About Us

Our Mission

Increasing the Number of Women in Executive Leadership and on Corporate Boards

Our History

OnBoard, formerly the Board of Directors Network (BDN), was founded in 1993 by Margaret “Peggy” (Espinda) LaFreniere. Inspired by a conference put on by The International Alliance for Women regarding women on boards, Peggy and the 37 other charter members started OnBoard. The initial focus was on increasing the number of women on corporate boards of both public and private companies. The mission later expanded to include women in leadership positions because those women were in the best position to fill the pipeline of qualified women to serve on corporate boards.

OnBoard was among the first organizations in the country to recognize that the mission to increase the number of women on boards would require an organized effort. And the first, in the United States, to field a study benchmarking the number of women on corporate boards. The OnBoard study has been reporting progress for Georgia public companies since 1993. OnBoard was a founding member of ION, the InterOrganization Network, a national nonprofit umbrella organization dedicated to increasing the number of women on for-profit boards and in executive suites. 

Today, OnBoard has grown into a prestigious organization as the leading authority on women in the boardroom and executive suites of Georgia public companies. OnBoard advocates for women, inspires them to take leadership, and connects them to opportunities. The organization gives out two awards annually: OnBoard Excellence Award and the Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Award

Founding and The First Study

Measured the number of women board members and women officers in Georgia’s public companies, determining the percentage of positions held by women. The study also measured the percentage of companies with no women board members or officers

Only 1/4 of the 150 Georgia public companies tracked had women directors, accounting for only 4% of all board seats.

1993

7% Women

7% of Executive Officers in Georgia’s top public companies were women.

1998

Advocacy Efforts Amplified

OnBoard’s advocacy efforts were significantly amplified by funding that supported the distribution of the study to every public company in Georgia. The study gained visibility (quoted in The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Atlanta Business Chronicle and The Wall Street Journal), and helped grow membership and event attendance, and most importantly, it attracted major sponsors, many of whom have supported OnBoard for over a decade.

1999

Well Ahead of Its Time

OnBoard added the measurement of board seats held by women of color. A little over half of 1% of board seats were held by women of color.

2001

The Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Award

Awarded to the woman board member who has served as an outstanding role model for advancing the mission of increasing the number of women in executive leadership and on corporate boards.

2003

12 Charter Members Become the First Class of OnBoard Advocates

Launched in 2005, the Advocates List is comprised of industry leaders who have accepted the invitation to financially support OnBoard at a leadership level. Advocates bring their vision and passion to support the mission of OnBoard to increase the number of women in executive leadership and on corporate boards. Today, the Advocates List consists of nearly 300 members.

2005

OnBoard Excellence Award

Awarded annually to three Georgia based women leaders to highlight OnBoard’s mission to increase the number of women in executive leadership.

2007

21 Years

The number of women directors has doubled, and the percentage of board seats held by women rose to 11.5% – representing great progress, but also illustrating how far there is to go before OnBoard’s work is done. Even as the number of executive officers decreases, the women executive officers reached 10% in 2008 and stay close to that percentage with no significant breakout – 9.8% this year. The share of board seats held by women of color has the furthest to go – yet to exceed 2%

2013

Next OnBoard Created

OnBoard created Next OnBoard in 2014 to engage motivated early- and mid-career professionals as they travel the path to senior leadership and perhaps board service. OnBoard was the first group in ION to deliver such a program.

2014

Women Hold 12.9%

Women hold 12.9% (123) of the 952 total board seats in Georgia’s public companies. The Power of 3 or critical mass is considered at least 3 or more women on a company’s board. There is an encouraging emerging trend indicating that companies with critical mass are increasing. In the 2016 study the companies meeting this critical mass definition at the time of the data cutoff are*: Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (4), Genuine Parts (4), The Coca-Cola Company (4), Carter’s, EarthLink Holdings, Gray Television, Halyard Health, Haverty Furniture Companies, Primerica, The Home Depot and UPS®. *(Three women unless otherwise noted.) But there is still work to be done. Men hold 87% of the board seats. There are 50 (40%) Georgia public companies that have no women on board. Women of color in Georgia lag the national stats for percentage of board seats.

2016

Women Hold 19.8%

Women hold 19.8% (176) of the 889 total board seats in Georgia’s public companies. There are a record 26 Power of 3 companies with least 3 or more women on a company’s board. The fill rate is 28%, which means that 28% of the open board seats were filled by women. This leading indicator is promising for future progress. There are NO all-male boards in the Georgia Top 50 companies by revenue. United Parcel Service is leading the way with 6 women on board followed by The Coca-Cola Company at 5 women. However, Women of Color hold only 3.7% of board seats which is still an area for needed special focus. Also not increasing substantially are the women executive officers, flat at 14.4%, 15.5% and 15.6% for the last three years. With the exception of these two areas, the study years 2018 through 2020 have shown increased progress over prior years. This momentum is encouraging.

2021

Measuring Progress

From its inception, OnBoard has been a pioneer in its approach to getting more women on corporate boards. The organization was the first to field a study to measure the status of women on corporate boards. Recognizing that hard numbers are more compelling than prose, OnBoard strives to make the case for a problem that needs to be addressed while creating an essential benchmark for measuring progress and proving efficacy.

Guided by the philosophy that “what gets measured gets done”, OnBoard prepared and reported results of the first study in 1993, promoting it as a progress report for Georgia public companies, as well as a yardstick for the work yet to be done. Executive officers for the purposes of the study are only those listed by the companies in their SEC filings, which includes but may not be exclusive to the “Named Executive Officers”.

OnBoard 2023 Board of Directors

Rachel Perry

Chair

AON

Lisa Robinson

CEO

OnBoard

Rachel Tullos

Chair Elect

Crawford & Company

Kelly Gay

Governance Chair and Immediate Past Chair

Corporate Board Member

Stefanie Paulos

Treasurer

The Coca-Cola Company (Ret.)

Alison LaBruyere

Secretary

Of Counsel, Squire Patton Boggs

Dan Dubay

Advocates Committee Chair

SignatureFD

Dan Mallory

Programs Committee Chair

Aprio

Mary McCoy

OnBoard Accelerator Chair

McCoy Advisory LLC

Melissa Rutten

Get On Board! Chair

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

Kelly Brock

UPS

Angela Brown

AJ Capital Partners

Sloane Drake

Southern Company

Cheri Husney

Aprio

Linda A. Klein

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

Sarah Mackenzie

Alston & Bird

Nataly Marks

KPMG Risk Advisory

Keith Ivory Millner

Coaching Catalyst

Jerrell Moore

Cadence Bank

Ryanne Pennington

JLL

Lily Prost

J.M. Huber Corporation

Michael Schall

Pod Foods

Wanda J. Silva

Silva Capital Solutions, Inc

Kathy Waller

Delta Air Lines, CGI Incorporated, Beyond Meat, Cadence Bank

OnBoard Sponsors

Thank you to our annual sponsors. You make the pursuit of our mission possible.

OnBoard celebrates and thanks our 30th Anniversary Partners

who share our commitment to gender parity in the corporate boardroom.

With Special Thanks to:

Premier Partner
Racial Equity Sponsor

Sponsor Spotlight

OnBoard recognizes these organizations that are paving the way for women in corporate leadership.

A company with diversity, equity and inclusion ingrained in its DNA, J.M. Huber Corporation is one of the visionary Annual Sponsors who partner with OnBoard to make gender parity in corporate leadership a reality. “Respect for People” is one of Huber’s core values, guiding the company’s approach to talent, culture and community.

Thanks to Huber for all you do to pave the way for a diverse, inclusive and empowered workforce.

 

An Atlanta-based law firm with an international footprint, Alston & Bird is one of OnBoard’s longest-standing partners. The firm is passionate about the development and support of women. We are grateful to current board member Sarah Hess Mackenzie and past board member Sarah Ernst for representing Alston & Bird in OnBoard’s leadership.

 Thank you for your generosity and steadfast commitment to equity in corporate leadership!

Become a Sponsor

Get Involved And Help Us Achieve Our Goal Today

OnBoard is a 501(c)3 designated nonprofit that provides educational programs, research and professional development opportunities. Corporations provide financial sponsorship because they see the value for their brand as well as the opportunities for professional development. Many of our sponsors also share their talented people with OnBoard through service to our board, and by connecting us with their professional networks.

Visibility for Sponsors

Annual sponsors are continuously recognized in communications across all mediums. At each of our three major events annual sponsors are highlighted.

Our audience for these events is typically 150 to 250 attendees, men and women from corporations, government agencies, academia, professional services firms, and the media as well as members of boards. The topics and speakers are consistent with OnBoard’s mission and often draw sold-out crowds.

At each major event, sponsors have:

  •  Invitations to the event
  •  Logo on the invitations, event signs and collateral materials
  •  Special recognition from the podium and in the printed program at the event
Education for Key People

As talented people move up in an organization, it becomes increasingly challenging to meet their development needs with exclusively internal experiences. We offer programming and networking opportunities that help your highly talented people expand their thinking as well as their professional contacts.

Annual sponsors participate in the major events as well as others not open to the public. These include presentations by authors, networking, or inclusion in private events held by other organizations with whom OnBoard is aligned.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Annual Sponsors fuel the operations that make women on boards a reality. In addition to earning the full privileges of OnBoard membership, sponsorships offer a variety of benefits, including access to women who have prepared for executive roles and visibility among OnBoard’s active, business-conscious membership base. 

Benefits may be customized to suit the philanthropic priorities of each sponsor. OnBoard is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and sponsorships are tax deductible to the extent benefits allow. Investment levels and partnership benefits are listed below:

 
The Champion
$15,000 Investment
  • Complimentary executive search for a female board member
 
  • One space for a female executive of sponsor’s choice in a 2023 OnBoard Accelerator or Ignite cohort (includes an Advocate membership for the participant)

  • One additional Advocate level membership to designate to a person of sponsor’s choice

  • Ten OnBoard memberships (Member or Next OnBoard level) to distribute for the term of the sponsorship, including access to the Member Portal and confidential board opportunity notifications

  • Invitation for a company representative to participate in Get On Board! as an interviewer or a candidate

  • Opportunity to select a panelist or speaker for one OnBoard event (with approval from OnBoard team)

  • Opportunity to host OnBoard meetings or events at your company’s corporate office

  • Recognition as an Annual Sponsor at each major event (at least three per year)

    • Special recognition by the host during the events

    • Four invitations to in-person events

    • Unlimited invitations to virtual events

    • Logo inclusion on e-invitations, event programs and slides, and other collateral materials

  • Discounted rate for Presenting Sponsorship of any event throughout the year (recognized at a higher tier than Annual Sponsor group)

  • Logo listing on home page sponsor banner on OnBoard website

  • Special recognition in rotating Sponsor Spotlight on website and LinkedIn

The Trailblazer
$11,000 Investment
  • One space for a female executive of sponsor’s choice in a 2023 OnBoard Accelerator or Ignite cohort (includes an Advocate membership for the participant)
 
  • One additional Advocate level membership to designate to a person of sponsor’s choice

  • Discounted rate on an executive search for a female director to serve on sponsor’s board

  • Ten OnBoard memberships (Member or Next OnBoard level) to distribute for the term of the sponsorship, including access to the Member Portal and confidential board opportunity notifications

  • Invitation for a company representative to participate in Get On Board! as an interviewer or a candidate

  • Opportunity to select a panelist or speaker for one OnBoard event (with approval from OnBoard team)

  • Opportunity to host OnBoard meetings or events at your company’s corporate office

  • Recognition as an Annual Sponsor at each major event (at least three per year)

    • Special recognition by the host during the events

    • Four invitations to in-person events

    • Unlimited invitations to virtual events

    • Logo inclusion on e-invitations, event programs and slides, and other collateral materials

  • Discounted rate for Presenting Sponsorship of any event throughout the year (recognized at a higher tier than Annual Sponsor group)

  • Logo listing on home page sponsor banner on OnBoard website

  • Special recognition in rotating Sponsor Spotlight on website and LinkedIn

The Connector
$7,500 Investment
  • Ten OnBoard memberships (Member or Next OnBoard level) to designate for the term of the sponsorship, including access to the Member Portal

  • One Advocate membership (highest level of OnBoard membership for corporate executives)

  • Invitation for a company representative to participate in Get On Board! as an interviewer or a candidate

  • Opportunity to select a panelist or speaker for one OnBoard event (with approval from OnBoard team)

  • Opportunity to host OnBoard meetings or events at your company’s corporate office

  • Recognition as an Annual Sponsor at each major event (at least three per year)

  • Discounted rate for Presenting Sponsorship of any event throughout the year (recognized at a higher tier than Annual Sponsor group)

    • Special recognition by the host during the events

    • Four invitations to in-person events

    • Unlimited invitations to virtual events

    • Logo inclusion on e-invitations, event programs and slides, and other collateral materials

  • Logo listing on home page sponsor banner on OnBoard website

  • Special recognition in rotating Sponsor Spotlight on website and LinkedIn

Alternatively, organizations may opt to sponsor a single event.
Fee varies
  • Logo inclusion on e-invitations, event programs and slides, and other collateral materials
 
  • Special recognition by the host during the event
 
  • Opportunity for company representative to make remarks during event
 
  • Exclusive mention in social media activity promoting the event
 
  • Recognition on the OnBoard website event page
 
  • Opportunity to distribute branded giveaway at event
 
  • One OnBoard membership to offer to an employee or client of your choice
 
OnBoard Events in 2023

February 28 – Web3 and Digital Assets: What’s Next, virtual event

February 28 – OnBoard Advocate Only event

March 28 – Negotiating for Your Future, spring panel luncheon

April 19 – Get On Board!

April 24 – Golf Clinic, Lunch and Optional Nine-Hole Scramble

June 07 – OnBoard Excellence Awards Breakfast

August 29 – OnBoard Advocate Only event

September 20 – Get On Board!

November 02 – Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Award Dinner

Visit our Upcoming Events page for details.

TAX ID for OnBoard: 582104628 (501(c)3 organization)

Be An Advocate

Take Action and Advocate

Launched in 2005 with a dozen charter members, the Advocates List has grown to include nearly 300 members. OnBoard Advocates are industry leaders whose dedication and vision support the mission of OnBoard. Advocates receive invitations to intimate networking events with high-profile speakers in addition to the full benefits of OnBoard Membership.

The Advocates List

The Advocates List are individuals who have accepted the invitation to financially support OnBoard at a leadership level. Advocates support OnBoard’s mission to increase the number of women in executive leadership and on corporate boards.

Annie Adams

EVP & Chief Transformation Officer

Norfolk Southern Corporation

Kristin Rambo Adams

EVP

Aon

Peggy Allumbaugh

Retired Partner

Deloitte

Peggy Allumbaugh

Retired Partner

Deloitte

Renita Anderson

Global Marketing Director

Ingevity

Kris Anderson

Operational Leader

Jenn Andreou

Executive, Life & Leadership Coach

LUMO

Marisol Angelini

Board of Directors

Bush Brothers, American Vanguard Corp.

Lillian Ansley

Founder & Managing Partner

Kirbo + Ansley

Ann Anton

Director, Benefits & HR Services

J. M. Huber Corporation

Claire "Yum" Arnold

CEO

Leapfrog Services, Inc.

Scott Askins

Independent Director

CoastalSouth Bancshares, Inc.

Phyllis Austin

SVP Human Resources

Boys & Girls Club of America

Lillie S. Axelrod

CEO

Ag Risk Solutions, LLC

Terri Badour

Executive Director

American Red Cross Metropolitan Atlanta

Cindy Baerman

CEO

Executive Advisory Services

James Balkcom

Chairman of the Board

Espri Gas

Rachel Barnett

Chief Legal Officer

IEX Trading

Chloe Barzey

Senior Managing Director

Accenture

Madeleine Batson

Director of Tax

Aprio Wealth LLP

Victoria Beck

CFO

IMS

Susan Bell

Retired Partner

EY

Karen Bennett

EVP and Chief People Officer

Cox Enterprises

Tim Bentsen

Board of Directors

Synovus Financial Corp.

Vignette Berkeley

Director, Strategy Advancement

Humana

Myra Bierria

VP, Corporate Secretary

Southern Company

Alicen Blair

Executive Search

Korn Ferry

Becky Blalock

Board Director

Aspen Aerogels

Edwina Blanchard

Assistant VP Corporate Technology Services

Cox Enterprises

Michele Blondheim

Director, Corporate Citizenship & Executive Director, Aprio Foundation

Aprio

Karstin Bodell

VP of General Marketing, Retired

IBM

Susan Boehlke

CEO

TAB Ventures

Christopher Borowski

PERC Associate

Aprio

L. Celeste Bottorff

VP, Global Health & Wellbeing Initiatives, Retired

The Coca-Cola Company

Holly Boudreau

SVP, GLobal Tax

Crawford & Company

Denise Boyd

Partner

Grant Thornton LLP

Wayne Bradley

Partner

Troutman Pepper

Rosalind Brewer

CEO

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.

Manon Brochu

COO

GasSouth

Kelly Brock

VP, International Marketing

UPS

Angela Brown

Tax Director

AJ Capital

Caroline M. Brown

SVP, Content Operations & Origination

Warner Bros. Discovery

Lisa Brown

Partner & Wealth Advisor

Brightworth Private Wealth

Leanne Bryant

Human Resources Consultant

Grady Health System

Elizabeth Burdette

Director of Client Engagement for SignatureGENEROSITY

SignatureFD

Miriam Burgess

Partner, Enterprise Client Leader

Aon

Chris Byrne

President, Marketing Operations & Digital Accleration

UPS

Elizabeth W. "Betsy" Camp

Board of Directors

Genuine Parts Company, Intelligent Systems Corp., Synovus

Jill Campbell

Retired President

Teresa Caro

Chief Liminist

Liminist

Sue Carpenter

VP, Corporate Giving & Major Donors

Visiting Nurse Health System

Lillian Caudle

Associate General Counsel

Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC

Tapaswee Chandele

Global VP of Talent & Development

The Coca-Cola Company

Elizabeth Chandler

VP & General Counsel

Rollins, Inc.

Anastasia Chapek

VP of Sales Strategy and Revenue Operations

NCR Corporation

Julie Chatman

Associate Partner and Cyber Expert

McKinsey & Co.

Cecelia Cheeks

Founder & Principal

Cecintel Public Relations

Andrea Clark

Senior Corporate Counsel

Delta

Tosha Clay

SVP, Investment Management

Sila Realty Trust

Trisha Clements

VP, IT Transformation

Republic National Distributing Company

Elizabeth Clubb

Founder & CEO

myFloc

Caroline Cochran

Chief People Officer

QGenda

Mel Coker

President & CEO

M Coker Consulting, LLC

Amy Comeau

VP Marketing

Emory Healthcare

Tyler Cook

VP of Finance & Business Transformation

Georgia Power Company

LeighAnn Costley

Partner

Frazier & Deeter, LLC

Abby Cox

VP, Business Development

WellSky

Molly Croft

Consultant

Retired

Karen Robinson Cope

Board of Directors

Accscient, Look Listen, Simpliworks

Audra Cunningham

EVP & Chief Administrative Office

T. Dallas Smith & Company

Leslie Curl

SVP

The Elliot Group

Kimberlyn Daniel

Chief People & DEI Officer, Managing Principal

IA Interior Architects

Dr. Loretta Daniels, CDP

CEO, Managing Partner

Kendall & Kendrick Consulting Group

Jennifer Davis

CMO

Well Made Decisions

Nicole Davis

Director, Talent Acquisition

Aprio

Dorothy Davis

President & CEO

Visiting Nurse Health System

Kate Deagan

Senior Business Analyst

Aprio, LLP

Naina Desai

Group Director, Revenue Growth & Business Intelligence

Arca Continental Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages

Aaron deSouza

Co-Founder & CEO

Guided101, LLC

Sahana Dharmapuri

Director

One Earth Future Foundation

Lejla Dickson

Director, Growth & Strategy

KPMG LLP

Kelly Dolan

President & CEO, Retired

Global Ronald McDonald House Charities

Tracy Doucet

Senior Director, Global COVID-19 Crisis Leader

Kimberly-Clark

Roxanne Douglas

Owner

R Douglas Law Firm LLC

Sloan Drake

EVP, CHRO

Georgia Power Company and Southern Company

Dan Dubay

Partner, Director of SignatureEXEC

SignatureFD

Ceree Eberly

Board of Directors

Qualfon, LLC

Renee Eddy

VP, Innovation

Rinnai America Corporation

Jill Edgecombe

President, Founder

Aesthetic Edge, LLC

Charmaine Edmonds

Senior Account Executive

Aon

Stephanie Ellenberg

Associate VP, Retired

AT&T

Connie Engel

Partner

Childress Klein

Sarah Ernst

Partner

Alston & Bird LLP

Kimberly Evans

CEO

Relations Research

Reade Fahs

CEO

National Vision, Inc.

Pat Falotico

VP, Client Development

Pathbuilders

Amy Feng

Head of Investor Relations

Shopify

Denise Fisher

Board President

St. Vincent De Paul Georgia

Mary Ford

CMO

CENTEGIX

Susan Avery Ford

Commercial Banking

Middle Market Banking

Heather Fortner

CEO

SignatureFD

Mary Francia

Partner

H. I. Executive Consulting

Lee Friedman

SVP, Wealth Management

UBS Financial Services Inc.

Kate Frost

Director, Legal Business Solutions

PwC

Susan Gambardella

President, North America

Kimberly Clark Professional

David Gamsey

CFO & EVP

First Advantage Corporation

Kelly Gay

Board of Directors

Acivilate, OnBoard

David Gaynes

President

Gaynes Financial Services, Inc.

Heather Generes

Julie Giacobbe

Firm Alliance Relationship Director

Aprio

Lauren Gilkenson

Wealth Management Associate

The Casey-Slade Group at Morgan Stanley

Paige Goldner

CEO

Speakeasy

Alexandra Gobbi

Chief Marketing Officer

Code42

Michaëlle Gocko

Leadership Advisory - Development & Search

Egon Zehnder International

Lisa Y. Gordon

COO

City of Atlanta Mayor's Office

Karen Grant

SVP, Partnerships

Bark Bark

Patrice Graves

Chief People Officer

Point B

Heike Greenspon

EVP East Coast Operations

Knight Commercial

Deborah Schwartz Griffin

Founder & CEO

Creative Connector, LLC

Leigh Ann Groome

Principal

Waymo / Google

Stacie Hagan

Chief People Officer, Retired

Secureworks

Michelle Hairston

CHRO

Former PulteGroup

Donna Hall

Publisher, The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Cox Enterprises

Lani Hall

Director, Organizational Development & Global DEI

J.M. Huber Corporation

Nancy Halwig

SVP, Retired

PNC

Nozi Hamidi

Founding Partner

CMO Syndicate

Maddie Hamill

COO

The Hamill Network

Crystal Hanlon

Division President

The Home Depot

Yushin Hawig

VP, Applications Engineering

Southwire Company

Jordan Haywood

Communications Director

Aprio

Jessica Hegarty

VP, Product Development & Strategy

PLANTSTRONG Foods

Virginia Hepner

Board of Directors

Cadence Bank, National Vision, Oxford Industries

Ashley Herd

Founder

Manager Method LLC

Jo Ann Herold

CMO & Founder

Herold Growth Consulting

Deb Hetrick

SVP, Operations

ABM Industries

Sheila Hicks

SVP, Residential Sales

Cox Enterprises

JonVieve Hill

Attorney

Fisher Phillips

Josh Hirsh

Executive Managing Director

JLL

Susan Hitchcock

Advisory Board

Turknett Leadership Group

Evelyn Hoff

Executive Director, Retired

Fabrefaction Theatre Company

Brenda Hofmann

Chief of Staff to Chief Platform Services Officer

The Coca-Cola Company

Erica Hoholick

CEO

22Squared

Michelle Horn

SVP & Chief Strategy Officer

Delta Air Lines

Julia A. Houston

Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer

Equifax

Roz Huang

Founder & CEO

Dandelion Global Group

Charles Huddleston

Of Counsel

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

Patti Humble

Chief Accounting Officer

UPS

Julie Hunter-Anderson

Attorney

Martenson, Hasbrouck & Simon LLP

Cheri Husney

Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer

Aprio

Juliana Iarossi

Clinical Assistant Professor / Founder

University of South Carolina / Coalesce Capital, LLC

Charlie Ingram

EVP, Strategic Development

Continuum HR

Joanna Irwin

CMO

Randstad

Michelle Jackson

SVP & Private Wealth Advisor

Capital Group

Anita Johnson

Chief of Surgery

Cancer Treatment Centers Of America

Ayana Johnson

Helaina Jolly

Sr. Broker Relationship Leader

Munich Re Specialty Insurance

Trish Jones

CEO

Act 3 Ventures, Inc

Jane Karwoski

Chief Growth Officer

Corps Team

Jeanne Keane

GreenLake Hybrid Cloud Practice Portfolio Strategy Leader

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Trish Kellogg

Director

Beacon Hill Staffing Group

Anjuli Kelotra

Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer

The Coca-Cola Company

Sloan Kennedy Smith

VP of Distribution, Retired

Dawn Killenberg

Executive Director

Agnes Scott College

Cheryl King

CFO

St. Vincent de Paul Georgia

Linda Klein

Senior Managing Shareholder

Baker Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

Joel Koblentz

Founding Partner

The Koblentz Group

Sue Kolloru

Chief Strategy & Corporate Development Officer

Pearson PLC

Barrett Coker Krise

Partner

Bell Oaks Executive Search

Alison LaBruyere

Of Counsel

Squire Patton Boggs

Lisa LaFave

President, US Sales, Retired

UPS

Anita Lamb

President & Co-Founder

Esco Eats

Beatriz Landa

Director of Strategy

Novelis

Gwendolyn Larkin

VP, Tax Operations

Aprio

Amy Lazarus

COO

Pulmera

F. David Leiter Jr.

Managing Partner - Atlanta MidSouth Hub Leader

KPMG LLP

Mei Leng

Director, Internal Audit

Crawford & Company

Claudia Lestapis

VP & General Counsel of CP Kelco

J.M. Huber Corporation

Kate Leverone

Partner, Transaction Services

Forvis, LLP

Stacy Lewis

Partner & Private Wealth Manager

Creative Planning

Helene Lollis

CEO

Pathbuilders

Kathy Loveless

VP, Controller

The Coca-Cola Company

Annis Lyles

VP, Marketing Communications, Retired

The Coca-Cola Company

Sarah Hess Mackenzie

Partner

Alston & Bird LLP

Dan Mallory

Strategic Technology Consultant

Aprio

Kate Mandrell

EVP, Commercial & Strategic Operations

NCR Corporation

Jane Mandula

Board of Directors

Mazzetti

Jennifer Manning

Associate General Counsel, Strategic Transactions & New Ventures Corporate Secretary

The Coca-Cola Company

Alexa Markov

Senior Manager of Financial Planning & Analysis

Aprio

Nataly Marks

Partner

KPMG LLP

Stephanie Martin

CFO

Georgia Chamber of Commerce

Jennifer Aspen Mason

SVP, Global Innovation

CP Kelco

Crystal Mathis

CMO, Partner

SignatureFD

Crystal Matthews

Assistant VP

Aon

Joyce Mazero

Chair, Global Franchise & Supply Network Practice

Polsinelli

Dawnita McCain

Managing Director

Regions Bank

Tina McCain

SVP, Client Partnerships

Zeta Global

Kathryn McConnell

Shareholder

Littler Mendelson

Mary McCoy

Partner

McCoy Advisory LLC

Amy McCullough

CFO

Fulcrum Equity Partners

Myra McElhaney

Owner

McElhaney & Associates, LLC

Carol Messer

EVP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary

J. M. Huber Corporation

Rebecca Messina

Senior Advisor

McKinsey & Co.

Natalia Migal

Chief Risk Officer

DLL

Heather Milam

VP, Technology (Global)

Travelport

Nichole Miles-Sullivan

VP, Operations

Atlanta Gas Light

Dori Miller

Principal

Collective Insights

Heather Miller

VP, Digital Transformation Office

WestRock

Keith Ivory Millner

Managing Partner

Coaching Catalyst

Mindy Millward

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Navalent

Jennifer Mirgorod

Owner & Executive Coach

Crest Consulting LLC

Hala Moddelmog

President & CEO

Woodruff Arts Center

Michelle Montgomery

CMO

Crawford & Company

Erika Moore

Chief Officer Travel Supply

TravelX

Jerrell Moore

EVP, Chief Diversity Officer

Cadence

Meredith Moore

Founder & CFO

Artisan Financial Strategies

T. Robin Moore

Global VP, Next Generation Services

The Coca-Cola Company

Tracy Moore

Co-President

Georgians United

Sandra Morelli

SVP, Regional Director

Capital Group Private Client Services

Chaly Jo Moyen

Chief Strategy Officer

Woodard & Curran

Diana Murphy

Executive Coach

Diana Murphy Coaching, LLC

Janine Musholt

President

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation

Hilda Mwangi

Chief Financial Officer

HAZ Advisors LLC

Nithya Narasimhan

SVP, Client Relationships

Oracle

Grace Nelson

CEO

Magenta

Susan Nethero

Managing Director, Founding Member & Co-Chair of Atlanta Chapter

GoldenSeeds ATL

Joan Netzel

CEO

Joan Netzel Consulting

Sharon Noble

VP, Global Human Resources

Huber Engineered Materials

Ann-Marie Notaro

Partner

Troutman Pepper

Susan O'Farrell

Board of Directors

Leslie’s Inc., ATW

Kinsee Owens

Director, Human Resources - Corporate

Genuine Parts Company

Ashley Page

SVP, Deputy General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer

Endeavor

Michelle Page-Rivera

Managing Director

Slalom

Elba Pareja-Gallagher

Founder

ShowMe50

Christy Parrish

SVP, Marketing

UPS

Stefanie Paulos

Assistant VP, Retired

The Coca-Cola Company

Edwina Payne

Board of Directors

Federal Home Loan Bank Of Atlanta

Laura Pease

SVP & Private Client Advisor

Bank of America Private Bank

Anne Peck

VP, Office of the CIO

State Street Corporation

Thomas Pennella

Co-founder

Penhalt Advisory Group, LLC

Ryanne Pennington

Managing Director

JLL

Alaina Percival

CEO

Women Who Code

Katelyn Perna

Head of Security, Digital Assets and Information

Bank of New York Mellon

Rachel Perry

Chief Innovation Officer, Commercial Risk North America

Aon

Jennifer Personette

VP, Marketing

NCR Corporation

Jannquell Peters

Director of Community Affairs

King & Spalding

Donna Peters

Founder

The Me-Suite, LLC

Tammira Philippe

President & CEO

Bridgeway Capital Management

Amy Pollino

VP of Finance

Smith + Howard

Tunisia Poole

SVP, Deputy General Counsel

Southwire Company

Joanna Price

Chief Corporate Affairs Officer

Heineken

Cheney Pridgen

Product Owner

Aprio

Lily Prost

EVP & CHRO

J.M. Huber Corporation

Anne Quiello

Senior Consultant

Turknett Leadership Group

Dawn Randolph

CFO

Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network

Brenda Rarick

VP, Global Strategy

Crawford & Company

Stephanie Rauls

SVP, Deputy CFO & CAO

Novelis

Amy Reeves

Client Relationship Executive

Grant Thornton

DeRetta Rhodes, PhD

EVP & Chief Culture Officer

Atlanta Braves

Karen Rice

Senior Underwriting Specialist

PMA Insurance

Erin Mitchell Richeson

VP, Inclusions & Diversity

Cox Enterprises

Amy Richter

Leadership Advisor & Coach

ThinqShift

Lisa Roberts

Law VP and Chief Counsel, Payments & Network

NCR Corporation

Janice Robinson

Executive Director, United Way VIP

United Way of Greater Atlanta

Lisa Robinson

CEO

OnBoard

Marc Rosenkoetter

Partner-in-Charge, Advisory Services

Aprio

Theresa Royster

Client Relations Director

Relations Research

Carrie Russell

VP & General Counsel, HEM

J. M. huber Corporation

Suzanne Russo

Assistant General Counsel

The Home Depot

Melissa Rutten

Director

Pathstone

Jane Salter

CFO & Audit Partner, Retired

DukeNet Communications

Emily Sanders

VP

Goldman Sachs

Sarah Saunders

Partner

Forvis LLP

Michael Schall

President

Pod Foods

Julie Schertell

CEO

Mativ

Jana Schmidt

President

Quisitive Global Payment Solutions

Maureen Schumacher

EVP & CMO

Global Payments

Marc Schwarz

CEO

Advising Capital

Anne Sciarrone

Owner & Architect

H. Anne Blakely Sciarrone Architecture, LLC

Christie Segura

Senior Director of Strategy

The Coca-Cola Company

Julie Seitz

Principal and Managing Director

Gensler

Christine Senn

Chief Integration Officer

Centricity Research

Sabrina Serafin

Partner, Retired

Frazier & Deeter, LLC

Ruchi Shah

VP Marketing Strategy

UPS

Sophia Shoate

President, US Sales

UPS

Irma Shrivastava

Founder & Principal

R2 Strategic Solutions

Mari Sifo

Managing Partner

TMC

Wanda Silva

President

Silva Capital Solutions, Inc.

Sheree Slaughter

Executive Administrator

OnBoard

Adair Sloan

Account Executive

Microsoft

Nia Smith

Executive Coach & DEI

Salesforce

Carla Smith

Region SCP & Executive Director, Metro Atlanta

American Heart Association

Sudanese Spence

Senior Director, PMO and Agile CoE

Southern Company

Christine St. Clare

Founder & President

St. Clare Advisors, LLC

Lynn Staner

Audit Partner

Deloitte & Touche LLP

Alyssa Steele

Chief Commercial Officer

Rugs USA

Carolyn Stefanco

CEO

Baret Leadership Consulting

Claire Sterk

President Emerita

Emory University

Maureen Sutton

Principal

Korn Ferry

Stacy Sutton

VP of Growth

Georgia Oak Partners

Mickey Swortzel

Board Observer

New Eagle

Bentina Terry

SVP, Customer Strategy & Solutions

Georgia Power Company

Josie Thomas

EVP, CDIO, Retired

CBS Corporation / CBSViacom

Wendy Thomas

CEO

Secureworks

Brandi Thomas

VP, Chief Audit Executive & Chief Diversity Officer

General Electric

Angela Thomas-Anderson

Kids2

Christina Thompson

Learning & Development Training Manager

Aprio

Lisa Tilt

CEO

Full Tilt Consulting

Annette Tirabasso

CEO & Founder

Tirabasso Transformation Group

Angela Tolliver

Director, Global Services

Johnson & Johnson

Carol Tomé

CEO

UPS

Tamira Treffers-Herrera

Vice Chairperson and Co-Head Wholesale North America Client Coverage

Rabobank

Terry Trout

SVP, Marketing

Liquid Web

Patty Knap Tucker

Founder & Senior Strategist

Treehouse Counsel

Rachel Tullos

SVP, Chief Audit Executive

Crawford & Company

Lori Turbe

Professional Standards Partner

Grant Thornton

Lyn Turknett

Co-founder

Turknett Leadership Group

Kim Turner

CEO & President

Turner Consulting

Leslie M. Turner

General Counsel, Retired

The Hershey Company

Karen Viera

SVP, Global Chief People Officer

Church's Texas Chicken

Lea Volpe

Director, Global Corporate Communications & Community Relations

J.M. Huber Corporation

Kathy Waller

Executive Director, The Atlanta Committee for Progress

Board of Directors, Beyond Meat, Cadence Bank, CGI, Delta Air Lines

Lauren Walls

Account Executive, Practice Leader

Aon

Marti Walsh

VP, Marketing

NAPA Auto Parts

Kala Walton

Senior Tax Manager

Aprio

Elizabeth Ward

CMO

United Way of Greater Atlanta

Terri Warren

Senior Operations Associate

Aprio

Rona L. Wells

President

Wells Holdings

Keyaan Williams

Managing Director

Cyber Leadership and Strategy Solutions, LLC

Blake Williams

Partner

SignatureFD

Cristel Williams

VP, Director of Client & Community Relations

PNC

Tammie Williams

SVP, Global Content Finance

Warner Bros. Discovery

Alicia Wilson

VP, Internal Audit & Chief Audit Officer

Southwire Company

Catina Wilson

Head of Strategic Growth & Operations Enablement

Optum

Phoebe Wood

Principal

CompaniesWood

Christy Wright

SVP, Corporate Finance

Southwire Company

Robin Yacovetta CFP

Senior Financial Consultant

Manning & Napier

Marija Zivanovic-Smith

Chief Marketing & Communications Officer

IEX Trading

Celebrating 30 Years

To commemorate three decades of advocating for women in executive leadership, OnBoard will be highlighting news articles and studies from our archives. We will also share “30th Anniversary Stories” from some of OnBoard’s leaders throughout the years.

OnBoard Celebrates Rona Wells, Charter Advocate, Past President and Former Executive Director

President, Wells Holdings

Rona Wells

Rona Wells has served OnBoard as a past president (2003), a charter advocate, and the Executive Director from 2004 – 2020. In honor of her retirement from our board of directors, OnBoard recognizes the impact of Rona’s countless contributions to this organisation. Here Rona shares her perspective as a long-time leader and champion of OnBoard’s mission.

 

Rona Wells is the President of Wells Holdings, which provides angel investments, consulting and fee-based services to companies, entrepreneurs and officers of Fortune 500 companies.  After earning a degree in Engineering from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, Rona began her career working for the Bell System, followed by CNA Insurance. Before her retirement, Rona was a vice-president and corporate officer of Kimberly-Clarke, where she managed $300 million P&Ls, including pulp manufacturing plants and a B2B marketing oriented industrial wiper business. 

 

Of Rona’s background in manufacturing, Charter Advocate Linda Klein says, “Rona was a trailblazer in her career.  An engineer by training, she was the first woman to run a plant for Kimberly Clark.  She was a mentor to many women in her career and is delighted that so many of her mentees have had great success.”  

 

Rona’s board service includes board of advisors for HolaDoctor, a Spanish-language health and wellness digital network; board of Bank of North Georgia when it was a $3.7 billion in assets, individually chartered bank, owned by Synovus; and the nonprofit board of Atlanta Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), among other boards oriented towards entrepreneurs. During her time as OnBoard’s President Rona was one of several organizational leaders who created ION, the InterOrganization Network, to help give member organizations a national presence and share best practices for advocacy.

 

Rona became involved in OnBoard (then BDN) as a volunteer in 2000 after learning about the organization from Martha Ezzard’s AJC article, which highlighted the lack of gender diversity on the board of SunTrust. She describes her alignment with OnBoard as stemming from a desire to help those around her, “Its a passion of mine, seeing women in business succeed, particularly in terms of getting in the c-suite and on boards, so the mission was a natural fit in terms of my interest.” 

 

In her initial volunteer work Rona brought her analytical skills to help produce the Annual Study. The Annual Study is OnBoard’s most compelling tool in advocating for gender equity. This is largely due to its consistency, accuracy and visibility, to which Rona has contributed countless hours of leadership, care and focus. 

 

Since she joined the board of directors in 2001, many of OnBoard’s programs were created under Rona’s leadership. It’s these initiatives, she says, that create tangible impact and lead to greater recognition of OnBoard’s mission. “That’s really what we were focused on, raising the visibility of OnBoard through initiatives and programs, including Get On Board!, OnBoard Accelerator, a matching service for board placement, and  recognizing  achievements through awards such as the Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Award.”

 

When asked what aspects of her service with OnBoard have been the most meaningful, Rona said “What I’ve enjoyed the most is the collaborative relationships with the people, board and membership, that the mission of OnBoard seems to naturally draw.”

 

Looking toward the future, Rona would like to see at least 60% of Georgia Public Companies have parity on their board by OnBoard’s 40th anniversary. She finds encouragement in recent trends: “I’m excited about the progress that has been made in the last four to five years through the acceleration of women being selected for board service.”

“What I’ve enjoyed the most is the collaborative relationships with the people, board and membership, that the mission of OnBoard seems to naturally draw."

We at OnBoard are incredibly grateful to Rona for her many contributions to our organization! In celebration of her time as a member of OnBoard’s Board of Directors Rona’s close colleagues to shared these words:

 

“For decades, I’ve marvelled at Rona’s ability to drive OnBoard forward through sheer force of personality and capability.” 

— Kelly Gay

 

“Rona’s indefatigable dedication to the OnBoard mission made our success possible.  Rona used her contacts and her strategic planning to assure we had great programs with great attendance.  Knowing that our #1 deliverable is our study, Rona spent years confirming every detail in every study was perfect.  In 30 years there is no one who has given more, tried harder, or was as dedicated to OnBoard as Rona.” 

— Linda Klein

 

“I believe I speak for all of the women executives and board members in Georgia when I express my incredible gratitude for Rona’s commitment to OnBoard and its impact on all of us.” 

— Sarah Ernst

 

“Rona, we are making amazing progress today with OnBoard, Inc. and much of our success started with YOU!  You truly are a special human and have influenced so many careers and lives in positive ways.  Your leadership, stamina and authentic dedication in support of women is applauded and recognized.”

— Cheri Husney

Charter Advocate and Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Award Recipient Claire "Yum" Arnold Shares Advice for New Female Board Members

CEO, Leapfrog Services, Inc.

Claire "Yum" Arnold

Yum Arnold, 2004 recipient of the Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Award, charter Advocate and long-time supporter, shares her perspective as an early for-profit board member.

  

After starting her career at Coca-Cola USA, Yum acquired a small distribution company and in 15 years grew it into one of the top five private companies in Georgia. Then, in 1998, she co-founded Leapfrog Services, where she remains its CEO.

 

Throughout her career, Yum has been an active non-profit board member and supporter, as well as a recipient of countless awards for her contributions, some of which include being named the 2002 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Metropolitan Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and being inducted into the 2006 YWCA Academy of Women. She was also named the 2014 Most Admired CEO in the Technology Sector, and the 2017 Women Who Mean Business Honoree by The Atlanta Business Chronicle.  

 

Yum’s extensive not-for-profit work spans the arts, education and the environment. She serves on the Board of Trustees of EARTH University Foundation, Spelman College; on the Governing Board of The Woodruff Arts Center; chairs the board of Achieve Atlanta; and is Deputy Chair of The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. She is also a past Chair of the Board of The Georgia Conservancy, The Carter Center Board of Councilors and her alma mater, Mary Baldwin College.

 

Yum has served on a total of six NYSE–listed firms. Her entrepreneurial experience, strategic viewpoint and practical business knowledge were the reasons she was named to her first for-profit board position in 1993, and over time, her network helped her gain new seats. During different terms she served as Lead Director as well as Head of Governance, and on Compensation and Audit committees. 

 

Yum’s advice to new female board members is: “Don’t be afraid to speak up, but also make sure that your voice is heard. One of the benefits of having multiple women on a board is they can reinforce each other’s contributions. Before you accept a board role, it is a good idea to interview all the other sitting board members. And make sure the business aligns with something you are passionate about.”

 

Yum continues to make her own education a priority by regularly attending Harvard Business School Intensive courses. She says her early upbringing in Southern Virginia with three brothers and a father who taught her to chart stock prices at a young age gave her a great foundation for a male-dominated business world.

 

When asked what OnBoard’s goals should be for its 40th anniversary, Yum says she would like to see all Georgia boards have at least three women in their board rooms, with a strong recognition of the value they bring to those positions. 

 

We at OnBoard are incredibly grateful to Yum for her contributions to our organization!

"Don’t be afraid to speak up, but also make sure that your voice is heard. One of the benefits of having multiple women on a board is they can reinforce each other’s contributions."

Looking Toward the Future with OnBoard Chair Rachel Perry

Chair

Rachel Perry

OnBoard Chair Rachel Perry shares her perspective on the strong alignment between the organization’s mission and her goals. Rachel is North America Chief Innovation Officer of Aon, where she brings more than 25 years of experience in the commercial risk insurance industry to her role. Her goal is to become an executive on a for-profit board and to passionately support increasing the number of women earning board seats, particularly women of color. Rachel embodies the next chapter of the long-standing support Aon has provided for OnBoard. 

 

“OnBoard has drawn great speakers to share their experiences throughout my more than five-year tenure on our board,” Rachel recalls. “An unforgettable speaker lineup occurred during an Atlanta mayoral election season where three women candidates shared authentic, engaging discussions on one stage. This moment solidified for me that OnBoard’s influence creates compelling conversations that matter.”

 

Rachel outlines the value of participating in OnBoard to include accountability, networking and programmatic resources: accountability to each other, the mission and the Georgia companies tracked in the Annual Study; networking across industries, companies and profession to enhance the learning environment; and programs and events to help members understand the many aspects of serving on for-profit boards.  

 

When asked what OnBoard’s goals should be for its 40th anniversary, Rachel says she would like to see women represent 30–50% of all for-profit boards, with significant growth in women of color.

 

“Ideally, board diversity will become the norm, and OnBoard can continue to evolve to support the next challenge,” she says. “We owe such gratitude to the women who founded OnBoard in 1993 and the charter Advocates who accelerated our progress.”

 

We at OnBoard are incredibly grateful to Rachel for her contributions to our organization!

"Ideally, board diversity will become the norm, and OnBoard can continue to evolve to support the next challenge"

OnBoard's Early Days of Shining a Light on Board Diversity from Charter Advocate Linda Klein

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

Linda Klein

Linda Klein, a dedicated volunteer and one of twelve Charter OnBoard Advocates, who was our 2001 president and continues to serve as a long-standing board member, shares some memories from her early years with OnBoard:

In the late 1990’s OnBoard began to engage with the downtown Atlanta business community. At that time, SunTrust Bank (now Truist) was the largest public company without a woman on its board of directors.

Each year, companies lacking women on their boards received a letter from OnBoard (then called Board of Directors Network, or “BDN”), but rarely was any action taken. A breakthrough came when Martha Ezzard wrote an article for the cover of the AJC’s Sunday Business section featuring SunTrust’s all-male board. Ezzard interviewed shareholders attending the company’s annual meeting and many expressed concern about the board’s lack of diversity. Phones rang around town as board chairs worried the spotlight could be turned on them next. 

SunTrust soon named a woman from Nashville to its board: Patricia C. Frist, who served on the bank’s board until 2010. This was a watershed moment for OnBoard, both in its progress toward fulfilling its mission and the attention drawn to the issue thanks to the AJC article.

The year 2001 was another milestone year for OnBoard, as it marked the first-ever program focusing on Women of Color in corporate leadership. This event sold out quickly and featured four African American women who were true trailblazers in their own careers: Alexis Scott as moderator and Johnnetta Cole, Joia Johnson and Glenda Hachett.

When asked about her dedication and commitment to OnBoard, Linda replied “I am so proud that OnBoard has made a difference in making Georgia companies more inclusive.  This benefits everyone.”

We at OnBoard are incredibly grateful to Linda for her dedication and ongoing contributions to our organization and its empowering mission.

“I am so proud that OnBoard has made a difference in making Georgia companies more inclusive.  This benefits everyone.”

Celebrating Steps Forward with Past President and Charter Advocate Elizabeth Noe

Chair of the Board, Agnes Scott college

Elizabeth Noe

Elizabeth Noe, OnBoard’s president in 2005 and 2006, board member and one of the twelve Charter OnBoard Advocates, shares her perspective on the journey of Board of Directors Network (BDN) and OnBoard. Elizabeth has a long history of working with organizations focused on developing women, such as the Atlanta Women’s Foundation, the International Women’s Forum and of course, BDN. Retired from a legal career that often included working with clients in the boardroom, she now has the freedom to serve on boards and currently serves as chair of the board for Agnes Scott College and is on the board at LXP Industrial Trust (NYSE: LXP).

During Elizabeth’s presidency, the BDN board was seeking ways to enhance the organization’s impact and generate additional revenue. As part of these efforts, Elizabeth presided over the rollout of the Advocates List program, designed to enable BDN members to show more vocal and financial support for the mission. BDN also brought its director search offering to market, providing assistance to local companies with their board searches to supplement the work of search firms and other informal efforts.

“During this time, it felt like we were moving the numbers at a glacial pace, if at all,” Elizabeth recalls. “One of our conscious decisions was to celebrate and praise the companies that were doing well with board gender diversity – companies like Coca-Cola, UPS and Georgia Pacific –  as opposed to taking a more adversarial stance.” This was also when BDN joined the national consortium – ION – to share ideas on how to further the mission.

Elizabeth says she deeply valued the programs that BDN delivered, as well as being able to learn from the experiences of others and build her network. She believes some of the most important skills for the board room are “taking the obligation seriously, having the soft skills to get along and the substantive skills to add to the conversation, and maybe most importantly, the skills to effectively deal with conflict.”

Looking forward, Elizabeth says she would like to see OnBoard continue its focus on the C-suite, one of the primary pipelines of board candidates, and bring along new members. One additional approach would be to “shine a light” on the industries that have not made as much progress with boardroom diversity and have the most opportunities to grow.

We at OnBoard are incredibly grateful to Elizabeth for her contributions to our organization and its empowering mission!

“One of our conscious decisions was to celebrate and praise the companies that were doing well with board gender diversity – companies like Coca-Cola, UPS and Georgia Pacific –  as opposed to taking a more adversarial stance.”

Former OnBoard President Jackie Parker Reflects on Getting Things Moving

Senior VP of Talent Management and Chief Diversity Officer, Global Payments Inc.

Jackie Parker

Jackie Parker, OnBoard’s president in 2014 and 2015, shares her perspective on the key initiatives that were launched during her term. 


After starting her career in sales and marketing, Jackie moved into a series of high-profile corporate roles championing diversity and supporting not-for-profit initiatives. She has served on many local and global non-for-profit boards and has worked on corporate foundations. Today, she is the Senior Vice President of Talent Management and Chief Diversity Officer for Global Payments, Inc. Jackie’s love of strategic work and her governance background has served OnBoard and many other organizations incredibly well.


During Jackie’s presidency at OnBoard, the board launched two very innovative initiatives. First was a new aligned organization, Next OnBoard. There was a real need to support the segment of high-potential women early in their careers with specific programming and networking opportunities. The OnBoard board advised a talented team of young women which did the work to build out the charter and launch the organization. Today, Next OnBoard boasts a robust leadership team and program calendar and remains tightly aligned with OnBoard.  


“The Get On Board! program was created and launched as the number of women being named to boards was continuing to feel stuck,” Jackie recalls. “This was among the early events designed to introduce CEOs and board decision-makers to the ‘board-ready’ women of OnBoard. It was a ‘hot ticket’ when launched and continues to be a highly sought-after invitation.”


Jackie says she deeply valued the passion and commitment of the OnBoard board, and greatly appreciated the men who were serving on the board, as well. 


Looking forward for the next 10 years, she says she would like to see OnBoard continue to refine its diversity metrics around for-profit boards and develop a self-assessment on its membership. 


We at OnBoard are incredibly grateful to Jackie for her contributions to our organization and its empowering mission!

“[Get On Board!] was among the early events designed to introduce CEOs and board decision-makers to the ‘board-ready’ women of OnBoard. It was a ‘hot ticket’ when launched and continues to be a highly sought-after invitation.”

Treasurer and Charter Advocate Stefanie Paulos on Recognizing Women Trailblazers

Assistant VP, Retired

Stefanie Paulos

A dedicated board officer (Treasurer) and advocate of OnBoard since 2004, shares her perspective on the journey of Board of Directors Network (BDN) and OnBoard.

“One of the hallmarks of the organization was recognizing the very accomplished women, true trailblazers, at the annual awards event. These women have made their mark in business and have supported many others along the way. Carol Tomé, the 2009 recipient of the Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Award, is one great example.”

When asked about the value OnBoard brings, Stefanie lists “the great educational programs delivered by board members that share their experiences about getting named to a board as well as real life as a sitting board member.” She adds that expanding networks into new organizations, professions and industries is another advantage.

Looking forward, Stefanie says she would like to see OnBoard attain more visibility and be recognized more broadly among C-level executives and board members in the Georgia business community – and the Southeast – as the essential source and thought leader regarding women on boards and in executive leadership.

We at OnBoard are incredibly grateful to Stefanie for her dedication and ongoing contributions to our organization and its empowering mission!

"Moving from Board of Directors Network to OnBoard Inc. really crystallized the mission and became the platform for communications and broader awareness in the business community. ‘Inspire, Advocate and Connect’ has been the driving strategy and message."

The Ongoing Need for Education from Annual Study Researcher Mary Madden

Annual Study Research Volunteer

Mary Madden

Long time OnBoard volunteer, advocate and integral member of the Annual Study team, Mary Madden, shares her perspective as an early for-profit board member.  


In 1980, Mary was named to her first board position with Information America Inc., and in 1994, she was able to have a second woman named to that board. This was just the beginning of her work to help women earn board seats. Mary was later named to the SYNAVANT Inc. board, served as Chairman and Executive Director of the Atlanta office of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), and in 2005, co-founded the Atlanta Chapter of Women Corporate Directors. As a speaker and advisor, Mary offered insight when there were few women to do so. 


During her terms of board service, Mary says the hardest part of her role was “learning how to get to the root cause of the problem we were working on –– how to get the whole story and required insights, without offending the leaders,” as well as finding a way to motivate people to take an active role in the work at hand. She says the best part was getting to know so many interesting people. Over her 40-year career and as a three-time runner up in Inc’s Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, she blazed many trails.   


While Mary has since retired from her corporate and entrepreneurial ventures, as well as her not-for-profit board roles, she remains passionate about the value that OnBoard continues to provide our members: expanding their network and programmatically delivering insights on the actions needed to gain a board seat. 


We at OnBoard are incredibly grateful to Mary for her contributions to our organization!

 

"Parity in the board room, . . . will require ongoing educational efforts to current board members and executives on the well-documented value that women bring to for-profit boards."

30th Anniversary Partners

Rachel Perry

Chair

Rachel Perry is the resident managing director for the Aon Atlanta office. She provides strategic direction and growth of the office, talent recruitment and development and ensuring that Aon delivers on its service commitments to our clients. She also works closely with the team to bring the depth of Aon’s commercial risk, health, retirement and human capital solutions to clients.

Lisa Robinson

CEO

Lisa Robinson is the President of OnBoard, an organization dedicated to increasing the number of women in executive leadership roles and on corporate boards. Since joining OnBoard in June of 2020, she has led the expansion of OnBoard’s outreach, created new social justice fellowship opportunities, and successfully adapted OnBoard’s programming to accommodate the need for virtual events, including virtual networking.

In addition, Lisa is a Partner at Bell Oaks Executive Search, where she leverages her career experiences with corporations and nonprofits to give a unique perspective advising clients on talent acquisition. Her career spans the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, having worked in a diverse range of businesses from start-ups to Forbes 100 companies, primarily in fashion and textiles before working in the nonprofit sector. Beginning in 2001, she focused on fundraising – building and leading teams, raising funds, and helping other nonprofits do the same. She led fundraising at Marist School, Visiting Nurse/Hospice Atlanta, and was the VP of Philanthropy at the Woodruff Arts Center. Lisa is a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Georgia Board of Directors, where she chairs the nominating committee. She graduated with a degree in Music from Scripps College of the Claremont Colleges in California. She is married to Will Slade, has two daughters, and a rambunctious Standard Poodle, Oswald.

Rachel Tullos

CPA, CIA, SVP Chief Audit Executive, Crawford & Company

Rachel Tullos is a global financial executive with multi-industry experience assisting both public and private companies to strategically manage risk while also successfully growing their revenue. Her broad range of experience includes optimizing financial management processes in global business environments, guiding businesses through complex international M&A transactions, and building business critical enterprise risk, internal audit, and ethics functions. 

Ms. Tullos is currently the Chief Audit Executive at Crawford & Co., the largest publicly listed independent provider of claims management. At Crawford, she has transformed the global audit program to be strategically focused, risk-based and data driven. As an audit and energy industry leader, Ms. Tullos was named Audit Committee Chair of Bengal Pipeline Company, a joint venture company between Colonial Pipeline and Shell Pipeline. She also served on the American Petroleum Institute Audit SubCommittee, responsible for setting national policies for the energy industry. Ms. Tullos currently serves on the Atlanta Institute of Internal Auditors Board of Governors.

Ms. Tullos is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a BS in accounting, and lives in the Atlanta, Georgia area. She loves to travel and is also active ringing handbells with her church choir.

Kelly Gay

Governance Chair and Immediate Past Chair

Corporate Board Member

Kelly Gay is the chairwoman and CEO of OnBoard, chair of Venture Atlanta, and vice chair of the Technology Association of Georgia. She also serves on the boards of 1105 Media, the Atlanta CEO Council, ATDC, and Acivilate. Kelly is the former head of Vertical Markets for Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR), as well as co-CEO and COO of Numerex Corp (NASDAQ: NMRX), which was acquired by Sierra Wireless in 2017. She joined Numerex with the acquisition of Omnilink Systems, where she was president and CEO.

Stefanie Paulos

Treasurer

The Coca-Cola Company (Ret.)

Stefanie Paulos is a corporate executive with a broad range of senior management experience in the areas of Mergers & Acquisitions, Strategy, and Financial Management. Most recently, she led large transactions for Coca-Cola North America’s divestiture and refranchising of bottling operations, along with other supply chain initiatives.

Other experience includes M&A and financial integration roles for Randstad Holding (Amsterdam), General Electric, Bear Stearns, and Norrell Corporation. She began her career as an Industrial Engineer at Burlington Industries.

Ms. Paulos is a graduate of Wake Forest University with a BS degree in Mathematics and holds an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.

Alison LaBruyere

Secretary

Of Counsel, Squire Patton Boggs

Alison LaBruyere’s practice focuses on transactional, regulatory and compliance matters in the financial services industry. She counsels clients on mergers and acquisitions and other strategic combinations and investments, represents them in a full range of financings and securities offerings, and provides advice on general corporate governance issues. She also has extensive experience in a variety of compliance and labor and employment issues.

Alison was executive vice president and general counsel for a diversified financial services holding company owning a regional community bank, traditional consumer finance company and an online consumer finance company. As general counsel, she provided strategic advice and gained broad experience in corporate, regulatory and securities offerings and general corporate governance. She started her legal career as an associate with an AmLaw 100 law firm based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dan Dubay

Advocates Committee Chair

SignatureFD

Dan Dubay, CFP is a Partner, Wealth Advisor and Director at SignatureFD.

Dan helps executives be more purposeful and impactful with their resources.

He has found a passion to help leaders align their resources and passions to their desired impact on their company, family and community. Dan’s proactive approach helps executives make the right decisions and offload the issues, enabling them to focus on what matters most.

He has served as president of the Financial Planning Association of Georgia, a member of the Georgia Planned Giving Council and as a content expert for the paired review and examination review committees for the Certified Financial Planner Board of Examiners. Dan has been named a “Five Star Best in Client Satisfaction Wealth Manager” by Atlanta magazine in partnership with Five Star Professional. Before joining SignatureFD, Dan was the managing principal of PPA Advisors. He started financial planning in 1988 with Asset Management Group after graduating from the University of Georgia with a BBA in Finance.

Dan is Chairman of the Board of International Leadership Institute. He also coaches leaders at Grace Midtown Church and is involved in Young Life.

Dan Mallory

Programs Committee Chair

Aprio

Dan Mallory maps technology objectives and investments to firm’s business strategies. He brings over 20 years of experience in IT and related fields to Aprio. With expertise in strategic technology consulting, Mallory provides sharp recommendations that align with the firm’s strategic goals. He manages the design and implementation of new technology, while providing valuable insight to continually improve Aprio’s client experience. Additionally, Mallory leads the firm’s internal Business Enablement and Innovation group, which is charged with re-evaluating firm processes and determining smarter ways to do business.

Mary McCoy

OnBoard Accelerator Chair

McCoy Advisory LLC

Mary McCoy has built her own coaching and consulting business focused on improving performance for executives and driving growth for companies. She thrives at the intersection of technology, people and customer service. Her previous experience as a VP of Technology Services at Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) combined with her training and certifications as an executive coach allow her to bring a unique perspective to her clients. As a Board member at OnBoard, Mary currently drives the OnBoard Accelerator program.

Melissa Rutten

Get On Board! Chair

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

Melissa Rutten is a financial advisor with The Leverte Wealth Management Group of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and has more than 15 years of experience as a financial professional including serving as an experienced CFO responsible for a high growth company, as a manager with Novelis in investor relations and global financial reporting, and PricewaterhouseCoopers in audit and transaction services. Rutten is a member of the Atlanta Women’s Foundation Inspire 2020 Program and Women Shaping Shepherd. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a focus in Economics from University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business and studied abroad at Oxford University.

Kelly Brock

Vice President, International Marketing , UPS

Kelly Brock is a Vice President in International Marketing at UPS. She has broad international marketing experience including roles in E-commerce, International Strategy, Customer Experience, Revenue Enablement and Business Planning. She has worked throughout the world including positions in Atlanta, Boston, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Kelly has an undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech and a MBA from Georgia State University. She is a board member of OnBoard and the Chair Emeritus Council for the Technology Association of Georgia. 

Angela Brown

AJ Capital Partners

Angela Brown is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and senior tax manager in the Real Estate and Construction Services group with Aprio, LLP, an award-winning top 50 CPA-led advisory firm. Angela focuses on providing business and tax advice to real estate investors and operators as they navigate transactions. She specializes in real estate partnerships providing tax planning opportunities for her clients with multi-family, commercial and mixed-use properties. Angela is a member of Aprio’s Emerging Leaders Academy Class of 2021 which focuses on sharpening leadership and management skills while also encouraging forward thinking for future leaders. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she earned both her Bachelor and Master of Accounting degrees. Angela has a passion for supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives. She is a professional member of the National Association of Black Accountants, having previously served on the board and as an advisor during her collegiate years.

Cheri Husney

Chief Growth Officer, Aprio

Cheri is a seasoned marketing executive with nearly two decades of experience across multiple industries. Before joining Aprio, she was the Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer at Littler, prior to which she spent a majority of her career with a Big Four accounting firm. Most recently, she served as the Executive Director of Clients and Markets, fulfilling a dual position of regional director while managing all marketing directors and teams. In this position, she drove marketing strategy, developed relationship-nurturing initiatives, enabled account-based marketing programs and established an overall strategic vision. In addition to these senior-level responsibilities, she played a leadership role in women and diversity initiatives.

Linda A. Klein

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

Linda Klein regularly counsels on business dispute prevention and resolution, contract law, risk and crisis management, media relations, ethics and governance. She is particularly experienced in advising the construction, pharmaceutical and higher education industries. She also advises lawyers, architects, accountants and other professionals at risk for large claims or their licenses.

Ms. Klein is a past president (CEO) of the American Bar Association, the largest voluntary professional association in the world.

Ms. Klein is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America®, Who’s Who in America and Chambers USA. She is regularly named to the Super Lawyers top 100 lawyers in Georgia. In 1998, following her term as the first woman to serve as president of the State Bar of Georgia, Georgia Trend Magazine named her one of the 100 most powerful and influential Georgians.

In the American Bar Association she previously served as chair of the House of Delegates, the association’s policy making body. She has also served as chair of the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, and chair of ABA Day, the Association’s Congressional outreach effort. She is a recent member of the Council of the ABA Section of International Law and also serves as a columnist Law Practice Management Magazine. In 2013 Ms. Klein had the honor of being a McGlothlin fellow on the campuses of William and Mary’s Business and Law Schools. She delivered the commencement addresses at Georgia State University College of Law (2017), Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (2017), Pepperdine University School of Law (2016), and Washington and Lee University School of Law (2012), John Marshall Law School (2018). In 2009 Ms. Klein was honored with the Randolph Thrower Award for Lifetime Achievement and was named to the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers. In 2004 the American Bar Association honored Ms. Klein with the prestigious Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award.

She currently serves on the executive committee of the Buckhead Coalition, on the advisory boards of Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers. She is a past president of Southface Energy Institute, the Board of Directors Network, (now OnBoard), the Caucus of State Bars, and past chair of both the Institute for Continuing Legal Education in Georgia and the Lawyers Foundation of Georgia. She also served a six-year term on Baker Donelson’s Board of Directors.

Ms. Klein has authored numerous published works. Her lecture schedule has included presentations in France, Sweden, Spain, Russia, Great Britain, Japan, Croatia, Poland and Canada, but most extensively in the southeast United States. She is a member of the American Law Institute, and a mediator and arbitrator, frequently serving as a neutral as well as a client advocate.

Sarah Mackenzie

Alston & Bird

Sarah Mackenzie is a partner in Alston & Bird’s Corporate & Business Transactions Group. Sarah represents private and public companies in complex mergers and acquisitions, carve-out transactions, joint ventures, inbound international business transactions, and securities offerings. Her practice also includes counseling companies on corporate governance, ongoing SEC compliance, and other general corporate matters.

Sarah earned her J.D., cum laude, in 2009 from Washington and Lee University School of Law, where she was a member of the Washington and Lee Law Review and served as a Burks Scholar. She received her B.A. in religious studies and linguistics from Dartmouth College in 2005. She is a member of the State Bars of Georgia and Virginia and the American Bar Association.

Nataly Marks

KPMG Risk Advisory

Nataly Marks is a Partner in the KPMG Advisory practice and a leader and expert in Risk Management, Audit, Accounting and Compliance with over 18 years of experience. Nataly started her professional career as an external auditor in Brazil. She has enjoyed a dedicated career with KPMG in Brazil and Atlanta where she leads a multidisciplinary team across several countries. Nataly has lead Enterprise Risk Management projects at several multinational companies and has developed high performance teams.

Nataly’s focus on community work and mentorship would come as no surprise to people who know her. In addition to her role in KPMG’s Risk Assurance practice, she serves as the partner champion for KPMG’s Hispanic Latino BRG in Atlanta and is an active member of KPMG’s Atlanta Inclusion and Diversity Committee where she leads strategic activities related to talent acquisition and employee experience. Nataly is a proud board member of the ALPFA Atlanta chapter where she has served as the Director of Student Affairs for the past 2 years. Nataly also serves on the Board of OnBoard – Women on Boards and is a member of the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Nataly lives in Atlanta and when not working, she enjoys traveling, cooking, and watching her sons play basketball and chess tournaments.

Keith Ivory Millner

Coaching Catalyst, Invest Atlanta, Chairman of 100 Black Men of Atlanta

Keith is an accomplished executive with a 30-year career that spans diverse industries, including consumer packaged goods, banking, insurance, healthcare, consulting and coaching. He is co-founder of Coaching Catalyst, an executive coaching firm, where he has leveraged his expertise and experience coaching corporate, civic and religious leaders, entrepreneurs, and professional association executives. Millner earned a BA in Economics from Guilford College, an MBA in Marketing from UNC’s Kenan-Flager School of Business, and completed advanced studies in IT/Business Strategy at TIAS Business School, University of Navarra in Barcelona, Spain. His extensive board and volunteer service include Chair for 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Commissioner for Housing Authority of Fulton County, My Brothers’ Keeper and National Black MBA Association. He is an alum of United Way VIP and Leadership Atlanta.

Jerrell Moore

Head of Global Inclusion at Google

Jerrell Moore is Head of Global Inclusion at Google. Atlanta based, Jerrell is responsible for leading Google’s
internal community partnerships, and for helping EE deepen a sense of inclusion and belonging within the
company. This includes working with the approximately 40,000 Googlers who participate in our Employee
Resource Groups, Leadership Councils, and Allyship programs. In addition, Jerrell leads EE’s diversity culture
efforts and provides key insights around employee sentiment related to DEI.

Before joining Google, Moore was at Fortune 500 Assurant, a global provider of risk management products
and services. He created and led an integrated, global diversity and inclusion strategy to elevate the
company’s status as a best place to learn and work for employees. Jerrell drives results by leading the
company’s D&I Advisory Council while continuing to shape its DEI strategy to build on its foundation of
diversity, collaboration, and inclusion. Jerrell was also founder and Chief Executive Officer of Denmark
Madison Consulting (DMC) where he provided strategic direction, leadership development, and business
intelligence solutions to executives, businesses, and institutions. Jerrell is an Adjunct Professor of
Employment Relations Law at the University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business.

Ryanne Pennington

JLL

Mrs. Pennington is a Vice President in the Tenant Representation Group at JLL. Mrs. Pennington began her brokerage at CresaPartners, and before that spent 4 years at VeenendalCave, Inc. and interior architectural planning firm specializing in corporate office design.

Prior to joining JLL, Mrs. Pennington spent 3 years at Cushman & Wakefield, serving on a team of real estate professionals specializing in tenant representation services for professional services firms, corporate office space users and non-profit organizations such as Aquilex, WasteQuip & Techbridge throughout Atlanta and the United States.

Mrs. Pennington has a strong working knowledge of corporate office trends, budgeting, and construction costs. Mrs. Pennington offers a unique insight into solving the client’s space needs through her background in interior architecture, design and space planning. Mrs. Pennington has been involved with national, regional and local key assignments including, American Safety Insurance, PNC Bank, Constangy, Brooks & Smith, Gartner, and ThomsonReuters.

Lily Prost

J.M. Huber Corporation

Lily Prost leads the Corporate HR Centers of Excellence. She works with Huber’s portfolio businesses to develop and execute human capital strategies, including Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, talent development and succession planning to achieve business goals and sustain Huber’s vision for growth. Prost works closely with the Management & Compensation Committee and the Corporate Governance & Nominations Committee on incentive plan designs, executive compensation, CEO/leadership succession planning and Board recruiting. Prior to joining Huber, Prost was VP of Human Resources & Communications at Exide Technologies for the Americas, Asia Pacific & Corporate.

Wanda J. Silva

Silva Capital Solutions, Inc

Wanda J. Silva is currently the Founder and President of Silva Capital Solutions, Incorporated (1999 to Present). Based in Marietta, Georgia, Silva Capital Solutions remains the nation’s leader in providing merger, acquisition and financial advisory services to middle market companies including Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) and Outsourced Business Service companies.

Kathy Waller

Delta Air Lines, CGI Incorporated, Beyond Meat, Cadence Bancorporation

Kathy Waller retired from The Coca-Cola Company in 2019, where she was the Executive Chief Financial Officer and President, Enabling Services, for The Coca-Cola Company. She was responsible for the strategic governance area of the Company and the consolidation of the Company’s financial statements. Prior to joining The Coca-Cola Company, she worked as a Senior Accountant for Deloitte Haskins and Sells Public Accounting Firm, both in Rochester, New York, and Atlanta, Georgia. Waller currently serves as a member of the board of directors for many prominent companies such as Delta Air Lines, CGI Incorporated, Beyond Meat and Cadence Bancorporation. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Spelman College and The Woodruff Arts Center.