| Our Team |
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President & Founder Farhana Huq
C.E.O. Women Staff
President & Founder Farhana Huq Farhana comes from a family of self-made entrepreneurs of the South Asian Diaspora. In 2000, she founded C.E.O. Women, the 3rd start-up venture she has been involved with, after being inspired by the enterprise revolution in her father's native Bangladesh and by the struggles that poor, single women in her own family faced to become self-sufficient. Farhana has always admired the creativity and freedom of micro-entrepreneurs. She envisions a world where the most powerful and unlikely relationships come together to connect women in meaningful ways. Farhana created "Micro-enterprise in Action", a self-initiated audio documentary on the lives of women entrepreneurs from around the world. She was recognized as one of the "40 Under 40" up and coming business professionals to watch by the East Bay Business Times. She was named the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year National Finalist in the Supporter of Entrepreneurship Category. Most recently she was elected to the Ashoka Fellowship, the most prestigious fellowship for leading social entrepreneurs around the world. C.E.O. Women has won many awards including the 2005 Innovation Award for micro-enterprise development in the U.S., the 2004 Isabel Allende Espiritu Award for the Empowerment of Women, the 2007 SBA San Francisco Women's Business Champion Award and the 2007 KQED Women's History Month Local Hero Award. C.E.O. Women's work has been featured in prominent media outlets such as ABC7, Channel 2, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Tufts Alumni Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Univision, Women's Health Magazine, The Oakland Tribune, and The Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Magazine. Farhana serves on the Board of Directors for the Chhandam Institute of Kathak Arts in Boston and was a Community Fellow of the Full Circle Fund, a San Francisco-based organization dedicated to addressing public problems through engaged philanthropy and public policy advocacy. Farhana has been volunteering at non-profits since age 14 and served as a full-time Americorps/Volunteer In Service to America for the micro-enterprise field. Farhana holds a B.A. from Tufts University in Economics and Philosophy. When she is not working, she is dancing Kathak, a classical dance of North India. Farhana is also a natural wanderluster, and travels extensively around the world to surf and explore new cultures and communities. (Photo: Kathi O'Leary) Contact Information: Email: info@ceowomen.org
Executive Director
Like many children of South Asian immigrants, Anita enrolled in college as an engineering major. However,
she quickly came to her senses, ended up graduating with a major in
economics, a minor in math and a one-way ticket to California with a
dream of starting something of her own. Soon after, Anita started her
own event floral design studio in San Francisco, which she ran for 5
years. Her passion
for social justice work and economic empowerment of women led her to
think creatively about how to put her business skills to work for the
greater good. She closed her business and then began to work and volunteer in nonprofits.
Anita volunteered for C.E.O. Women, serving as one of
the organization's first business coaches. She also served as the Conference & Initiatives Manager at CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, an organization providing consulting, training and other resources to Bay Area nonprofit organizations. Under her leadership, Anita
produced Nonprofit Day, the Bay Area's premier nonprofit conference, as
well as other programming reaching over 5,200 participants annually. Anita
also participated in the Coaching and Philanthropy Project, the
Fundraising Academy for Communities for Color, and the Women Executive
Directors of Color (WEDOC) network. She has served on the Board of
Kearny Street Workshop and has been a collective member of OY!
Organizing Youth. She often credits her success to her ability to collaborate with volunteers, funders, and partner organizations. Anita recently earned her Masters of Nonprofit Administration (MNA) from the University of San Francisco. When she is not attempting to change the world's perception of women and youth, Anita enjoys experimenting with her digital camera (her favorite subject is her cat, Cougar), running (a half-marathon might be in her near future), and surrounding herself with loved ones and dear friends at her home (weekend brunches are her favorite). Anita looks forward to leading the expansion of C.E.O. Women into new communities through innovative use of media and technology and the development of an affiliate partner program.
Contact Information: Email: anita@ceowomen.org Phone: 510-836-3481 ex. 311
Jessica has twelve years experience in nonprofit program management and
fundraising, including three years as Development & Communications Officer
at Operation Access, a health access organization for low-income, uninsured
people where the majority of clients were women and immigrants. A California Central Coast
native, Jessica has also worked for international human rights and development
organizations, including Human Rights Watch, the International Action Network
Against Small Arms and Viva Rio.
Contact Information: Email: jessica@ceowomen.org Phone: 510-836-3481 ex. 303
Assistant Director of Programs Elinor Mattern
Elinor has worked closely with immigrant communities for over a decade. As an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in Austin, Texas, she implemented bilingual gardening and nutrition programs with diverse residents. Elinor subsequently worked for two nonprofit organizations that provide immigration legal services. At each of these, she supported immigrants as they navigated the legal system to apply for immigration benefits, empower themselves, and transform their lives. She reinforced her connection to immigrant rights and to social justice movements through her experiences helping survivors of abuse self-petition under the Violence Against Women Act. Elinor has also participated in community development projects in rural communities in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Mexico. A native of the East Bay, Elinor holds a degree in Latin American Studies from Smith College. She is fluent in Spanish. Contact Information: Email: elinor@ceowomen.org Phone: 510-836-3481 ex. 301
 Resource & Development Associate, Laura Wong
She comes to C.E.O. Women from Los Angeles where she studied physics at Azusa Pacific University. After graduation she interned at HELP (Haitian Education and Leadership Program), a nonprofit that provides scholarships in Haiti for top high school graduates from severely disadvantaged backgrounds. She also worked for Free Arts for Abused Children, an organization that provides art programs for abused, homeless or at-risk children. Laura has always had a passion for immigrant and refugee issues and spent a summer teaching English and art classes at a refugee camp along the Thailand/Burma border. There she learned that building relationships is an important part of healing and rebuilding lives that have been torn apart by war and other misfortune. This experience was the catalyst that made her decide to dedicate her life to the welfare of others.
A native of Marin County, Beverly recently returned to the Bay Area after living in Oregon for five years, where she received her MBA in Nonprofit Management and her B.A. in Anthropology, with a minor in Spanish, from Willamette University. During college, Beverly lived in Quito, Ecuador for six months and tutored Japanese exchange students in ESL at Tokyo International University of America. She has volunteered for two other microenterprise organizations in the past and is passionate about finding innovative and empowering ways to alleviate poverty. She is inspired every day by C.E.O. Women's staff and clients and is excited to connect more women to the organization. In her spare time, Beverly enjoys cooking, reading, hiking, spending time with family and friends, and playing with her yellow Lab, Maude. She loves to travel and hopes to someday make it to every continent except Antarctica (only two more to go!)
Vocational ESL Trainer Pamela Keenan Pamela Keenan enjoys working as a Vocational ESL trainer for C.E.O. Women because she loves working with women from different cultures. Her curiosity about how people live in other countries has led her, over the years, to travel and work in South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and East Africa. In addition to working with C.E.O. Women, Pamela currently works as Resource Development Coordinator for the What If? Foundation, a small nonprofit in Berkeley that has been feeding and otherwise caring for children in Haiti for over 10 years. She also loves to paint! Pamela has a Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CTESOL) from Transworld Schools and a JD from Northeastern University School of Law.
Vocational ESL Trainer Ariana Schoellhorn
Ariana Schoellhorn has been teaching ESL for the past 5 years. As a business owner herself, Ariana is thrilled to now be working with C.E.O. Women and helping to empower women to follow their dreams and take charge of their lives. She is so inspired by her students and feels that they teach her just as much, if not more, than she teaches them. An Alumni of San Francisco State University, Ariana holds a BA in Recreation and an MA in Education. She completed her CTESOL through Transworld School in San Francisco and is currently becoming a certified Co-Active Coach through the Coaches Training Institute in San Rafael CA. In addition to teaching with C.E.O. Women, Ariana works as a Life Design Coach. Besides supporting women to create sustainable and fulfilling lives Ariana loves her adventures. Whether it is traveling to a far-away land, learning a new skill, or taking an expedition into the wilderness, she is game. She is also enjoying her biggest adventure of all: motherhood. She lives in Oakland with her husband, 1-year-old son, Teo, their three cats, and her newest addition to the family, three chickens.
Vocational ESL Trainer Beth Silverstein
Beth is a Vocational ESL trainer for C.E.O. Women's "Are You Ready for Business?" and "Starting a Small Business" classes. She has taught English as a Second Language to adults in Oakland for 10 years and has worked with diverse groups of students representing many countries, languages and levels of ability in speaking English. In the past, Beth developed vocational curriculum within the PBS television system as a writer and producer. She borrowed from this experience to write curriculum for C.E.O. Women's Grand Café blended learning series. Beth has also taught English and assisted women in getting jobs for The International Institute of the East Bay in its babysitting readiness Vocational ESL series. Beth holds her M.A. in English with Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages option. She looks forward to continued teaching assignments with C.E.O. Women, while pursuing teaching in the community college system. Beth thoroughly enjoys helping her students further their English skills and pursue their dreams at whatever point in their education she meets them. 
C.E.O. Women's Small Business Advisor, Carolyn Johnson has provided business support to clients since joining the organization in March. Carolyn comes to C.E.O. Women with over twenty years of experience in small business management and financing. As a consultant, Carolyn works with C.E.O. Women clients to assess strenghts, weaknesses, opportunities and threats ("SWOT") for each business and to focus on areas of finance, strategy and operations.
Carolyn also facilitates entrepreneurship courses at Women's Initiative, College of Alameda and Laney College. In addition, she has trained entrepreneurs through the Alameda County Small Business Development Center business development workshops.
Carolyn was a principal of the Genesis Capital Group, where she provided advisory and corporate financial services to privately held companies. She was also a Director of Consulting and Grant Programs at the Northern California Community Loan Fund (NCCLF) where she managed commercial real estate grant fund and led NCCLF's financial and real estate consulting and training programs. As a Vice President at Cornish & Carey Commercial, working principally in investment sales, she brokered nearly $250 million in transactions.
Carolyn earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles and Masters degree in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. She also holds a Masters degree in Business Administration in the fields of Corporate Finance, Real Estate Finance and Marketing from the Colombia University Graduate School of Business, from which she graduated with honors as a member of Beta Gamma Sigma.
Producer and Instructional Designer Angelica Matsuno Angelica is an instructional designer and educational media producer. She has been designing computer-based training, educational video, and distance learning programs for more than 15 years. Her experience ranges from designing instruction for an award-winning telecourse distributed by PBS, to teaching English as a Foreign language, and training teachers in Japan. Angelica has also launched an interactive distance learning initiative for a Fortune 500 software company, managed television production workshops for community groups at a public access television station, and has created educational CD-ROM games. At C.E.O. Women Angelica is the curriculum designer and co-writer for the telenovela program the Grand Café. She is also the producer of episode one. Contact Information: Email: angelica@ceowomen.org Phone: 510-836-3481
C.E.O. Women Board of Directors
Advisory Council
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