Supporters

Beth Brooke is Global Vice Chair, Public Policy at Ernst & Young and is a member of the firm’s Global Executive Board. Beth has public policy responsibility for the firm’s operations in 140 countries and interacts frequently with regulators, policymakers, and capital market stakeholders. In addition, she has global responsibility for the firm’s Diversity and Inclusiveness efforts. She has been named four times to the list of Forbes "World's 100 Most Powerful Women", and was named 2009 Woman of the Year by Concern Worldwide. Beth has been actively engaged in numerous civic and business organizations. She is a member of the inaugural class of the Henry Crown Fellows of The Aspen Institute and the Committee of 200. She serves on the Boards of Vital Voices, The Committee for Economic Development, The Atlantic Council of the United States, the Partnership for Public Service, TechnoServe, the National Women’s Law Center, and The White House Project. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the Aspen Institute, the Women’s Leadership Board of the Kennedy School at Harvard, and the Women’s Advisory Board of the World Economic Forum. Beth serves on public policy advisory councils for Georgetown University and Indiana University. She is also a member of the Audit Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Defense, is a member of the U.S. delegation to the 53rd and 54th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and serves as a Pathways Envoy for the U.S. State Department.

Academy Award-winner Geena Davis continues to be one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors.  Having received the 2006 Golden Globe Awards for Best Performance by Actress in a Television Series – Drama, Davis broke ground in her portrayal of the first female President of the United States in ABC’s hit show “Commander in Chief.”  In 1989, Davis received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the offbeat dog trainer Muriel Pritchett in Lawrence Kasdan’s “The Accidental Tourist.”  She was again nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her performance as Thelma in Ridley Scott’s “Thelma and Louise,” in which she co-starred with Susan Sarandon. Davis received Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress for her portrayals of a political speech writer in “Speechless,” a film which she also co-produced, and as a baseball phenomenon in “A League of Their Own.” Davis made her feature film debut starring opposite Dustin Hoffman in “Tootsie.”  She then went on to star in such films as “The Fly,” “Beetlejuice,” “Earth Girls are Easy,” “Angie,” “The Long Kiss Goodnight,” and “Stuart Little.” Davis, a member of the genius society Mensa, is also a trustee of the Women’s Sports Foundation, and supports Title IX and girls’ participation in sports through her own website, GeenaTakesAim.com. Although she took up the sport in 1997, Davis was one of only 32 women to qualify to compete in the 2000 Olympic Trials for archery.  She attained the rank of thirteenth in the nation the next year. A long-time advocate for women and girls, Davis founded the See Jane program. See Jane is dedicated to advocating balance in gender representation and to increasing the percentages of female characters and reduce stereotyping in media made for children ages 0-11.

Abigail E. Disney is Founder and President, Daphne Foundation and former Chair, New York Women's Foundation.  Ms. Disney is a philanthropist and speaker active in supporting women’s initiatives who serves on the boards of a variety of organizations that work to improve the lives of low-income women and families. She is Vice Chair of the board of Shamrock Holdings, Inc., an investment firm based in California.

Dr. Lucie Lapovsky (Treasurer) Former President, Mercy College. Dr. Lapovsky has almost 30 years of experience in Higher Education Finance. Prior to Mercy College, she served as Vice President for Finance at Goucher College and before that, she worked as Special Assistant to the President of the University of Maryland at College Park, as Director of Finance and Facilities for the Maryland Higher Education Commission, and as a Fiscal Planner for the Maryland State Department of Budget and Fiscal Planning.  In 1999, she was named one of the 100 top women in Maryland. Dr. Lapovsky serves on a number of boards and advisory committees including the American Public University System, American Council on Education,  Advisory Committee to the Center on Policy Analysis,  and the Boards of Western New England College, the National Council for Research on Women, and the New York Women's Forum Education Fund.

Sudha Shetty, JD is the Director of the International Fellowship Program and a graduate faculty at the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. She speaks and writes extensively on domestic violence issues facing immigrant women and women of color. She has been a consultant to the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney, L.L.P. on diversity issues and in her former role as Director of the Seattle University Law School’s Access to Justice Institute she developed a variety of legal access projects focused on battered women. She was recently honored by the Washington Women Lawyers Foundation for her work with underserved communities. She has been the recipient of several awards – 2005 King County Washington Women Lawyers – Special Contributions to the Judiciary Award; 2005 NALP (National Association of Law School Placements – Award of Distinction in Pro Bono and Public Service; 2003 Asian Bar Association of Washington - Community Service Award; 2003 PSLawNet - the Pro Bono Publico Award; 2004 AALS (American Association of Law Schools) - Father Drinan Award for forwarding the ethic of pro bono and public service in law schools through personal service, program design and management. She was the 2005 Section Chair of The American Associations of Law Schools Pro Bono Public and Public Interest Section. She was a founding member and chair of Chaya, a grass-roots South Asian domestic violence prevention group and chair of the Washington South Asian Council. She was chosen to be a 1999 fellow of the Asian Pacific Women’s Leadership Institute. Ms. Shetty received a Bachelors Degree in Sociology and Psychology from Sophia College in Bombay, India, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Bombay, India.