Julie Castro Abrams – Chief Executive Officer
Julie Castro Abrams is a national leader in microfinance and women’s issues. She has been CEO of Women’s Initiative since 2001, following a non-profit career that spanned 20 years in Chicago. She led the transition of Women’s Initiative from a founder-led organization to a rapidly growing non-profit that has expanded throughout the Bay Area and increased the number of women trained and receiving microloans tenfold. Under her leadership, significant new services have been developed that contribute to the success of entrepreneurs and the economic growth in the communities served by the organization, and the Women’s Initiative has been recognized by the Urban Institute Best Practices Foundation, the Equal Rights Advocates and Cisco Innovation in Technology, among others. Julie currently serves on the Board of the California Association for Microenterprise Opportunity (CAMEO), and is a highly sought after speaker and expert on microenterprise in the U.S. Julie is the recipient of the Human Rights Award from the Commission on the Status of Women, the Women of Color Action Network Award 2008. Prior to her work at Women’s Initiative, Julie served as Deputy Director and Director of Development and Marketing at Chicago’s Merit School of Music. Her accomplishments at Merit include increasing annual giving from $300,000 to $2,000,000 and leading a $2.7 million endowment campaign that exceeded its goal, raising $3.5 million. Julie’s previous positions include Director of Development at Community Christian Alternative Academy and principal at the Catalyst Group consulting firm. She has also held positions with the Illinois Pro-Choice Alliance, the Chicago Department of Health, and the Chicago Foundation for Women. Julie studied for her masters degree in Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago and she has a BA in Human Development and Social Policy from the school of Education at Northwestern University. She currently lives in Novato with her husband and two children.

David Veneziano – Chief Financial Officer
David joined Women’s Initiative in 2003 and acts as the CFO for the organization as well as the head of the Financial Services Group, providing business loans and access to savings programs for graduates. David comes to Women’s Initiative with 20+ years of financial services experience in corporate banking and investing. In 2003, David decided to step-back from the for-profit business world in favor of non-profit work. The change has been personally gratifying for David and invaluable to Women’s Initiative. His financial services experience and leadership has resulted in a 5X fold growth in lending activity over the last two years – making Women’s Initiative one of the largest training-led financial service providers in the country. Prior to joining Women’s Initiative, David was Vice President of Strategy & Planning at Charles Schwab in their high-volume trading segment, representing more than $800 million in annual revenue. David was also Assistant Controller for Schwab’s Online Trading Division and participated in the explosive growth of Schwab’s internet trading business in the late 1990’s. Before joining Schwab in 1990, David worked at Bank of America in credit card operations and in Benefits Finance prior to that. He earned a B.S. in Finance and Real Estate from Colorado State University in 1986.

Karuna Jaggar – Executive Director, East Bay Region
Karuna Jaggar is Executive Director of the East Bay at Women’s Initiative for Self Employment and has fifteen years of experience in international and domestic microenterprise programs. Karuna has been with Women’s Initiative for more than 6 years, working at every level in the organization, from greeting, enrolling and training clients to leading the agency’s research program and public policy work, from fundraising to agency strategy. Prior to joining Women’s Initiative, Karuna had 10 years of experience working to promote and research women’s microenterprise. In addition to conducting her graduate research on women’s microenterprises in Tanzania, Karuna worked in India with a local microenterprise organization to design and implement a survey to determine program outcomes. Karuna’s passion for microenerprise comes from recognizing the power of business ownership in transforming the lives of women, their families, and ultimately our communities.


Thais Rezende – Executive Director, North Bay Region
Thais comes to Women's Initiative with three years of non-profit experience, working as Public Relations Manager in her native Mexico. She helped open three virtual libraries and consistently provided services to more than 300 homeless children. When she moved to the Bay Area, she worked for the Mexican Consulate as part of The Mexican Communities Abroad Team where she helped implement and develop health, educational and business trade programs. She also worked for OLDCOA, in Oakland California where she recently served as Program Specialist/Subsidy Counselor. Her background includes journalism work both in TV and print. She holds a B.A. in International Relations and is fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese.

Lorrie Williams – Executive Director, Silicon Valley
Lorrie’s experience as an entrepreneur, small business owner, and business development consultant spans over 15 years. Her expertise lies in areas of sales and marketing, advertising and promotions in addition to operations and production management. She has owned and operated several successful businesses in the bay area and has also experienced the joys of successful business partnerships. Lorrie’s mission is to form an alliance with her clients by developing their business skills and connecting them to their inner purpose and passion. Through specific goals setting and accountability she helps her clients facilitate a shift in thinking creating sustainable change within their businesses and lives. Lorrie’s style is one of heartfelt support, enthusiastic encouragement coupled with humor to help guide and inspire you on your journey. She is a certified Core Energy Coach, an active member of (ICF) International Coach Federation and San Francisco Coaches.

Pemala Mejia – Executive Projects Manager
Pemala joined Women’s Initiative in April 2002 on her return to the United States after living many years in Colombia, South America. In Colombia, she worked as Executive Director of a Binational Center dedicated to furthering friendly relations between the people of Colombia and the United States. In this position, she was responsible for the success of an educational program as well as for a vibrant binational cultural program. She brought the Center to economic stability and was responsible for the purchase and renovation of a new site. During her time as the executive director, her leadership helped to more than doubled the clients served. She is fluent in Spanish.

Madhuri Pottathil Kirkham - Corporate Relations Manager
Madhuri joined Women’s Initiative in 2006 and has spent her entire professional career in non-profit. After graduating from U.C.L.A. in 2000 she worked as a Meeting Planner for D.A.R.E. America at their headquarters in Los Angeles. Their mission centers around drug abuse prevention for youth. She later moved to San Francisco and worked as the Training & Event Coordinator at Seneca Center, a non-profit agency dedicated to serving the Bay Area’s severely emotionally disturbed youth. At Women’s Initiative she leads Special Events in the Fundraising Department. She is passionate about supporting women and their families to be economically self-sufficient and is inspired by communities’ support of our graduates.

Kelly K. McKae - Board and Community Relations Manager, Silicon Valley
Kelly McKae has over four years experience in microfinance, project management and development work. Prior to joining Women’s Initiative, Kelly assisted low-income and first-time home buyers in the San Francisco Bay Area by teaching homebuyer seminars and using California Housing and Finance Agency Loan programs. Kelly has also helped to implement global loan projects in Central America through the Inter-American Development Bank. Early in her career in micro-finance Kelly evaluated loans at the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) in Washington DC, El Salvador and Guatemala. During her time in Central America, she executed an Education and Finance Census of the Working Poor. Kelly initiated for the first time the first Wells Fargo “Teaching Kids to Save Program” in Carmel by the Sea, California and administered Wells Fargo Bank's “Hands on Banking” program to local schools. Kelly received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Finance from the University of Arizona and completed a Minor in Spanish from Estudio Internacional Sampere, Spain. Most recently she earned a Master of International Policy Studies of Economic Development with a specialization in microfinance, small business development and project development. Kelly is an enthusiast of the outdoors, traveling and art.

Genevieve Kirk – Grant Manager
Genevieve Kirk joined the Women’s Initiative in February 2008 as a program volunteer and now manages our grants department. She comes to the Women’s Initiative with six years of experience in nonprofit management and community development, most recently having worked as the Program Manager of the Latino Geriatric Center in Milwaukee, WI. Genevieve is a strong advocate of volunteerism, having served as a high school English teacher for two years through the Peace Corps in Mauritania, West Africa. She currently volunteers as a family mentor with the International Rescue Committee in Oakland and the Bay Area chapter of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) as a member of the Career Development Committee. She speaks French, Spanish and Hassaniya, an Arabic dialect. Genevieve holds a MA in Public Service with a focus on nonprofit management from the Marquette University Trinity Fellows program and a BA in Visual Arts from the University of Chicago.

Will Ovando - Financial Services Coordinator
William Ovando moved to San Francisco from Southern California in early 2003. Before becoming part of Women's Initiative for Self-Employment, Will last worked as a paraplanner for a private financial advisory practice in San Francisco's Financial District. Looking for more direct involvement within the community, Will jumped at the opportunity to become a member of Women’s Initiative’s financial team as the financial services coordinator. Teaming up with Women's Initiative, he actively approaches support for micro-enterprise as the perfect medium to build the low-income community and is inspired by the contact he has with the many hard-working women entrepreneurs in the Bay Area. Will hopes to continue learning and growing with Women’s Initiative to reach out to more women to help them become self-sufficient and highly regarded members of the Bay Area business community.

Eleanore Koo – Grant Writer
A recent newcomer to the Bay Area, Eleanore joined Women’s Initiative in April, 2007 as a Development Intern. She was so inspired by the work of Women’s Initiative and the passion and dedication of its clients and community that she permanently joined our team. In her current capacity as Institutional Gifts Coordinator, Eleanore is responsible for prospecting new donors, coordinating the grants team and grant writing. Prior to coming to Women’s Initiative, Eleanore volunteered in San Francisco as a tutor for adults at the Adult Learning and Literacy Center and for children at Back on Track. Eleanore hails from Toronto, Canada and holds a Bachelor of Science from McGill University and a Master of English from Concordia University. She enjoys literature, the outdoors and traveling, and is always thrilled to meet our incredible clients!

Elizabeth de Renzy – Researcher and Data Analyst
Elizabeth de Renzy joined Women’s Initiative in August 2007 with nine years of quantitative and qualitative social science research experience. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, she returned last year after over 12 years in Germany. As a graduate student at the University of Bielefeld in Germany she has led seminars on statistics and quantitative social science research methodologies and has worked as a Research Assistant in international research projects on credit unions, working conditions for women in the financial and retail sector and on financial regulation. As Researcher and Data Analyst in the Research and Public Policy department at Women’s Initiative, she is optimizing the research and reporting so the agency can look at the effectiveness of services and understand clients’ needs. She holds an MA in Sociology.

Julia Brown – Research and Public Policy Coordinator
Julia manages the outcome evaluation interviews with Women’s Initiative. Originally from New York City, she comes to Women's Initiative by way of Ecuador, where she lived for nearly two years. While there, she worked with a struggling micro-credit cooperative in an urban slum and also helped run a group for disadvantaged youth, teaching clarinet and poetry classes. She received her B.A. from Williams College in Economics and Women’s and Gender Studies. She is fluent in English and Spanish.

Ruth Elizondo - Client Services Coordinator (San Jose)
Ruth, has ten years experience in client relationship, she has a law degree in Mexico, she worked for the Legal Department of the Public Health and for a Law Firm in Aguascalientes, Mexico, she was always focus in defend the Human Rights and served the Community. In 2001 she decided to emigrate to California after she started working for the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco. Ruth grew up in a traditional family of business owner’s and her dream was to own her own business, in 2005 she became a self-employed looking for a better quality of life, she took a small training course in Oakland and in April 2007 she had the opportunity to be part of Women’s Initiative where she is enjoying to be in touch again with the Community and to be part of those dreams coming thru.

Sarah Light - Board and Community Relations Manager, North Bay Region
Prior to joining Women’s Initiative, Sarah worked for two years as a political organizer for successful state-wide initiative to protect equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples in Massachusetts. She began her career at Our Bodies Ourselves, a women’s health organization based in Boston. She is committed to anti-racism work and for two years served on the Board of Directors of Community Change, Inc, an agency focusing on making institutional change in New England. Sarah has extensive knowledge of community organizing and project management. Fluent in Spanish, she was born and raised in the Bay Area and holds a B.A. in Latin American Studies and Spanish Literature from Brandeis University. She has been with Women’s Initiative since 2007 and is continually inspired by the tenacity, strength, and creativity of our graduates

Tim Burch - Database Manager
Tim manages Women's Initiative's client database, and is responsible for many of wonderful stats you see on our website and in our printed materials. He has a B.S. in computer engineering and six years of experience in developing and managing databases. Since graduating from Cornell in 2002, he has worked in both the for-profit and non-profit worlds, and is delighted to be with Women's Initiative.

Yissell Diaz - Client Services Coordinator (Oakland)
Yissell has more than five years of experience working as Information Specialist in a community based institution helping adults and children to learn communication technologies and computer proficiency. She launched a community project to teach computer skills to pre-literate children in her native Cuba. She moved to the Bay Area in 2004 and worked for 2 1/2 years as Program Specialist and Analyst at Oakland Licensed Day Care Operator’s Association (OLDCOA) in Oakland California. She managed, counseled and assisted hundreds of low-income families coming from diverse backgrounds and cultures to receive childcare services through subsidy programs, and ensured compliance with state and federal policies from the California Department of Education. She joined Women’s Initiative in 2007 and is committed to linking high-potential women with a strong desire to create successful businesses. She holds a B.A in Library and Information Sciences and is fluent in Spanish.

Trainers/Consultants

Meet our trainers! Front Row: (left to right): Meredith Mehlberg, Sandra Murillo, Shannon Penn, and Gonzalo Martinez Metzler. Middle Row: (left to right): Marisela Barbosa, Norma Martinez Rubin, Suraiya Ahmed, and Maria Lo Valvo. Back Row: (left to right): Diana Estrada, Nika Quirk, Tonya Jenkins, Lorrie Williams, and Yolanda Butler. Not pictured: Karen Auguste, Jayne Speich, Carolyn Johnson, Milagros Acosta, Claudia Medina, and Susana Gama.

Meet our master trainers & consultants! (left to right): Nika Quirk, Sandra Murillo, and Shannon Penn

Sandra Murillo-Brucker – Senior ALAS Trainer
Sandra Murillo is a small business owner with an extensive background in finance and insurance. A former ALAS client, Sandra started her own insurance agency, MUR Insurance Services, in 1999. Sandra has broad business experience in sales, prospecting, customer and public relations, training and presentations, marketing, financial planning and loans. Sandra has built a strong reputation both nationally and internationally for her business start up acumen and for her work with Latinas in business. She is a frequent speaker on panels and in trade relations with Mexico. Sandra has built extensive networks that bring personal and professional growth to the women she serves at Women’s Initiative. In particular, Sandra brokers media exposure for women starting businesses. She is fluent in Spanish and has B.A. degrees in Industrial Psychology and Elementary Teaching from Mexico. Sandra is a licensed insurance broker in the State of California.

Gonzalo Martinez-Metzler – Small Business Trainer
Mr. Martinez-Metzler has over twenty years experience in the fields of urban planning, socio-economic development, labor relations and economic analysis in the United States and Latin America. He has managed and coordinated culturally diverse and multidisciplinary teams. His past experiences include financial management of internationally funded projects for the government of El Salvador, cooperative strategic planning for city governments, non-profit organizations and for profit enterprises. Mr. Martinez-Metzler has also extensive experience in teaching urban and regional planning, business planning, economics and quantitative literacy in English and Spanish. Mr. Martinez-Metzler earned two master degrees in Economics and Community and Regional Planning from the University of New Mexico.

Yolanda Silva – Small Business Trainer
Yolanda comes to Women’s Initiative with more than 10 years of experience in providing services to low and median income women in the Bay Area. Most recently she worked closely with a Housing Community Development in Contra Costa, where she managed an educational financial program and administrate several Individual Development Accounts.
She obtained a Master degree in Art of Journalism from Varovezh University in Russia. Recently she completed an intensive course sponsored by NBC/TELEMUNDO Network at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Yolanda has first hand experience in what it takes to get a business going as she started her own very successful restaurant business in 2001.

Milagros Acosta - Small Business Trainer
Milagros Acosta was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She is married and is the mother of two daughters, Beatrice and Dianna. She has lived in San Francisco for more than 20 years and has owned her own private family child care for over 14 years. Milagros has committed the last ten years of her professional life to organizing and educating licensed and unlicensed child care providers. She has helped them develop business plan, get licensed and get their early childhood education units. Milagros feels strongly about the need for childcare providers to see themselves as professionals. Milagros has organized Hispanic child care providers and in 2001 was the first Hispanic Child Care Providers Conference in Spanish, in the Bay Area, giving units from City College. In September 2002 Milagros was nominated Community Local Hero for KQED Channel 9 in the celebration of the Hispanic Heritage Month. The Hispanic Child Care Providers Group has been in the Mission for the last 20 years. In 1999 Milagros became a President of the Mission Neighborhood Advisory Committee that oversees the San Francisco Hispanic Child Care Providers Group.

Karen L. Auguste - Small Business Trainer
Karen has over 20 years of business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketing communications experience. 12 years were spent in leadership roles in marketing communications working for Fortune 500 technology companies. The last eight years have been spent consulting with small businesses, non-profit organizations and minority associations to develop their advertising, public relations, graphic design, and event management programs. In addition, she teaches a series of marketing classes to entrepreneurs at the Renaissance Center in San Francisco. With a certificate from San Jose State’s marketing communications program, a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems Management from the University of San Francisco, and an MBA from the University of San Francisco, she has acquired the experience and education in business and technology that combines contemporary marketing principles with current business best practices; all with an emphasis on creating an effective, strategic plan that delivers measurable results.

Yolanda Y. Butler – Small Business Trainer/Consultant
Yolanda has been an entrepreneur for 15 years and graduated in Business Administration from California State University, Hayward. She is alumni to Leadership Oakland (1991) and Oakland City Management Academy (1998). She has sat on various boards from Community Development Block Grant District IV to her most recent appointment in 2004, Contra Costa County Library Commissioner, District V. She brings a wealth of business resources, experience and contacts for new and growing businesses. She holds a certificate in Meeting and Event Planning from San Francisco State University. Although new to Women’s Initiative, she has served as a trainer/consultant for over 10 years. She is a known for her “creativity” in the training industry.

Susana Gama - Small Business Trainer
Susana obtained a BA in Business Administration in Mexico and offers extensive experience in the following areas: More than 20 years experience in Business Development and Business Banking. Acted as a Financial Counselor for micro business and medium size businesses in Mexico. Assisted in the implementation and development of a new program with the Chamber of Commerce and BNCI (National Bank of Interior Commerce) to help new and small businesses to obtain new lines of credit by submitting Credit and Tax Analysis to the decision makers. Successfully opened her own business in Mexico, before she came to U.S. Susana is bilingual in English and Spanish

Norma Martinez-Rubin - Small Business Trainer
A life-long learner, Norma Martínez-Rubin is into a second career as founder of a health program evaluation firm, Evaluation Focused Consulting. She embraces her experience in the public non-profit and (now) for-profit cultures from the perspective of a California-reared, first-generation, bilingual and bicultural American of Mexican ancestry. Her formal education in public health (M.P.H.) and business administration (M.B.A.) serve as launching points to infuse the small-business training she facilitates for Women’s Initiative for Self Employment.

Claudia Medina- Small Business Trainer
Claudia Medina is a small business owner, marketing coach and internet marketer. Claudia’s most recent position as Director of Marketing and Community Relations for Bay Area BusinessWoman allowed her to build strong business relationships with over 15 of the largest Bay Area women’s business groups. Claudia corporate background with Williams-Sonoma, Inc.’s World Sourcing division allows her to bring product development and manufacturing understanding to clients developing product lines. Claudia is the founder of Creativity à la Carte, a marketing coaching and training company conducting workshops that support small business owners to update and build their marketing skills. She is an international and tri-lingual marketing coach for Success Tracs, a branch of Peak Potentials Training, where she supports international business owners and corporate executives with their continuing personal development in-tandem with building marketing strategies to increase sales and market share. Claudia received her B.S. in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Marketing as well as a minor in French Literature from San Francisco State University. Claudia is fluent in English, Spanish and French; she resides in Piedmont with her husband and two children.

Merideth Mehlberg, ACC - Small Business Trainer
Merideth became a business and career coach after more than 15 years in the corporate world. She served as a recruiter at Adecco, where she developed an understanding of the human side of business. She worked as a product manager, business analyst, and project manager on software development teams at Matson Navigation Company, Vivant Corporation, and GT Nexus. In her coaching practice, Merideth helps small business owners define their goals, develop their business plans, and analyze and troubleshoot business issues. Merideth has completed training as a consultant to implement the One Page Business Plan, and she speaks and offers workshops for entrepreneurs based on this program. Merideth also coaches clients, presents workshops, and speaks on career and fertility-related issues. Merideth has an undergraduate degree in Social Science from the University of California at Berkeley. She holds an associate-level coaching credential with the International Coach Federation, and earned her coaching certificate from John F. Kennedy University. She is a member of the International Coach Federation, Professional Coaches and Mentors Association, Business Network International, and eWomen Network.

Shannon Penn - Small Business Trainer/Consultant
Trained as a social worker turned business woman, Shannon Penn has extensive finance and marketing experience she brings to the classes she trains. If you need help with your cash flow and budgets Shannon will make you think you showed up to the world’s best party. Shannon holds an MSW and has an extensive repertoire of business connections and clients.

Nika N. Quirk, MBA – Small Business Trainer and Consultant
As a small business coach, consultant, and trainer at Women’s Initiative, Nika is a proven catalyst for insightful change and forward momentum for the agency’s clients. Women’s Initiative also benefits from her work developing programs. Nika has owned her own coaching and consulting business since 2002, after a 25 year career in the corporate world. In addition to an MBA from the University of Phoenix and an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Human Resource Management from Oakland’s Holy Names University, Nika completed coach-training coursework at Coaches Training Institute in San Rafael and holds a Certificate in Training and Human Resource Development from UC Berkeley Extension. She is a Certified Small Business Advisor with The One Page Business Plan Company®. Currently, she’s engaged in a Ph.D. program in Humanities with a focus on Transformative Learning and Change.

Marisela Barbosa - Small Business Trainer and Consultant
Marisela is a small business owner with a diverse background in commercial, residential and public projects. She brings to Women’s Initiative more than 15 years of experience in Operations Management, out of which, the last 5 years were dedicated to her private consulting business OMS (Office Management Solutions). Marisela specialized in assisting small to mid-size businesses to better manage their day to day operations. Some of her clients include wineries, construction, engineering, restaurants and non-profit organizations. Her role as a consultant included formulating growth strategies, corporate policies, finance, human resources policies, and public relations. Her experience in financial management is enhanced by her ability to assess and envision system restructuring for more cost effective and efficient operation. Marisela is also one of the founders of an Architectural/Engineering firm currently launching into international markets. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in management. She is bi-lingual in English/Spanish and enjoys working with new entrepreneurs to become successful.





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