach-Advanced.
50. Savannah Boone
Account Director, Power Digital Marketing
Savannah Boone is an Account Director at Power Digital and Director of Marketing at the Boone Podcast. Her previous experiences include past digital agency work where she learned skills such as public relations, SEO, analytics and PPC paired with three years of production experience at Fox Sports as an editor and field producer. Currently, Savannah explores her passion for expanding enterprise and small businesses within multiple focuses including sports, e-commerce, international, higher education, and software as a service. She is passionate about working to find the best plan of action for each client’s unique needs and loves seeing her clients succeed professionally and personally. Outside the office, you can find her surfing D-Street or catching a baseball game at Petco Park!
View the complete list of awardees.