The Georgetown Ambassadors for Women, Peace and Security

Anisya has lead organizations in both the private and nonprofit sectors and has published articles in the fields of strategy, humanitarian relief and the wine business. Anisya is currently the Proprietor and Director of Marketing and Consumer Sales at Lynmar Estate, a producer of highest quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. She is also cofounder of Fritz Institute a not-for-profit organization focused on producing impactful research, training, metrics and technology to improve humanitarian logistics worldwide. Previously, she was an Associate Professor of Management at Florida International University and a Visiting Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics. Anisya holds a BA from Loyola College in Maryland and an MS and PhD in Management from Virginia Tech. Anisya now shares her love of learning by teaching Wine Entrepreneurship to winery and vineyard owners at Sonoma State University. She currently serves on the Boards of the Fritz Institute, LynnCo Supply Chain Solutions and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.

Lisa is a dedicated supporter of causes that empower women and girls, locally and globally. She has been serving on the board of V-Day since 2011 and active in the One Billion Rising grassroots movement since its launch in 2012. Since 2022, Lisa has been an advocate and advisor of VOW for girls, a growing global movement that partners with brands, individuals and the wedding industry to create a world where no child is ever a bride and can stay in school. She co-founded Casa Valentina, a Miami based organization that provides young women and men who age out of foster care at age 18 with safe, affordable housing and the support services they need to become functional, independent adults. Lisa oversees her family foundation which focuses on human rights, improving the lives of children through sports, medical research, education and the arts; with a keen interest supporting documentary films of social impact. Recently she founded Momentum Collective, a platform to inspire women to live growth-driven lives through curated experiences, tools and inspiration and an invitation to age powerfully.

Halé is a seasoned executive leader in financial services with a proven track record of building and scaling businesses throughout her career. Currently serving as Vice Chair at BMO USA, she leads the bank’s strategic growth initiatives across California. Prior to BMO, Halé was CEO of Citi Private Bank in North America, where she led a network of 23 offices across the US and Canada, providing sophisticated financial solutions to ultra-high-net-worth families, their privately held businesses, and philanthropic organizations. Beyond her corporate leadership, Halé maintains a strong commitment to civic engagement as an Executive Committee member of the Los Angeles Economic Development Committee and trustee of the Iranian American Women Foundation. She is particularly passionate about mentoring young professionals and mid-career women. Halé holds a BA in Economics from Georgetown University, where she remains actively involved with the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security.

Michelle currently serves as the Chief of Staff to the Dean of Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Michelle’s dynamic career has given her the opportunity to explore the business world across a wide-range of sectors with upper-level experience as the Director of Strategic Programmes at Dyson and Vice-President of Business Operations of Juniper Networks. She has also worked in product management and business strategy at an IOT startup, Sun Microsystems, Motorola and Textron. Michelle has served on the boards of Girls’ Middle School and Child Advocates and led a portfolio of projects with the Stanford Alumni Consulting Team (ACT). She is an alumna of Georgetown University, MIT Sloan School of Business and Stanford University Graduate School of Business Executive Program. She has served as a member of Georgetown University’s Northern California Advisory Committee and Alumni Admission Program. She currently resides in Singapore.

Lynn’s early education took place in Brazil, France, and the US, where she graduated from Georgetown University (SFS’84). Following 6 years in business, Lynn received my International MBA from Thunderbird with a focus in marketing and fundraising (AC Nielsen in Chicago; Pillsbury in Minneapolis; Novartis in New Jersey; UNICEF in New York; and Sadler’s Wells in London). Lynn has always been an active participant in numerous volunteer capacities: at Georgetown, her children’s schools, and the Stephen Cyrus Freidheim Foundation. As a full-time mother to three teenage children, Lynn’s goal is to continue to expand her efforts ‘to open doors through education’ for the rest of her life.

Sherry was features editor of the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal and a columnist with the International Herald Tribune (The New York Times International Edition). She was posted to Brussels, Paris, London and Hong Kong. After discovering a collection of war drawings in Vietnam, she created her imprint Asia Ink, a client press of the University of Chicago Press. In addition to being a publisher, editor and guest curator of the British Museum, she is the author of several books on the Vietnam War including Vietnam Zippos: Engravings and Stories of American Soldiers (2007) and On The Ho Chi Minh Trail: The Blood Road, The Women Who Defended It, The Legacy (2021). She is active in charities that promote the education of women and girls mainly in non-western countries. She lives in London. Sherry has a B.A. in Political Science, Smith College and an M.A. in International Relations, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.

Amy is London based founder of the social impact luxury fragrance house, Sana Jardin. The award-winning brand is a pioneer in sustainable and socially responsible luxury and has been featured widely in Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times as well as CNN, and retails globally. The brand’s social impact model empowers local communities in its supply chain by working with female flower harvesters in Morocco, and providing them with opportunities for economic independence through entrepreneurial programs. Sana Jardin houses a mini-accelerator programme with non-profit Nest, to support five artisanal female-led cooperatives in Morocco, providing education, training, and peer-to-peer engagement, in addition to financial grants, to help drive business growth with access to international luxury markets. Amy’s background is in the non-profit sector and after earning her Bachelors and Master’s degree in social work from Loyola University of Chicago, she became a direct practice social worker before spending almost 20 years partnering with various foundations to address economic inequality including President Clinton’s Foundation, the Cherie Blair Foundation to support Women in London and the Robin Hood Foundation in New York. Amy is involved in multiple non-profit organizations and serves on the board of Funtasia Impact and Advisory Board member of Nest.

Victoria is Director of JC Consulting in Geneva, Switzerland, where she has been engaged since 2001 in the practice of Commodity Trade Finance. She previously worked with Women’s World Banking as Latin American Manager, and prior to that worked as a lawyer with Shearman & Sterling and Mayer, Brown & Plat in New York city. She is a member of the New York Bar and holds an LLM from Boston University School of Law and a JD from Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Senora del Rosario in Bogota, Colombia. She is a proud Georgetown parent and supporter of Georgetown’s Global Scholarship Fund, as well as GIWPS.

Patricia is a licensed real estate salesperson at Compass. She has extensive experience in private banking where she worked with JP Morgan and in the luxury goods sector. Patricia is a native New Yorker, having attended The Brearley School, Barnard College, and Columbia Business School from which she holds an M.B.A. with a concentration in finance. She is the third generation in her family to be in the real estate business. She is a Georgetown parent.

Samia is the Founder and CEO of Hii-Finance, Corp., a global investment company. Mrs. Farouki has also dedicated herself to causes focused on education, the arts, and women’s empowerment. She is currently a member of the board of governors of the Middle East Institute, serves on the boards of the Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, King Hussein Foundation, the King Hussein Cancer Center, the Kennedy Center International Committee for the Arts, Bridges for Understanding, and Tomorrow’s Youth. Mrs. Farouki has also been a member of the boards of the Lab School of Washington, Folger Shakespeare Library, Vital Voices, Corcoran Gallery, D.C. region Teach for America, Arab American Cultural Foundation, and Washington Opera Company, and she was the co-chair of the Aspen Institute Middle East programs.

Julia is a sixth-generation Washingtonian and third generation Hoya, is the first female executive director of the Georgetown alumni association. Farr is an attorney, entrepreneur, and fashion designer. She has 17 years of experience as a corporate securities attorney and executive, beginning her legal career at K&L Gates as an associate and later serving as vice president and chief compliance officer for Sotherly Hotels, a public real estate investment trust. In 2010, Farr left the practice of law to build a business in fashion. She opened her eponymous boutique in Washington, D.C. In 2012, she launched the Julia Farr Collection, a U.S.-based women’s apparel design, manufacturing, and sales company focused on the sartorial needs of the professional woman, with a portion of sales donated to women’s and children’s charities. Since graduating from Georgetown in 1988, Farr has had an extensive history of volunteerism with the university. In addition to serving on the GUAA Board of Governors and as a class ambassador for many years, she served as president of the Georgetown University Alumni Association from 2010 to 2012.

Suzanne graduated from Georgetown University’s College of Arts and Science, and received her MBA from Columbia Business School. She worked for many years in sales and brand management at leading consumer retail companies Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Myers Squibb and Lance, Paris, with responsibility for developing and launching new products, as well as building existing ones. Suzanne has been a leading volunteer at The Allen-Stevenson School, The Chapin School and Riverdale Country School. An ardent supporter of the arts, Suzanne serves on The Musical Theater Council of The Public Theater and is a member of the Board of The Atlantic Theater Company.

Alys is a lawyer, mother, and Georgetown University graduate. Her legal career included a focus on international project finance and human rights law, including work with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. She is now a mother of three. Her philanthropic work involves a focus on microfinance in Africa and investments in women and children. She graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and holds degrees from the London School of Economics and New York University School of Law.

Lisa enjoyed a 17-year career in international banking as one of the first female officers of Chase in Latin America, and later the first female senior vice president (Latin America) of American Express Bank. Gentil chaired the first capital campaign for Escola Graduada de São Paulo. She has been a member of a private sector board, school boards, and philanthropic boards. Most recently, she serves as a trustee of Empowers Africa, which funds projects for health, education, and welfare, as well as conservation efforts in several African countries. Gentil has been a member of the Georgetown University Library Board, AAP Advisory Board, and the Board of Regents. She currently serves as an emerita member of the Parents Leadership Council; an AAP chair; and a fundraising chair and member of the Advisory Board of the Georgetown Scholars Program, for which she was the first co-chair. Gentil also continues to serve as a GSP mentor, one of her favorite Hoya volunteer activities. Gentil and her husband, Fernando, have been married for 35 years, and have lived in New York, Greenwich, Connecticut, and São Paulo, Brazil. She is a passionate advocate for educational access, the arts, and conservation. Gentil contributes to organizations in her community, including Reach Prep, Greenwich Green and Clean, and Meals on Wheels. She and her husband are the proud parents of two Hoyas, Fernando (SFS’09) and Gabriella (C’12).

Mary is a member of the British House of Lords and a global advocate for the rights of women and children. She works globally to promote gender equality, women’s rights and peace building. She is an advisor to the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and is also on the advisory board for the London School of Economics – Centre for Women, Peace and Security and a member of the advisory board of Women’s Forum, a leading platform dedicated to highlighting women’s voices and perspectives on global issues. At present, Baroness Goudie is a member of the Adult Social Care Committee and the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland Sub-Committee. Baroness Goudie is also a member of the Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS) management board of advisors. She is a trustee of the El-Hibri Charitable Foundation, which fosters interfaith dialogue and establishes a common ground and solutions to global challenges affecting mankind. Baroness Goudie is an active ambassador for the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), a global research institute whose mission is to empower women, advance gender equality and fight poverty. As well as a founding member of the 30% Club steering committee, which aims to influence chairman into bringing more women on to corporate boards across the world.

Raana is a global executive focusing on banking and management consulting. She has worked in high level management positions with US and global reputable institutions such as Salomon Smith Barney at Citigroup, Wells Fargo Bank, Washington Mutual, Dubai World, Digital Daya LLC. As a specialty, she has developed the women’s market in the Middle East and North African region as well as the US and has demonstrated strong success in unlocking this $580 billion empowerment market. Raana was very successful as a Founding Member in setting up and running Forsa, the first Women’s Investment Bank in the Middle East & North African Region, an initiative of His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minster of UAE, and Ruler of Dubai. She had the honor of being invited by her majesty Queen Rania of Jordan to speak and represent her organization at a high-profile public, private partnership forum in Amman, Jordan. Raana has served on many boards in positions of Vice Chair, Commission on the Status of Women, Dignity Health, Adventist Medical Center, Glendale Educational Foundation among others. She received her BS degree with high honors in Political Science from Illinois State University and MBA degree in Finance from California State University, San Diego.

Tricia is a professor at Georgetown Law School. She is an outspoken advocate for reproductive rights. Most recently, she worked for the national nonprofit reproductive rights organization, Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, where, in addition to lecturing, advocacy work and legal research, she served as the project manager for the opening of two nonprofit reproductive health clinics, in Charlottesville, Virginia and South Bend, Indiana. Prior to her work at Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, Professor Hoefling taught as an Adjunct Professor at Washington and Lee School of Law, and practiced law for many years at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLC. Professor Hoefling currently serves on the boards of many organizations, including Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, The Board of Regents at Georgetown University, The Miller Center at The University of Virginia, the Emily Couric Leadership Foundation and the Village School of Charlottesville. She received her B.S. from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and her J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Valerie Garcia Houts is a founding member and Managing Director in the Private Equity & Venture Services Group at Merrill, having joined the firm in 2002 after spending her early career with two San Francisco-based investment banks. She is on the boards of Compass Family Services, a non-profit providing services to homeless and at-risk families in the Bay Area, and Project Glimmer, a national nonprofit dedicated to inspiring disadvantaged teenage girls and young women to envision & realize an empowered future. Valerie is also an active parishioner at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in San Francisco. Ms. Houts received her B.A. in economics from UC Irvine and her MBA from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, where she is an active supporter of the Thrive Fellows Program designed to support Latinx individuals in applying to & succeeding at top graduate business schools. She and her husband Tim live in San Francisco where they have raised their three high school and college age daughters, including a current Hoya.

Fan is the founder of UP Education Consulting, which provides educational consulting services to foreign students and focuses on bridging the gap between the education systems in China and the US. Originally from China, Fan earned her advanced degrees in the U.S. universities and devotes her passion to narrowing the gender gap in education and employment opportunities. Prior to starting her own business, Fan had over two decades of working experiences in the financial sector, including Loomis Sales & Co., Columbia Management Group and The Colonial Mutual Fund Group. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from North Carolina State University and had numerous publications in the top peer-reviewed journals.

Julie Jalelian was most recently a Managing Director in the Global Technology, Media & Telecom Corporate and Investment Banking Group at Bank of America Securities, Inc. Julie has over 35 years of banking experience, delivering BofA’s global corporate and investment banking platform to large corporate clients in the media, technology, business services and ecommerce sectors where she focused on acquisition financing, capital structure optimization, portfolio management and investor relations. Julie holds an A.B. in Economics from Mount Holyoke College and an M.A. in Economic Policy from Boston University. Prior to her banking career, Julie was a Peace Corps Volunteer in northern Cameroon, West Africa where she taught small enterprise development to local women’s agricultural cooperatives. Julie was a member of the Georgetown Parent Leadership Council prior to her involvement as an Advisory Board Member with the Georgetown Institute of Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) in 2014 and as a Founding Member of the GIWPS Ambassadors in 2019. She has served in various capacities at Belmont Day School, Buckingham Browne & Nichols School and the Artists Association of Nantucket and she supports girls’ primary and secondary education directly and through various philanthropic organizations in Tanzania and Rwanda. Julie and her husband are proud parents of Sarah Jolley (Georgetown, C’17, Dartmouth Tuck School of Business, ‘23) and Liam Jolley (Dartmouth, ’20).

Carolina is the Founding Executive Director of The Elevate Prize Foundation, a global purpose-driven nonprofit that serves to amplify social impact and empower passionate problem solvers, leaders, and innovators. Carolina has over two decades of experience in leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to enriching and shaping social impact, philanthropic, and cultural communities. She most recently served as CEO & president of the National YoungArts Foundation and, prior to that, as president & CEO of United States Artists, where she managed $25M in unrestricted awards to the country’s most accomplished artists.

Janet is a faculty member at the University of Cincinnati where she has taught both pre- and in-service teachers for over twenty years. She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from the University of Kansas, and a TESOL certificate from the University of Cincinnati. Early in her career she became interested in gender equity in education, focusing her research on gender equity awareness and interventions of early childhood educators. As a field-service supervisor and professor, she helped coach aspiring teachers to be aware of unconscious biases, inequities and ways to mitigate these in the classroom. While living abroad with her family in Switzerland, she taught at the International School of Geneva, providing support services to Culturally and Linguistically Diverse students, while maintaining her college teaching, learning, and research workloads. Her philanthropic work includes serving as a key scholarship committee chair for P.E.O., an organization whose mission is the global advancement of women’s education and achievement, and as co-chair of the Georgetown Parent Leadership Council. Janet’s proudest accomplishment is raising two high-achieving, motivated and fearless daughters who are also Hoyas.

Suzanne is the Co-Founder and President of Rwanda Girls Initiative, a non-profit organization founded in 2008 focused on educating girls in Rwanda. She led the founding and continues oversight of operations of a university prep STEM secondary school for 280 girls in Rwanda, the Gashora Girls Academy, one of the top-performing girls’ schools in Eastern Africa. Suzanne also managed the development of the adjacent model farm through partnerships with the Rwandan Government, Washington State University, and the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. She has served on many educational and non-profit boards and serves on the Georgetown College Board of Advisors to the Dean. She is the proud parent of two Hoyas. Suzanne holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Washington and a Master of Arts degree in Psychology from Antioch University. She passionately believes education, particularly the education of women and girls, is one of the most powerful tools we have to break the cycle of poverty globally.

Katherine Kwun McLane is a global strategic executive whose career over the last decades has included work at the world’s leading financial services, management consulting, and global philanthropic organizations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Katherine is an Advisory Board Partner at Collective Global (CG), a $1 billion asset management firm that provides access to venture investments to sophisticated institutional investors and pension funds including the California Public Employee’s Retirement system (CalPERS) and U.K. pension fund Railpen. The firm’s mission is to generate high returns for pension beneficiaries while supporting emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, biotech, and sustainable energy. At CG, Katherine drives synergistic relationships between CG’s leadership and global institutional investors and world-class entrepreneurs. She began her career at Morgan Stanley’s M&A group and was a founding member of McKinsey & Company’s Corporate Finance & Strategy Practice in Asia, advising multinational firms on strategic and capital allocation decisions.

Katherine is a member of Yale University’s President’s Council on International Affairs, focusing on global education and leadership. Previously, she led outreach to heads of state and global leaders for the Clinton Global Initiative in Asia, to catalyse commitments for global challenges in healthcare, poverty, and education. She has also held leadership roles with the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children and the Chinese International School and supported various charities in Asia, the U.S., and the U.K.. Since 2012, Katherine has participated in forums led by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in London, Vienna, Geneva, Seoul, New York, and Washington D.C.

Katherine holds an MA in Economics and Finance from Columbia University as a Harriman Fellow and a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, where she received the Lannan Literary Grant. Katherine has also completed executive programs at Stanford University and Sciences Po Paris.

A passionate collector and supporter of the arts for their ability to foster global dialogue and exchange, Katherine has served on the Asian and global art acquisition committees for the Pompidou Museum since 2015. A native of California, Katherine is fluent in Korean, French, and Mandarin.

Mary Machado-Schammel is Co-Founder and CEO of M&A Advisory firm Venture Investors Business Group and serves as Chairman of Venture Advisors’ Business Sales and Acquisitions.. She also acts as a Strategic Consultant with Greenwich Associates providing market structure, intelligence and advisory services to the buy and sell-sides. She previously served as Head/SVP for Standard Chartered Bank. Mary is exceptionally committed to community involvement, serving as the US State Department representative for the International Women of Courage, board member of Georgetown University Board of Governors, The Ann Peppers Foundation and The Alzheimer’s Association California Southland and Founder of Georgetown’s Wall Street Alliance West. She is also Chair of Pasadena’s City Code Commission. Mary has a B.A from Georgetown University and a recent MBA from Georgetown University’s Business and Foreign Service Schools, and ESADE University.

Kaia is a consultant advising governments on economic development. She has advised leaders in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East at the sub-national, national and regional levels on issues related to competitiveness and economic development. She is an associate at Harvard’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness and a member of Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s Advisory Council. Kaia serves on the New England Board for the US Fund for UNICEF, the UNICEF International Council, the Corporation of the Community Music Center of Boston, the Friends of Imbuto Foundation, and the Advisory Board for the Master of Science in Foreign Service Program at Georgetown University. She received her B.A. in International Relations from Brown University and her M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

Adelaida obtained her BS in Business Administration from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business in 1980. She began her career in banking at Chase Manhattan Bank in their International Credit Audit Group and later joined Citibank’s International Private Bank covering Brazil, Spain and Portugal. Next she transitioned to servicing her International high net worth network in real estate joining Corcoran Group in New York where she ranked amongst Corcoran’s top four producers. In 1995, Adelaida moved to London where she focused on Georgetown University initiatives. Adelaida served as the Co-Chair of Georgetown Alumni Club of the UK during most of her 25 years in London. In 2013 she Co-Chaired Georgetown’s John Carroll Weekend celebrated in London with 1,400 attendees and received the John Carroll Award in Seattle in 2018. Adelaida served six years on Georgetown’s Board of Regents and currently serves as a Regent Emeritus. Adelaida resides in Miami and Stockholm, Sweden.

Kara is a renowned entrepreneur and award-winning fine jewelry designer. She collaborated with the Obama White House on numerous commissions, and her one-of-a-kind fine jewelry pieces can be found in art museums across the country. She sits on the board of Georgetown University, the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America), the Accessories Council, and is a member of the Harvard Kennedy School Women and Public Policy. After achieving top recognition for jewelry design (the GEM Award) and successfully running a global accessories business, she formed her vision for UNLEASHED. She now dedicates 100% of her time towards supporting female artisans and entrepreneurs through story-focused media ventures, including the documentary film series Connecting Thread.

Jeanne chairs the Ruesch Family Foundation which focuses on medical research, education and the arts. The Foundation funded the Ruesch Center for the Cure of GI Cancers at Georgetown/Medstar Hospital in honor of her late husband, Otto Ruesch. Ms. Ruesch is the previous chair of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the National Symphony Orchestra. She has served on the boards of Georgetown University, Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, Gonzaga College High School, Washington Performing Arts, Washington Jesuit Academy and Catholic Charities. She is a member of the Committee of 200, a worldwide organization for entrepreneurial business women. Prior to establishing the family foundation, Ms. Ruesch and her husband founded an international financial services company.

Sonia is a physician, research scientist and C-level executive instrumental in growing a clinical research firm from 2 to 100 employees and over $40MM in annual revenue through organic growth, acquisitions and securing private equity funding. Currently, Dr. Singla is the Chief Administrative Officer of a mid-size biotech firm incorporating 15 CNS clinical research sites and a full-service contract research organization. She is an expert clinical investigator having worked on over 100 clinical trials ranging from Phases I-IV and played a key role in the development of multiple new drugs approved by the FDA including her vital work in spearheading company efforts to develop non-opioid pain therapies to combat the US opioid crisis.

Sarah (SFS’82, P’15) is chair of the Georgetown School of Foreign Service Board of Advisors. She graduated cum laude from the SFS and helped launch the International Trailblazers Awards in Europe for the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She worked in finance for Chase Manhattan Corporation in New York City before moving to Chase Investment Bank, London, in 1984, to become the youngest female director in currency swaps and derivatives. Subsequently, she earned a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics in International Political Economy. Sarah serves as trustee for the City of London Sinfonia and is an active volunteer in her local community and children’s schools. She served as a member of the Georgetown Board of Regents for six years as well as the John Carroll Weekend London Planning Committee. Sarah’s husband, Christian, SFS’81 and eldest son, Natango, SFS’15, are also proud Hoyas.

Maria is co-director and chair of a European family foundation focused on Women’s Rights and Climate Justice. Clara oversees the grant giving strategy and corporate governance body. The Foundation believes that investing in frontline communities, particularly those led by women, is critical to strengthening socioeconomic equity and addressing the climate crisis. Clara worked for more than three decades in finance (as a partner in a Wall Street firm and as founder of a successful UK hedge fund capital introduction business) and has been engaged for decades in charitable fundraising and active volunteering. Clara is a graduate of Università di Firenze with a degree in Political Science, International Law and received her MBA in Finance from UC Berkeley Haas Business School. She became Georgetown Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security after being a member of the GU Parents Leadership Council for four years. Her son Luca Perper is a proud Hoya graduate.

Ariadne Velissaropoulos is a strategic advisor, angel investor and board member. After graduating from Georgetown University with a degree in French and Political Science, she worked in advertising and PR at Young & Rubicam in New York. She subsequently earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and moved to London with Morgan Stanley. From 2004 to 2020 Ariadne worked in the asset management industry raising money for European hedge funds.

After decades spent in New York, London and Geneva, Ariadne moved back to Athens, Greece, where she currently serves on the boards of Petros Petropoulos, a publicly listed automotive importer and distributor, and The HOME Project, an organization that cares for unaccompanied minor refugees.

Cynthia received her BS in International Humanities with a focus on Russian Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and her law degree from Columbia Law School. After clerking for US District Judge Carol Bagley Amon (E.D.N.Y.), Cynthia worked for many years as a corporate lawyer focused on private equity at Davis Polk & Wardwell, Ropes & Gray, Oracle Corporation and then as in house counsel for Thomas Weisel Partners in San Francisco. Cynthia has been an active volunteer in her community with numerous organizations with a focus on supporting families, children and access to quality
education for all. Cynthia served on the Georgetown Board of Regents for six years and has been a member of the Northern California Advisory Board for many years. She and her husband, Jamie O’Hara, co-chaired John Carroll Weekend in San Francisco in 2023 and support and engage with Georgetown in various other capacities. They are the proud parents of an SFS Hoya graduate (Maddy ’22) and a current Hoya (Will ’26). As she begins to focus more on expanding her family’s philanthropic endeavors, Cynthia looks forward to learning about more ways to empower women around the globe through her involvement as a Georgetown
Ambassador with GIWPS.

Margaret is a faculty member at the University of Colorado in Denver and Director of the Interdisciplinary Studies Program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She graduated from Georgetown University’s College in 1988. Margaret did her doctoral work at the University of Texas in Austin in Art History and Classical Studies. In her teaching and her research, Margaret explores women’s political empowerment, civic roles, and access to public authority across history. Margaret has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a Fulbright Fellowship, Princeton’s Citizens & Scholars Institute Fellowship in Women’s Studies, and the Woodruff Traveling Fellowship from the Archaeological Institute of America. Her book, Monumental Matrons: Imperial Women, Gender, and Architecture in the Roman Empire (Cambridge University Press 2025), examines women’s agency and benefaction in public life and the built environment.

Ayşe Yırcalı received her B.A. degrees in Economics and History from Brown University in 1997 and her M.A. in Political Science from Sabancı University in 2005. She began her career in finance, working at one of Istanbul’s leading investment banks. Since 2002, her professional focus has been on civil society, holding research and executive positions at several of Turkey’s prominent think tanks and institutions. Ayşe has worked extensively on policymaking in the areas of democratization, human rights, conflict resolution and transformation, and good governance. She has conducted field research and published work on minority groups, refugees, and displaced populations in Turkey, Europe, and the Middle East. Currently, she is a founding partner of PAR Research and Consultancy, where her recent work centers on gender equality issues in Turkey and its neighboring regions. Ayşe also regularly contributes to digital media platforms such as Serbestiyet and Sessiz Olmaz, writing on popular culture, women’s issues, and human rights. She is married and has two daughters; the elder, Yasemin, is a student at Georgetown’s MSB.

Known as ‘the eye doctor’, Dr Maryam Zamani is an Oculoplastic Surgeon and leading facial Aesthetics Doctor with an international reputation. She founded the multi-award-winning MZ Skin brand in 2016 and continues to attract substantial recognition across media and within the industry for her pioneering direction in scientific skincare, influence in aesthetics and as an inspirational female entrepreneur.