2022 Central Ohio Women in Leadership Symposium
March 10, 2022
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM (ET)
Theme
Paragon of Womanhood: Restoration, Reintegration & Reemergence
Sponsored By
Opening Remarks
McGee Brown
Panelists
Martinez
Elizabeth Martinez is President and Chief Executive Officer of Big Brother Big Sisters of Central Ohio (BBBSCO), a social profit organization that creates and supports one-to-one mentoring relationships and helps all youth reach their biggest possible futures. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio is one of the largest Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies in the country, spanning 14 counties across Ohio and serving more than 4,700 children last year through one-to-one mentoring programs and Camp experiences. Committed to building mentoring capacity, safety, and sustainability, BBBSCO operates Mentor Central Ohio to support organizations in the community offering mentoring services. BBBSCO also has the distinction of being one of only two agencies nationwide that owns and operates its own camp, Camp Oty’Okwa in Hocking Hills. From 2003-2015 Elizabeth served in several roles at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio including Chief Operating Officer, Vice President of Programs, and Vice President of School-based and Hispanic Mentoring, becoming President and CEO in 2016. Under her leadership, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio received the 2008 “Our Familia” award from The Commission of Hispanic and Latino Affairs. Elizabeth, along with leaders from 12 other agencies, helped develop Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s Hispanic Mentoring Initiative, which evolved into the model used by agencies nationwide. Elizabeth has over 18 years of experience working with children, youth and families. She received the 2004 “Lider de la Comunidad” award while serving as a Board Member for the Latino Empowerment Outreach Network (LEON) from 2004-2006. She has been featured by Columbus Business First as one of the “20 People to Know in Education”, in Who’s Who in Latino Columbus, and in The 2010 Women’s Book. Elizabeth was honored with the 2012 Distinguished Hispanic Ohioan Award by the Ohio Commission on Hispanic and Latino Affairs, and the “Making a Difference” award at the 2010 Ohio Diversity Latino Talent and Leadership Conference for her work with youth. She was a member of the Franklin County’s Poverty Project Steering Committee and in 2017 she was recognized as a Woman WELDing the way honoree by Women for Economic Development and Leadership (WELD). In 2020, Elizabeth was recognized among the most admired executives in Central Ohio as an honoree of Columbus Business First’s C-Suite awards. She was also a finalist for 2020 Small Nonprofit CEO of the Year as presented by Columbus CEO magazine. Elizabeth currently serves on the Franklin County Children Services Board of Directors, the Human Service Chamber Board of Directors, the Columbus Africentric Early College Advisory Committee and the United Way Finance and Audit Committee. Elizabeth has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and is a Registered Corporate Coach with the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC). Elizabeth is a native of Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Motka
Born in India. Made in Germany. Seasoned in America. Deval is a Petite Leader, Mother and Runner who uses Tough Love to bring the best out of herself, her teams and business. She brings 20+ years of Technology Leadership experience in Healthcare and Finance industries and currently, is a Vice President of Rocket Data team at Rocket Companies. Rocket Data is a Product and Data Engineering team that is in a relentless pursuit to build the next generation of Data Products to inform effective business decisions. She holds an Engineering in Electronics and Master in Business Administration that help her lead and empower Engineering teams to provide true Business value. Having lived and worked in a few cities in India, Germany and United States, she enjoys learning and experiencing the impact of culture in workspace. She was named 2020 “Woman of Influence” in Cincinnati’s Venue awards and “Global Data Power Woman – 2021” by CDO Magazine.
Rodriguez
Kristi Martin Rodriguez currently serves as Senior Vice President of the Nationwide Retirement Institute® for Nationwide Financial, leading the teams responsible for advocating for and educating members, partners, and industry leaders on issues impacting their ability to have a secure financial future. In her current role, Kristi oversees an extensive network of knowledgeable professionals who provide hands-on consultation to develop client strategies and address the major concerns America’s workers face when planning for retirement. Through timely insights, education, and client-ready tools, both financial professionals and individuals are able to work directly with Nationwide to increase their awareness and knowledge of complex financial topics such as retirement income planning, health care, long-term care, and Social Security. Kristi has over 20 years of extensive experience in business-to-business and direct-to-consumer strategies and building high-performing teams. She joined Nationwide in 2015 as the Vice President of Marketing for Nationwide’s retirement plans business. Before joining Nationwide, Kristi held marketing and business leader roles at Aetna and UnitedHealth Group. Her experience includes functioning as the enterprise program lead of health care reform for UnitedHealthcare. Additionally, Kristi led a business development team working with the public sector, labor and trust, and national accounts as liaisons to their sales organization. She has a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Hampton University as well as Series 6 and 26 securities registrations. Kristi is an active member of the community, working with several non-profit and social organizations that aid unserved communities throughout the country. Kristi was one of the founding members of the Ohio chapter of The National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP), an organization helping people of color and women achieve inclusion in our industry. Kristi serves as a board member for Kindway, a non-profit organization dedicated to the successful re-entry of incarcerated men and women into the community. Additionally, Kristi is on the Board of Trustees for The American College of Financial Services.
Schechter
Pam is the Vice President of Marketing and Commercialization at Hexion Inc, a global leader in thermoset resins. Hexion serves the global adhesive, coatings and industrial markets through a broad range of thermoset technologies, specialty products and technical support for customers in a diverse range of applications and industries. Pam partners with the cross-functional team to create and execute the business strategy and vision. She also leads a team that manages the marketing and new product commercialization of the global resins business with a footprint in North America, Latin America and Australia/New Zealand. Prior to joining Hexion, Pam was the Vice President of Procurement at AdvanSix, a leader in nylon, chemical intermediates and ammonium sulfate. She spent 5 years of her career as President, Siding Products Group at CertainTeed, a building products division of Saint-Gobain where they launched 2 new-to-the-world products, completed the acquisition of Simtek fence company and continued to successfully grow the base vinyl siding business. Earlier in her career she worked at Honeywell and Fisher Scientific, with progressing leadership roles in sales, strategic marketing, and finance. Pam has a Bachelor of Science degree in Material Science and Engineering from North Carolina State University in Raleigh and a Master’s in Business Administration from NYU Stern School of Business in New York City.
Vaughan
Aimee Vaughan grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and attended The School for Creative and Performing Arts for high school. During those years she toured with the musical The Wiz to The National Theatre in Washington DC. and appeared in numerous TV shows and commercials. Aimee is a proud Charter Member of Zeta Kappa Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at Bowling Green State University where she majored in Public Relations. After receiving her degree, she returned to Cincinnati where she worked in public relations for Federated Department Stores, in the newsroom at WKRC- TV and finally in admissions at The University of Cincinnati. In 1996 Aimee moved to Seattle, Washington with her husband Greg Vaughan and their two children Brandon and Alyssa. Professionally Aimee has an impressive list of employers having worked in recruiting for Microsoft, T-Mobile, Washington Mutual, Russell Investments and as the Senior Recruiting Coordinator in Talent Acquisitions for HULU. In August of 2021 Aimee moved away from recruiting. She is now the Outreach and Engagement Manager for The Walt Disney Company and the Disney on the Yard Team where her focus is driving strategic outreach and equity programming for Disney’s recruitment of top talent from HBCUs. (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Personally, Aimee has a passion for the Arts and philanthropy and has held board positions on some of Seattle’s most prestigious boards. Pacific Northwest Ballet, Cornish School of the Arts, and Seattle Children’s Theater just to name a few. She has also chaired committees for Lakeside School and is currently the Chair of the newly formed Diversity and Inclusion Committee for Sunset Club. Aimee is also a member of The Greater Seattle Chapter of The Links Inc. Aimee enjoys international travel, shopping, watching HULU and Disney + (of course) and talking young people about their goals and aspirations: whether they be women, HBCU students or Kappa Kappa Gamma undergraduates.
Moderator
Banks
Robbie Banks is the program director of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at the Columbus Partnership. Her role is focused on the development and execution of strategic programming and projects that impact the Columbus Partnership's ability to advance the vision for Columbus to become the most prosperous region in the U.S. She manages the Columbus Partnership workgroup planning and advancement specific to DEI-focused workstreams. She served as the program director at Leadership Columbus whose mission is to develop, connect and inspire diverse leaders who serve as catalysts in building a strong and vibrant community. She managed and directed programs that fulfill the Leadership Columbus mission and embrace a 21st century vision for community leadership development while embedding opportunities for participants to work on their leadership skills. Banks worked in the hospitality industry as the director of visitor experience for Experience Columbus, the destination management organization for the Greater Columbus region. She launched and led the Experience Dedicated® Destination program, which works across hospitality industry sectors to enhance the city’s visitor experience. She also was responsible for the Greater Columbus Tourism Ambassador Program, part of a national certification program for front-line workers and volunteers. In five years, under Banks’ direction, the destination’s program grew to become the largest Certified Tourism Ambassador™ program in the U.S. and Bermuda. She led efforts directed at young professionals to attract and retain talent for five years at the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. She was a point person for community issues related to young professionals and administrator for the Create Columbus Commission, in addition to managing the Chamber’s social media efforts. She also worked for the City of Columbus as an executive assistant to the director of technology and assistant to the Office of Mayor Michael B. Coleman. A Columbus native, Banks holds a B.S. in marketing and a M.S. in marketing and communication from Franklin University. She is a 2007 graduate of Leadership Columbus and a 2015 graduate of the Ohio Tourism Leadership Academy. Banks serves on the Board of Trustees for I Know I Can and has served on the Leadership Columbus Board of Trustees, City of Columbus Vehicle for Hire Board, as a member of the Columbus Police Department’s Diversity Recruiting Council and the KICKBUTTColumbus! planning committee. She also has been a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters and chaired the promotions committee as a board member of the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District. Banks was recently announced as a member of the Columbus CEO 2021 class of Future 50 leaders—a diverse group of accomplished people committed to making Columbus a world-class community. In 2011, she was honored by the Young Professionals of Columbus with its Distinguished Citizen Award and was named among the 2010 class of Columbus Alive’s “People to Watch.” In her spare time, she enjoys expressing her creativity as a freelance make-up artist. She also enjoys participating as a Pelotonia rider as well as volunteering with Meals on Wheels and Promise on Parsons. Banks resides in Northwest Columbus with her partner Justin and their dogs, Jade and Marshmallow.
Awardee
Martinez
Elizabeth Martinez is President and Chief Executive Officer of Big Brother Big Sisters of Central Ohio (BBBSCO), a social profit organization that creates and supports one-to-one mentoring relationships and helps all youth reach their biggest possible futures. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio is one of the largest Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies in the country, spanning 14 counties across Ohio and serving more than 4,700 children last year through one-to-one mentoring programs and Camp experiences. Committed to building mentoring capacity, safety, and sustainability, BBBSCO operates Mentor Central Ohio to support organizations in the community offering mentoring services. BBBSCO also has the distinction of being one of only two agencies nationwide that owns and operates its own camp, Camp Oty’Okwa in Hocking Hills. From 2003-2015 Elizabeth served in several roles at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio including Chief Operating Officer, Vice President of Programs, and Vice President of School-based and Hispanic Mentoring, becoming President and CEO in 2016. Under her leadership, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio received the 2008 “Our Familia” award from The Commission of Hispanic and Latino Affairs. Elizabeth, along with leaders from 12 other agencies, helped develop Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s Hispanic Mentoring Initiative, which evolved into the model used by agencies nationwide. Elizabeth has over 18 years of experience working with children, youth and families. She received the 2004 “Lider de la Comunidad” award while serving as a Board Member for the Latino Empowerment Outreach Network (LEON) from 2004-2006. She has been featured by Columbus Business First as one of the “20 People to Know in Education”, in Who’s Who in Latino Columbus, and in The 2010 Women’s Book. Elizabeth was honored with the 2012 Distinguished Hispanic Ohioan Award by the Ohio Commission on Hispanic and Latino Affairs, and the “Making a Difference” award at the 2010 Ohio Diversity Latino Talent and Leadership Conference for her work with youth. She was a member of the Franklin County’s Poverty Project Steering Committee and in 2017 she was recognized as a Woman WELDing the way honoree by Women for Economic Development and Leadership (WELD). In 2020, Elizabeth was recognized among the most admired executives in Central Ohio as an honoree of Columbus Business First’s C-Suite awards. She was also a finalist for 2020 Small Nonprofit CEO of the Year as presented by Columbus CEO magazine. Elizabeth currently serves on the Franklin County Children Services Board of Directors, the Human Service Chamber Board of Directors, the Columbus Africentric Early College Advisory Committee and the United Way Finance and Audit Committee. Elizabeth has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and is a Registered Corporate Coach with the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC). Elizabeth is a native of Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Attendees are encouraged to donate clothes to the Dress For Success on Monday, March 14th from 10:00am - 4:00pm:
Dress For Success Columbus
1204 N. High Street
Columbus, OH 43201
$3 Transaction Fee Will Be Added