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Exclusive Interview with Dean Erika James of Emory University Goizueta Business School

February 15, 2016 by ryanredhawk

Atlanta Business Radio

Exclusive Interview with Dean Erika James of Emory University Goizueta Business School

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– Special Episode of Atlanta Business Radio –

Sandy Welfare Executive Director of WIT Atlanta and Ryan “Redhawk” McPherson talk with Dean Erika James of Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Sandy Welfare, Dean Erika James and Ryan McPherson

This Episode Brought To You By

Goizueta has been ranked No. 1 in the world for MBA employment and among the world’s best for career opportunities. Additionally, graduates are positively impacting the marketplace and our alumni, as they advance in their careers, continue to increase their influence worldwide.

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Erika James was appointed Dean of Goizueta Business School on May 19, 2014. Prior to this prestigious appointment, James served as Senior Associate Dean for Executive Education at the Darden Graduate School of Business (Virginia). She introduced the Women’s Leadership Program at Darden, which has the top-ranked faculty for open enrollment programs (Financial Times, 2014). Open enrollment programs at Darden are currently ranked No. 3 in the world (Financial Times, 2014). James is a published researcher, award-winning educator, admired administrator, regarded speaker and proven consultant. Her expertise in workplace diversity and crisis leadership has led to recognition in scholarly journals and mainstream media. She has also taught and consulted on topics including decision making under pressure, trust and change management. James grew up in Texas and completed her undergraduate work at Pomona College (Calif.). While fulfilling coursework James started in the field of organizational psychology and pursued an M.A. and Ph.D. in the subject at the University of Michigan. She served as an assistant professor at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business and Emory before joining the faculty at Darden. James also spent a year as visiting professor at Harvard Business School. In more than a decade of service at Virginia, James worked in various roles including Associate Dean of Diversity — the first to hold the position. She was also course head for the MBA core organizational behavior course and served as area coordinator for the Leadership and Organization Behavior unit at Darden. For the university, James was a member of the executive council of the Faculty Senate.

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Sandy D. Welfare is the Executive Director of Women In Technology (WIT). Prior to that, she was the Executive Director of Cool Girls Inc, an award-winning early intervention after-school program dedicated to the empowerment of girls (2009-2015).

Sandy’s career began in 1989 in Greenwich, Connecticut where she joined Rand Insurance as the Controller. Six years later, she accepted a position with Lucent Technologies, an international telecommunications leader, holding a number of positions including serving as Accounting and Treasury Manager in Singapore (1999-2000) and then as Senior Manager in Australia and New Zealand (2000-2002). Sandy returned to Atlanta in 2002 as Senior Manager of Global Financial Services.

In 2003, Sandy accepted a position as Director of Operations for Xchanging, a business processing outsourcing company. In 2006, her career took her to London, England as Managing Director for professional services, where she managed global business processing services for bank financial transactions, insurance and retail.

Sandy received her undergraduate degree from St. John’s University in New York, and a Master of Business Administration from Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. She serves on the board of several non-profits, including Kiwanis Club of Atlanta. Sandy resides in Marietta, Georgia with her husband, Cliff and son, Soloman.

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WIT Atlanta Features Jeffery Tobias Halter with YWomen and Serena E. Sacks with Fulton County Schools and 2015 WIT Women Of The Year Award Winner

January 14, 2016 by ryanredhawk

Atlanta Tech Leaders

WIT Atlanta Features Jeffery Tobias Halter with YWomen and Serena E. Sacks with Fulton County Schools and 2015 WIT Women Of The Year Award Winner

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The work of Women in Technology has an incredible impact.

Since 1992, Women in Technology has had a mission dedicated to promoting the advancement of women in Georgia’s technology community. Through the WIT COMMUNITY, WIT Also educates and encourages girls and young women to pursue careers in STEM.

Jeffrey Tobias Halter/Gender Strategist

Founder

Jeffery Tobias Halter is the country’s leading male expert on advancing women and engaging men. Jeffery is a consultant and the President of YWomen, a strategic consulting company focused on engaging men in women’s leadership issues. YWomen focuses on driving actionable business plans and strategies to help organizations create Integrated Women’s Leadership Strategies. Jeffery is the former Director of Diversity Strategy for The Coca-Cola Company. He has extensive knowledge of the consumer package goods, retail, food service and hospitality industries and is sought after speaker at industry forums and corporate programs.

Jeffery is the author of two books, WHY WOMEN, The Leadership Imperative to Advancing Women and Engaging Men(April, 2015) and Selling to Men, Selling to Women. He was a Panelist at the World Diversity Leadership Summit at Harvard University and led workshops at the Global Summit of Women in Athens Greece. His current clients include two Catalyst Award winning companies, The Coca-Cola Company and Kimberly-Clark. He has led best practice work with companies such as McDonald’s, Deloitte, Publicis Groupe, GE and Clorox. He recently keynoted the opening session for Walmart’s International Women’s Day celebration.

Combining 30+ years in corporate America – from the sales front line to the corporate headquarters and his passion for integrated leadership strategies, Jeffery connects with leaders at all-levels of the organization to create sustainable change and impact to the bottom line. His dynamic and engaging presentations garner positive reviews from stakeholders and attendees. He is available for keynotes, workshops, conference breakout sessions, panel moderation and long-term consulting opportunities.

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Serena Sacks/ 2015 WIT Women of the Year Award Winner

Chief Information Officer | Fulton County Schools

Serena Sacks has been a transformational business and Information Technology leader for more than 25 years across corporate, non-profit, and government sectors. She has gained a comprehensive perspective through a variety of executive leadership positions and C-level consulting roles, working for organizations such as IBM, Walt Disney World, Harcourt, Wyndham, Florida Virtual School, and, now, Fulton County School District in Atlanta. Ms. Sacks earned her B.A. and M.S. in an accelerated program at SUNY Stony Brook, graduating Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa and had the honor of being selected as a Presidential Management Intern. She holds certifications in Enterprise IT Governance from ISACA, Six Sigma/LEAN Process Excellence, and Professional Project Management (PMI) and has extensive training in Strategic Execution through the Balanced Scorecard Collaborative. Appreciated for her strategic vision, excellence in operational delivery, and strong relationship skills, Ms. Sacks has effectively driven top line growth, customer satisfaction, and cost savings programs – depending on the needs of the organization.

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Sandy Welfare / WIT

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WIT Atlanta Features James Dallas on Atlanta Technology Leaders Special Episode

December 17, 2015 by ryanredhawk

Atlanta Tech Leaders

WIT Atlanta Features James Dallas on Atlanta Technology Leaders Special Episode

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James Dallas is The 2015 Georgia CIO Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

with

WIT Executive Director Sandy Welfare

H. James Dallas/Author Management Consultant

Mr. Dallas is an accomplished senior executive with extensive experience as an agent of change in large domestic and international corporate settings. He has successfully implemented over 10 transformational and turnaround initiatives, 15 acquisition integrations, and 5 operations/quality shared services centers of excellence. Mr. Dallas has over 30 years’ experience in General Management/business operations roles as well as Chief Information Officer positions. He recently retired in September 2013 as Senior Vice President of Quality, Operations and IT at Medtronic, Inc., a global medical technology company that employs approximately 45,000 people and does business in more than 120 countries. Mr. Dallas also served as a member of Medtronic’s executive management team. Prior to joining Medtronic in 2006, Mr. Dallas was Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Georgia-Pacific Corporation, a global forest products company that employed over 55,000 people. In his 22 years at Georgia Pacific, Mr. Dallas held a series of progressively more responsible information technology and operating roles. He also served as a member of Georgia Pacific’s executive management team. The majority of Mr. Dallas’s career has been focused on bridging the gap between strategy and execution, using IT for competitive advantage, and leadership development. Mr. Dallas serves on the boards of for-profit and non-profit organizations. He has been named one of the most powerful black men in corporate America several times in his career by Black Enterprise and Savoy magazines. Mr. Dallas is a native of Atlanta, GA. He and his wife Celest have been married for 33 years and have three daughters.

James Dallas & Associates Mastering The Challenges of Leading Change the Book Twitter

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Sandy Welfare / WIT

Executive Director

Sandy D. Welfare was recently appointed as the Interim Executive Director for Women In Technology (WIT), a non-profit organization that supports women at every stage of their STEM careers, from the classroom to the boardroom. Prior to joining WIT, she was the Executive Director of Cool Girls Inc, an award-winning early intervention after school program dedicated to the empowerment of low-income girls.

Sandy’s career began in 1989 in Greenwich, Connecticut where she joined Rand Insurance as the operations controller. Six years later, she accepted a position with Lucent Technologies, an international telecommunications leader, holding a number of positions including from 1999-2000 serving as accounting and treasury manager in Singapore and then from 2000-2002 as senior operations manager in Australia and New Zealand. Sandy returned to Atlanta in 2002 as senior manager global financial services.

In 2003, Sandy accepted a position as director of operations for Xchanging, a business processing outsourcing company. In 2006, her career took her to London, England as managing director for professional services, where she managed global business processing services for bank financial transactions, insurance and retail. Two years later, Sandy returned to the Atlanta area and was asked to chair the Cool Girls’ Board of Directors. In 2009, Sandy was offered the Executive Director position which she accepted and led the organization until stepping down in October 2014.

Sandy received her undergraduate degree from St. John’s University in New York, and a Master of Business Administration from Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Sandy resides in Marietta, Georgia with her husband Cliff and son Soloman.

Women In Technology (WIT) Special Episode

November 12, 2015 by ryanredhawk

Atlanta Tech Leaders

Women In Technology (WIT) Special Episode

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The work of Women in Technology has an incredible impact.

Sandy Welfare, Janet Barnard, Jackie Breiter

Sandy Welfare / WIT

Women in Technology (WIT) today announced the appointment of Sandy Welfare as its Interim Executive Director. Sandy will lead WIT, the Atlanta-based non-profit organization dedicated to supporting women and girls in STEM careers – through a transition from an association management firm to a more independent model.

“Given Sandy’s international business and systems background, as well as her multiple years’ experience leading a non-profit, she was an excellent choice for WIT as we assimilate our operations back in-house,” said Tricia Dempsey, WIT Inc. Board President.

Prior to joining WIT, Sandy was the Executive Director of Cool Girls, Inc., an award-winning early intervention after-school program dedicated to the empowerment of low-income girls. “Sandy has a clear passion for the empowerment of girls, a valuable contribution to our continued growth,” added Denise Reese, WIT Foundation Board President.

Sandy’s career began in 1989 in Greenwich, Connecticut where she joined Rand Insurance as the operations controller. Six years later, she accepted a position with Lucent Technologies, an international telecommunications leader, holding a number of positions from 1994-2000, including serving as accounting and treasury manager in Singapore and then as senior operations manager in Australia and New Zealand. Sandy returned to Atlanta in 2002 as senior manager of global financial services.

In 2003, Sandy accepted a position as director of operations for Xchanging, a business processing outsourcing company. In 2006, her career took her to London, England, as managing director for professional services, where she managed global business processing services for bank financial transactions, insurance and retail. Two years later, Sandy returned to the Atlanta area and was asked to chair the Cool Girls’ Board of Directors. In 2009, Sandy was offered the Executive Director position, which she accepted and led the organization until stepping down in October 2014.

Sandy received her undergraduate degree from St. John’s University in New York, and a Master of Business Administration from Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.

Welfare will be based at the new WIT Executive Offices, effective December 2014.

Janet Barnard/Manheim North America Cox Automotive

President

Janet Barnard is president of Manheim North America. In this role, she acts as a member of Cox Automotive’s leadership team and directs several groups at Manheim engaged in transforming the company’s core auction business with its 79 operating locations into one that incorporates an expanding digital and mobile strategy. Groups that report to Barnard include Sales, Inventory Services and Customer Experience. Barnard most recently served as executive vice president and chief operating officer at Manheim. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises.

Prior to joining Manheim, Barnard served as senior vice president and general manager for Cox Communications’ (CCI) Central Region. Her responsibilities included growing the $1.2 billion region’s voice, data and video services across its residential and commercial base of more than 700,000 customers. Prior to that role, Barnard was senior vice president and general manager for other Cox Communications regional business areas including Northern Virginia, Middle America and Omaha.

Recognized by Women in Technology (WIT) as one of Georgia’s top women leaders, she was the winner of the 2014 Woman of the Year in Technology Award in the Large/Enterprise Organization category. In 2010, Barnard was named as a Betsy Magness Leadership Institute Fellow, which honors the most successful female leaders in the cable and telecommunications industry. She was also selected by CableFAX as a Top 25 Regional Player and as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Cable.

Barnard gives back to her community by representing Cox Enterprises on the Board of Governors of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and through her role as the Executive Sponsor for Cox Automotive’s Go Green Council which implements best practices designed to reduce the company’s environmental footprint. In addition, she supports and participates in the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America (KPCRAA) to raise funds and awareness for Victory Junction and other charities supporting chronically ill children.

She resides in Atlanta with her husband Bryan, and has two children and three grandchildren. She enjoys golf, travel and motorcycling.

Jackie Breiter/Emory Goizueta Business School

COO and CIO

Jackie Breiter drives the strategic direction and management for all aspects of technology relating to teaching, faculty research, students,

and administration for the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. She is a recognized leader that combines technological knowledge with strong strategy and communication skills. Her particular expertise is in aligning organizational objectives with real-world solutions and a “get it done” approach.

Prior to joining Goizueta, Jackie built and led teams in various industries including telecommunications, software, and health care. Jackie served for nearly four years as vice president of global customer success for CA Technologies, an IT management software and solutions company. At CA she led a global team responsible for increasing customer loyalty among the firm’s top CIO clients. She previously served for nearly three years as vice president of technical services at PharMerica Inc., where she was responsible for setting the technical vision and managing the operations of PharMerica’s IT services. Jackie started her career at AT&T, where she worked for 12 years in logistics management and automation, as well as in almost every functional area within IT. It was at AT&T where she built the foundation for her leadership and technology expertise.

Spotlight on WIT

October 8, 2015 by rhondachale

Atlanta Tech Leaders

Spotlight on WIT

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Sandy Welfare / WIT

Since 1992, Women in Technology has had a mission dedicated to promoting the advancement of women in Georgia’s technology community. Through the WIT Foundation, WIT also educates and encourages girls and young women to pursue careers in STEM.

Tanya Egins / Cool Girls

Susan Landrum / VOX

Special Edition: Women in Technology (WIT)

September 10, 2015 by rhondachale

Atlanta Tech Leaders

Special Edition: Women in Technology (WIT)

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Sandy Welfare / WIT

Fela Strickland-Smith and Dara Solomon / Satori Interactive, LLC

Fela Strickland-Smith is CEO and Managing Partner at Satori Interactive, LLC. where she is responsible for Satori’s day-to-day operations, as well as overseeing the company’s customer operations, marketing and strategic partnerships. Fela cofounded Satori Consulting, Inc with Dara Solomon in 2004 which was rebranded to Satori Interactive in 2012. Under her leadership Satori Interactive has dramatically scaled its infrastructure and diversified its product offerings while maintaining a strong culture of innovation.

From 2008 – 2012 Fela also served as an adjunct professor at the Art Institute of Atlanta’s department of Web Design and Interactive Media Design. She taught an introductory course in “Information Architecture” to Interactive Media Design students preparing for professional careers in interaction design, communication design, and web design.

Prior joining Satori Interactive, Fela held leadership roles across program/ project management, product development, IT services and User Experience strategy and research within leading fortune 500 corporations.

Fela earned her Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in Math and Computer Science from Virginia Union University. Originally from the Northeast, Fela resides in Atlanta with her husband and two children.

Dara Solomon is the COO and Managing Partner at Satori Interactive, LLC. In this role, Dara drives the User Experience Research, Strategy and Design direction for Satori Interactive. With over 15 years of experience in User Experience research and information architecture Dara is the leads the organization in delivering user-focused solutions through extensive research and knowledge in human factors, information architecture, market research, usability and design.

Dara has a demonstrated track record for implementing engaging solutions for Web sites, Web applications, mobile applications, and BI dashboard designs for both small and large companies in various industries.

She is a strong team builder and mentor who is skillful in managing and motivating employees to delivering innovative, insightful and high quality interactive user experiences. Dara has shared her experience with aspiring user research professional by teaching. Dara was a faculty member at The Art Institute of Atlanta (AiA) for 9 years, where she taught Introduction to HTML, Project Management, Information Architecture, Internet Marketing (includes Social Media and Search Engine Optimization) and a Usability course.

Dara holds a both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Industrial Engineering with a concentration in Human Factors from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. In addition to these degrees, she has also earned the Professional Researchers Certification (PRC) with Market Research Associates. Dara’s byline has appeared in numerous conference proceedings as well as journals.

WIT Special Episode

August 13, 2015 by rhondachale

Atlanta Tech Leaders

WIT Special Episode

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Sandy Welfare / WIT

Robert Poole / Emory Continuing Education

Valarie Mackey / The Coca-Cola Company

Valarie W. Mackey, IT Global Performance Leader, The Coca-Cola Company is a Director level professional with 15+ years’ experience focused on strategic planning and execution. She effectively leads and manages global team members and is committed to ensuring employees are well-rounded professionals and enjoy their career growth. At The Coca-Cola Company she has responsibility for creating and executing strategies to improve Information Technology, employee and organizational performance. She brings leadership, educational, and career development opportunities to the organization and makes employees aware of external development opportunities. Valarie has overarching accountability for technology solutions for the business functions of Human Resources, Public Affairs, Sustainability, and Facilities. She is responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with STEM organizations and educational institutions to promote community outreach and enhance the talent pipeline of the Coca-Cola IT organization. Employee Engagement and Communication also falls under her responsibility. Prior to The Coca-Cola Company, Valarie was a consultant for Ernst & Young. Valarie serves as a Board member and is an advocate for several nonprofit organizations. She holds an Industrial Engineering Degree from North Carolina A&T State University.

Spotlight on WIT

July 9, 2015 by rhondachale

Atlanta Tech Leaders

Spotlight on WIT

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Sandy Welfare / WIT

Jaclyn Conner / Emory University Goizueta Business School

Jaclyn Conner, Ed.D. is the lead, Instructional Designer in the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. Throughout her career, she has managed the curriculum development process for in-person and online programs at top-tiered business schools, medical schools and with Fortune 500 companies such as IBM. Jaclyn received her education from Spelman College, Georgia Institute of Technology, and earned her Doctorate of Education at the University of Southern California. Jaclyn joined WIT after being exposed to one of WIT’s exciting FORUMS. Given Jaclyn’s background in curriculum design, it was a natural fit to volunteer for the WIT CAREERS program partnering with Emory University’s Continuing Education. Jaclyn was delighted to volunteer her time to ensure the curriculum meets the needs of WIT members.

Kanisha Dennis / Emory Continuing Education

Kanisha Dennis joined Emory Continuing Education in November 2014, bringing with her a solid background in marketing and business operations.

In her current role as the Program Coordinator for Corporate Learning and Business Development, Kanisha serves as a partner to corporate clients by managing client relations and coordinating the logistics of multiple training projects through to completion.

Kanisha earned her Master of Science Degree in Advertising from Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts.