Executive Committee
Sarah Meyerrose is the principal of SMSS LLC, a consulting company focused on improving the strategic performance and human resources practices for regional and community banks. She has held a wide variety of leadership positions during her 30 years in the banking industry, most of which were spent with First Tennessee/First Horizon National Corporation (FHN-NYSE). Sarah is a member of the inaugural Board of Visitors for the Owen School, as well as a member of Nashville CABLE and Women Business Leaders in Healthcare, among other community and service club affiliations.
Jilaine Hummel Bauer, Secretary
Jilaine Bauer, founder of Bauer Consulting, provides consultancy and project management services to organizations, helping drive strategy, manage risk and improve operating performance. She has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry as general counsel, executive officer, firm principal and business consultant. She is on the Steering Committee of Milwaukee Women inc (MWi). Jilaine has also served on the Board of Governors of the Investment Advisers Association and on various Investment Company Institute committees.
Terry is the president and CEO of Inforum (Michigan), one of the largest women’s business forums in the U.S. Previously, she served as senior VP/chief external affairs officer for Hospice of Michigan, as VP of university relations for Oakland University, and was the founder and president of Operation ABLE of Michigan. Terry earned a B.A. in Urban Studies from the College of Wooster in Ohio and Master’s from the University of Michigan. Crain’s Detroit Business named Terry one of the region’s “Most Influential Women” in 2007 and one of metro Detroit’s “40 Under 40” outstanding executives in 1992.
Sara Meyer-Davis, Member at Large
Sara Meyer-Davis founded Strategic Diversity Advisors to guide executives into a coherent integrated platform for increasing corporate profitability. She was responsible for the development and launch of the award-winning global leadership behavioral skills development program “Keys to Leadership – Unlocking Potential” for mid-level women and under-represented minorities. Sara is an active member of the Financial Women’s Association (New York), on the Steering Committee for the YWCA Academy of Women Leaders Salute and does “pro-bono” consulting for Legal Momentum.
Board of Directors
Jane Allan Bowie is the executive director of Network 2000. Prior to this role, Ms. Bowie was executive director of Santa Claus Anonymous, Inc., a nonprofit that provides gift certificates to Baltimore families in need. In addition to managing day-to-day operations, she spearheaded new direct marketing strategies, developed community awareness and initiated board development. She currently serves on the historic Lutherville Community board of directors, and is an honorary member of the Junior League of Baltimore, where she was the first full-time employed woman to serve as president from 1987 to 1989. Previously, she was a board member of Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers, Baltimore Reads Foundation and the Governor’s Council on Voluntarism Steering Committee.
In addition to serving as The Boston Club‘s President, Ms. Cavallaro is a founder of DeCava Consulting, a management consulting firm specializing in operational strategy implementation and organizational change. Previously, she was an operating executive in the telecommunications and broadband industry. She has held senior executive positions at eVisioner, Inc., Charter Communications, Century Communications, MediaOne, and SNET/ATT. Ms. Cavallaro is a former trustee of the Board of Women in Cable & Telecommunications, and a supporter of Community Servings of Boston. She has served on The Boston Club’s Corporate Board Committee since 2001 and has been its chair since 2008.
The Board Connection’s (Texas) founder and president, Melisa helps recruit executive women within three to five years of board readiness and provides programming and development opportunities to facilitate their paths to the boardroom. In addition to increasing the number of women serving on corporate boards and in the executive suites of Texas, she serves as Partner-in-Charge of the International Executive Service Practice with KPMG LLP in Dallas. Melisa was instrumental in leading the KNOW initiative helping women achieve leadership positions at KPMG. She serves on the boards of several national non-profit organizations and the Advisory Board for the College of Business at UNT.
As Director of Connections for Watermark (California), Elisa-Marie Dumas has supported more than 1,500 women in top leadership positions. She has 20 years of sales and executive recruiting experience across a variety of industries, including with executive search firms Egon Zehnder, Devine Capital Partners, and Taylor Winfield. Ms. Dumas specializes in promoting connections between executive women to expand their skills and resources, build tight networks, and help them secure funding placements, speaking engagements, and more.
Sonja Enfinger
Sonja Enfinger is the CEO of the Huntsville/Madison County franchise of The Business Card Holder, which provides local businesses with long-term advertising. She is past president of The Women’s Business Center of North Alabama and has served as a director and chair of several organizations, including Women’s Economic Development Council (Alabama), The State Board of Physical Therapy and The Salvation Army. A member and co-chair of “Young Leaders of The WEDC,” Ms. Enfinger serves on The Women’s Guild of The Huntsville Museum of Art and is a graduate of Leadership Huntsville/Madison County. She is widely recognized in the Huntsville business community as an effective civic volunteer.
Sarah Ernst
An accomplished attorney, Ms. Ernst is a partner at Alston & Bird LLP and a director for OnBoard (Georgia). Ms. Ernst concentrates her legal practice on public and private company securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financings, and joint ventures, with an emphasis in the health care sector. She also regularly advises legal clients on Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) compliance, reporting obligations and corporate governance matters.
As CEO of the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce (CWCC), Donna Evans also serves as President and CEO of Women’s Leadership Foundation (WLF, Colorado). Prior to her current position, Ms. Evans was the director of public policy and strategic partnerships for the Downtown Denver Partnership. She has also held various leadership positions in public policy, strategic planning, business development and marketing for a large technology corporation, higher education facility and non-profit organizations.
Julie GraberJulie is the CEO of The Institute on Women, an independent research institute focused on improving the lives of Ohio women and girls by serving as a data-rich resource for individuals and organizations working for strategic change. She has served as a board member and officer of numerous organizations, including serving as President of Women for Economic and Leadership Development (Ohio). In 2007, Julie was recognized by the Columbus, Ohio YWCA as a “Woman of Achievement” and is a frequent speaker on women’s leadership and power. She received an M.A. in Women’s Studies from Antioch University, McGregor and a B.S. in Retail Marketing from Ohio State University.
Cindy KushnerIn addition to founding ION Member Organization Women Executive Leadership (Florida), Cindy is a partner with Crowe Horwath LLP, where she is actively involved with its Women Into Leadership (WIL) program. She has been a tax advisor in public accounting for almost 30 years, mostly with Ernst & Young LLP. She currently serves on the Health Financial Management Association Florida board where she serves as the South Region Education Director. Cindy also serves on the United Way of Broward County’s Governance Committee and on the Advisory Board of National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) South Florida. Previously, she was a mentor in the Women of Tomorrow program for seven years, and has served on various charitable and professional committees and boards, including Florida Venture Forum and Diabetes Research Institute Foundation.
PorterPam Porter is executive vice president of strategic consulting at Opportunity Finance Network, a national membership organization for the community development financial institutions industry. At OFM, she leads the organization’s consulting practice, providing services to community development lenders, banks, foundations and social impact investors. She has three decades of experience in the business and finance sectors and is an active member of The Forum of Executive Women (Philadelphia). Ms. Porter is also a board member of Colonial American Bank and was appointed by the Department of Commerce to serve on the Board of Examiners for the Baldrige National Quality Award.
CiCi Rojas
In addition to serving as President and CEO of Central Exchange (Missouri), Ms. Rojas is vice president of community engagement for Truman Medical Centers (TMC) where she pursues innovative revenue opportunities for service and sustainability. Previously, she assisted diverse businesses as an executive for the Hispanic Chambers of Commerce in Dallas, Kansas City and Washington, D.C. In 2009, Ms. Rojas was named the Minority Corporate Business Advocate of the Year by the Dallas Business Journal. She is a recipient of the NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award presented by the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as the Girl Scouts’ Pearl Award for her exemplary professional and community achievements. An active member of her community, she serves on the boards of the Heartland Women’s Leadership Council, Metropolitan Community College’s Foundation, the BATS Exchange Listing and Hearing Review Council, among others.
Pam joined the Bush Foundation as vice president in January of 2009, where she has helped resolve public issues by engaging and developing leaders under the Foundation’s Goals for a Decade. She chairs the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota board, and the Minnesota Wild Foundation board. In addition, Pam serves on the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs Advisory Council, the board of the Minnesota Women’s Economic Roundtable and the Itasca Project. She holds a Master of Arts in Applied Economics from Marquette University in Milwaukee and a Bachelor of Arts in History from the College of Saint Catherine in St. Paul.
