Who We Are | Board of Directors Dress for Success Worldwide Board of Directors Rosalyn Taylor O'Neale Niki Leondakis Elena Kiam Sandra Jetton Dorria L. Ball Bobbi Brown Alex Garfield Donna Griffin Roslyn Jaffe Pat Jones Debra Kelly-Ennis Clarice Kennedy Robbin Mitchell Claire O'Connor Crystal Sampson David Topkins Denmark West Rosalyn Taylor O'Neale Chair Barnes, O'Neale & Associates, Inc Rosalyn Taylor O'Neale is an accomplished consultant, speaker and author who has spent 30 years helping organizations navigate through the labyrinth of diversity and inclusion management education. The result of Ms. O'Neale's rich experiences, observations and interactions with executives from numerous Fortune 500 organizations is now presented in her new book, The 7Keys 2Success: Unlocking the Passion for Diversity. Ms. O'Neale, recently returned from a prestigious 2-year appointment as the executive vice president of Diversity Initiatives for MTV Networks, has resumed her role as CEO and fearless leader of Barnes, O'Neale & Associates, an education and consulting firm based in Long Beach, California. Long considered one of the leading U.S. experts on diversity and inclusion management, Ms. O'Neale has become a much sought-after international consultant and speaker. Over the past 15 years, Ms. O'Neale has taught the principles of the 7Keys 2Success to executives in more than twenty-five countries throughout North and South America, Africa, Europe, Australia and Asia. Ms O'Neale, named by the American Management Association as one of their Blue Ribbon Speakers, was recently awarded the Diversity Best Practices CEO/CDO Team with Thomas E. Freston for her groundbreaking work at MTV Networks. Back to top Niki Leondakis Vice Chair Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants The chief operations officer of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Niki Leondakis oversees operations, marketing and human resources for the company's 39 boutique hotels and restaurants. Ms. Leondakis is a key player in the creation and development of the company's mission statement and culture. In 1998, Ms. Leondakis formed the Mentor Program, aiding in the development and advancement for young women and men in Kimpton's restaurant division. She launched the Diversity Initiative and is an active leader in the company's social responsibility efforts. Passionate about the advancement of women in the workplace, Ms. Leondakis focuses her time on helping them progress to upper management positions. Today, she is a mentor for not only women at Kimpton but also those outside of the company. Prior to joining Kimpton, Ms. Leondakis worked for the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company in Marina Del Rey, California, Atlanta and San Francisco from 1985 to 1993. Ms. Leondakis has received numerous industry awards, including recognition by Nations Restaurant News in April 2002 as one of 30 Women Power Players. Every year from 2002 to 2005 the San Francisco Business Times named her one of its Most Influential Women. In August 2002, Travel Agent magazine named her one of the Most Powerful Women in Travel. An avid contributor to the community, Ms. Leondakis is also an active board member for the National Restaurant Association and serves on the advisory board of the USF Hospitality Management Program. Ms. Leondakis holds a B.S. degree in hotel, restaurant management and travel administration from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Back to top Elena Kiam Treasurer lia sophia Ms. Kiam is senior vice-president of lia sophia, a direct selling, fashion jewelry company that has selected Dress for Success as its not-for-profit partner. Like Dress for Success, lia sophia's mission is to connect women to their dreams and to help them gain significant financial independence; lia sophia does so by giving women the opportunity to establish their own businesses. Nationally based, lia sophia is one of the fastest growing direct selling companies and currently has over 15,000 sales advisors. lia sophia is known for its elegant, well-priced jewelry as well as its more fashion forward collections designed for press, celebrities and tastemakers. It is the only branded fashion jewelry company that is routinely featured in the national fashion magazines and the weekly entertainment publications, due in part to its celebrity following. Ms. Kiam oversees the company's marketing and public relations efforts including its valued partnership with Dress for Success. Through this partnership, lia sophia is working to expose Dress for Success' clients to another career possibility as well as to encourage its own base of sales advisors to give back to their communities through Dress for Success. Prior to lia sophia, Ms. Kiam had a 14-year career at J.P. Morgan primarily in the Asset Management/Private Banking division, where she was responsible for advising private companies and high net worth individuals on a range of financial matters. She helped establish J.P. Morgan's' businesses in Colorado, Texas and other western states prior to the company's opening offices in these areas. Back to top Sandra Jetton Secretary Lakeshore Consulting Group Sandra Jetton has had a long and distinguished career as an executive in the financial services and credit card industry, most recently as senior vice president of the Chase Manhattan Bank. Prior to that position, at Citibank she developed global positioning strategies for the consumer bank and led the marketing team to develop the extremely successful American Airlines AAdvantage credit card, the precursor of many of today's co-branded cards and alliance partnerships. She has most recently formed a marketing consultancy devoted to business strategies for small companies and start-up businesses with clients ranging from real estate ventures to Internet financial services. Ms. Jetton graduated from Rollins College and attended the Harvard Business School program for Management Development. She resides in Bethel, New York with her husband, David Picker, a film and television producer/executive. Back to top Dorria L. Ball Kraft Foods, Inc. Dorria L. Ball is the senior director of Global Diversity and Work Life for Kraft Foods, headquartered in Northfield, IL. In this role, Ms. Ball and her team are responsible for developing and implementing the Global Diversity and Work Life strategy for Kraft Foods worldwide. Kraft is the largest food company in North America and the second largest in the world, with net revenues exceeding $34 billion, 90,000 employees worldwide and operations in 70 countries. Ms. Ball began her career with Kraft over 16 years ago in Sales Management, where she held numerous assignments of increasing responsibility, calling on customers and managing teams. She transitioned into human resources in 1994 and has since held a variety of human resources generalist and specialist assignments across a number of functions and business sectors, including Beverages and Snacks. Ms. Ball is currently a member of the Boston College Global Workforce Roundtable Steering Committee; the Conference Board's Council on Workforce Diversity; a Founding Member of ASCENT; a former member of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund advisory board; a former Steering Team member of the William J. Clinton Foundation's Harlem Small Business initiative; a member of the Review Panel for Companies That Care; a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority; and a member of the Abyssinian Baptist Church. Ms. Ball is a native of Indianapolis, a graduate of Indiana University and a resident of Westchester County, New York. Back to top Bobbi Brown Bobbi Brown Cosmetics In 1991 Bobbi Brown started a makeup revolution with a handful of lipsticks and a simple philosophy: Women want to look and feel like themselves, only prettier and more confident. Her dream came true when she debuted her line of cosmetics just 10 brown-based lipsticks at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City. Ms. Browns love affair with makeup started at an early age when she discovered her mothers collection of cosmetics. Driven by her passion, Ms. Brown went to learn the art of theatrical makeup at Emerson College in Boston, then headed for New York City to work as a professional makeup artist. Tackling the challenges that face any novice in her industry building a portfolio from scratch, making contacts Ms. Brown found that her biggest frustration was the lack of flattering makeup products. A chance meeting with a chemist at a magazine photo shoot changed everything. The chemist made the lipstick following Ms. Browns exacting specifications and the result was Brown Lip Color, a pinky-brown shade. Nine other brown-based lipstick shades followed soon after, and Ms. Browns set of lipsticks was complete. Take one look at the Bobbi Brown line today and it is clear that Ms. Browns mission remains the same to give women options. As a working makeup artist, entrepreneur, wife and mother of three, Ms. Browns approach strikes a chord with consumers it is about achieving and maintaining balance, cultivating a positive outlook and loving yourself the way you are. Back to top Alex Garfield A native of New York City, designer Alex Garfield fell in love with fashion as a young man. One of his early endeavors was the launch of the Click-Point Sportswear Collection. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Garfield joined forces with his future wife, Daryle, to introduce their namesake brand, Daryle Alexander. In 1993 Mr. Garfield and partner Bernie Marks founded the Garfield & Marks brand, which had grown into the GarfieldMarks Design Group, Ltd. Alex felt the need to go out on his own and begin again. His new company, PANTicular, has opened to rave reviews, and he hopes to gain again the prominence his former company once enjoyed in the fashion industry. Being able to reach out and to help those less fortunate powerfully fuels Alex's desire to make his new company more successful than anything he's done before. "Our goal is to enhance each woman's personality through her wardrobe rather than to create a personality for her," Mr. Garfield says. "It's about celebrating the woman in the clothing; it's not about the clothes." Mr. Garfield's appreciation for women and their well-being does not stop with his creative designs and fashion expertise. In addition to Mr. Garfield's commitment to Dress for Success, he also is one of the original founders of Cure by Design, which operates as part of the American Cancer Society. For Alex, giving back is always in style. Back to top Donna Griffin Citibank North America Donna Griffin is the senior vice president and national human resources director for Citibank North America. Having been with Citigroup for over 32 years, Ms. Griffin began her career in St. Louis, Missouri while attending college and then moving into a number of managerial positions in the areas of Credit Policy and Operations Control for the Consumer Sales Finance and Mortgage Divisions. Ms. Griffin relocated with Citibank in 1982 to San Francisco, California, where she began her career in human resources. Over the subsequent 17 years, she oversaw Employee Relations, Recruiting, Training, Compensation and Benefits. After relocating to New York during the summer of 2000 she was appointed to her current role, where she directs a team of 140 human resources professionals to support Citibank North America's Retail Branch network of 1,000 branches and 18,000 employees across the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada. She directs all aspects of Citibank's people initiatives, including developing talent, managing performance, rewarding results and creating an environment where people want to work to build their careers. In her current capacity Ms. Griffin has proudly worked with Dress for Success' job fairs to support our clients in their employment transitions. Dedicated to giving back to the community, Ms. Griffin has been involved with Habitat for Humanity, March of Dimes, United Way, AIDS Foundation and the American Cancer Society. Ms. Griffin holds a BS in business education from the University of St. Louis-Missouri. Recently married 25 years, Ms. Griffin enjoys all health and fitness activities, home decorating, wine tasting and dogs-she is the proud owner of Snowball, a 7-lb. Maltese. Back to top Roslyn Jaffe dressbarn Rosyln Jaffe is the founder of dressbarn and currently serves as the secretary and treasurer of the company. dressbarn presently has 800 locations throughout the United States. Ms. Jaffe has established many other organizations and devotes her time to several causes. She is the co-founder of the Jaffe Family Foundation, on whose board she sits, and also is a co-founder of The Jaffe Center for Food Allergy at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York. A founding member of the Osteoporosis Business Coalition, Ms. Jaffe is a member of the board of trustees of the USDAN Center, an arts, music and dance camp in Wheatley, Long Island, NY. From 1994 until 2004, she was a member of the board of trustees of Simmons College. Lastly, Ms. Jaffe is a former board member at both the Child Guidance Clinic in Stamford, CT and a trustee of AAN (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network), Fairfax, VA. A graduate of the Prince School of Retailing at Simmons College in Boston, Ms. Jaffe is married to Elliot S. Jaffe and is the mother of three and a grandmother of five. Back to top Pat Jones Dress for Success Wichita A midlife career change has come full circle for Pat Jones, executive director of Dress for Success Wichita. After raising her children and working many years in retail and business management Ms. Jones made the decision to follow her passion for helping others into the non-profit sector. The only woman district manager for the Summit Corporation (a subsidiary of the American Greeting Card Company) Ms. Jones directed construction, training, store openings and operations for eight retail card, gift and office supply stores in Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas. She concurrently acted as a store opener and troubleshooter throughout the country. Ms. Jones made the leap to the non-profit world in 1996 as a loaned executive for United Way of the Plains, which, with her assistance, exceeded their annual goal of $13 million dollars by 14%. That year Ms. Jones and her husband also were honored as the Goodwill Industries Easter Seals of Kansas volunteers of the year. As the Wichita regional director for the American Diabetes Association she created the Up on the Roof fundraising event that later became a signature event for all member agencies of the National American Diabetes Association. Ms. Jones served as the state director for the Kansas CASA Association and as vice president of development for Goodwill Industries Easter Seals of Kansas, Inc. before joining Dress for Success Wichita in 2003. Under Ms. Joness leadership Dress for Success Wichita has become a recognized leader in the Wichita non-profit sector and community. Dress for Success Wichita partners with 72 referral agencies and currently serves more than 700 women each year. Ms. Jones lives in west Wichita with her husband Mike and their Yorkshire terrier Sam. Back to top Debra Kelly-Ennis Diageo Debra Kelly-Ennis currently serves as chief marketing officer for Diageo's North American division. Diageo is the world's largest global beverage alcohol company, operating in over 180 countries with nearly $18 billion in sales and 30,000 employees worldwide. As CMO Ms. Kelly-Ennis oversees all marketing activities for Diageo's array of world-class spirits, wine and beer brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Smirnoff and Guinness. She joined Diageo in April 2005 from General Motor's subsidiary Saab USA where she served as president and chief operating officer. Under her leadership the marketing department at Diageo has flourished, resulting in the creation of award-winning advertising, breakthrough marketing in the digital space, large-scale portfolio programs and significant multicultural cause-related initiatives. Furthermore, Ms. Kelly-Ennis has ensured that responsible drinking is a core component of every brand marketing campaign, and she has spearheaded award-winning social responsibility campaigns. All of this has helped Diageo North America achieve record results, with sustained share growth and significant out-performance of all major competitors. As president and COO of Saab Cars USA Ms. Kelly-Ennis led the division to set U.S. sales records for new and used cars, as well as parts and accessories in 2003. She is a recipient of the Women's Automotive International Professional Achievement Award in 2003 and is very proud to have led General Motor's United Way marketing campaign in 2002. Since 1997 Ms. Kelly-Ennis has served as a member of the Pulte Corporation's Board of Directors where she chairs the governance committee and serves as a member of the audit committee. Ms. Kelly-Ennis earned a bachelor's degree from University of Texas, an MBA from the University of Houston and completed the executive leadership program at Harvard Business School. She has been married for nearly 25 years to Timothy Ennis and divides her time between New York City and Palm Beach. Back to top Clarice Kennedy Chamrock Computer Network, Inc. Clarice Kennedy is chairman and CEO of Chamrock Computer Network, Inc. (CCN), a leading Information Technology Service Management company and workforce solutions provider. Ms. Kennedy founded CCN in 1989 and during the past two decades has guided its growth and expansion into a full-service provider of IT services and talent management solutions for the world's leading companies. CCN has been honored as the 2005 JPMorgan Chase Supplier of the Year; is the recipient of Crain's Magazine's New York Small Business Award and was named as one of Inc. Magazine's Fastest Growing Companies. Today, Ms. Kennedy manages the strategic development of CCN's service offerings as well as long-range planning for the firm. Ms. Kennedy began her career as a systems programmer, then transitioned into a network engineering role supporting European traders at Security Pacific Bank, now Bank of America. Two years later, the entrepreneurial 24-year-old founded CCN and strategically fulfilled the emerging need for IT services as North American companies began widespread deployment of personal computers across the enterprise. Her leadership has most recently been recognized by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Signature Award and NAWBO Long Island's National Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Ms. Kennedy was also named a finalist for Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Information Technology. Ms. Kennedy serves on the New York Leadership Board of Women in Technology International (WITI), the nation's leading professional trade association. Since 2001, she has served as the technical advisor for The Michelle O'Neill Foundation, a non-profit that benefits children with cancer. Ms. Kennedy holds a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science from Buffalo State University, Buffalo, New York. She lives in New York with her husband and her three greatest accomplishments - her children, Dylan, Connor and Aidan. Back to top Robbin Mitchell Polo Ralph Lauren Robbin Mitchell is currently senior vice president, Supply Chain Business Process Integration at Polo Ralph Lauren (PRL). In this role Ms. Mitchell manages Polo's largest global business initiative, which involves implementing a new Global ERP System across all global wholesale brands, including menswear, childrenswear, womenswear, footwear and accessories in the US, Europe, and Asia. This initiative includes re-engineering current business processes and implementing a common business and operational infrastructure across all divisions. In addition, she continues to oversee and manage global Vendor Managed Inventory for all Polo Ralph Lauren brands. Ms. Mitchell began working for PRL in 2001 as vice president, Wholesale Replenishment for the Polo Brands Wholesale Division, where she managed all aspects of the men's wholesale replenishment business. Ms. Mitchell's career in the apparel industry spans more than 15 years, and she has previously held positions at both the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation and GFT USA, which encompasses brands such as Giorgio Armani Le Collezioni Men's and Women's, Joseph Abboud, Calvin Klein Men's Apparel and Valentino Men's and Women's. Ms. Mitchell's apparel experience includes being a retail practice consultant with McKinsey & Company, Inc. where she focused on product development reengineering, global supply chain management, and global sourcing and production management. Before entering business school, she spent two years at The Boston Consulting Group and two years in the mergers and acquisitions department at Lehman Brothers, focusing primarily on the retail industry. Ms. Mitchell has served as both a keynote speaker and panelist at the 2004 and 2006 annual User Conference of Logility & Company, a global industry leader in planning, forecasting, logistics and supply chain software. She was also named one of the top 25 Visionaries by Consumer Goods Technology magazine in 2006. Ms. Mitchell received her BA from Stanford University and was awarded an MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business. Back to top Claire O'Connor Citigroup Claire OConnor is a career banker who has specialized in global consumer lending during her 15-year career with CitiGroup. She has held management positions within Citibank Retail Banking North America and Citi International businesses and currently is director of retail distribution North America supporting the CitiFinancial expansion in the United States. Ms. OConnor also has held various management positions within corporate and consumer banking at Chemical Bank, now part of JPMorgan Chase. She is a longtime resident of New York City. Back to top Crystal Sampson Ernst & Young, LLP As an audit partner in Ernst & Youngs Metro New York office, Crystal Sampson primarily services clients in the communications and entertainment industries. At Ernst & Young she is also the area diversity coordinator for the tri-state region. Ms. Sampson is a member of the board of directors and treasurer of Palladia, Inc. and an associate board member of Junior Achievement of New York. A graduate of the Brooklyn College of the City University of New York with a B.S. in Accounting, Ms. Sampson is a NYS licensed CPA and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, New York State Society of CPAs and National Association of Black Accountants. Back to top David Topkins Gotham City Online David Topkins is a co-founder of Gotham City Online and has served as president and chief operating officer since January 2000. Formerly the equity syndicate manager for Gruntal & Co., one of the largest private banks on Wall Street, Mr. Topkins coordinated initial public offerings for emerging growth technology companies. Mr. Topkins also has worked at Hampshire Securities assisting in initial public offerings. Prior to his time on Wall Street, Mr. Topkins worked as a senior litigation paralegal on a number of medical class-action suits at Hughes, Hubbard & Reed LLP. Mr. Topkins earned a B.A. from Columbia College with a major in pre-med/biology. He lives in New York City with his wife Belinda Horton. Back to top Denmark West MTV Networks For his entire career, Denmark West has sought and found opportunity in the collision between consumer entertainment and communications experiences on the one hand and disruptive technology forces on the other. He is currently the executive vice president of strategy and business development at MTV Networks. In this position he focuses on four areas: (i) strategic analysis of businesses and markets, (ii) acquisitions (iii) large scale partnerships and (iv) corporate planning activities. During his nearly seven years at Microsoft, Mr. West became a respected leader and held a number of positions. In all of his roles, he drove or helped to drive a number of strategic initiatives, investments and partnerships to enable Microsoft to expand into and grow within new consumer arenas such as console gaming, digital media and interactive TV, among others. In addition, Mr. West represented Microsoft as a board member or observer in a number of investments including Wireless Knowledge and MusicChoice. Prior to his work at Microsoft, Mr. West worked in the Distressed Securities group within the Fixed Income Division at Goldman, Sachs and Co. and Investment Banking focused on Entertainment, Communications and Technology for Brenner Securities Corporation and Smith Barney. He received an AB in Applied Mathematics and an MBA from Harvard University. Mr. West is also a member of the board of an affiliate of the IMPACT Coalition, a not-for-profit organization that advocates debate as a key to success in building healthier communities and tomorrows leaders. 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