Paradigm for Parity® 2021 Women on the Rise

Today, August 26, 2021, we celebrate Women’s Equality Day and the 101st anniversary of the 19th amendment, which afforded women the right to vote. In honor of this day, Paradigm for Parity® is proud to highlight “Women on the Rise” from our coalition members — innovators who are breaking barriers in corporate leadership and showing the value of gender parity and racial equity in the workforce.

The Paradigm for Parity® coalition applauds these strong female leaders from 14 of our member companies. Each Woman on the Rise has been nominated by their colleagues, sponsors, or mentors.

• Name and title: Ana Godinez, Account Manager, ALOM
• Nominated by: Hannah Kain, President and CEO of ALOM
• Why she’s a woman on the rise: Ana has quickly advanced throughout her career at ALOM, from her start as a data entry clerk, to now managing complex, multi-million dollar component production and fulfillment contracts for many of the world’s leading automotive brands. She has earned the trust of clients and associates alike through her commitment to timeliness and attention to detail, always going the extra mile to ensure that the highest quality work is delivered. Ana is also an advocate for workplace diversity and inclusion and actively mentors new account management staff, resulting in a record number of team promotions over the past three years.

• Name and title: Asia Gholston, Director of Marketing, Jacksonville Jaguars
• Nominated by: Jessica Jones, Vice President of People and Culture, Jacksonville Jaguars
• Why she’s a woman on the rise: Before joining the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020, Asia worked in the NFL league office, where she was responsible for development and execution of digital sponsorships for NFL Media. In this role, she also served as the co-chair of the league’s Black Engagement Network, an initiative that aimed to provide career development pathways and mentoring for the Black employees at the league office. Asia also previously worked as the Social Strategy Manager to the Orlando Magic and has worked with brands such as L’Oreal, Chevrolet, Cadillac and BET Networks.

• Name and title: Brittany Jennings, Senior Associate, People + Culture, Cheer Partners/Lippe Taylor
• Nominated by: Lisa Vasquez-Fedrizzi, Senior Vice President, Employee Experience, People + Culture, Cheer Partners/Lippe Taylor
• Why she’s a woman on the rise: Brittany is a talented, people-centric focused HR practitioner and is the pin that holds the People + Culture team together. A champion of diversity, equity and inclusion, her sense of culture resonates with everyone that works with her. Brittany tackles each day with the knowledge that she is here to make a difference in the lives of all company employees and she embraces that challenge with a strong mind and heart.

• Name and title: Isis Wu, Vice President & GM, Residential Fire & Vice President FSP Strategy & Commercial Excellence, Carrier
• Nominated by: Jurgen Timperman, President Fire & Security, Carrier
• Why she’s a woman on the rise: Isis’ strong leadership has made a significant impact on Carrier’s Fire & Security Products and in aligning FSP’s strategic framework. She has been instrumental in building key capabilities within the organization, including bringing customer insights closer to the business. Isis has also embraced Carrier’s cultural vision and incorporated it into all aspects of her work at the company using new thinking and creativity.

• Name and title: JeNai Redwood, Head of Employee Relations & Manager Excellence within Bank of America’s Global Human Resources organization
• Nominated by: Karen Reardon, SVP Senior Human Resources Executive, Global Human Resources
• Why she’s a woman on the rise: With 17 years of experience at Bank of America, JeNai is respected as a strategist, key influencer and relationship builder across the enterprise. As someone who cares deeply about the health and wellbeing of her colleagues, JeNai launched the Pandemic Accommodations & High Risk Support team to ensure that Bank of America employees have the resources they need to safely and comfortably navigate the pandemic and the process of returning to the office. In her role as the Human Resources Executive for the Minnesota market, JeNai also provided guidance and support to the market following the murder of George Floyd. She is currently a member of the company’s Black Executive Leadership Advisory Council, where she chairs the Professional Development Committee.

• Name and title: Jennifer Nelson, Head of Clinical Software & Solutions, US, Dentsply Sirona
• Nominated by: Sarah Waltman, VP, Global Talent Management & Organizational Development
• Why she’s a woman on the rise: For over a decade, Jennifer has created and supported B2B products with the customer’s best interest at heart. Since joining Dentsply Sirona in 2012, she has launched innovative dental solutions as well as focusing on creating an equitable workplace through her role on the Diversity & Inclusion Council. Jennifer is also the chair of the employee resource group Black Organization for Leadership and Development and a member of the Convention of Understanding committee, which facilitates discussions about important topics surrounding diversity and inclusion.

• Name and title: Jill Anderson, Senior Vice President, Customer Service, Southern California Edison
• Nominated by: Steve Powell, Executive Vice President of Operations at SCE
• Why she’s a woman on the rise: Jill handles a wide range of responsibilities at Southern California Edison, including overseeing the company’s customer products and services, business and residential customer account management, call center operations, customer information systems re-platforming and competitive telecommunications business. She previously served as Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning and Power Supply at SCE, ensuring that the integrated planning to support California’s clean energy transformation remains closely aligned with the company’s procurement and dispatch of generation resources. Jill has extensive experience in the fields of energy policy, sustainability and corporate communications.

• Name and title: Kandice Cohen, Director, Electrification of Heat, Trane Technology
• Nominated by: Kenya Jacobs, Director of Diversity and Inclusion
• Why she’s a woman on the rise: Kandice has an impressive 15 years of experience in the lighting and HVAC industries and has established herself as not only a leader of innovation, but also a sought-after speaker and an industry leader. She has focused her career on the science of illumination, and the industry is now poised to begin the smart building revolution — a vision that has been and continues to be Kandice’s life work. Kandice also devotes her time to career coaching for her peers and promoting efforts to engage more girls in STEM fields, helping younger generations strive for gender parity in these fields.

• Name and title: Kristi Herbst, SVP of Finance, Synergos, an Asahi Kasei company
• Nominated by: Rich Gallagher, CEO, Synergos
• Why she’s a woman on the rise: Kristi has had an impressive career in the residential construction industry, breaking into a field that is typically dominated by men. While she holds the title of SVP of Finance, it is her willingness to stretch outside of this role to understand, support and champion other operational projects and initiatives which has endeared her to the broader organization. Kristi’s experience and confidence have allowed her to navigate industry challenges and position Synergos for significant growth.

• Name and title: Marcia Brown-Rayford, VP, Life Sciences R&D Leader, RGP Healthcare
• Nominated by: Kate Duchene, CEO, RGP
• Why she’s a woman on the rise: Marcia joined RGP in 2017 and holds over two decades of experience in the industry in addition to three MBAs. She is a two-time recipient of the Wharton School’s Shils-Zeidman Achievement Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence and is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, given to those with a mastery of all aspects of Lean enterprise concepts to enhance and/or revolutionize multidisciplinary processes. Marcia also manages her own nonprofit, BrightPath STEAM Academy, which teaches underserved African American youth science, technology, engineering, art and math.

• Name and title: Marshall Barton, Vice President, Animal Health US Business Law, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Inc.
• Nominated by: Sheila Denton, SVP, General Counsel, Corp Secretary, Government Affairs, Boehringer Ingelheim Inc.
• Why she’s a woman on the rise: Marshall has been with Boehringer Ingelheim and its animal health predecessor Merial for over 16 years, during which time she has served multiple roles helping the Animal Health business both nationally and internationally. Marshall is an advocate for diversity and inclusion efforts at Boehringer Ingelheim and serves as the Animal Health Executive Sponsor of the Asian Business Resource Group. Her charitable activities outside of Boehringer Ingelheim include serving on the Board of Directors for Rainbow Village, Inc, a transitional housing program for homeless families, working as a member of the Gwinnett Advisory Board for the United Way of Greater Atlanta and volunteering with the Women’s Club of Sugarloaf Country Club Charities, Inc.

• Name and title: Nitya Podila, Senior Manager, Product Software & Engineering, Equinix Inc.
• Nominated by: Sara Baack, Chief Product Officer
• Why she’s a woman on the rise: Nitya is a hands-on leader focused on continuous improvement who guides her team with vision and purpose. She used these skills to significantly improve engineering quality and operational metrics over the past year while also driving the Agile transformation at Equinix as a champion for change and the removal of barriers. Nitya has also focused heavily on helping women in the industry advance and increasing the number of women in technology. Her success comes from a blend of her commitment, personal drive, and inclusive leadership skills.

• Name and title: Sarah Cigrang, Vice President, Integrated Talent Experience, Human Resources, Ingredion
• Nominated by: Elizabeth Adefioye, SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer
• Why she’s a woman on the rise: Sarah leads the Integrated Talent Experience Community of Expertise (CoE) responsible for advising the businesses and functions on people strategies and solutions related to how capabilities and leadership traits are developed in the organization and how performance is shaped to help unleash the performance and potential of our people. Sarah has held leadership roles with increasing responsibility in her career with Ingredion, including HR Director, Commercial for the North America business and Director, Talent Management and Organizational Effectiveness. Her global experience includes a three year expatriate assignment in Switzerland where she had responsibility for supporting employees in over 15 countries. Sarah attended University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she earned both a Master’s in Human Resources and Industrial Relations, and a Bachelor’s in Sociology. Sarah shares her talent and knowledge for developing people as a board member of the Girl Scouts, Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana chapter.

• Name and title: Dr. Subhashini Vashisth, Group Leader, Corporate Innovation, Eastman
• Nominated by: Dr. Lucian Boldea, Executive Vice President, Additives & Functional Products and Chemical Intermediates
• Why she’s a woman on the rise: Subhashini is an innovative and impassioned leader who plays a crucial role in the Inclusion & Diversity strategy at Eastman. She serves as the leader of the Catalysts Resource Group, which focuses on identifying and removing barriers that prevent women from reaching their fullest potential and growing their careers. In 2019, she organized the first-ever workshop at the International Symposium of Chemical Reaction Engineering Conference dedicated to confronting the low rates of female representation in engineering and technology roles. Subhashini consistently uses her training as a chemical engineer to uplift women in the industry.