Bertha Jimenez is the CEO and co-founder of RISE. RISE is a food-tech startup that uses its patent-pending process and technology to convert organic byproducts into consumable foods. Currently, RISE is focusing on turning the by-product of the beer into an ultra-nutritious and tasty flour. Dr. Jimenez received her Ph.D. from NYU on May 2016. Her doctoral thesis was entitled the Entrepreneurial Sandbox: The role of co-curricular programs on nurturing student entrepreneurs. Dr. Jimenez holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral (Guayaquil, Ecuador) and an M.S. in Engineering and Technology Management from Portland State University (Portland, USA).
These images were taken for WE NYC, Women Entrepreneurs of NYC, the official initiative of the City of New York to support and empower women entrepreneurs. All portraits are of WE Connect Mentors, successful female founders representing a variety of industries and backgrounds who provide group mentor sessions around NYC. Learn more here.
Karen Mitchell is a noted Hair Extension Expert and Owner of the True Indian Hair Franchise under the Umbrella True Hair Company. The Jamaican born, Brooklyn bred entrepreneur is a license cosmetologist who has spent over a decade in the hair care industry. Karen began her hair journey when she noticed a lack of women and minorities in ownership positions outside of the salons in the hair industry. Karen saw the need for this and her love of hair and beauty introduced her to her true passion: connecting image-conscious career women with easy-to-care for luxury extensions. With only $30,000 and no written business plan, her brand True Indian Hair was born 14 years ago in Brooklyn.
Mitchell’s dedication to this mission has propelled True Indian Hair to the fore-front of the industry. Leading publications like Essence, Ebony, Elle, and Black Enterprise magazines have all leaned on Mitchell’s expertise for stories as well as profiled the brand True Indian Hair.
True Indian Hair also known TIH can be seen worn on celebrity clients such as Rihanna, Taraji P. Henson, Serena, Kelly Rowland, Zoe Kravitz, Naomi Campbell, Kylie Jenner and many others, as well as the everyday fabulous woman. TIH has also has been featured on many primetime TV shows such as House Wives of Atlanta, EMPIRE, The Today Show, Dr. Oz, Watch What Happens Live, The Wendy Show and more.
These images were taken for WE NYC, Women Entrepreneurs of NYC, the official initiative of the City of New York to support and empower women entrepreneurs. All portraits are of WE Connect Mentors, successful female founders representing a variety of industries and backgrounds who provide group mentor sessions around NYC. Learn more here.
Alexandra Zatarain is the co-founder and VP of Brand Marketing of Eight Sleep, a sleep fitness company. To date, the company has collected over 43 million hours of sleep data which have been used to design the ultimate sleep experience. In 2017, she was named by Forbes to the 30 Under 30 list of young professionals making an impact in the Consumer Technology Industry. She gives back as a mentor with Galvanize, WE NYC, and is an angel investor in female founded companies as a Cleo Capital scout.
These images were taken for WE NYC, Women Entrepreneurs of NYC, the official initiative of the City of New York to support and empower women entrepreneurs. All portraits are of WE Connect Mentors, successful female founders representing a variety of industries and backgrounds who provide group mentor sessions around NYC. Learn more here.
Bisila Bokoko, founder and CEO of BBES International, has inspired thousands of individuals and organizations world-wide, through her motivational keynotes. From hosting at the UN in Switzerland to delivering powerful keynotes in Dominican Republic, and on-air radio hosting in South Africa, Bisila Bokoko has shared her business expertise and inspirational journey with audiences across the world over during her 18-year career. She developed her expertise in geopolitics, tourism, and culture by working closely with cities in Spain and countries in Africa; and, cultivating relationships with foreign Heads of State and international business leaders, becoming one of the ten most influential Spanish women in American business. She has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, Bloomberg TV, Black Enterprise, Harper's Bazaar & other top publications.
Bisila has an impressive track record of taking businesses from local to global. As the Executive Director of the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce for 7 years, she worked closely with a wide range of industries and leading Spanish brands. In 2012, she founded BBES, a New York-based business development agency that represents, promotes, and markets brands internationally. She also serves as an advisor to emerging leaders, providing guidance on personal branding and leadership that prepares them to move to the global stage and share their expertise worldwide.
Her desire to empower those less fortunate to create a better life, inspired her to found BBALP, a non-profit organization committed to opening libraries throughout Africa with current presence in Ghana, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda.
These images were taken for WE NYC, Women Entrepreneurs of NYC, the official initiative of the City of New York to support and empower women entrepreneurs. All portraits are of WE Connect Mentors, successful female founders representing a variety of industries and backgrounds who provide group mentor sessions around NYC. Learn more here.
Parisa Wang is the founder and CEO of her namesake handbag brand PARISA WANG. The brand is notable for its iconic bracelet bag with signature ring buckle, gathering national attention on WWD, Vogue, Glamour, and Cosmopolitan, among numerous other publications. Refinery 29credited Parisa Wang for bringing back the wristlet trend from the early 2000s and transforming it into a signature style. Its stock lists include global retailers Shopbop, Bloomingdales, and high-end designer boutiques such as Five Story, Stanley Korshak, Reformation, My Boon, Tomorrowland, among others.
Wang grew up in urban China where arts were seen as a waste of time. She secretly took painting classes while in college, and upon graduation, decided to follow her true calling at Parsons School for Design in 2012, where she learned how to harness her passionate inspiration into tangible objects. Her first handbag design, the Addicted bracelet bag, was inspired by Wang’s own love story and encourages women to wear their heart on their sleeve. From then on, each bag is named romantic emotions on the path to be your ‘love at first sight’.
These images were taken for WE NYC, Women Entrepreneurs of NYC, the official initiative of the City of New York to support and empower women entrepreneurs. All portraits are of WE Connect Mentors, successful female founders representing a variety of industries and backgrounds who provide group mentor sessions around NYC. Learn more here.
Agustina Cervera is the Founder and Principal of Spear Head Architecture + Design. She moved to New York City in 2010 after graduating as an architect. As a first-time immigrant with little to no network to support her professional goals, Agustina relied on her resourcefulness to realize her dreams of working and living in the most exciting city in the world.
Working for two architecture and design firms in NYC five years provided her with a taste for international markets and well-rounded knowledge of the real estate ecosystem in the main metropolitan areas in the US. In 2015, she approached Spear Head, a New York based construction company, and under her direction, launched a new architecture and design services department. Since its launch, the new department has carved out a prestigious niche in a highly competitive, mostly male-dominated industry by making inroads and establishing the firm as the go-to expert in up-and-coming urban areas such as BedStuy, Bushwick, and Argentina, among others. Agustina’s work is in high demand all over New York City, but it is in Brooklyn where she has made her mark developing residential projects that are best known for their minimalistic, industrial and organic aesthetic that aims to work cohesively with the essence of the community and enhance its richness, not replace it.
Agustina attributes her success to taking a different approach – one that is based on mentorship and not hierarchies. In her own words, “I make a point to collaborate with new talent as equals and motivate them to think outside the box, to be brave and creative in the use of materials to maximize their sustainable potential and to push established boundaries beyond what they conceive to be possible. Many of the young architects that I work with are women. This gives me a chance to use my experience to support their vision and be an advocate on behalf of the dreams others told them they couldn’t own.”
These images were taken for WE NYC, Women Entrepreneurs of NYC, the official initiative of the City of New York to support and empower women entrepreneurs. All portraits are of WE Connect Mentors, successful female founders representing a variety of industries and backgrounds who provide group mentor sessions around NYC. Learn more here.
Juanita Galvis is the Head of Social Impact Advocacy and Impact Travel for The Assemblage, a community that believes society can transition from one defined by individual to one of interconnectedness. After 5 years in the stock market and 4 in real-estate development, she ventured into the fashion industry as an entrepreneur. After working as a volunteer in a refugee camp in Greece, she was empowered to dedicate her life to raising awareness of our individual and collective potential to be of service to others. Her vision is to create meaningful opportunities for people to connect through compassion.
These images were taken for WE NYC, Women Entrepreneurs of NYC, the official initiative of the City of New York to support and empower women entrepreneurs. All portraits are of WE Connect Mentors, successful female founders representing a variety of industries and backgrounds who provide group mentor sessions around NYC. Learn more here.
Ramona is the founder and CEO of FiBrick Financial Services, an accounting outsourcing and tax planning firm working primarily with tech startups to help them build sound accounting and finance processes that support operational and strategic goals. Ramona has over 15 years of experience as a Financial Controller for large and small companies, with a track record of successfully devising and deploying innovative strategies that enhance financial performance.
Ramona joined WENYC as a mentor because she wants to teach entrepreneurs how to manage their business financials from a very early stage. Ramona is also a mentor of Baruch’s Executives on Campus and the NYSSCPA mentorship programs.
These images were taken for WE NYC, Women Entrepreneurs of NYC, the official initiative of the City of New York to support and empower women entrepreneurs. All portraits are of WE Connect Mentors, successful female founders representing a variety of industries and backgrounds who provide group mentor sessions around NYC. Learn more here.
Sarah Valdovinos is Co-founder at Walden Green Energy, a company focused on developing renewable energy projects. In addition to her work at Walden, Sarah invests in clean energy companies and other ventures addressing impacts of global warming – including distributed solar in Latin America, electric vehicle charging stations, and other software solutions. Prior to Walden, Sarah had a 10yr+ banking career at Goldman Sachs and Barclays. She began working in energy over twenty years ago at the electric utility company Southern California Edison.
These images were taken for WE NYC, Women Entrepreneurs of NYC, the official initiative of the City of New York to support and empower women entrepreneurs. All portraits are of WE Connect Mentors, successful female founders representing a variety of industries and backgrounds who provide group mentor sessions around NYC. Learn more here.
Sophia Chang is a Korean Canadian music business "matriarchictect" who worked with Paul Simon and managed ODB, RZA, GZA, Q Tip, A Tribe Called Quest, Raphael Saadiq, and D'Angelo. Her record company experience includes marketing at Atlantic, A&R at Jive, running A&R Admin and Operations at Universal, and GM of Cinematic Music Group and Joey Bada$$' Pro Era Records. In 1995 Sophia left the music business to manage her then partner’s USA Shaolin Temple and have two children. During her time in fashion, she produced runway shows for Vivienne Tam and “Project Runway All Stars." She was also an account executive at digital agency Sarkissian Mason. Sophia sold a screenplay which she sold to HBO and has developed other film and TV properties. She was the VP of Business Development at a California based cannabis company. Currently, Sophia is writing a memoir, public speaking, and developing a number of TV and film properties.
These images were taken for WE NYC, Women Entrepreneurs of NYC, the official initiative of the City of New York to support and empower women entrepreneurs. All portraits are of WE Connect Mentors, successful female founders representing a variety of industries and backgrounds who provide group mentor sessions around NYC. Learn more here.
Megan and Jen have been partners in life for the last 9 years. They met at Gottino, a small wine bar in Greenwich Village. Jen and her best friend Christie were regulars there and Megan was the sous-chef. Late one summer night, after months of getting to know each other (and some flirting!), Megan made her move on Jen over food truck burritos. They were sitting on a park bench at the corner of Hudson & Jane. Five years later, they were married at Prospect Park in Brooklyn with their dog Charlie as ring bearer. Both Megan and Jen are passionate about food and friendship, so it was only natural they open up a space devoted to both. Now closed, Hudson Jane was located on Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood.
These images were taken for WE NYC, Women Entrepreneurs of NYC, the official initiative of the City of New York to support and empower women entrepreneurs. All portraits are of WE Connect Mentors, successful female founders representing a variety of industries and backgrounds who provide group mentor sessions around NYC. Learn more here.