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LINDA CALHOUN
President, FRIENDS Board of Directors Linda Calhoun, is an entrepreneur, activist, and community leader based in San Francisco, CA. A graduate of Boston University with a B.S. degree in Mass Communication, Linda's career path led her to work in International Policy Coordination, Media, Technology and Data Management. Her work has met the unique and increasingly important intersections of STEM and Social Justice. Linda is the Founder and Executive Producer of Career Girls, a nonprofit that was created as a response to the inequality of opportunity that Linda encountered in her story. She has made it her mission to help all girls reach their full potential and discover their own path to empowerment through access to inspiring role models and supportive girl-centric curriculum. |
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VICKI SHIPKOWITZ
Vice President, FRIENDS Board of Directors Vicki is an angel investor and mentor to startups that use the Internet-of-Things to create social and economic impact. Her career has always focused on enabling change through technology and the arts. Initially working at major museums, she transitioned into technology to drive the creation of tools for collaboration. As a technology executive, she built platforms and ecosystems for flagship products at Adobe, Sun, SAP, and Yahoo, as well as for several successful startups. Her leadership skills have been recognized with invitations to join the Boards of Trustees of technology standards organizations; and her commitment to philanthropy and passion for the arts has led to Board roles at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, ArtSpan, Joe Goode Performance Group, and recently, the Friends of the Commission on the Status of Women. She has a BFA in Design and an MBA, both from UCLA. |
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PATRICIA BOVAN CAMPBELL
Secretary, FRIENDS Board of Directors Patricia is an international business and technology transactions lawyer. Her career has focused on closing pivotal technology transactions for F500s (including Salesforce, Symantec and Hitachi) & start-ups. She is passionate about social justice. San Francisco’s League of Women Voters honored her as A Woman Who Could Be President. She is on the San Francisco Public Press Board and helped launch the City’s Gender Equality Principles. Since 2011 she has been a TechWomen Mentor with the State Dept Bureau of Education & Cultural Affairs, conducting training in Jordan, Morocco, Rwanda, Tunisia and Uzbekistan. The National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations granted an Annual Public Service Award to the Juvenile Hall Mentoring Program she led for 5 years, and she is a member of the Leadership California 2011 Class. |
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IRAINA MILES
Treasurer, FRIENDS Board of Directors Iraina is Trade Commissioner for Life Sciences at the Consulate General of Canada. She has focused her career on creating opportunities for people to discuss complex issues, breakdown barriers, and identify common ground from which solutions can be made. With her background in mediation, Iraina has been responsible for implementing community relations efforts around major energy projects, strengthening business development opportunities for tech startups in Silicon Valley, and building relationships for international governments on the West Coast. As an advocate for local community health and well-being, Iraina serves as a volunteer mediator in San Francisco and is excited to support FRIENDS initiatives that champion gender equality and violence prevention. |
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MOLLY COLTEN
Nominations Co-Chair and Special Projects Chair, FRIENDS Board of Directors Molly is a Vice President at Lee Hecht Harrison, focused on serving small to mid-market organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. She partners with organizations and is a trusted advisor in talent development strategies and career transition best practices. She has worked across the human capital and education spaces for over 12 years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from University of Minnesota and a Masters degree from Sam Houston State University, is certified in a variety of leadership tools, presents on human capital topics, and volunteers for local charities. Molly was a volunteer with the Friends prior to joining the board in 2016. |
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VALERIE ASHFORD HAL
Nominations Co-Chair, FRIENDS Board of Directors Valerie is a business focused HR leader. She partners with public and private organizations to develop & implement strategic value-add human capital management and business solutions that drive efficiencies, alignment, innovation, and ROI. Valerie has over 15 years of experience working with companies in various industries including Healthcare, Venture Capital, Professional and Financial Services, Technology, Non-Profit, Public Agency, Legal, Professional Sports, and Manufacturing. She holds a BS, MBA, and SPHR®, SHRM-SCP certifications. As an active community member, she has worked with several Bay Area organizations. |
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LAUREN KRIKKE
Employee Resource Group Liaison, FRIENDS Board of Directors Lauren is a Director with the Enterprise Consulting Group at Dignity Health and is responsible for collaborating with cross-functional teams to successfully manage the planning, deployment and user adoption of enterprise-wide technology, business solutions and process improvement efforts. She has more than 20 years of diversified experience in the high-tech and healthcare industries with a proven track record of designing and implementing efficient processes, systems and projects. She also has experience in strategic business planning, fiscal responsibilities, change leadership, mentoring, training and coaching staff. Lauren holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, and PMP® and LSSBB certifications. Her greatest passion is spending time with her two incredible teenage sons. They make all the hard work worth every minute! |
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KAREN MCMILLAN
Membership Chair, FRIENDS Board of Directors Karen is a Portfolio Counselor at Osborne Partners Capital Management (OPCM) with over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. She has a broad range of experience that includes working with clients on comprehensive financial planning, wealth management strategies, stock option strategies, tax planning, and insurance. Over her two decades she has not only become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner (2006), but has accumulated ten additional professional qualifications. Prior to joining OPCM, she was a Senior Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch. |
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Emily Moto Murase, Ph.D.
Ex-Officio Member, FRIENDS Board of Directors After serving on the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women, Dr. Emily Moto Murase was appointed Director of the Department on the Status of Women by Mayor Gavin Newsom in July 2004. Dr. Murase previously served as a director in the first Clinton White House. She is a founding Sister of the Asian Pacific American Women's Leadership Institute. She holds an AB from Bryn Mawr College, a master's from the Graduate School of International Relations & Pacific Studies at UC San Diego, and a PhD in communication from Stanford. |
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MELISSA SKEVINGTON
Technology Chair, FRIENDS Board of Directors Melissa is a software engineer at Lever, a technology company building software to help you grow your team. Recently she was chair of their employee resource group for marginalized genders, where she helped organize events and lead conversations around gender at work. Originally from Upstate New York, she has a B.S. from the University of Rochester in Brain and Cognitive Science. After moving to San Francisco, she enrolled in Hackbright Academy, a coding school for women, and has since worked at a variety of companies including Dropbox and Hipmunk. Melissa is a strong supporter of getting more women in technology, and has stayed active in the Hackbright community by mentoring students. |
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MOLLY T. WHELAN
Marketing and Communications Chair, FRIENDS Board of Directors Molly Whelan is Vice President - Head of Marketing and Client Experience for Charles Schwab’s Independent Branch Services. She leads a team of segment managers and marketers in developing high impact marketing and client development strategies to accelerate growth and expand Schwab’s distribution. Prior to Schwab, she worked at PepsiCo, one of the world's leading food and beverage companies. She also worked for two boutique design and communications agencies. Molly holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Gonzaga University and a Master of Business Administration degree from American University. She also holds FINRA Series 7 and 24 registrations. |
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VERNA LIZA CABA
Executive Director, FRIENDS of the Commission on the Status of Women Verna Liza, as the first Executive Director of the FRIENDS, developed the Equal Pay Initiative, which has trained nearly 1,000 women in salary negotiations. Before joining the nonprofit sector, Verna Liza was a commercial property manager overseeing the operations of Class A assets in San Francisco’s Financial District and the Peninsula. She worked for industry giants GE Capital, Trammel Crow, Spieker Properties, and Equity Office Properties. Verna Liza’s passion for mentoring youth motivates her to organize leadership retreats for college students and facilitate art workshops for elementary kids. For the past five years, she has led fundraising efforts in support of the fellowship program at the Department on the Status of Women through the FRIENDS’ annual CEDAW Awards luncheon. Verna Liza received a BA in History and a minor in Organizational Studies from U.C. Davis. As an active alumna, she helped create the first Filipino Graduation on campus in 1989 and delivered the commencement address for the same ceremony to the class of 2000. Verna Liza played a significant role in incubating student organizations and services for Filipino students at U.C. Davis that are thriving 30 years later. |