Women in Business: Navigating for Success

On Friday, March 5, Goldman Sachs Chief Diversity Officer Erika Irish Brown '91 and other notable alums will speak to students on the opportunities and challenges faced by professional women in the business environment. 

Panel Topics

  • Advocating for Yourself

  • Networking

  • Professionalism: Presenting Your Best Self

  • Handling a difficult ask

  • Handling a difficult situation

  • How to command respect

  • How to build and promote your brand

Erika Irish Brown

Keynote Speaker

Erika Irish Brown '91, Chief Diversity Officer, Goldman Sachs

Brown is  responsible for global diversity and inclusion strategy and driving inclusive culture initiatives and efforts related to the recruitment, retention and advancement of diverse professionals. She joined the firm as a managing director in 2018. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Erika was global head of diversity and inclusion at Bloomberg from 2015 to 2018. Prior to this, she led diversity hiring efforts at Bank of America between 2009 and 2015 and Lehman Brothers between 2005 and 2008.

Panelists

Zainub Amir

Zainub Amir '17, Account Manager, Bloomberg

Amir started her career at Bloomberg LP in New York City in June 2017 as an analytics specialist, specializing in fixed income and derivatives. In a little over a year, she was promoted to sales as an account manager. She now manages Bloomberg's client relationships with the Supranationals in DC, traveling weekly pre-pandemic.

 

Angela Dixon

Angela Dixon '85, '04, Chief Diversity Officer, Berkshire Bank

Dixon owns and operates Dixon Consulting II, LLC is a management consulting firm focused on diversity, equity and inclusion and talent management. She has more than 30 years of executive experience in public sector and nonprofit management and an extensive background coaching and mentoring individuals and working with public and private sector organizations on a range of workforce and strategic management issues including strategic planning, leadership development and diversity and inclusion.

 

Hillary Hansen

Hillary Hansen '93, Partner, EY

Hansen has been working the in the financial services sector for more than 27 years.  She serves many global and diverse banking and capital market institutions.  She is involved in many aspects of the business from being the lead audit partner on numerous accounts to counseling, mentoring, recruiting, performance management and many other activities within her career.

 

Marisa Sotomayor

Marisa Sotomayor '03, '04, Partner, Paul Hastings, LLP

Sotomayor concentrates her practice in debt financings and other corporate finance matters.  She was recently recognized by New York Law Journal as a 2020 Rising Star as one of the region’s most promising lawyers 40 and younger, as well as Law360 as a Rising Star in its annual list of lawyers under 40 whose legal accomplishments transcend their age.

 

Jake Walthour

Jacob Walthour '91, Chief Executive Officer, Blueprint Capital Advisors

Walthour has over 30 years of experience in capital markets, investment banking, traditional and alternative asset management. Prior to founding Blueprint Capital Advisors, he served as vice chairman of product and business development in the investment management division of Cowen & Company. Previously, he served as managing director of Cliffwater LLC, partner and managing director at Citadel Investment Group, Head of Advisory Services at Aksia LLC, and executive assistant to the comptroller of the New York State Common Retirement Fund.

 

Event Contact 

Anyone with an albany.edu email address can register through Handshake.

Others should contact Associate Dean for International Initiatives and Executive Education Rita Biswas.

Sponsored by EY and the University at Albany Alumni Association.

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