 Adriana Alarcon EfrachPart-time SAHM (Stay at Home Mom), part-time interpreter. Former Mexican diplomat and Executive Director of The Latino Coalition Foundation. |
 Ann HandleyChief Content Officer at MarketingProfs, and author of acclaimed personal blog, Annarchy. Voted #1 most influential woman in social media.Ann Handley is the Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs, which provides strategic and tactical marketing know-how for marketing and business professionals through a full range of online media. She writes at the MarketingProfs Daily Fix, a blog in the top 20 of the Advertising Age Power150 and in the top 10 of The Viral Garden’s Top 25 Marketing & Social Media Blogs. She is also a contributor to The Huffington Post. Previously, she was the co-founder of ClickZ, one of the first sources of interactive marketing news and commentary. Prior to that, she spent 12 years as a business editor and writer for both local and national trade and consumer publications. |
 Ashgar MostafaPresident and Chief Executive Officer of Entourage Systems, Inc. Winner of GW’s 2008 Award for Distinguished Entrepreneurial Achievement.Asghar Mostafa is an experienced entrepreneur with an extensive business and technical background. He is President and Chief Executive Officer of Entourage Systems, Inc., which breaks the cost and technology barriers in education to bring affordable, upgradeable, exciting textbooks and content to our students. Mr. Mostafa has spent more than 25 years creating and building category-breaking technology companies. Prior to Entourage Systems, Inc., Mr. Mostafa served as founder, President and CEO of Vinci Systems which designed, manufactured and sold interoperable Broadband Optical Network Terminals (ONTs) and founded Advanced Switching Communications, Inc. (ASC) in October 1997 with the goal of revolutionizing global communications network architecture. |
 Barbara KasoffCo-Founder, President and CEO, Women Impacting Public Policy, Inc. (WIPP).Barbara Kasoff is currently the President and CEO, and Co-Founder, of Women Impacting Public Policy, Inc., a non-profit, bi-partisan public policy advocacy organization with over half a million members including 45 business organization, educating and advocating on economic issues for women in business. She has also owned and managed Voice-Tel of Michigan, Voice-Tel of Central Michigan, and Voice Response Corporation. Barbara is an active supporter for small businesses, and women and minorities in business in particular. Barbara also serves on several corporate and non-profit boards. |
 Cynthia GoodCynthia Good is the CEO, founding editor and co-owner of PINK.Cynthia Good is the CEO, founding editor and co-owner of PINK. During her last quarter-century in journalism, she has worked passionately to make a difference in the lives of women and their families. Cynthia has launched two magazines, PINK and Atlanta Woman – both winners of the Magazine Association of the Southeast’s highest award, the Grand GAMMA. Previously, Cynthia anchored and reported the evening news at TV stations across the country. She also created her own television show, Good for Parents. She has written six books in all, including Words Every Child Must Hear and Vaccinating Your Child. |
 Donna MesserCanada’s leading expert in networking. President of ConnectUs Communications Canada.Donna is President of ConnectUs Communications Canada. She also Chair for NexPro (Business Development Bank of Canada). She winner of International Leader Award and Honorary member of the Rotary Club. She is a keynote speaker, workshop coordinator and seminar leader. She works with many associations to help add value to their groups through networking. Donna also works with colleges and universities to help them expand their networks and helps students find placement. She offers workshops to many government programs, whose goal is to help the unemployed help themselves. |
 Ellen Mishkind ThrasherDirector, Office of Entrepreneurship Education, the U.S. Small Business Administration.Ellen M. Thrasher is the Director for the Office of Entrepreneurship Education, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). She serves as an advocate for entrepreneurial development through a variety of management and technical assistance programs and services designed for small business success. Ms. Thrasher also directs the Office of International Visitors, a courtesy service to foreign visitors and dignitaries showcasing for international visitors the “American small business model.” Previously, she served as Deputy Associate Administrator for the Small Business Development Center program. Ms. Thrasher is active in numerous civic and community organizations, including the Arizona State University College of Liberal Arts Alumni Leadership Board and she serves on the Advisory Board for the National Women in History Museum. |
 Eric SvendsenEditor-in-Chief for Business Publishing at Pearson EducationEric Svendsen is currently the Editor in Chief for Higher Education publishing at Pearson Education, focusing on the areas of Management, Marketing, MIS, and Decision Sciences. Eric also serves as his division’s Director of Global Publishing working to coordinate publishing efforts in Business, Engineering, and Computer Science across the globe. Eric has worked for Pearson for his entire career. He started as a sales representative in Austin, TX, then moved in house and worked as an acquisitions editor in engineering publishing for nine years. He then moved to Singapore serving as Regional Director for Pearson’s businesses in Southeast Asia, a territory comprised of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Eric was born and raised in Bangor, ME, graduated from Duke University, and currently lives in New York City. |
 Karen KerriganPresident & CEO of Women Entrepreneurs Inc., Founder of Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.Ms. Kerrigan is President and CEO of Women Entrepreneurs Inc., a nonprofit business association that helps women business owners succeed through education, networking and advocacy. In 1994, Ms. Kerrigan founded the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, a prominent and respected advocacy and research organization with more than 70,000 members nationwide. She was listed on the “Best Friends in DC” list for small business owners in Feb 2006 issue of Inc. Magazine. In May 2005 The Hill newspaper called Kerrigan “the hardest working woman in show business.” Her commentary, analysis and written work have appeared in many of the nation’s leading newspapers. She has appeared on ABC`s Nightline, The McLaughlin Group, CNN, CNBC, and Fox News Television among others. She has been a guest on hundreds of radio talk shows. |
 Lisa Osborne RossSenior vice president of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide.Lisa Osborne Ross is Senior Vice President of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. She provides strategic counsel to clients like United Way of America, NIH and the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. As evidenced by her positions at the White House Women’s Office and the Glass Ceiling Commission, Ross cares deeply about the needs of women and people of color. In 1997, Ross and a diverse and committed group of women helped establish the Washington Area Women’s Foundation (WAWF). Currently serving on the Honorary Council of WAWF, Ross stresses the importance of focusing on young girls in need. Ross is also an active member of Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, where her family attends services and her children attend the school. |
 Marc SilversteinNationally-known host of Food Network and Discovery shows. Founder and CEO of On the Marc Media.Marc Silverstein owns his media company, On The Marc Media, which specialize in marketing and public relations, video production, news release writing and distribution, media training and crisis management. Marc is nationally known host of The Best Of on Food Network and Go Ahead, Make My Dinner on The Discovery Channel. He’s a multi-talented, much on demand personality. |
 Mark Lowell OrdeskyFounder, Court Five Productions. Film producer. Credits include Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Golden Compass.Mark Lowell Ordesky is founder of the Court Five Productions. Mark was an executive producer of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and played a key role in their production. Other credits include The Golden Compass. Previously, in 1996, he helped successfully introduce Jackie Chan to U.S. audiences with the breakout hit Rumble in the Bronx. From 1998 to 2002, following the acquisition of the Oscar-winning Shine, Ordesky was president of Fine Line Features, then the speciality-film division of New Line Cinema. Mark was honored by the Chi Phi Fraternity at the 143rd Congress held in New Orleans on June 21st, 2008 with the Walter Cronkite Congressional Award. He supports the Anti-Defamation League as a Regional Board Member and Chair of its Entertainment Industry Committee. He is also a board member of the American Cinematheque. |
 Myra HartHarvard Business School Professor (retired), founding officer of STAPLES.Myra Hart is a retired professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School. Myra Hart’s research and teaching focus on high potential entrepreneurship with an emphasis on the development of critical resources and relationships. She has developed more than 60 HBS cases and teaching notes. HBS has recognized Professor Hart with the Apgar Award for innovation in teaching and the Greenhill Award for faculty leadership. Prior to joining the faculty of Harvard Business School, Hart worked in the retail industry. In 1985, she joined Tom Stemberg as one of the four founding officers of Staples, the Office Superstore. Prior to that she was Director of Marketing for Star Market, a division of Jewel Companies. |
 Sameera BazazSAHM (Stay at Home Mom) and strategic consultant, MBA, JD, CPA, former PWC & McKinsey consultant and Freemarkets Business Unit Leader.Sameera is a freelance strategy and business consultant, with expertise in business process reengineering and reorganization, vendor relationships, and legal and tax issues management. She is a former senior consultant at Price Waterhouse Coopers and McKinsey, strategic business unit leader and head of external training at FreeMarkets Inc. (now Ariba). Sameera is an MBA from Harvard University; Bachelor of Laws (J.D.) and Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney. She was also a columnist for The Times of India, India’s largest English language newspaper. |
 Sharon OliverCofounder of Meany & Oliver Companies, a commercial real estate brokerage. Commercial Realtor of the Year Award Recipient.Ms. Oliver co-founded Meany & Oliver Companies Inc. in 2004, which provides brokerage, consulting and investment services primarily to landlords in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. Ms. Oliver is a graduate from Goucher College with a B.A. in Economics and an MBA from The George Washington University. She had numerous Professional Affiliations and Awards from Greater Washington Commercial Assn. of Realtors including Realtor of the Year 1997, President in year 1997, and Top Regional Developer Agent of the Year 2004. |
 Shashi BellamkondaHead of Social/New Media Strategy at Network Solutions.Shashi Bellamkonda works for Network Solutions as the first-ever Network Solutions “Social Media Swami.” He helped Network Solutions aggressively move into the online space to listen to and interact with its customers. For this effort Network Solutions® with Livingston Communications won the 2008 SNCR Excellence in New Communications Award for Online Reputation Management/Corporate Division. A prolific Twitterer, blogger, and product innovator, Shashi loves technology, testing new things and helping people. A self-described “Internet junkie,” Shashi has presented previously on “How to Sell Social Media to Your Boss” and “Social Media tools for Small Business.” Shashi’s life’s mission is to be helpful to others and achieve dreams in installments. |
 Stacy DebroffNationally acclaimed parenting expert and bestselling author. Founder and CEO of www.MomCentral.com.In 1997, Mom Central founder and president Stacy DeBroff left a successful career as a lawyer and founder of the public interest advising office at Harvard Law School to write books for parents and spend more time with her own two children, now ages 13 and 15. She went on to become a nationally acclaimed parenting expert and bestselling author of The Mom Book Goes to School: Insider Tips to Ensure Your Child Thrives in Elementary and Middle School, SIGN ME UP! The Parent’s Complete Guide to Sports, Activities, Music Lessons, Dance Classes, and Other Extracurriculars, The Mom Book: 4,278 of Mom Central’s Tips for Moms from Moms, and Mom Central: The Ultimate Family Organizer. |
 Susan G. DuffyAssistant Professor of Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership at Simmons College.Susan is an Associate Professor of Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership at Simmons College. Susan Duffy is recognized as a source of thought and initiative in advancing entrepreneurship, developing innovative education programs, and delivering system-wide value in diverse organizations. She earned her Ph.D. from The George Washington University (GWU) in Management and Organization, a Master’s Degree in Applied Behavioral Science from the Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition Science from the Pennsylvania State University. While completing her doctorate, Susan was a faculty member of the GWU Department of Management where she served as the Executive Director of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) and the Director of the GWU Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (WEL) initiative. In 2006 WEL was recognized as the 2006 National Model Specialty Program in Entrepreneurship Education by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. In her role as the Executive Director of the ICSB, Susan worked with an international team of researchers, policy makers, educators and service providers dedicated to advancing entrepreneurship and small business worldwide. |
 Susan M. PhillipsDean of the George Washington University Business School and former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.Dr. Phillips is Dean and Professor of Finance at The George Washington University School of Business, a position she has held since 1998. She was a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from December 1991 though June 1998. Before her Federal Reserve appointment, Dr. Phillips served as Vice President for Finance and University Services and Professor of Finance in The College of Business Administration at the University of Iowa from 1987 through 1991. She is a director of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, State Farm Life Insurance Company, State Farm Companies Foundation, National Futures Association, the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the Chicago Futures Exchange. Dr. Phillips also is a trustee of the Financial Accounting Foundation. |
 Susan Wilson SolovicFounder and CEO of SBTV.com. Best-selling author: The Girl’s Guide to Building a Million Dollar Business.Susan Wilson Solovic is the CEO of SBTV.com, the Nation’s only online television network dedicated to the growing small business segment of the U.S. economy. Solovic began her professional career as a television news anchor and reporter for NBC and CBS affiliates. Subsequently, she joined a Fortune 100 company where she was named Vice President, Director of Corporate Marketing of an international asset-based lending division. Solovic is the author of the popular books, The Girls’ Guide to Power and Success and Reinvent Your Career: Attain the Success You Deserve and Desire. Additionally, Solovic hosted and produced a series of national satellite television broadcasts for women business owners in the United States and Canada and she helped to create a targeted investing program for a national brokerage firm. |