She Runs It: Expanding Into the New Normal
When the world essentially shut down more than two years ago, the scope of life for most people got smaller, restricted to the parameters of the house or apartment they lived in. Social circles got smaller. Corporate forecasts were compressed. The economy shrunk. But She Runs It did the opposite. We grew, and we grew significantly.
Thanks to decisions and initiatives championed by the She Runs It Operating Board over the past 30 months, the organization is stronger than ever. We are showing up for 8,000 individuals who work in marketing, media and tech, providing programs and resources that help them stay strong, current, connected and included. Our community has expanded from New York and Chicago to include members in 44 states and 14 countries. The remarkable Corporate Alliance Partner companies who help make us strong have increased in numbers, from 25 pre-pandemic to more than 45 today. Since the beginning of March 2020, we have hosted more than 150 events -- virtually, live and hybrid -- to fuel the industry with insights, knowledge and networking opportunities. Our mentoring program -- the most robust in the industry -- never skipped a beat, and in fact expanded through group mentoring opportunities. (I personally mentor three different groups.)
The Operating Board is pivotal to the health of this membership organization. The work of people like GroupM's Jill Kelly, our immediate past Board Chair, and Meta's Eva Press, our new Board Chair, cannot be understated. I am fortunate to work in partnership with all of the women listed below. They bring energy, creativity, strategic advice and unflappable determination to the She Runs It mission, which is to pave the way for more women of every background, identity and ethnicity to lead at every level of her career. The membership of She Runs It could not have a more remarkable group of leaders in their corner.
Our newest Board members are listed below in bold type. We are so excited for the infusion of their ideas, talent and energy, especially as we embark on the next chapter of our history. We are emerging from the pandemic as a global organization with new demands to meet, new challenges to conquer and new opportunities to seize. Thanks to this Board, I have never been more excited about our potential.
Our Board members are pictured above (from top, left to right, new directors in bold):
Eva Press, VP, Global Business Group, Meta, Board Chair
Lynn Branigan, CEO and President, She Runs It
Jill Kelly, Global Chief Marketing Officer, GroupM (immediate past Board Chair)
Julie Rollauer, Global Head of Faculty for Google Sales School (First VP)
Priscilla Valls, VP Agency, Advertiser and Industry Development, SiriusXM (Treasurer)
Angela Johnson, Client Development Officer, dentsu International (Second VP)
Catherine Davis, industry consultant and former CMCO Feeding America
Julie Fleischer, Chief Growth Officer, Encantos (Secretary)
Melissa Barnes, VP of Canada and Latin America, Twitter
Maria Weaver, President, WMX, Warner Music Group
Denise Colella, VP, Head of Digital Strategy Group - Media and Financial Services, Adobe
Kathleen Dundas, President, Data Strategy, Zenith
Lara Mehanna, VP Digital & Programmatic Strategy, National CineMedia
Sharon Harris, CMO Digital Commerce, Ascential
Pooja Midha, Chief Growth Officer, Comcast Advertising
Marissa Nance, CEO and Founder, Native Tongue Communications
Sheevani Raikundalia, Head of East, Bloomberg Media
Kimberly Thompson Grillo, President, Groupe Client Leader, Spark Foundry
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The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.com/MyersBizNet.
Lynn Branigan
Lynn is President and CEO of She Runs It (formerly AWNY), a 501c3 not for profit organization that exists to pave the way for more women to lead at every level of marketing and media. In that pursuit, Lynn works closely with corporate executives, influenc…
