member advisory board
We are thankful to have such a wonderful and dynamic group of advisors.
Eden Abrahams
Eden is an executive coach and the founder of Clear Path Executive Coaching, a New York-based firm that provides executive coaching and career management services to senior executives, creative consultants and entrepreneurs. She draws on her personal interest in adult learning and development in the workplace, as well as more than 16 years of experience in financial communications and investor relations, to help her clients achieve their professional, personal and work-life balance goals. A graduate of Northwestern University and The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Eden lives in New York City with her husband and two children. She currently serves as a director on the boards of The Hetrick-Martin Institute and Best for Babes.
Lori Berkowitz
Drawn into photography by a photo-enthusiast father, Lori Berkowitz was one of those kids who always had a camera with her. She got her first Canon SLR at age 12, and she quickly developed an affinity for photographing people. Lori has spent the last 9 years building her reputation as a talented photographer who is capable of handling a variety of jobs for a discerning clientele. Whether it is a high-society wedding, a big-dollar corporate event, a celebrity party, or an A-list social gathering Lori is the one to capture the moments! www.loriberkowitzphoto.com
Recently, Lori co-founded an online-based company called Fresh Surface (www.freshsurfaceart.com). The aim of the business is to showcase and sell the original work of talented emerging artists at affordable prices, in an effort to take quality artwork outside the confines of the traditional arts industry. At Fresh Surface, everyone has the opportunity to live creatively.
Galia Gichon
Galia Gichon is the Founder of Down-to-Earth Finance. She provides unbiased financial education and planning without selling any investments. She has more than 14 years financial experience and is the author of "My Money Matters" a boxed set of financial affirmation, tip and workbooklet cards. Please visit www.downtoearthfinance.com and www.mymoneykit.com.
Anu Karwa
Anu Karwa is the founder and CEO of Swirl Events. Anu created Swirl Events to combine her passion for wine and bringing her friends together for memorable evenings. After earning her Advanced Certification from the internationally recognized Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) – and through her tasting experiences – she realized wine did not have to be complicated or stuffy. Thus began her dream of sharing her passion through Swirl. Prior to launching Swirl Events, Anu was a product junkie working as a brand manager in the beauty industry for L'Oreal, John Frieda and most recently, Victoria Secret Beauty (PINK brand). Anu holds a B.S. in Finance & Economics from The Ohio State University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. www.swirlevents.com
Jaime Klein
Jaime Klein is the President and Founder of Inspire Human Resources, a consulting firm that helps clients to hire, train and retain their talent. Inspire’s team of consultants provide flexible resources to both F500 and high growth organizations. Jaime has worked in human resources, organizational development and general management since 1994. In that time, Jaime has supported organizations through mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and initial public offerings. Prior to founding Inspire, Jaime led a variety of human resources initiatives at American Express in New York. There she developed programs in career development, succession planning and performance appraisals, and oversaw numerous department reorganizations that resulted in streamlined work flow and overhead cost reduction. Jaime holds a Masters of Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. She received her B.S. in Business with a concentration in Marketing from the University of Maryland. She is also a member of the Society of Human Resources Management and serves on the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness Business Advisory Board.
Contact: jklein@ingspirehumanresources.com
Karla Lightfoot
Karla Lightfoot has worked with hundreds of women to help them determine, clarify and achieve their entrepreneurial dreams. She has worked as a Ladies Who Launch Incubator Leader in New York City for the past two years and a licensee of the Ladies Who Launch Incubators in Central and Northeastern New Jersey. Karla is also the founder of compassion couture, a t-shirt company that aims to inspire the world through the power of its positive messages. Her varied work experience includes a background in sales, marketing and management for companies such as Bloomingdale's, Starbucks Coffee Company, and Tribune Interactive. She also co-authored the best-selling cult classic, The BAP Handbook: The Official Guide to the Black American Princess (Random House). Karla is a graduate of Wellesley College and The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and loves encouraging others to follow their entrepreneurial bliss! www.ladieswholaunch.com
Marissa Lippert
Marissa Lippert is a registered dietitian who lives, writes, and cooks in New York City. She owns Nourish, a nutrition consulting and communications firm, helping others to eat well and lead healthier lifestyles. Marissa’s blog, Diet is a Four-Letter Word serves up the latest nutrition news, deliciously healthy recipes, restaurant reviews and the latest and greatest food news around NYC. Ice cream and wine are her two favorite indulgences…everything in moderation! www.nourish-nyc.com
Heather Ouida
Heather Ouida is the founder and president of Out of the Box Organizing, a home organizing business focusing on helping families prepare for and organize after residential moves. Before residing in Manhattan, Heather and her husband lived in London for seven years where she received her learning specialist degree from England's York University. She taught and was the head of the learning specialist department at a British school for five years before her move to Manhattan, where she was a learning specialist at The Dalton School. Heather left Dalton when her second son was born and started her own tutoring business.
Heather completed her undergraduate degree in psychology from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and received her MA in child development from Tufts University. As much as she enjoyed teaching and tutoring, Heather slowly transitioned out of tutoring when her children became school age to focus on starting and running Out of the Box Organizing.
Joy Parisi
Joy Parisi is the co-founder of Paragraph, a workspace for writers on 14th Street in New York City. She and her business partner met while earning their Master's in fiction at The New School and started Paragraph to create the kind of writing community they had found in school. Open just two years, Paragraph has several hundred members and a thriving event series. Before starting her own business, Joy worked for over ten years as a project manager on technology projects for large retail and financial institutions. She has a dog named Mister President and hopes to one day publish a lot of fiction. www.paragraphny.com
Jessica L. Porter, Proprietor
Fine and visual art has always been a dominant force in Jessica L. Porter’s life. At the University of Delaware she studied Art History and French Language & Literature with the intent of becoming an international corporate curator, while harboring a dream to one day open an art gallery of her own. Her academic and free time were dedicated to furthering this ambition, and upon graduation in 1996 and the slowing pace of the corporate art market as companies began to sell their collections, Jessica realized that her dream to become a corporate curator was not as viable as she’d once thought. So, she spent the next two years consulting for an international fine arts shipper to remain connected to the field and to explore her options. Ultimately, art shipping broadened her abilities and connections, but was limiting, so the path led her to study law at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, where she earned her Juris Doctorate in 2001. Her desire for the arts trumped her legal ambitions, so in May 2005 she developed the idea for RAANDESK® Gallery of ART.
With RAANDESK® Jessica conceived of a gallery environment that was less threatening, that offered a variety of contemporary works in many mediums, and that provided a more efficient and pleasant buying experience for the blogging generation of her peers.. Many potential art buyers (including her friends) felt excluded by the traditional gallery process, and wanted to know the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of art buying without the hassle. The internet was the answer – a virtual gallery – and in May 2006 www.raandeskgallery.com was officially launched with an accompanying ‘real’ exhibition in Chelsea, not far from where Jessica currently resides and provides freelance legal services, sometimes even in French, in her spare time. For more information, visit www.raandeskgallery.com
Bridgette Raes
Bridgette Raes is the owner of Bridgette Raes Style Group which is an image and style consulting company for women. Her mission is the empowerment of women through their image and personal style. Bridgette built her company based on the needs she saw while working as a fashion designer for 10 years. She realized that it wasn’t momentary trends that interested many women, but instead a clear sound way to make getting dressed along with looking good easier. Bridgette’s first book, Style Rx: Dressing the Body You Have to Create the Body You Want, is due out in January of 2008. www.bridgetteraes.com
Karen Rancourt
Karen L. Rancourt, Ph.D. has had her own practice for over 20 years as a management consultant specializing in change management and organizational development and effectiveness. She is also an adjunct associate professor, New York University, Social Sciences, Organizational Behavior and Communication program. A partial list of her clients includes: Credit Suisse; TIAA-CREF; JPMorgan Chase Bank; Shearman and Sterling LLP; Thales Fund Management; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; IBM; Pfizer, Inc; NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. www.managementconditioning.com
In addition to her corporate consulting, Karen teaches Effective Parenting, a program she has specifically designed for financially comfortable parents of young and pre-teen children. This program reflects her insights into the dynamics, pressures, and stresses unique to this group of financially stable parents and their children of privilege. www.RancourtParenting.com
Karen is the author of three books and over a dozen business articles.
Cari Sommer
Cari is an attorney, advisor, and investor in a variety of entrepreneurial businesses and real estate ventures. She is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Caridan Marketing Labs, a performance marketing firm focusing on interactive and social media marketing for entrepreneurial companies seeking to enhance their online presence. Cari was formerly a litigator at Bryan Cave, LLP, where she spent six years focusing on all aspects of commercial litigation. Cari serves as Chair of the New York Board of Step Up Women’s Network, a national non-profit membership organization devoted to the creation of community resources for women and girls. Cari is a graduate of Cornell University and Brooklyn Law School, and she lives in New York with her husband and son. www.caridan.com
Emily Wolper
Emily Wolper, founder and president of E. Wolper Inc. (www.ewolperinc.com), an admissions consulting firm specializing in the college and business school application processes. Founder and President, Emily Wolper has been offering individualized consulting services, admissions strategy and essay writing workshops since the founding of her company in 2000. Emily served as an admissions intern as a student at Vassar College and worked as an admissions officer at both Columbia College and Columbia Business School. She enjoys sharing her acquired knowledge with clients and workshop attendees.
