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Inclusivity Advisory Board
At Just A Girl, we use technology to foster mental health and womxn's empowerment efforts globally. To us, this means honoring and amplifying the voices of womxn of different races, ages, backgrounds, identities, abilities and beliefs in all corners of the world.
This mission is sacred and important. Something we never want to lose sight of. That's why we have an Inclusivity Advisory Board that holds us accountable to this mission. This is a collaborative, supportive, creative and fierce group of people. Diverse, intersectional and representative of the tapestry of womxn globally. Get to know this badass group of womxn below!
SAVASTI ADDISON
Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition
DoSomething.org
Savasti is an early career advocate championing equity at work and in the world-at-large. Through her work with DoSomething.org, she is inspiring and equipping the next generation of allies and advocates worldwide. She believes in the power of community and dedicates her life and work to building a better world for all.
ADITI ARORA
India Country Manager, Girl Up
Aditi is passionate about issues related to women and girls, the focus of her work with Girl Up (part of the United Nations Foundation). Her previous work included projects related to gender, health, child protection helping women in land mine affected countries. She has spoken through various platforms on women and intersecting issues at the Youth Summit on Mental Health, Confab'19, Roundtable Conference, Girl Up Leadership Summit and SynchronisMUN, etc. Aditi recently spoke about 'Capitalisation of Social Movements' at TEDxDUCIC.
KOVAL BHATIA
Filmmaker + Entrepreneur
Koval runs a women-first creative studio in India, that works with some of the largest brands and networks across the globe. She also works extensively in the field of social impact communications. She firmly believes in paying it forward by mentoring young women and supporting the sisterhood in every possible way.
FATIMATA CHAM
Originally from the Bronx, Fatimata now lives in Easton, PA attending Lafayette College. Her activism journey began in 2015 at her boarding school in Northern, New Hampshire. She noticed a missing puzzle piece in the conversation revolving around equity and education. She began leading discussions at her school about diversity and inclusion. Fatimata served as a teen advisor to the United Nations Foundation's Girl Up campaign, advocating for gender equality around the globe. Fatimata scaled up her work and became a published poet with the book Perfectly Imperfect. In her freshman year of college, Fatimata joined the Lafayette College Equity & Inclusion Committee, Lafayette Student Alumni Council and Family Weekend Committee. She is also a Kaleidoscope social justice peer educator and the president of Girl Up Lafayette as she continues to fight for a more equitable and just world.
CLAIRE FRIONA
Co-Founder + Portfolio Manager
Agricycle Global Inc.
Claire Friona is a co-founder, engineer, and Portfolio Manager of Agricycle Global, Inc., a company passionate about transforming the lives of rural women small holders through small choices and big dreams. Claire believes that all we need to lift international rural communities out of poverty is a little creative problem solving. By designing appropriate technologies for communities to preserve their food waste and transform them into value added products we are able to connect them to markets in the US. Claire founded Blue Mangoes, which eventually became Agricycle, two weeks into her freshman year of college. Two years later she works full time at Agricycle. In just those two years, she has traveled to four different countries to help build a network of over 11,000 farmers. Passionate about supporting women both abroad through her business and locally by repping women in STEM and entrepreneurship, Claire is an engineer, an entrepreneur, and at heart a humanitarian.
LYAILYA ISLAMOVA
Facilitator; Trainer
Lyailya Islamova lives and works in Kazakhstan. She's an effective communications coach, TEDx curator and women's empowerment activist. Lyailya recently founded an online social centre for youth in Kazakhstan focused on leadership, communications and entrepreneurship.
SHARANA JHANGIANI
Head of Community, Nua
Ex- Entrepreneur
Communications Consultant
With a knack for strategic brainstorming and campaign development, Sharana is a content and communications strategist. A writer at heart, she is always on the hunt for creative solutions. She is attracted to organizations that seek to create social awareness and impact, and break the boundaries of industry norm. On an individual level, she is passionate about children and education, and has had teaching experience at her alma mater as well.
NADIYAH JOHNSON
Nadiyah Johnson works at GE Healthcare as a Technical Product Manager in data analytics.
She graduated from Marquette University with a master’s in computational science and is pursuing a PHD focused on computational science and mental health. Nadiyah’s passion for diversity in STEM led her to launch Jet Constellations, a software company that promotes STEM education in Milwaukee, consults with tech-oriented startups, and builds a nurturing ecosystem of techies and entrepreneurs. As founder, Nadiyah aims to rebrand Milwaukee as “The Milky Way Tech Hub” – a tech hub representative of Milwaukee’s diverse population.
CHITRA MADHWACHARYULA
V.P Global Customer Success + Services
JOVEO
Chitra Madhwacharyula is a Customer Success and Consulting leader with close to 20 years of global professional experience spanning a wide range of business domains and countries. She considers her global exposure and perspective combined with her strong technical and business experience to be her core strengths. Chitra is passionate about empowering people with the right knowledge and tools for solving their problems and setting them up for success. She believes that trust and integrity are key to succeed in any field. She enjoys motivating teams to achieve and exceed targeted goals by adopting optimal strategy and efficient teamwork and collaboration. Chitra hold an M.S in Computer Science from National University of Singapore and M.S in Information Management from University of California at Berkeley
JEN MURRAY
Jen (pronouns: they, them, theirs) has had a longstanding career engaged in community-building among LGBTQ+ populations using an equity and justice framework. Jen has served as a mentor, advisor, informal coach, and team leader for the last 15+ years. Jen is currently the Interim Director of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) Gender and Sexuality Advocacy (encompassing work with the UWM LGBTQ+ Resource Center and Women's Resource Center). They have been connected to social, racial, and economic justice with intentionality around elevating collective high vibe healing energies. Prior to their time in higher education, Jen served as an United States Peace Corps volunteer focused on community population health (specifically maternal/child health) and ahead of that worked with the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (now Vivent Health). Jen continues on the path of being a lifelong learner expanding their values of joyful optimism, loving kindness, and nurturing connectedness.
ISIOMA NWABUZOR
Speaker, Attorney + Advocate
A dynamic powerhouse, Attorney Isioma Nwabuzor (pronounced “E-see-o-muh Wah-boo-zur”) is a corporate attorney by trade, negotiating deals for an international, financial services company. Isioma’s dedication to her career is matched by her dedication to her community. As a DREAMer, she personally understands the social and institutional immigration issues in the U.S. That's why Isioma founded the #DREAMerNextDoor Scholarship Program in 2019, providing scholarships to students left out of traditional financing for their college education because of their legal status.
Isioma is a firm believer in “paying it forward” and has a particular soft spot for youth in urban communities. She currently serves in various capacities, including as a Rotarian, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and volunteers with the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee.
NANDITHA RAGHAVAN
Nanditha is a Global Marketing Leader with expertise at the intersection of marketing, product, and strategy for high-growth, early & late-stage technology startups. As an advocate and ambassador of several international social enterprises, she hopes to cultivate lasting behavioral changes among individuals and organizations in the field of mental health, sustainability, green innovation, peer-to-peer mentoring and entrepreneurship support. She is equally passionate about building communities and ecosystems that nurture and incubate world-changing ideas.
ANDI SCIACCA
Founder + Executive Director
Andi Sciacca is an advocate for access, education, and equity – and a proud #MKEpreneur. She is currently leading the development of the MKE Food School – a center for learning, innovation, community-building, and resource-sharing, working to create the space for an inspired and inclusive conversation around Milwaukee's community table. She also teaches for the Milwaukee Institute of Art + Design and leads the graduate curriculum for the Food Business School of The Culinary Institute of America.
ANANYA SINGH
Communication Specialist
Founder, Moderne Mag
Ananya is a writer, a communication specialist, and Founder of a homegrown e-magazine on gender and culture. She is passionate about social justice and intersectional feminism. Ananya's goal is to create a safe space for conversations around culturally taboo and systemically overlooked topics surrounding mental health, intersectionality and womxn oppression, especially in the South-east Asian community. She is also a chronic illness fighter and an animal rescuer + feeder in her local community. When not working or backpacking solo, Ananya can be found in a small Indian town with her two cats and a dog, sipping red wine & writing poetry.
LYDIA SMITH
Lydia creates spaces that inspire and encourage people to be their most authentic selves. Her passion for strategic planning has been a major player for success throughout her career, taking pride in her ability to drive change & innovation across organizations and communities. Lydia started her career in Information Technology (IT), earning a lean Six Sigma Black belt in GE Healthcare's Quality organization. Since then, she's pursued her passion for Diversity + Inclusion, leading strategic initiatives that add value and authenticity. Lydia is an intuitive, inclusive and creative leader that creates meaningful change in a challenging world.
SABRINA STANGLER
Software Engineer + Founder of Socius
Sabrina is an innovator, visionary, and code wrangler. She's passionate about solving problems and crafting opportunities to advance underserved communities. Her skillset lies in strategic thinking, connecting the dots + adapting to new situations. Sabrina is the intersection of technology, innovation, and activism.
ALINA THAI
Threat Intelligence Analyst
Alina is working in cybersecurity, research, and mentoring and is based in Charlotte, NC. As an advocate for education and inclusivity in STEM careers, she is interested in setting up a minority mentorship program. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, painting, and reading.
SUDEBI THAKURATA
Meta-facilitator, Imaginative Innovator
+ Provocative Inter-Weaver
Sudebi is a narrative designer, creative facilitator, thinker, educator, futurist + writer. She designs experiences, engagement + environment globally that allow people to think, have dialogue, make their thinking + interaction visible, thus enabling them to design their own solutions + narratives using different modes + media. She emphasizes socially, environmentally &culturally relevant issues, inter-weaving design thinking, imagination, complex systems thinking, pedagogy, crafts, visual + performing arts, oral history, ethnography + research to design inclusive possibilities. Sudebi brings in inquiry-driven, immersive, context-based design + transdisciplinarity into her work. As a faculty member at Srishti Institute of Art, Design + Technology in India, Sudebi has co-founded the transdisciplinary design collective, Depicentre, and has also started a unique pedagogy, art + design-led trans-local inquiry-driven initiative “The Archival City-a Site of Learning.’
IRISSOL ARCE
Senior Director, Diversity + Inclusion
Northwestern Mutual
Irissol is a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) champion with a reputation for building bridges, breaking down barriers, and forging new paths. As Senior Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Northwestern Mutual, she combines 20+ years of experience in international business, tech, community impact, and workforce culture development to offer strategic direction, thought leadership, and targeted DEI strategies with a focus on leadership development, advancing women and supporting underestimated talent. Outside of Northwestern Mutual, Arce is the founder of @thelearnup focused on DEI and intersectionality in leadership. She’s a trusted coach to senior leaders looking to improve their effectiveness and ability to lead diverse teams.
ANSHIKA ARORA
Change Maker
Anshika is an International Higher Education Professional who is certified in Nutrition, Leadership and Well-Being. She is an advocate of lifelong learning and a true believer in the magic of kindness. She holds a master's degree from the London School of Economics in Media and Communication. In her free time she likes to play the Ukele, admire nature, read and organize the things around her. Her aim in life is to make sure every girl around her and around the world is confident - to speak up, to own her worth and to change the world.
CHRISTIE CARTER
Older Adult Program Coordinator
MKE LGBT Community Center
Christie began her career in the field of education, teaching English Language Learning adults, high and middle school students. Although she has always been an advocate, she had no idea how much her advocating opportunities would expand once receiving her Masters of Science in Education, focusing on Instructional Design. This allowed her to pair two topics near and dear to her heart, in her work. Christie is part of both the LGBT and disability communities and uses her personal experiences in both of these groups to aid in advocating for the older adults she works with every day. There are definite intersections within these groups and she believes the best way to advocate is to educate.
UMAIMA EHTASHAM
Senior Program Leader
Piramal Foundation
Umaima Ehtasham is a Senior Program Leader at Piramal Foundation. In her current capacity she is developing and implementing solutions for Rural Govt. school students to become innovators and problem-solvers (i.e 'future ready' using project-based-learning pedagogies). Sustainable development, education, women empowerment and tech are domains which she loves exploring. As a minimalist and a sustainable living practitioner, she believes that life should be lived in cohesion with the environment. Love and Hope are her two most favourite four letter words. She is a Gandhi Fellow, a Climate Reality Leader and Mentor as well. People often say that she brings a smile to every person she speaks to and life to every room she walks into.
JACKIE HERMES
Jackie Hermes is the CEO of Accelity, a Milwaukee-based agency that helps software-as-a-service (SaaS) startups get to revenue and grow faster, and a co-founder of Women’s Entrepreneurship Week. Very active on LinkedIn, Jackie sparks discussions about the daily life and challenges of growing a bootstrapped company. An advisor to early-stage startups, Jackie is a mentor at The Commons, a co-organizer of Startup Milwaukee EMERGE, and a member of the Golden Angels Advisors. In addition to her professional involvement, Jackie is an adoptive foster mama and future pilot.
JAHANVI J
Mental Health Activist
A geek at heart with spirit of a child, Jahanvi is a constantly evolving woman. She is a mental health activist determined to build safer spaces for conversations about mental health issues. Having a Bipolar disorder herself, she loves sharing and knowing the stories of people, especially women, struggling with the same issues. She aspires to be a feminist mental health researcher. And when not debating, you can find her glued to Netflix, planning her next vacation or just jumping around with excitement for no reason.
ANDREA HUBBERT
Co-Founder, The Solopreneur Society
Andrea was a disruptor at an early age. Just ask her middle school teachers who sent her home with daily report cards because she wouldn’t stop talking in class. Having learned to channel her methods, while holding onto her spirit, Andrea is now co-founder of The Solopreneur Society where she helps her clients wield their unique brand personalities to break through the noise within their markets to attract their kindred audiences. Her balance of egg-head analysis and non-conforming creativity has given her the pleasure of steering marketing communications strategies for organizations of all types — from the smallest non-profits to large Fortune 120 companies. She’s even had the honor of working on behalf of a client who was part of a U.S. presidential inauguration.
In her 20+ year award-winning career Andrea has always stood for connection to people… connection to community… and connection to the greater good. And she always will.
CHRISTINE MULLER
LGBTQ+ Autism Activist; Specialized Client Services, Northwestern Mutual
Christine took a while to find herself. But when she did, she became unstoppable. She has spoken on numerous panel's as part of Northwestern Mutual's LGBTQ+ employee resource group. Additionally, she managed to successfully advocate for an expansion of gender neutral bathrooms at the company. Outside of her job, Christine speaks about what it's like to be on the Autism Spectrum. She has a passion for helping people not only around her, but all over the world.
BUYA MUKONZO
Buya likes to give disadvantaged women a voice and help young women and girls find meaning and purpose. She is the Executive Director of the Empower HER Initiative, a nonprofit that works in western Kenya to advance the rights of women and girls. As an independent consultant on gender and development, Buya's experience runs deep, designing programs focused on protection (GBV, SGBV, and FGM), advocacy, socioeconomic youth, women's empowerment, civic leadership and governance, nutrition, health and HIV, sexual/reproductive health rights, and water sanitation and hygiene. She's been honored as a champion of change and an exemplary leader in Africa by organizations across the continent.
SARAH NOBLE
Sarah's work is centered on healing and wellness. The BeNoble Group works in partnership with those committed to supporting the healing and wellness of individuals who lead collectively.
She has held many leadership positions, including Founder and former Executive Director of the Reproductive Justice Collective. Sarah conscientiously works for justice with countess numbers of leaders, with an intentional focus on women of color and their families.
SASHA J. PARSONS WATERS
Corporate + Social Event Planner
Marquette University + Sasha J. Events
Sasha’s superpower is helping others reach their goals, whether it is developing leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs at Marquette University or by producing epic events for corporations and individuals as the owner and lead consultant at Sasha J. Events. At Marquette, Sasha builds a culture of inclusive innovation by creating inspirational events and professional development opportunities for women, minorities and others currently underrepresented in leadership and entrepreneurship. As Owner of Sasha J. Events, she brings to life unique events that build a sense of community. Sasha's passion for helping others achieve their goals stems from her background as a Human Resources Professional, entrepreneurial experience founding her own event planning company and her long history of facilitating youth development programs.
TARA RAHMANI
Tara is an innovator, empath and design thinker. As a former University Innovation Fellow for Standford, she collaborated with Zoomers from across the country, challenging stereotypes and bringing new ways of thinking to life. Tara believes in the power of radical compassion and actively uses her voice as a proud Persian woman to foster an environment for change within ourselves, our teams and our communities.
KRITHIKA RAM
Trustee + Advisor, SURE Trust, India
Krithika is a development professional with 14 years of experience in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Nonprofit Management. She is presently also leading the operations for Feminist Approach to Technology. She served as Program Director for WEConnect International in India. With a sound understanding of supplier diversity and inclusion, Krithika mentors women entrepreneurs, as a part of GIZ and UNWomen's accelerator programs. She is passionate about guiding and mentoring nonprofits in setting up their systems and processes for organizational sustainability.
SWAGATA SEN
Gender Equality Activist
Founder, Rights of Equality
A clinical researcher by training, Swagata is passionate about research, blogging, activism, and philanthropy. She is the founder of a digital activism platform, "Rights of equality" to promote gender equality and women empowerment. Swagata is a strong believer in socio-cultural inclusivity and empathetic leadership. She is a board member of the United Nations Association (UNA) USA's San Francisco Chapter and the director of the Young Professionals for Sustainable Development Goals Seminar Series.
PRAGATI SINGH
Doctor, SRHR professional
Pragati Singh is a medico by qualification, and a sexuality, asexuality and non-sexuality thought leader from India. Her work around redefining diversity, inclusion, sex-positivity and feminist thought has won her numerous awards and accolades. In 2019, she was recognized by the BBC as one of the 100 most inspiring, influential, and innovative women of the world. Apart from individual consultations, she does her advocacy work through research, awareness campaigns, workshops, meetups & training across the world.
AQSEER SODHI
Aqseer Sodhi is a psychotherapist, trainer and writer based in New Delhi. She is passionate about hacking therapy through creating culturally relevant content, and scaling peer support. Her therapy work is focused on getting clients into their bodies, and in touch with their attachment styles. She specializes in personality disorders, and recovery from codependent relationships.
AAHUTI SEJPAL
Social Media Consultant + Advocate for Underprivileged Girls
Aahuti has a background in Psychology and Digital Business. She has over two years of experience working in digital marketing with travel start ups. She used to volunteer for a Mumbai based NGO as an English teacher for underprivileged women for two years. This is when she realized her passion for empowering young girls. She has traveled to 27 countries and lived in 3 of them. With her global exposure and experience in digital studies, she aims to bring about a digital change by empowering women across the globe.
SAUMYA SUDHIR
Innovation Consultant,
Workshop Facilitator + Mentor
Saumya works in Technology and Innovation Consulting in Delhi, India. Having lived in seven countries and grown up speaking four languages, she loves learning about cultures and meeting new people. In the workplace, she’s spearheaded initiatives to enhance the representation of women in leadership positions, celebrate LGBTQ+ identities and amplify the voices of people of color. In her free time, she spends her time writing, doing yoga, and conducting virtual workshops with Indian teenagers from marginalized communities on topics like gender equality and ethics.
CHRISTINA WEGNER
VP of Marketing, The Vollrath Company
I am on my journey to becoming a social change advocate at home, in my community and at work.
I am an ally. An advocate for my friends of color, LGBTQ community and those that don’t have access to the platform that my privilege offers me. I am a lifelong learner. I know that I have work to do to be anti-racist and I’m passionate about the journey I am on. I am an outdoors person. I enjoy spending time outdoors and in the mountains with my family and friends. Camping, hiking, skiing. I am a wife, mother, sister, daughter, granddaughter, niece and friend. In my career and schooling, I work as a marketer and love working in the space. I have worked in professional and collegiate sports, the plumbing industry, the financial services industry and most recently the foodservice industry.