Lois E. Silverman
Founding Chair

The Commonwealth Institute

Mrs. Silverman’s professional career has spanned over 30 years in business where she is most well recognized as one of the first women in Massachusetts to take a company public.  In 1988, she founded CRA Managed Care (now Concentra Managed Care), a provider of services to reduce the costs of workers' compensation, automobile, disability and health insurance claims. She served as Chairman of the Board of the public company from 1994 to September 1997 and as CEO from 1988 to 1995.

Mrs. Silverman has extended her business expertise and philanthropy to the 1997 founding of The Commonwealth Institute, a dynamic non-profit committed to helping women entrepreneurs and senior executives build successful companies.

In October of 2005, Mrs. Silverman became the first woman chair of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She is a director of Fiduciary Trust Company and Immunetics, Inc., a former trustee at Brandeis University, a corporator at Simmons College, a member of the Chairman's Cabinet at the Hebrew SeniorLife and a director of Kramer Senior Services Agency and Morse Geriatric Center in Florida.

She has received numerous honors for her business acumen and leadership abilities.  In 2003, she was named to the Top 100 Most Influential Women in Boston by Boston Magazine. In the fall of 2005, she received the Philanthropic Innovator Award from The Committee of 200 and was chosen as a Woman Who Makes a Difference from the International Women’s Forum.  She received her nursing degree from Beth Israel Hospital in 1961, an honorary undergraduate degree from Simmons College in 2002, and an honorary doctorate from Babson College in 2003.

Phyllis S. Swersky

Vice Chair
The Commonwealth Institute

Phyllis Swersky is President of The MelTech Group, which provides a broad range of business advisory services to the CEOs and executive management teams of growing companies. Phyllis draws on two decades of hands-on executive management and financial experience in computer software and service companies, including a pioneering role in the meteoric growth of Cullinet software. As president of several companies, she specialized in developing and integrating the strategy, infrastructure, management talent and culture needed to drive organizations from one stage of profitable growth to the next. She serves on a number of public and private boards, including Art Technology Group, Inc.; Investors Financial Services Corporation; and the Northeastern University Board of Overseers.

Beverly Edgehill
President & CEO

The Partnership Inc.

Bev Edgehill is The President and CEO of The Partnership, Inc. Previously she was Vice President, Organizational Effectiveness, at Fidelity Investments, Boston, MA. In her role at Fidelity, she served as an internal OD consultant to business leaders around organizational planning and leadership issues, such as clarifying their vision for success, building organizational alignment to the vision, and increasing overall personal leadership effectiveness. Additionally, she provided individual leadership coaching to business leaders and serves as a peer coach to HR colleagues on utilizing organizational and individual assessment, diagnostic activities, and intervention design strategies. While at Fidelity Investments, Bev also led the design and development of several flagship management and leadership development programs for managers, directors and vice presidents.

Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Bev directed the Management and Organizational Development department for Bradlees Department Stores. For twenty years, she has served in various management and organization development roles, applying program planning, and adult and group learning practices in the public sector, retail, high technology, insurance and financial services industries. As an independent consultant some of Bev's clients included Liberty Mutual, Aetna Life Insurance Co., Marshalls Department Stores, and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

Bev has been a speaker on leadership and women's career development topics at several national conferences. She holds an M.Ed. from the University of Massachusetts, and is currently completing her doctoral dissertation at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests are related to career women and their approach to learning and achieving career success.

Grace Keeney Fey

Chair

The Commonwealth Institute

Grace Keeney Fey is an Executive Vice President and Director of Frontier Capital Management Company, a $5.4 billion investment management firm located in Boston , Massachusetts . In 1988 she joined Frontier Capital to spearhead the firm's efforts in the wealthy individual and Endowment and Foundation areas. She currently manages Large Capitalization portfolios for institutional and individual clients. Ms. Fey also serves as a member of Frontier's management committee, overseeing policies and management goals for the firm.

Ms. Fey is a chartered Financial Analyst and she is a member of the CFA Institute (formerly AIMR) and the Boston Security Analysts Society. She is a member of the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA), and a member of the Social Investment Forum. Ms. Fey has been featured in Business Week , USA Today , The Wall Street Journal , Forbes , Wall Street Transcript , and Financial Planning on Wall Street , and is a frequent guest on CNBC and CNN/FN. She teaches seminars on topics such as “Managing Money for Endowments and Foundations”.

Ms. Fey, formerly Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the University of Massachusetts , now serves on the Board of Trustees and is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Zoo New England ( Franklin Park and Stone Zoos). Ms. Fey is also a former member of the Board of Higher Education, which oversees State and Community colleges. She is a Director of The Commonwealth Institute, a Director of the BankAmerica Celebrity Series, a Director of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, a Trustee of the Huntington Theatre, a Trustee of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and an Overseer of the Boston Center for Adult Education. Ms. Fey also is on the Advisory Council of Junior Achievement. She is a member of the Massachusetts Women's Forum, the Boston Club, and the St. Botolph Club. Her public board experience includes Tucker Anthony, where she served on the Finance Committee, and Bioject Medical Technologies, where she served on the Audit Committee.

Carol Fulp
John Hancock Financial Services, Inc.

Carol Fulp is the Vice President of Community Relations at John Hancock Financial Services. Fulp oversees John Hancock's corporate giving program, ensuring that Boston youth who are most in need are served. With one of the largest corporate volunteer programs in Boston, John Hancock became the first Massachusetts based company to be awarded the national Award for Excellence in Corporate Community Outreach by the Points of Light Foundation in 2003. Prior to joining John Hancock, Fulp served as Community Services/Human Resources Director for WCVB-TV, ABC-TV's Boston affiliate. Prior to WCVB-TV, she was Manager of Employee Relations at the Gillette Company.

Fulp has received a number of awards for her community outreach efforts, including the African American Achievement Award from Boston Mayor Menino, the Pinnacle Award from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers Award and the New England Women's Leadership Award from the Colonel Daniel Marr Boys and Girls Club.

Fulp was appointed by Mayor Menino as a co-chair of Boston 2004, the organization formed to bring the Democratic National Convention to Boston . She is the founder Great Encounters For Girls, a non-profit organization which provides scholarships for girls to attend summer camp. She is a trustee of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and John F. Kennedy Library and Museum as well as a member of the board of overseers for Boston Symphony Orchestra and WGBH-TV. She also serves on the Women's Leadership Board of the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Fulp is a graduate of the University of the State of New York . She resides in Newton , Massachusetts with her husband, C. Bernard Fulp, Chairman of GoBiz Solutions and Founder of Middlesex Bank & Trust Company.

Carol R. Goldberg
President

The AVCAR Group, Ltd.

Carol R. Goldberg is President of The AVCAR Group, Ltd., a private investment and consulting firm.

Prior to founding The AVCAR Group in 1990 with her husband, she was the President and COO of The Stop & Shop Companies, Inc. where she spent thirty years in various positions from Marketing to Operations before Stop & Shop was sold to Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts in 1988.

Over the past twenty years, she also served on a number of other public boards, such as The Gillette Company, The Putnam Fund Groups, Lotus Development Corporation, Cowles Media, The Courier Journal and Louisville Times, The Bingham Companies and The Stop & Shop Companies.

She is presently active in a broad array of community and civic activities, including the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Bay United Way; the Executive Committee of The Combined Jewish Philanthropies; the Board of Overseers, Tufts University College of Citizenship and Public Service; Co-chair of the Board of Women Studies Brandeis University.  Goldberg was also a founding member of The Commonwealth Institute, an organization devoted to helping women entrepreneurs grow their businesses.

She received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Jackson College in 1955, attended The Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 1969, and was a Visitor in Residence at the Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College in 1990-1991, where she collaborated with Dawn-Marie Driscoll on their book “Members of the Club – The Coming of Age of Executive Women.” It was published in 1993 by Free Press.

She is married to Avram J. Goldberg and has a son Joshua, a daughter Deborah, a son-in-law Michael Winter, a grandson, Evan and a granddaughter, Meredith.

Her favorite pastimes are golf, travel, tennis with the kids, and walking.

Linda Kanner

Linda Kanner is a serial entrepreneur and advisor to CEOs of early-stage, high-growth companies. She is a founding partner of The Orchard Group, which operates as a turnkey advisory board to early-stage technology companies. Most recently she was CEO of HBN Shoe, a venture-funded footwear technology company. Prior to that, she was involved in two venture-funded Internet companies, first as CEO of First Business Financial (now OneCore.com) and then as COO of edu.com, which she co-founded in 1998 with her son, raising $40 million and growing the company to 125 people before it was sold. She is presently assisting him again in launching a sports marketing company, with its first offering a sports-entertainment DVD – "City of Champions: Best of Boston Sports."

Previously she held senior positions in marketing and general management at large multi-national companies, including Bank of Boston, where she was Division Executive of Retail Products and Consumer Credit, Bank of New England, where she was EVP of Retail Banking, and J. Baker Inc. where she was Group EVP of Footwear and International Sourcing, and subsequently President of Parade of Shoes.

An active board member of both private and not-for-profit organizations, she serves on the board/advisory boards of several early-stage companies and is on the board of The Commonwealth Institute. She is an overseer of both the Huntington Theatre Company and the Beth Israel-Deaconess Hospital/Care Group, where she serves on the Research Advisory Board. She is actively engaged as an Executive in Residence at Babson College, advising MBA field consulting teams.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration

Harvard Business School

Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School, where she specializes in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change. Her strategic and practical insights have guided leaders of large and small organizations worldwide for over 25 years, through teaching, writing, and direct consultation to major corporations and governments. The former Editor of Harvard Business Review (1989-1992), Professor Kanter has been named to lists of the “50 most powerful women in the world” (Times of London), and the “50 most influential business thinkers in the world” (Accenture and Thinkers 50 research). In 2001, she received the Academy of Management’s Distinguished Career Award for her scholarly contributions to management knowledge, and in 2002 was named “Intelligent Community Visionary of the Year” by the World Teleport Association. Her current work continues her focus on the transformation of major institutions such as global corporations, health care delivery systems, and other organizations seeking innovative new models.

Professor Kanter is the author or co-author of 16 books, which have been translated into 17 languages. Her latest book, Confidence: How Winning Streaks & Losing Streaks Begin & End (a New York Times business and #1 Business Week bestseller), describes the culture and dynamics of high-performance organizations as compared with those in decline, and shows how to lead turnarounds, whether in businesses, hospitals, schools, sports teams, community organizations, or countries. Her classic prizewinning book, Men & Women of the Corporation (C. Wright Mills award winner for the year’s best book on social issues) offered insight to countless individuals and organizations about corporate careers and the individual and organizational factors that promote success; a spin-off video, A Tale of ‘O’: On Being Different, is among the world’s most widely-used diversity tools; and a related book, Work & Family in the United States, set a policy agenda (in 2001, a coalition of university centers created the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award in her honor for the best research on work/family issues). Another award-winning book, When Giants Learn to Dance, showed many companies worldwide how to master the new terms of competition at the dawn of the global information age. World Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economy identified the rise of new business networks and analyzed the benefits and tensions of globalization; it has guided public officials and civic leaders in developing strategies and skills for the economy of the future.

She has received 22 honorary doctoral degrees, as well as numerous leadership awards and prizes for her books and articles; for example, her book The Change Masters was named one of the most influential business books of the 20th century by Financial Times. Through Goodmeasure Inc., the consulting group she co-founded, she has partnered with IBM to bring her leadership tools, originally developed for businesses, to public education as part of IBM’s award-winning Reinventing Education initiative. She is an adviser to the CEOs of large and small companies, has served on numerous business and non-profit boards and national or regional commissions, and speaks widely, often sharing the platform with Presidents, Prime Ministers, and CEOs at national and international events, such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Before joining the Harvard Business School faculty, she held tenured professorships at Yale University and Brandeis University and was a Fellow at Harvard Law School, simultaneously holding a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Her latest initiative involves the development and creation of an innovative institute for advanced leadership, to ensure that successful leaders at the top of their professions can apply their skills not only to managing their own enterprises but also to helping solve the most challenging national and global problems.

Karen Kupferberg

President

Millwood Management Solutions, Inc.

Karen Kupferberg joined Axeda in December 2004 and was responsible for all of the company's financial, accounting, and legal functions in addition to managing investor relations, information systems and procurement activities. Prior to joining Axeda, Ms. Kupferberg served as President of Millwood Management Solutions, an independent professional services practice consulting to top management of small/mid-size companies, with a focus on the assessment and improvement of business operations.

Ms. Kupferberg started Millwood Management in 2004 after spending over five years with EMC Corporation, where she served as vice president and corporate controller. During her tenure she led a company-wide initiative to improve profitability and lower annual operating costs, which resulted in an annualized revenue break-even reduction of $2 billion. She also served as financial lead on several acquisitions and was instrumental in building EMC's finance infrastructure during a period when revenues grew from $2.9 billion to $8.9 billion.

Prior to joining EMC, Ms. Kupferberg held a number of key finance and accounting positions with Digital Equipment Corporation, including vice president of internal audit, where the team she led won "best in class" recognition from Financial Executive magazine. She began her career on Wall Street as a securities analyst for E.F. Hutton.

Ms. Kupferberg serves on a number of for-profit and non-profit boards, including the Board of Fiduciary Trust Company (Chair, Audit Committee), Old Mutual (US) Trust Company (Chair, Audit Committee), The Commonwealth Institute (Treasurer), and the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (Chair, Audit/Finance Committee).

She holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a BS in Mathematics from Trinity College. She is also a graduate of the Executive Program in International Business Management at Columbia University.

Lois L. Lindauer

Director
Lois L. Lindauer Searches

Lois L. Lindauer is the Director of Lois L. Lindauer Searches, a retained executive search firm with an exclusive focus on positions in the nonprofit sector. LLLS serves large entities and small mission-driven organizations in the education, healthcare, social service and arts sectors. Her associated activities include the founding and running of Sisters in Development, a networking group that offers women of color, who work in development, the opportunity to meet for support, inspiration and career advancement and also the co-founding and leading of The Forum for Women Leaders of Nonprofit Organizations, a year-long peer advisory group for Executive Directors. A serial entrepreneur, Ms. Lindauer was the Founder and Director of The Diet Workshop and was the first woman in the United States to grow a service business through the franchise system of distribution.

Irma Fisher Mann

Founder
IRMA, Inc.

Irma Fisher Mann, recognized as a leading marketing expert in the travel and hospitality industry, is the founder of IRMA, Inc., a marketing communication and consulting firm specializing on both hospitality and education. She previously formed ISM Strategic Marketing, which she developed into the largest woman-owned marketing agency in New England, before selling the firm in 1999. Irma is a Governor of the New England Medical Center, Chairman of the Board of the Boston University School of Hospitality, a Trustee and Chairman Emeritus of Emerson College and an International Overseer for Tufts University. She is a founding member of The Boston Club and has been named NEWBO (New England Women Business Owners) Women of the Year. The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International awarded Irma its Lifetime Achievement Award and more recently inducted her into its Hall of Fame, the highest honor awarded by the hotel industry.

Barbara Marx

Co-CEO

Legal Insight Media, Inc.

Barbara Marx is Co-CEO of Legal Insight Media, Inc,  a marketing  services company that helps law firms differentiate themselves. She heads up the company's strategic marketing practice that focuses on messaging and positioning to help law firms  enhance their recruiting, practice development and marketing  programs. The company also produces TrueView Web videos and podcasts that help convey a firm's distinct personality.  Prior to Legal Insight, she consulted with a broad range of national and international corporations, institutions and professional service firms on branding.  She has done work for AT&T, BBN, Boston Stock Exchange, Computervision, Digital Equipment, Fidelity Investments, Lotus Development, Northeastern University, Polaroid, Scientific-Atlanta and N.V. Philips.  She has held of variety of executive positions including Vice President of Strategic Marketing for Fidelity Investments retirement business and SVP & general manager of Hill and Knowlton (H&K) New England.

Ms. Marx is a past president of the Boston Club, the city's largest organization of professional women, and currently serves on the Board of the Commonwealth Institute,  She  holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin and an MS in communications from Boston University.  

Evelyn Murphy
President
The WAGE Project, Inc.

Evelyn Murphy is the President of The WAGE Project, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating gender wage discrimination in the workplace. As a Resident Scholar at the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis
University, she recently published Getting Even: Why Women Don’t Get Paid Like Men and What To Do About It.  Dr. Murphy is a PhD economist, former Lt. Governor of Massachusetts, and former
Executive Vice President of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts. She is a corporate director of SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance Company, a nationwide financial services company headquartered in New York City, and Citizens Energy Corporation located in Boston. Among her civic roles, she is a Trustee of Regis College, a member of the Board of Visitors of the Boston University School of Public Health, a member of the Advisory Board of Pfizer Women’s Health,
Chair Emerita of the National Center for Women and Aging, and Honorary Chair of the Lost Coin Women’s Fund. She is a member of the International Women’s Forum, the Boston Club and annually co-chairs the million dollar fundraiser for
Rosie’s Place, a homeless women’s shelter. Listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Politics, Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in American Women, she is the recipient of ten honorary degrees and numerous civic and public
service awards.

Linda Paresky, Ph.D.

Linda Paresky is an entrepreneur, educator and leader of women’s initiatives. A pioneer in the travel industry, Linda Paresky has profoundly impacted the business of travel. In 1965 she co-founded Crimson Travel in Cambridge, MA and, through internal growth and mergers, became co-chairman and owner of Thomas Cook Travel, USA, the third largest travel agency in the country. When American Express acquired Thomas Cook in 1994, she became a Senior Vice President of American Express.

Understanding the value of a skilled industry workforce, in 1975 she founded the Travel Education Center, a nationally accredited travel school that launched the careers of thousands of travel professionals. She also created the first accredited travel training program on the internet.

A noted industry columnist and advocate, Ms. Paresky served on many travel boards including the Research Issues Task Force of the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism, the Academy of Travel and Tourism and the Travel Business Roundtable. Working Woman Magazine and the National Foundation of Women Business Owners named her one of the “Top 50 Women Business Owners."

From her roots as a graduate of a women’s college, she has been deeply committed to the notion of women helping other women. She is past chair of the board of trustees of Simmons College (a women’s college with graduate programs in education, business, social work, library and information science and health studies), and chair emerita of the Committee of 200 Foundation (an organization devoted to mentoring and supporting the next generation of women business leaders). She is a founding director of the Commonwealth Institute (which helps women entrepreneurs grow their businesses); a past chapter president of the International Women’s Forum; a director of the Thyroid Foundation of America; and former member of the Investment and Services Policy Advisory Committee (INSPAC) to the US Trade Commissioner.

She was a keynote speaker and national judge for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and has received numerous awards for leadership and service.

Ms. Paresky holds a bachelor’s degree from Simmons College, a master’s degree from Harvard University, a PhD from Boston College.  She is also the recipient of two honorary degrees.

Colette A.M. Phillips

President & CEO
Colette Phillips Communications, Inc.

Colette Phillips is President and CEO of Colette Phillips Communications, Inc. Colette was one of the first people of color to succeed in public relations and marketing communications in Boston, and her firm helps clients increase their market share among the region's fastest growing consumer groups -- women, Blacks, Hispanics and Asians. Her expertise on public relations, multicultural marketing and workplace diversity issues have made her a sought-after commentator in the national media. Among her many honors is a listing in Who's Who among Black Americans. Colette conceived and helped found the Black/Jewish Economic Roundtable, was a founding member of the Boston Chapter of the Coalition of 100 Black Women and serves as a board member for a number of organizations. She is the author of 21 Steps for Women to Win, a compact inspirational guide for women entrepreneurs.

Pamela D.A. Reeve

Pamela D. A. Reeve joined the founding group at Lightbridge in 1989, became CEO in 1993, took the company public in 1996 and remained with the company through August 2004. Prior to joining Lightbridge, Reeve held senior management positions at the Boston Consulting Group and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Reeve is a member of the board of trustees of the Massachusetts Software Council (former chair), the Massachusetts Telecom Council and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (also GBCC Executive Committee); a director of Natural Microsystems (NASDAQ: NMSS) and American Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT); vice chair of the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization and a member of the International Women's Forum and the Radio Club of America. Reeve also serves on the Bentley College Graduate School Advisory Council and the advisory boards of Sovereign Bank and The Boston Club. She is a founding member of the Winchester Community Service Foundation.

Reeve was chosen as the 2000 Entrepreneur of the Year in Software and Technology by Ernst & Young and 2002 CEO of the Year by the Massachusetts Telecom Council.

Reeve earned her MBA degree, with distinction, from the Harvard Business School in 1978, and received her undergraduate degree with honors from the University of Georgia . She has four children, has coached soccer for over 20 years and has been active in her community soccer clubs and the Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association.

Susan Lewis Solomont

Senior Fellow
The Philanthropic Initiative, Inc

Susan Lewis Solomont is a Senior Fellow at The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI), a not for profit consulting firm that advises individuals, family foundations and corporations on how to design philanthropy programs that create meaning and impact. Susan has worked closely with the board of trustees and grantees of the foundations she works with to develop entrepreneurial approaches to private philanthropy. Susan also works with a number of corporate clients. She has expertise in board relations and governance, program design, program implementation and evaluation. She has helped to develop focused, thoughtful and results-oriented approaches to charitable giving and community engagement.

Prior to joining TPI, Susan had an independent consulting company which worked with numerous not for profit organizations, helping them with board relations and capacity building strategies.

Susan worked for 18 years at WGBH TV and Radio as the Director of Corporate Development, where she successfully raised funds for WGBH's premier TV and Radio programs, raising over $35 million annually from local and national companies.

Susan believes in being an active citizen in the communities where she lives. She is an active trustee on many boards and most recently served as Chair of the Board of the New England Aquarium. She is currently the co-chair of the Women's Health Initiative at Boston Medical Center , and also serves on the boards of Newton Wellesley Hospital , the Citi Center for the Performing Arts (formerly the Wang Center), The Commonwealth Institute, the Friday Forum, WGBH Board of Overseers, Boston Jewish Community Women's Fund and Temple Beth Elohim.

Susan earned a BS at Cornell University and a Masters of Education degree at Tufts University.

Jean C. Tempel

Managing General Partner
First Light Capital

Jean C. Tempel is Managing General Partner of First Light Capital, LLC (a venture capital group). Jean's extensive background includes 15 years in executive technology and operating roles at major New England banks, ten years in venture capital portfolio management, and several private investment and/or directorships in New England-based early stage technology companies. In the early 90's, she was President and COO of Safeguard Scientifics, and was a founding director and vice-chairman in their startup of Cambridge Technology Partners.

Currently, her public company directorships include DB Scudder Mutual Funds and Sonesta International Hotels, Inc. As part of her venture activities, Jean is also a director of the Aberdeen Group. Over the last fifteen years, she has been a director of over twenty private companies and six public companies.

Jean sits on the boards of several non-profit organizations. She is a Vice Chair of the Board and chair of the Finance Committee of Connecticut College and chair of the Funds and Endowment Committee of Northeastern University.  She is a director of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and The Commonwealth Institute; and a member of the advisory boards of the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston and of Project Hope.

Additionally, she founded The Jean C. Tempel Foundation.

Jean received her BA in mathematics from Connecticut College, her MS in Engineering in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School . In 2003, Jean received an honorary doctorate in Business Administration from Northeastern University.

Dorothy A. Terrell

President & CEO

Initiative for a Competitive Inner City

Ms. Terrell is currently President & CEO of Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC).

Ms. Terrell's career also includes leadership roles in three premier technology firms, most recently NMS Communications. Formerly Natural Microsystems Inc., NMS is a pioneer in the delivery of innovative voice, video, and data services for wireless and wireline networks.

At NMS, Ms. Terrell served concurrently as President, Platforms & Services Group and SVP, Worldwide Sales. In this dual role, she restructured and refocused the business to move from an operating loss to profitability despite the economic slowdown, and building on her previous success in establishing solution selling and channel distribution, she drove year over year revenue growth.

Prior to joining NMS, Ms. Terrell was a Corporate Officer at Sun Microsystems Inc. As President of SunExpress, the company's aftermarketing and on-line services business, she set benchmarks for customer satisfaction and asset management, and created a global intelligence system to integrate customer, product, and competitor information. In 1996, she and her team pioneered Sun's ability to conduct business through electronic commerce.

Ms. Terrell built her technology foundation at Digital Equipment Corporation, where her accomplishments included building a leading edge, concurrent engineering/manufacturing operation that transformed two unproven technologies into high volume products.

Ms. Terrell's numerous awards include being named one of the “Top 50 Women Line Managers in America” by Executive Female magazine; a “Top Ten Business Marketer” by Business Marketing magazine; and one of “20 Women of Power and Influence in Corporate America” by Black Enterprise magazine. She was also a subject in The Wizards and Their Wonders: Portraits in Computing , an exhibit of The Computer Museum in Boston, and The Enterprising Woman, a book by Mari Florence.

Sharon P. Whiteley
President & CEO

ThirdAge Inc.

Sharon P. Whiteley is a seasoned entrepreneur who founded and built five successful companies. She is the Chief Executive Officer of ThirdAge Inc., a leading online media, research and direct marketing company focused exclusively on the aging baby boomer market and those who want to reach them. She remains a founding partner in 8 Wings Ventures LLC, a private equity investor group focused on early stage entrepreneurial ventures.

Ms.Whiteley was formerly CEO of Crimson Solutions, a start-up technology company serving college and university career centers. Preceding Crimson, she was President and Chief Creative Officer of Contempo Colours Inc., a $50 million international manufacturer of paper tableware and party goods which was formed as a result of an acquisition by her company, Peacock Papers in 1996, and a subsequent merger. Ms. Whiteley founded Peacock Papers in 1982, an admired gift manufacturer whose innovative product lines were noted for their positive and celebratory themes around aging; she was CEO through the integration of the two enterprises.

Preceding her years in manufacturing and consumer product, Ms. Whiteley spent 12 years in the specialty retail shopping center development industry where she was highly respected and regarded a pioneer. During that time she was a founding principal in two specialty retail development firms and instrumental in the development of a number of specialty urban shopping centers. Among the notable projects is the acclaimed Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston where she created the pushcart concept of transitory retailing – a staple in shopping centers nationwide today.

A graduate of Skidmore College, Ms. Whiteley is a frequent guest lecturer at leading institutions including Harvard Business School, Columbia University, Babson College and Stanford Business School. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the regional Entrepreneur of the Year Award sponsored by Ernst and Young; the Creative Imagination Award from Champion Paper, and the Women's Entrepreneur of the Year Award, from the SBA, WBN and The National Foundation of Women's Business Legislators.  

Ms. Whiteley is also a recently published author. The Old Girls' Network: Insider Advice for Women Building Businesses in a Man's World, a mentor-like, “how to” book for aspiring entrepreneurs (August 2003 Basic Books), is already slated for re-printing. She is on the Board of Directors of both The Committee of 200, an international organization of preeminent women business leaders and The Commonwealth Institute, an organization that fosters the education and development of entrepreneurs. She is also a member of the International Women's Forum and on the founding advisory board on the Center for Women's Business Research.

Ms. Whiteley was recently named Chair of the Board of advisors for the National Center on Women & Aging located at Brandeis University. She is a former Board Director and current member of the World Presidents' Organization (WPO) and earlier, a member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO). Active in her community, Ms. Whiteley also resides on the Board of Directors of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Along with her husband, Richard Whiteley, she is co-founder of the Sunrise Foundation which supports children with learning disabilities.
 

Benaree (Bennie) Pratt Wiley

For 14 years, Bennie Wiley served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Partnership. The Partnership's unique mission is to develop professionals of color in Boston, increase their representation in Boston area businesses and institutions and enhance opportunities for their leadership potential. She has effectively expanded and advanced The Partnership's mission by creating a portfolio of services that strengthen Boston 's capacity to attract, retain and develop talented professionals of color, and thereby, enhancing the competitive advantage of the region.

Bennie's experiences as a management consultant and entrepreneur were instrumental to building The Partnership into a sustainable and influential social enterprise. She served as a consultant with such corporations as Abt Associates, Contract Research Corporation and Urban Systems Research and Engineering. As an independent consultant, she worked with non-profit organizations to build their capacity and refine their program delivery. She then combined her interests in business and child development with the establishment of a high-end toy store, Giocatolli, on Martha's Vineyard.

Bennie is currently a Director on the boards of the Dreyfus/Laurel Funds, the Pepsi African American Advisory Board and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Her civic activities include serving on the boards of Boston College, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Harvard Business School Alumni Board, the Boston Foundation, the National Association of Corporate Directors, the Efficacy Institute and the Commonwealth Institute.

She is a frequent speaker on leadership, diversity and professional development and has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the Pinnacle Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce; Honorary Degree from Newbury College; Harvard Business School Distinguished Alumni Award from the African American Student Union; and selected as one of Boston's most powerful women by Boston magazine.

As a former director of the Crispus Attucks Children's Center she, along with her husband Fletcher (Flash) Wiley, were honored for 20 years of commitment by the dedication of a playground in their name.

A graduate of Howard University and the Harvard Business School, she and her husband live in Brookline and have two children, Pratt and B.J.