Meet Our
Board of Directors
Executive Director & Founder
A self-described nerd girl, Christina used her expertise in education, business experience and passion for women’s issues to launch the organization whose mission is to educate and encourage teen girls in the pursuit of business and political leadership positions. Her programs help teen girls understand the power and importance of their voice and how to use it to affect change within their communities.
Tracie Parent
President
As Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operations Officer and Vice President, Tracie assists Kahler Slater to drive the strategic plan, expand into new markets and with firm-wide growth. With a background in strategically guiding organizations to achieve revenue growth as well as improved budgeting and forecasting procedures, she directs the financial, operational, risk and technological aspects of the organization.
Miara Shaw
Vice President
Miara Shaw, also known as, ‘Maven’ Miara is a life and business strategist, executive coach, and sought-after transformational speaker. She specializes in supporting black and brown business leaders, executives, and hi-potential talent to cultivate confidence, develop leadership skills, and define their Balanced Rhythm™ (work-life harmony). Before starting her business, Maven Miara worked for over 25 years as a no-nonsense, high-powered energy trader at some of the nation’s largest oil companies.
Tara Racer
Treasurer
As Managing Partner of Aberdare Business Solutions, Tara is proud to lead a team dedicated to providing clients with comprehensive, flexible and highly personalized service. She is a founding member of the Katy Woman’s Leadership Circle, a Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor and a member of the National Association of Certified QuickBooks Advisors.
Chidinma Aham-Neze
Program Co-Director
Chidinma, a Financial Analyst at HP Enterprise, is a part of the Women’s Network Employee Resource Group at her company, to show support towards fellow women. She has served on the board of the National Association of Women MBAs -UH chapter, where she drove initiatives to enable professional development of women in the business graduate school.
Michelle Bufano
Fundraising Co-Director
Michelle has been a lawyer almost 25 years with a focus on defense litigation and risk management counseling for corporations. Inspired by the many strong women around her, Michelle has pivoted her practice and uses her expertise as a corporate litigator to assist female entrepreneurs and founders. She also offers fractional general counsel support as the business grows. Michelle’s vision is: “A world where all women thrive.”
Christine Cioffe
Fundraising Co-Director
Christine Cioffe currently advises and consults for a variety of companies in Sustainability, Specialty Industrials, Agriculture and BioPharma. Her prior experience includes leading large R& D organizations at PepsiCo (food and beverage) and Merck & Co (pharmaceuticals). Chris is a passionate advocate for life-long learning and exploring (and breaking down) boundaries as well as mentoring and coaching people at all stages of their career.
Jocelyn Durant
Marketing Co-Director
Jocelyn has over 20 years of marketing experience, amassing strategic experience in several industries; banking, medical, manufacturing, and legal. Her creative marketing spirit is ignited by developing strategies for growth through rebranding, public relations, digital marketing and communications. As a leader she cultivates diverse teams, fosters varied perspectives and promotes continuing education and training.
Lisa Friscia
Marketing Co-Director
Lisa’s passion? Assessing a problem, clarifying vision, aligning resources, and rallying a team to meet established goals, in a way that is inclusive, outcomes-driven and people-centered. She thinks of strategies like dress-making ~ the greatness is in the tailoring, and clean lines usually work best. Whether it is overhauling an evaluation system, spearheading a social media campaign, or organizing a learning conference.
Valarie Gilbert
Program Co-Director
Valarie is an Executive Coach and DE&I Consultant. With over 30 years’ experience as an IT executive, she now supports organizations by developing leadership and training programs and one-on-one coaching. She has been a speaker and panelist at several forums including, the Coalition of 100 Black Women, the NY Chamber of Commerce, and the US Department of Education on Multiliteracy. Serving on the Board for NGS is an honor for Valarie, as it embodies her drive to enable young women to explore professional careers and find joy in the work they do and the world they improve.
Pamela Oberg
Volunteer Co-Director
A relentless optimist and experienced executive, Pamela uses her insatiable curiosity to solve complex problems and build high-performing teams in a global, education services non-profit. She is passionate about leading with authenticity and creating opportunities for others to achieve their potential. She loves writing crime fiction and has published two short stories; she is hard at work writing a third.
Ginger Purgatorio
Expansion Director
Ginger has been with Allstate for 25 years where she has held several
positions in Finance, Ethics & Compliance, Connected Car, and Product. Under Ginger’s leadership, Allstate emerged as an industry leader in telematics. Ginger is championing the shift to product mindset to more effectively meet the needs of the rapidly changing marketplace. Her team is central to the design and build of Allstate’s new products.
Ginger represents Allstate on the Executive Board of The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
Julia Wilson
Volunteer Co-Director
Julia Wilson is a seasoned ad tech veteran who has spent her career managing global strategic publisher, advertiser and platform relationships for some of the largest technology players in the space, AOL, Criteo and currently Automattic. Today, she is the VP of Ad Partnerships for CMS platform WordPress and social media platform Tumblr, overseeing advertising partner strategy and product development for both direct and programmatic businesses.
Kate Glasser
Past President
Kate is CSVP of the Adhesive Industrial Business for Henkel AG & Co. KGaA with over 20 years of executive leadership, strategy, and general management experience. She is passionate about great leadership, ending inequality and supporting others to be their best selves. She lives with her husband and three children in the Greater Chicago area.