Olivia Sayah

Welcome, New Member: Lisa Murray, President, Head of New England Not for Profit and Professionals Banking, Citizens Massachusetts!

Lisa Murray has been in commercial banking for almost thirty years having started her career in 1992 at Shawmut Bank. Since then, Lisa has held various positions in retail, middle market and specialized lending. She joined Citizens in 1997 through their acquisition of State Street Bank. As President of Citizens Massachusetts, Lisa represents Citizens in an official capacity with civic, business and community leaders across the Commonwealth. In her role as Director of the Not for Profit and Professionals Banking Division at Citizens, Lisa leads a team of  seasoned industry specialists to assist organizations in managing their businesses more efficiently and profitably while taking risk out of the operating model.

Welcome, New Member: Teresa Barreira, Chief Marketing Officer, Publicis Sapient!

Teresa is a transformational leader and innovator whose creative thinking coupled with her 25 years of global B2B marketing expertise has enabled her to break the mold of traditional marketing in Technology and Service companies. A dynamic and fast-paced changemaker, Barreira has reinvigorated the Publicis Sapient brand, repositioning the company to drive profitable growth and become a leader in digital business transformation. She created an agile operating model to focus on speed, data, and innovation and built a multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural global team, to foster diversity and inclusion. Most recently Teresa created and launched a new immersive platform, the first of its kind, shifting content creation from linear engagement to an interactive experience.

Welcome, New Member: Joanne Marqusee, Executive Vice President and Chief Integration Officer, Wellforce!

Joanne Marqusee is Executive Vice President and Chief Integration Officer for Wellforce, a health care system based in eastern Massachusetts that is comprised of 4 hospital sites (including Tufts Medical Center), more than 2000 physicians, and a home care/hospice agency. Prior to joining Wellforce in 2021, she served for 7 years as the CEO of Cooley Dickinson Hospital, located in western Mass and part of Mass General Brigham.

Welcome, New Member: Joan Wallace-Benjamin, Founder and President, J Wallace-Benjamin Consulting LLC!

Joan joined The Home for Little Wanderers in 2003 as President and Chief Executive Officer. Under her guidance, the agency gained prominence in the field of child and family service providers, becoming a leader in innovative programming for underserved populations and expanding its role of advocacy for all children. ​Previously, Joan was President and Chief Executive Officer of The Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts for 11 years and immediately prior to joining The Home, she served as a Consultant with Whitehead Mann, a global executive recruiting firm. Joan has brought to her positions a remarkable array of skills and energy that have empowered and inspired the organizations to fulfill their missions of service, research and advocacy.

Welcome, New Member: Laurie Halloran, President and CEO, Halloran Consulting Group!

Laurie founded Halloran Consulting Group in 1998, originally operating out of an unfinished bathroom. Her time as a pediatric ICU nurse had inspired her to start a company that helps move new therapies through FDA processes to get them into the hands of patients desperately in need. By providing a strategic development team, innovative start-up companies could have access to world-class expertise at a fraction of the cost. Since its humble beginnings, Halloran has grown into a successful consultancy of like-minded experts who are dedicated to improving human health by making life science companies better at what they do.

Donna Latson Gittens is the recipient of the inaugural Women in Business Racial Equity Award. The Women in Business Racial Equity Award was created to enable The Boston Club to annually recognize a woman of color who founds, owns, or leads an organization that is committed to the advancement of women into leadership positions. The Boston Club’s President, Nancy Nager says, “We are pleased that the inaugural Women in Business Racial Equity Award goes to an individual who has been such a powerful force for good in our community. Donna will set the standard for future Award recipients who model best practices in diversity, equity and inclusion and women’s leadership in their organizations.” Read more about the honor here.

The Boston Business Journal named several IWF/MA members to their list of Movement Makers of 2021. These individuals in the Greater Boston business community are taking a stand, creating change, and taking actionable steps to work together to make Boston continue to grow as a place for equity, inclusion and diverse points of view.

Congratulations to the following IWF/MA Members:

• Beth Chandler
• Sandy Edgerly
• Pam Everhart
• Colette Phillips
• Andrea Silbert
• Jane Steinmetz

Read the complete list here.

Everest Consolidator Acquisition Corporation (MNTN) led by COO and board director, member Jackie Shoback, recently completed its Initial Public Offering.  Read more in the press release.  Their Special Purpose Acquisition Company offering was north of five times oversubscribed. Also, Jackie’s digital identity venture capital firm, 1414 Ventures, had its first portfolio company exit.  Singular Key was acquired by Ping Identity (PING) just over 3 months after 1414 Ventures made their investment.  Read more here.

Members Andrea Silbert and Lynn Perry Wooten recently penned an article for the Boston Business Journal examining why work isn’t working for women. The article considers the “she-cession,” why women are leaving the workplace at four times the rate of men during the pandemic, and the support systems needed for women to advance and succeed in the workplace. Read the article here.