Building on the Forum’s early years, our speakers continued to bring an extraordinary range of experiences, expertise, and perspectives to our community. Explore our Speaker Hall of Fame from 2018–2023, featuring the accomplished women who informed, inspired, and connected Beacon Hill Women’s Forum members throughout these memorable seasons.
Annette Miller has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in Boston, regional theaters, and in film and television. She has been a leading actor at Shakespeare and Co. in Lenox, MA for 20 seasons. Most recently, Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal listed Annette as one of the best actors in the 2019 season for her portrayal of Gladys Green in “Waverly Gallery.” She received the 2018 Berkshire Theater Critics Association Award For Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of Katherine in “Mothers and Sons” by Terrence McNally, and in 2019 she played Gladys in “The Waverly Gallery.” She originated the role of Golda Meir in “Golda’s Balcony” before it went to Broadway for which she received both Boston’s Elliot Norton Best Actor Award and the Independent Reviewers of New England Best Actor Award.
In Florida, she received the Carbonell Best Actor Award nomination for her portrayal of Vi in “August Osage County.” Other favorite roles include Maria Callas in “Master Class,” Madam Ranevskaya in “The Cherry Orchard,” Diana Vreeland in “Full Gallop,” Martha Mitchell in “Martha Mitchell Calling” (Elliot Norton Best Actor nomination), Duchess of York in “Richard III,” Maria in “Twelfth Night,” and Grandma in “4000 Miles.”
Film role credits include “The Company Men,” “Autumn Heart,” “The Imported Bride Groom,” “The Next Karate Kid,” “The Eye Has to Travel” (documentary on Diana Vreeland), “See How She Runs”, “DON’T LOOK UP” w/Leonardo DiCaprio, and the lead in an Original Film “YOU WILL NOT PLAY WAGNER” chosen to air at 2023 Jewish Film Festivals throughout the country.
On TV, Annette had a recurring role on “As The World Turns” and “Ryan’s Hope.” Other awards include Gann Academy Award for Excellence in the Arts, Boston Jewish Film Festival Award, Zev Cohen Leadership Award, and the Excellency in the Performing Arts Award from the Boston Children’s Theater.
Annette can be seen most recently as Mrs. Tanken on the Netflix Oscar nominated film “Don’t Look Up”. Her latest film, which is currently making the Film Festival circuit, “You Will Not Play Wagner”, will be playing June 3 at the Berkshire Intentional Film Festival. This summer, Annette invites you to Shakespeare and Co, where she will be reprising her performance as Golda Meir in “Golda’s Balcony” in a “searingly topical production.”
Sharri Hormel’s career path has been varied – stockbroker, teacher, non-profit founder and executive coach. When her 23-year marriage ended each of these career experiences ultimately led to creating her current position as the Editor and Chief Creator of the Extraordinary Women brand which includes the Extraordinary Women Magazine, Podcast & high-level coaching programs for women who are serious about making their dreams come true Sharri chose happiness and her own extraordinary life reimagined and now splits her time between Boston and Paris.
Complimentary champagne available for attendees to celebrate together!
Cynthia Barker Cox, DVM, DABVP (Shelter Medicine) graduated from Northwestern University (Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude) in History of Religions, specializing in South Asian religions and languages. She was awarded graduate fellowships through Northwestern to study Sanskrit and Pali at Northwestern, the University of Chicago, and Oxford University. From there she studied in Sri Lanka for a year as a Fulbright Scholar, during which time she was at least as interested in Sri Lankan cats as manuscripts.
While teaching at Whitman College in Walla Walla, she discovered that her half-completed dissertation had already been written and made the abrupt, but ultimately predictable decision to attend veterinary school. She graduated from Washington State University (Phi Zeta, summa cum laude) and is now the Senior Shelter Veterinarian at the MSPCA. During her veterinary career, she has been a Board Member for the Association of Shelter Veterinarians, first diplomate of the new Shelter Medicine specialty, and co-author of the first Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters.
In her free time, she enjoys contradancing, playing Irish flute, and submitting to the will of her four feline overlords.
Cheri has spent her life doing new things, from her first preschool start up to her current role as Director of Compassion New England she has believed in the power of doing something. She has been a licensed RE agent for decades and has served as Compassion New England’s chief visionary and Director of all Operations for 9 years. During her tenure CNE has added two of the Community programs that currently serve the Boston area as well as Metrowest. Compassion New England has a simple approach to doing good: create a beautiful place to display the items you donate that are ready for a new home, sell them. Use the money to do good things in our community. Local need. Local aid.
Cheri has an amazing team helping to daily change lives through the 3 programs CNE offers to our community. CNE operates 2 crisis care centers, one in Mattapan and one in Mendon as well as an incredible program for special needs students and adults that offers vocational opportunities and friendship opportunities. The newest edition to the CNE community care is Room in the City, a housing option for families facing a medical crisis. Our stores fund the overhead so we can do this at no charge to families. Cheri is honored to tell the story of the power of community good that has created hope and help.
Sara Campbell is founder and CEO of Sara Campbell Ltd, a distinctive women’s clothing line available in 23 boutique stores and on line. For thirty-five years, the company has manufactured selective women’s clothing in the United States, a dedicated practice of local quality production which continues today.
The Sara Campbell label is noted for its exceptional fabrics, limited editions, attention to detail in design, and stylish dresses, blouses, pants and accessories. Each shop is embedded in its respective community and offers customers a personalized experience as well as the opportunity to support local charities through invitational events. The flagship store ,which carries every style each season, is located in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Corporate headquarters are in a former warehouse district, currently being revitalized, in Boston.
A native Californian, Sara discovered her passion for sewing at the age of six. She graduated from University of California at Davis with a Fine Arts degree. Upon graduation, she worked at Bazaar del Mundo, a multicultural gallery in San Diego where she met artist Corita Kent. Sara completed a Master’s Degree in Art Education from Lesley University and a Master’s of Fine Arts from Mass College of Arts under the supervision of Corita Kent who, despite a forty year age difference, became her close friend and mentor. The strong attention to vivid colors in Sara Campbell’s designs are a direct influence from Corita Kent’s work.
As a woman business owner coming from an artistic background, Sara Campbell proved her fiscal acuity by making bold decisions at important junctures in the company’s history. In the course of running the company, she was invited to attend Harvard Business School’s Executive Leadership program for CEOs’ to further hone her management skills. Since the company’s inception, she has been guided by the two pillars of her leadership: Philanthropy and a commitment to designing and manufacturing fine clothes in the United States for women to wear with flair, pride and comfort. The company continues to grow and thrive.
Julia Karol is the host of Stork’d the Podcast and the President and COO of Watermill Group, a private investment firm which acquires, operates, and improves businesses at a crossroads. She is a mom, creative leader, warm friend, animal lover and champion for alternative families.
Passionate about social change, Julia currently sits on the board for the New England Chapter of YPO and on the Budget and Administration Committee for the Combined Jewish Philanthropies. She lives in the South End with her dog and son.
Leslie built her professional reputation as a leader who can deliver on the operational challenges of achieving rapid growth, in people-centric businesses. Born in Roslindale, she moved back to Boston after college, launching her career in professional services management with a large Boston Law Firm. She relocated to London for five years in the ‘90s, to spearhead the buildout of a firm’s London and Middle Eastern operations.
Recruited back to New England, by another rapidly expanding firm, she subsequently led a team of seventy-five at the Boston Consulting Group, where she was responsible for negotiating a new 80,000 square foot lease and developing landmark office space in downtown Boston.
While juggling her professional career, Leslie has lived, raised a family, and renovated several homes in Beacon Hill. This gave her unusually deep insight into the nuances of the local residential real estate market—as well as a strong appreciation for life in the Beacon Hill community.
Recognizing that an increasing number of clients sought both an astute analytical perspective into the market, as well as a richer understanding and pragmatism of the broader context of a residential real estate transition and practicalities of living in a unique neighborhood, she decided to parlay this experience, along with her commercial real estate expertise, into a career in residential real estate.
Committed to the conservation of green space and city life, Leslie chairs the board of the Friends of the Public Garden, advocating for the Boston Common, The Public Garden and The Commonwealth Avenue Mall; is a board member of The Beacon Hill Civic Association; was formerly President of The Beacon Hill Garden Club; and has served on the board of a number of other local non-profit organizations, including the Beacon Hill Nursery School and The Nichols House Museum. Leslie has lived in Beacon Hill for over twenty years, with her husband, two children and a rotating cast of French bulldogs.
An experienced investment professional for more than 23 years, Sandra focuses her business on holistic wealth management and planning for women. She helps women organize and understand their financial lives and guides them along a path toward their goals. Sandra wants women to be comfortable with their financial decisions and helps them to that end.
Formerly, Sandra spent 17 years gaining experience and training at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. She is a graduate of Wheaton College with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™ and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst ®.
Sandra was a speaker for the Society of Actuaries on their webinar Women: Longer Lives, Bigger Burdens in 2020. She presented on Financial Empowerment for Young Women in 2019, for a TEDxYouth talk. She was a panelist for the Spark Collective Inspiring Women Series: Women & Money 2018, Women Willpower Summit 2017 and at the Women2Women International Conference 2014, as a “Woman Making Change.” Sandra was the recipient of the 2013 Wheaton Alumnae Achievement Award for her professional accomplishments and community service. She has been featured in Barron’s/MarketWatch, Boston Globe, Exhale Lifestyle and Money.
Sandra resides on Beacon Hill with her most valued assets: her husband, George, and son, Lachlan. She is an enthusiastic urban gardener, adventurous recipe explorer and loves floral design. She makes a concerted effort to find time to enjoy her friendships and volunteer in her community. Sandra was President of the Beacon Hill Women’s Forum for the 2016-18 seasons, and also volunteered as Gala Chair in 2019, for the Beacon Hill Civic Association and is the 2022 Chair of the Beacon Hill Garden Club Hidden Garden Tour.
Lael Yonker, MD is a pediatric pulmonary physician-scientist, committed to improving the care of children with pneumonia and respiratory diseases. Dr. Yonker is the Director of the MGH Cystic Fibrosis Center and Co-Director of the MGH Cystic Fibrosis Therapeutic Development Center. Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she has led the Pediatric COVID-19 Biorepository at the Massachusetts General Hospital and has helped shape our understanding of how SARS-CoV-2 affects newborns, infants, children and young adults. Her research focuses on inflammatory responses to airway infections and she is investigating the impacts of viral load and immune responses in children with SARS-CoV-2 infection or the late COVID-19-related inflammatory illness, Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). She is a mother of two school aged children.
Natalie Rekstad leads a purpose-driven life as the Founder and CEO of Black Fox Philanthropy, a leading fundraising strategy firm serving global NGOs that exists to accelerate the social sector’s effectiveness in solving complex problems on a global scale. As a B Corp social enterprise, Black Fox Philanthropy measures the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. She helps build fundraising capacity for NGOs through a series of trainings held around the world, including as a delegate and contributor to the Skoll World Forum, Ashoka Arab World, Opportunity Collaboration, the ecosystem of the World Economic Forum, and has been chosen to be a delegate at TED 2022 in Vancouver, B.C.
Natalie is a Women Moving Millions member and an MCE Social Capital Guarantor, a gender-lens angel investor, and is a newly minted member of the Founders Pledge. Further, she has been honored by Conscious Company Media as a “World Changing Woman in Conscious Business”, and her firm, Black Fox Philanthropy, is proud to be selected as a B Corp “Best for the World” Honoree as a Changemaker.
Along with her daughter, Sophie, Natalie is an award-winning children’s book author: “The Secret Adventures of Anonymouse”, a random acts of kindness/philanthropy/SEL picture book aimed at 3 – 6-year-olds, is being translated into over a dozen languages worldwide, reaching over 100 million children through social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum designed by Think Equal, based in the UK.
LOCATION CHANGED TO ZOOM
The Zoom room opens at 6:45pm, and the speaker begins at 7pm.
After you register, you will receive the Zoom link.
Shayne Gilbert thrives in creating connections and building community. Before it became the Seaport, she created the Cyber District, a community of artists and technologists in the old warehouses just beyond the Children’s Museum. A casual lunch of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs led to the founding of the Nantucket Conference, an annual gathering of investors, founders and executives where the connections are valued for their strategic and personal worth. From the Nantucket Conference came the Convergence Forum, a similar community of innovators in healthcare and the life sciences.
Passionate about solving inequities in the workplace community, Shayne founded Campseekers. A national network of childcare providers developed to help alleviate the stress of finding school break solutions for working parents, the network was ultimately acquired by Bright Horizons.
Today, Shayne also serves as the Executive Director of the Canadian Entrepreneurs in New England (CENE) where she helps to strengthen cross-border relationships between Canadians in the United States and their counterparts in Canada.
Her personal passions include STEM education, specifically for girls, for which she created the Girl Hackathon. Shayne has also enjoyed working within the Beacon Hill community, with involvement in both the Myrtle Street Playground and the Phillips Street Playground. She also supports various theater and arts initiatives.
Shayne is anchored, not only by the many connections among these communities, but also by family and friends. In a turbulent world, her Beacon Hill neighbors became her immediate family, meeting on their stoops and checking in on one another in the most challenging of times. Her most important anchors are her husband, Bob, and her daughter, Marlie, who give her the love and support to make the connections and build these many communities.
Annette Miller Received the 2018 Berkshire Theater Critics Association Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role as Katherine in Mothers and SonsElliot Norton and Irne Award for best actress as Golda inGolda’s Balcony (2003); Elliot Norton best actress nomination for Martha in Martha Mitchell Calling (2006). Florida Carbonell Award best actress nomination for Vi in August Osage County (2012). She most recently played Madeleine Palmer in a Zoom /Film “Breath of Life“ and coming up this Fall Annette is featured as Esther Greenbaum in a new play for Zoom / Film “You Will Not Play Wagner” and can be seen In “Don’t Look Up” with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence for Netflix. She will also be narrating the opera Brundibar at the BSO for the Terezin Music Foundation featuring Yo-Yo Ma.
Annette is currently touring her original theatrical collage Now is Our Time – the Pleasures and Perils of our Third Chapter, and a new play Prime Time. Favorite roles: Vera, 4000 Miles; Bernadette Kahn, Sotto Voce; Maria Callas, Master Class; Duchess, Richard III; Arkadina, The Seagull. B’Way: The Odd Couple Female Version. Films include : Company Men, Next Karate Kid, Autumn Heart. TV: “As The World Turns.” BA & BFA Brandeis and is a resident Scholar at Brandeis University Womens Studies Research Center.
Josie Gardiner is an experienced master trainer and International presenter. She is co-author of The Breast Cancer Survivor’s Fitness Plan and The Breast Cancer Survivor’s Guide to Fitness DVD. She collaborated with Joy Prouty, Francesca Coltrera, to create 6 Harvard Medical School Special Health Reports, Workout Workbook. Core Training, Balance Training, Stretch, Gentle Core and Joint Pain Relief Workbook.
In addition, Ms. Gardiner received the ACE Instructor of the Year award in 2005 and the IDEA Health and Fitness Association Instructor of the Year in 2002. She also collaborated with Joy Prouty in creating eight “Fit Over Fifty” videos, which were produced by Healthy Learning and endorsed by the American College of Sports Medicine, and two “Fitime: Lite and Easy Workouts to Lift Your Spirits” and Flexible Seniors DVD’s. Josie is co developer of the Zumba Gold Training Program. Ms. Gardiner has presented fitness training sessions internationally. She has been featured on Chronicle and appeared on The Today Show as well as in interviews for many other media outlets. Josie was a Reebok master trainer for 20 years. She recently has joined The Vitality Society for the 60+ as an advisor and coach.
Josie Specializes in personal training and group exercise programs for the aging population. She is a cancer survivor and proud grandmother of five.
Dr. Camille Preston is CEO and founder of AIM Leadership. Since founding AIM Leadership in 2004, she has worked with leaders across sectors and the capital stack. As a business psychologist, Camille brings research and insights from psychology, neuroscience, and business to her work. Whether supporting Fortune 500 leaders, startup founders, or C-suite executives in healthcare, Camille’s sweet spot is helping uncover hidden barriers to increase the capacity to optimize, innovate, and manage change.
In addition to working as a coach and business psychologist, Camille is author of two books, a regular contributor to several established publications in the business and psychology fields, and the author of a growing library of actionable resource tools available on AIMLeadership.com.
A life-long challenge seeker, Camille has lived on four continents, worked on six, and traveled extensively. She is a proud partner to Mark and proud parent to Pres and Adie with whom she shares a home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Lael Yonker, MD
Virtual
Tuesday Evening
April 13, 2021
6:30pm-8pm
Lael Yonker, MD is a pediatric pulmonary physician-scientist, committed to improving the care of children with pneumonia and respiratory diseases. Dr. Yonker is the Director of the MGH Cystic Fibrosis Center and Co-Director of the MGH Cystic Fibrosis Therapeutic Development Center. Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she has led the Pediatric COVID-19 Biorepository at the Massachusetts General Hospital and has helped shape our understanding of how SARS-CoV-2 effects newborns, infants, children and young adults. Her research focuses on inflammatory responses to airway infections and she is investigating the impacts of viral load and immune responses in children with SARS-CoV-2 infection or the late COVID-19-related inflammatory illness, Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). She is a mother of two school aged children and lives in Newton.
Ladies, COVID’s been with us for a year. Let’s make some popcorn, pour a drink, and ZOOM to share our stories. Whether it’s silly, sad, sublime, or salacious, let’s reconnect and share during this strange moment in time.
Virtual
Tuesday Evening
March 9, 2021
6:45pm-8pm
Kimberly Sherman Stamler
Virtual
Tuesday Evening
February 9, 2021
6:30pm-8pm
As President of Related Beal, Kimberly Sherman Stamler leads one of Boston’s most historic and accomplished developers. She is responsible for overall management of the firm, and directs Related Beal in its pursuit of new development opportunities and financing activities across the company’s Boston business units. Kim’s appreciation for the distinct character of city neighborhoods has infused all of Related Beal’s Boston developments with a focus on creating vibrant projects. Recognized as a leading voice in the future of Boston, Kim sits on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston, A Better City, the Boston Municipal Research Bureau and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. Kim lives in Boston with her husband, children and Labrador Retriever.
Lorie Conway
Virtual
Tuesday Evening
January 12, 2021
6:30pm-8pm
Lorie Conway is an independent film producer and director for Boston Film & Video LLC, a company she founded in 2000. Recent projects include two series for Netflix working with a team of Israeli filmmakers, and with a British director working on a dramatic series for HBO, that is partly based on a film and book she produced about the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital.
Conway has produced for all of Boston’s commercial networks and WGBH/PBS, producing news magazine, and non-fiction narrative, long-form films. For 12 years she was a staff producer for CHRONICLE on WCVB.
As a filmmaker, Conway looks for stories that build connection, inspire, activate, and perhaps make a difference. Her work has been awarded the Peabody, Columbia University DuPont, Iris, Cable Ace, and Harvard’s Nieman Fellowship in Journalism.
Some of the film’s she’s directed include Beatrice Mtetwa, and the Rule of Law, about the courageous human rights lawyer in Zimbabwe: https://vimeo.com/58496261, Forgotten Ellis Island, the documentary film and companion book she wrote about the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital: https://youtu.be/r-ZW2UwWg8s, Undaunted, Chasing History at the Boston Marathon, a film about the comeback of one unique runner and the city of Boston activating against terrorism, https://vimeo.com/172143265 and The Incredible Story of Bill Pinkney, a Peabody Award winning documentary about the first Black man of any nation to sail solo around the globe—with thousands of students following his inspiring journey, https://vimeo.com/444662476
Diane Agoun
Virtual
Tuesday Evening
November 10, 2020
6:30pm-8pm
Diane Agoun is the sole owner and proprietor of Soodee Boutiques, two premier storefronts in the highly coveted Newbury Street and Charles Street shopping districts. Diane opened Soodee on Newbury Street 14 years ago and today both locations are “go to” destinations for celebrities and fashion enthusiasts alike.
With her finger on the pulse of the latest fashion trends from New York to Paris, Diane curates luxury fashion collections and is recognized for her classic, chic and unique designs. With limited quantities and hard to find styles, she ensures her clients will have a personalized shopping experience and exclusive high-quality garments. From fashion enthusiasts all over New England to local news anchors and celebrities such as Naomi Judd and Patricia Heaton, Diane’s loyal clientele trusts her uncanny eye for curated top fashion. When asked how she has managed to be so successful in the ever so competitive fashion business, she simply smiles and says, “Fashion is like breathing to me. I am fortunate it is something that comes so naturally and is such an enjoyable experience.”
Sarah Biller
NOTE: This event will take place live on Zoom! Please register to receive the Zoom link.
Virtual
Tuesday Evening
October 13, 2020
6:30pm Virtual Social Time | 7:00pm Speaker Presentation
Sarah Biller is the Executive Director of Vantage Ventures and the Co-Founder of the FinTech Sandbox, a Boston-based not for profit providing entrepreneurs access to high quality data sets to advance innovation in the Financial Services Sector. She is also the Co-Founder of Capital Market Exchange, a predictive analytics platform for institutional bond investors.
Sarah will speak about her entrepreneurship, co-founding a non-profit company aimed at driving innovation in the financial services sector.
Dr. Uzochi Erlingsson
Virtual
Tuesday Evening
September 8, 2020
6:30pm-8pm
Uzochi Erlingsson, M.D is a published MD scientist and an NIH grant recipient with experience in clinical and research medicine with a focus on Biochemical Genetics (Inborn Errors of Metabolism). A medical doctor by vocation, she has since adopted early stage investment. Currently she is the Founding partner of Haegrun Holdings where she is an accomplished executive and business analyst within the healthcare and wellness sector and private equity industries. She is also a Science Collaborator at Harvard Medical School.
She and her Husband Erik and 2 kids reside in Beacon Hill.
Carole Simpson
www.carolesimpson.com
The Hampshire House
Tuesday Evening
TBD 2020
6pm-8pm
Carole Simpson is best known as anchor of the weekend editions of ABC’s “World News Tonight for 15 years, and the first woman and minority to moderate a presidential debate, back in 1992. But she was also the first African American woman to broadcast news in her hometown of Chicago, the first to anchor a local newscast, the first to become a national network correspondent, and the first to anchor a major network newscast. As a national correspondent for first NBC News and then ABC News, she won three Emmys, a Peabody award, a DuPont Columbia Journalism award, and 14 honorary degrees.
She has received more than 100 awards for her television news reports, as well as for her contributions to young women and minority journalists, and to her profession. Her career in broadcast journalism spanned 40 years, which she recounts in her memoir, NewsLady, published in 2011. Simpson most recently serves as Distinguished Journalist in Residence and journalism professor in the School of Communication at Emerson College in Boston. Since her retirement, Simpson has started producing video blogs, which can be found on her new website, W.O.W. for Wise Old Woman, on You Tube, Facebook and Twitter.
Our own BHWF authors, poets and scribblers
Moderated by: Jeanne Blasberg
The Hampshire House
Tuesday Evening
March 10, 2020
6pm-8pm
Jeanne Blasberg is the author of Eden, winner of the Beverly Hills Book Awards for Women’s Fiction and finalist for both the Benjamin Franklin Award for Best New Voice in Fiction and the Sarton Women’s Book Award for Historical Fiction. Eden was released in May 2017 by She Writes Press.
After graduating from Smith College, Jeanne embarked on a career in finance. Even as she worked primarily with numbers, she always had an interest in writing. She made stops on Wall Street, Macy’s, and wrote case studies at Harvard Business School before turning seriously to fiction. She has kept a journal throughout her life, eventually taking inspiration from her childhood writings to pen Eden.
Jeanne is the founder of the Westerly Memoir Project as well as a board member of the Boston Book Festival. She is a student and board member of Grub Street, one of the country’s pre-eminent creative writing centers where she wrote and revised her second novel, The Nine (She Writes Press August 2019.)
Jeanne and her husband split their time between Beacon Hill and Westerly, RI. She loves to play squash, hike, ski, and spend time on the water.
Emily Synk
The Hampshire House
Tuesday Evening
February 11, 2020
6pm-8pm
Emily Synk leads Preliminary Design Engineering for GE Aviation. Her team designs the next generation of engines for commercial airplanes, military fighter jets, rotorcraft, and business aircraft, which would start flying in the 2025-2035 timeframe. Prior to her current position, she held roles in control system design, engineering management, and systems engineering. She is originally from Detroit, Michigan and holds a Bachelors and Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and University of Cincinnati, respectively.
Emily lives in Beacon Hill with her husband Robert Manning and two school-age sons Alexander and William who keep her busy building and cleaning up Legos. She currently serves on the board of “e” Inc, a non-profit organization that brings planet science education to Boston-area schools, and coaches childrens soccer. Her hobbies outnumber her available spare time but she tries to find time for snowboarding, snowboarding, basketball, cooking, and following Detroit and Michigan sports.
Liz Walker
The Hampshire House
Tuesday Evening
January 14, 2020
6pm-8pm
Liz Walker is a retired ballet dancer who currently works on Beacon Hill as a Legislative Aide at the State House. She enjoyed an extensive performing career with Los Angeles Ballet, which she joined as an inaugural company member in 2006. A graduate of Harvard College, Liz was the 2011 recipient of the Suzanne Farrell Dance Prize for Outstanding Artistry in the Field of Dance. Liz continues to perform in the Boston area when the opportunity arises. Throughout her dance career, she has performed featured and leading roles in all the full-length classical ballets, as well as in works by George Balanchine, Martha Graham, José Limón, Aszure Barton, Alejandro Cerrudo and Itzik Galili, and originated roles in works by Menghan Lou, Trey McIntyre, and Claudia Schreier, among others. She also performed as a guest dancer with Boston Ballet and at the Vail Dance Festival and Joyce Theater. Liz lives with her husband and two kittens.
Tzurit Or
The Hampshire House
Tuesday Evening
November 12, 2019
6pm-8pm
Founder Tzurit Or started Tatte Bakery & Café in 2007, baking 20 hours a day in her home kitchen and selling her delicious creations to Boston farmers’ markets. After only one summer, Tatte expanded to its first brick-and-mortar bakery in Brookline, Massachusetts. When she opened her very first location she wanted it to feel welcoming, as if someone was hugging you, a home away from home. She has since opened 14 Tatte cafes but the aim has always remained the same; each Tatte has its own individual sense of identity, feel and style but they all stay true to the original spirit – to what Tatte is all about.
Our mission is to inspire and touch every person, neighborhood and city with our experience and through our food, our passion, and our culture. Tzurit would like to bring Tatte to as many markets possible, to share that unique experience, the food, the pastries and the atmosphere that Tatte brings to every location they open.
Tatte’s founder Tzurit Or is a self-trained pastry chef. Growing up in Israel, Tzurit baked alongside her mother for family members, neighbors, and large community events. Baking became an important part of Tzurit’s adult life as well; a way of honoring her roots and the recipes that shaped her youth. After receiving her degree in management and communications, Tzurit enjoyed a successful 12-year career as an acclaimed film producer. When she moved to the United States in 2003, Tzurit was ready for a change. She applied all of her budgeting, planning, and production experience to founding Tatte and returning to her first love – baking. Since then, the Tel Aviv-born chef has opened six shops in Massachusetts and become renowned for her beautiful, delicious pastries and extraordinary – one of a kind concept. Tzurit is thrilled to continue sharing Tatte with a wider audience and credits her enthusiastic supporters with Tatte’s success: “I am lucky to have the best customers who supported me from the beginning when my shop was just a farm stand.”
Christina Fagan
The Hampshire House
Tuesday Evening
October 8, 2019
6pm-8pm
Chief Knitting Officer and Founder of Sh*t That I Knit, Christina Fagan Pardy learned how to knit as a 10-year-old (from her mom Katie Fagan) and kept up the habit. While at Skidmore College, Christina launched the blog www.shitthatiknit.com as a way to share the photos of her knits with her friends and family. After graduation, she frequently sold one-off hats to friends and started to sell through her website. After attending SOWA Market in Boston with her mom in 2014, the business started picking up steam and she quit her 9-5 in 2015 to pursue it fulltime.
Today, Christina and her team employ 170 women in Lima, Peru to knit all of her designs. Her hats have been seen in Real Simple and InStyle, and celebrities like Katie Couric, Sarah Jessica Parker, Hilaria Baldwin, and Kristin Cavallari are champions of the brand. In the spring of 2019, STIK was seen on the front page of the Boston Globe for doing nearly a million dollar in sales by utilizing the power of Instagram marketing. Christina lives in Beacon Hill with her husband and right around the corner from her parents, she loves chasing all of the people in her hats around the hill to take photos for her Instagram series, #STIKinthewild.
Marita Rivero
The Hampshire House
Tuesday Evening
September 10, 2019
6pm-8pm
Marita Rivero is the President & CEO of the Museum of African American History in Boston and Nantucket. She began her tenure in January of 2016, having been a long-time involved supporter of the Museum, including as Board Chair from 1999-2009. Rivero brings her experience as a prolific public broadcasting executive and her service on several local and national non-profit boards in the areas of social service, arts, education, and historic preservation. In her first months at the Museum, she oversaw the creation and opening of a groundbreaking exhibit, Picturing Frederick Douglass: Most Photographed American of the Nineteenth Century. This successful exhibit documents Douglass’ embrace of photography as a new democratic medium, and has resulted in significantly increased visitation.
Founded in 1967, the Museum inspires all generations to embrace and interpret the authentic stories of New Englanders of African descent and those who found common cause with them in their quest for freedom and justice. Through engaging exhibits and powerful public programs at our National Historic Landmark properties, the Museum expands cultural understanding and promotes dignity and respect for all.
Formerly Vice President and General Manager for Radio and Television at WGBH, Rivero oversaw programming, marketing, and administration. Stepping down from that position in July of 2013, she continued as a Special Advisor to WGBH until July, 2015.
Rivero has been honored with numerous awards, among them a Pinnacle Award from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce for Achievement in Arts and Education; induction into the Boston YWCA’s Women Achievers; and the Abigail Adams Award from the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus. She currently serves on the board of Bunker Hill Community College Foundation and chairs the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s board.
Rivero began her higher education experience in Lincoln University, Pennsylvania. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Tufts University and has participated in post-graduate training at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, as well as the Stanford and Wharton Schools of Business.
Art of Empathy
Pursuit of Empathy to Enrich Connections
Helen Ries, M.D. is a psychiatrist and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Empathy and Relational Science Program in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Riess has devoted her career to teaching and research in the neuroscience and art of the patient-doctor relationship. Her research team at MGH conducts translational empathy research utilizing the neuroscience of emotions.
Dr. Riess has served on the Scientific Advisory Panel of the National Academy of Medicine, a core member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations (convened by Dan Goleman), and has served on the Scientific Advisory Council of the Harvard Institute of Coaching.
Dr. Riess’s groundbreaking empathy research, based on the neuroscience of emotions, received the 2013 Partners Healthcare Medical Education Research Award, the 2012 Harvard Coaching Institute Research Poster Award, and the 2013 SUNY Medical University Endowed Gilbert Humanism in Medicine Lecture Award. Dr. Riess is an internationally recognized speaker on empathy, with a recent TEDx talk on “The Power of Empathy,” which has been viewed by over 375,000 viewers. Her empathy training curricula are implemented nationally and internationally in healthcare, business and education. She is Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Empathetics Inc., a company that provides web-based empathy training and blended relational skills solutions.
Helen lives in Boston with her husband, son and daughter who are the light of her life, and their faithful dog named Bandit. The family loves to travel and they enjoy hiking, skiing and yoga. She is a member of a women’s kayak group. Helen loves classical music, art, literature, poetry, spiritual practice and time with her friends.
Indulging our eclectic tastes: Members Art Show
The Art of Collecting Begins with the Artist’s Inspiration with Diane Jensen and Beacon Hill Artists
Diane McManus Jensen, director of Jensen Fine Arts advises individual and corporate collectors, foundations, and museums. She has produced outstanding scholarly exhibitions and catalogs in conjunction with various museums and private estates, and has lectured across the country on art collecting.
“My approach to collecting”, writes art dealer and advisor Diane McManus Jensen, “has been to help individuals discover and explore their interests in paintings, sculpture, and other forms of art.” For more than thirty years, Jensen has created and enhanced art collections to reflect the values and lifestyles of her clients. Her approach is to learn what sparks the clients’ interests and then develop a uniquely focused, imaginative collection. This happy experience is one that demystifies the process of buying art by encouraging new and experienced collectors to discover their own point of view, and enrich their lives through the beauty of art.
Jensen had galleries in New York City and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. and is now a private advisor. She procures art work from Old Masters through Contemporary styles. Jensen collaborates with interior designers, realtors, architects, and museums, providing comprehensive services regarding Conservation, Restoration, Insurance, Lighting, & Installation.
Jensen served as chairman of the New England Committee of the Archives of American Art/Smithsonian Institution. She is a member of the Mass State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and is also a member of Ellevate, a global professional women’s network.
In her insightful book, The Art of Collecting, an Intimate Tour Inside Private Art Collections, with Advice on Starting Your Own she shares her vision, taking readers into the process of collecting through the eyes of experienced collectors. This is a fascinating exploration of what inspires and defines collectors, and how they address the challenges and opportunities they encounter. The traits, motivations, and passions of great collectors are as varied as their collections. While some are surrounded by art from an early age, or have a natural eye for beauty and artistry, others hone their skills over the years with guidance from knowledgeable advisors.
Yes, You Can Have It All
Justine Laugharn is one of the Principals of Covaris, Inc. Covaris is a bio-tech company that provides scientific tools for life science applications, such as improving pre-analytical sample preparation, enabling drug formulation, and isolating biomolecules for the drug discovery process. For example, the Covaris AFA (Adaptive Focused Acoustic™) technology has become the gold-standard for Genomic and Cell Biology research including Next-Gen Sequencing used in cancer research, discovery, and therapeutics. Corporate headquarters are in Woburn, MA, where all their products are designed, developed, tested, assembled. and shipped … out the back loading dock! Justine organized the opening of additional offices in England and, most recently, in China. At Covaris, Justine leads the Finance, IT, and Administration teams worldwide. She has over 35 years’ experience in the Life Sciences Industry starting as a Research Associate in Pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital. She has held numerous positions in high-tech and biotechnology companies including medical devices. In 1999 when her husband Jim started Covaris, she decided to join the team.
Justine holds a BS, Biology from Boston College and MS, Computer Engineering from Boston University. Two years ago, after raising and launching two children in Winchester, she and her husband downsized and moved to the Back Bay with their well-loved Corgi in tow! Justine is an avid reader, loves to cook and eat well, is a hiking and natural history enthusiast, and has a profound interest in land preservation across Massachusetts.
Bake the World a Better Place
An honors graduate of Harvard College with a degree in Applied Mathematics and Economics, Joanne left a career as a management consultant to enter the world of professional cooking.
She started as garde-manger cook at Boston’s renowned Biba restaurant, then worked as a pastry cook at Bentonwood Bakery in Newton, and in 1995 was hired as Pastry Chef at Rialto restaurant in Cambridge.
Joanne moved to New York City in 1997 to work in the cake department of the critically acclaimed Payard Patisserie and Bistro. Returning to Boston a year later with dreams of opening up her own pastry shop, she brought her French and American training to Mistral where she was the Pastry Chef until summer of 2000.
In 2000, she opened Flour, a bakery and café, in Boston’s South End. Flour features breakfast pastries, breads, cakes, cookies, and tarts as well as sandwiches, soups, and salads. In 2007 she and her business partner Christopher opened a second branch of Flour in the Fort Point Channel area, in 2010 a third branch in Cambridge near MIT and Central Square, in 2013 a fourth branch on Clarendon Street in the Back Bay, in 2016 a fifth branch in Harvard Square and a sixth in Cambridgeport, and in 2017 a seventh branch on Dalton Street in Back Bay.
Flour has been featured in Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, the New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Lucky Magazine, Inc. Magazine, and Boston Magazine and has received numerous Best of Boston awards. Flour was also featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay on the Food Network in which Joanne’s sticky buns won over Chef Flay’s.
Joanne’s energetic commitment to excellence extends beyond the kitchen. She writes pastry articles and reviews cookbooks for Fine Cooking magazine. She teaches classes and advises pastry cooks both within the bakery and at area cooking schools. She and Christopher opened a Chinese restaurant called Myers + Chang in the South End neighborhood in the fall of 2007; it received a 4-star review from the Boston Globe. An avid runner, she competed in every Boston Marathon from 1991 – 2006. She is the author of four cookbooks: Flour, Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery+Cafe; Flour Too, Indispensable Recipes for the Cafe’s Most Loved Sweets and Savories; Baking with Less Sugar: Recipes for Dessert using Natural Sweeteners and Little-to-No White Sugar, and Myers+Chang at Home: Recipes from the Beloved Boston Eatery. She is currently working on her fifth cookbook Pastry Love. Joanne is the winner of the 2016 James Beard award for Outstanding Baker.
Grubstreet: A National Literary Powerhouse and Connected Writing Community
Eve Bridburg is the Founder and Executive Director of GrubStreet. Under her leadership, the organization has grown into a national literary powerhouse by expanding offerings to better educate and equip writers in the digital age, launching new, innovative programming for advanced students, and significantly expanding scholarship opportunities to ensure access.
Eve curated GrubStreet’s NEA-funded Publish it Forward lecture series and our innovative Launch Lab, led GrubStreet’s Diversity Task force, laying the foundation for GrubStreet’s next chapter, and was the driving force behind establishing the country’s first Literary Cultural District in downtown Boston.
Eve’s work has been recognized by Boston Magazine, who named her one of Boston’s 50 most powerful women in 2010, and by BostInno Magazine who gave her their 2014 Arts and Entertainment Award for driving innovation in Boston.
Having graduated from its inaugural class, Eve remains active with the National Arts Strategies Chief Executive Program, a consortium of 200 of the world’s top cultural leaders, which addresses the critical issues that face the arts and cultural sector worldwide.
Eve has presented on publishing, the future of publishing, and on what it takes to build a literary arts center at numerous conferences, including AWP, O’Reilly’s Tools of Change, GrubStreet’s own The Muse and the Marketplace, Whidbey Island Writers Conference, The Sanibel Island Writers Conference, and Writers at Work. Her essays and op-eds on publishing, the role of creative writing centers and the importance of the narrative arts have appeared in The Boston Globe, Huffington Post, Cognoscenti, Writer’s Digest and TinHouse.
Eve worked as a literary agent at The Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency for five happy years where she developed, edited, and sold a wide variety of books to major publishers. Before starting GrubStreet, she attended Boston University’s Writing program on a teaching fellowship, farmed in Oregon, and ran an international bookstore in Prague.
Image & Perception: Life, Love & Photography with Susan Symonds
Susan Symonds, Photographer and Owner of Infinity Portrait Design a full-service boutique portrait studio dedicated to photographing the moments that matter.
After living here for 30+ years, I feel like a native New Englander! My father’s family originally dates back to the 1650’s in North Andover, MA so it’s not that far of a stretch really! I basically left Rochester, NY and came to Boston to go to college in the 80’s and I have never left! Being born and raised in Rochester (Kodak country) by a guy that worked for Eastman Kodak and an avid photographer gave me a special advantage! I have always known what I wanted to be when I grew up, yes, a photographer! Wide eyed, I graduated from Endicott College armed with a degree in Photography, a Canon camera and big plans… watch out world here I come!
Fast forward to today, our studio Infinity Portrait Design is a full-service boutique portrait studio dedicated to customer service and the concept of photographing your moments that matter. We have been nurturing & defining this personalized concept for years now! My daily inspirations come from the simplest of resources usually the purely intoxicating beauty of a child’s face and the loving arms of their parents holding them close. I have continued to study the Art & Science of photography in an ongoing effort to utilize the most current techniques & teachings of many PPA industry leaders and mentors. I will say that I do miss all those magical hours in the darkroom but I have honestly only traded them for countless intimate hours with my iMac fine tuning an image to send out for final printing! This is a must know point about me My Art is not complete until it is in printed form!
I have always loved what I do from film to Photoshop. My career has explored many faces, using both analog & digital mediums and has taken me on some fabulous adventures that have given me experiences that have shaped the woman I am today. I can honestly say that I have waited my whole career for the capabilities that we have today in the digital realm but I am reminded on a daily basis about those ever so basic rules “Expose for detail in the shadows and print for details in your highlights!” That being said I just can’t wait to see what comes next in the ever-evolving art of photography!
As a Portrait Artist specializing in B&W relationship work, the constant that has remained through all of these layers of my development is that I am really passionate about making beautiful photographs of families that will live on the walls of my client’s homes for decades! For me Infinity Portrait Design is synonymous with creating timeless portraiture that you will treasure always.
You’re Stronger Than You Think: Tapping into Strengths to Push Past Shyness
Rosanne Thomas, Founder and President of Protocol Advisors, Inc. Business Etiquette and International Protocol Training, believes that “Professional Presence” is attainable by everyone. From the newly hired to executives with decades of experience, it is never too late, or too soon, to reap the very real benefits enhanced “Professional Presence” provides. Whether one is looking to land a new job or a new client, or to solidify a key relationship or get a key promotion, Rosanne empowers people to get where they want to go, in the quickest and surest fashion. Her training instills confidence, enabling professionals to sell themselves and the organizations they represent in ways that ensure the greatest level of personal, professional and financial success.
A Certified Business Etiquette and International Protocol Consultant, Rosanne began dispensing business etiquette advice more than 20 years ago at Tiffany & Co. where she was employed as a Corporate Account Executive. Rosanne was often asked for advice not only about the correct gifts to give to international clients but also how to greet and entertain customers and how to build critical business relationships. Rosanne studied business etiquette and protocol customs around the world, and shared the results of her extensive research with colleagues and clients alike. After eleven years at Tiffany & Co. as top sales producer, Rosanne gained professional Business Etiquette and International Protocol certification in 1995 and founded Protocol Advisors, Inc.
Today, Rosanne combines her wealth of experience with continuing cutting-edge research, offering learning programs that address the real issues professionals face every day. From first impression management to social media savvy, Rosanne covers all aspects of “Professional Presence” in a highly entertaining, experiential and results-oriented way. Her charm, humor, grace and expertise create enjoyable learning experiences that inspire pride, drive excellence and impact the bottom line. The results: unsurpassed personal, professional and financial achievement.
