Gender Equality Council

Antoine Andrews, Gap Inc.
Antoine L. Andrews, Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Gap Inc., is responsible for building Gap Inc.’s Global Diversity Strategy, focusing on diverse talent development, employee engagement and retention, and understanding diverse consumers. Under his leadership, Gap Inc. has recently introduced an executive level Diversity Dashboard to help drive change, build leadership accountability throughout the company, and track the organization’s progress incorporating diversity. In collaboration with Gap Foundation, Mr. Andrews identifies and establishes partnerships with local non-profit organizations, creating mutually beneficial opportunities for employees to engage in skills-based volunteering while preparing the community’s youth for successful careers. He received a BA in History from Rutgers University.

Asha Visweswaran, Deloitte & Touche LLP
Asha Visweswaran is a Senior Manager in the Security and Privacy Services group within Deloitte & Touche LLP. She specializes in Data Protection, Privacy, Risk Strategy and Management, and Enterprise Security Architecture. Ms. Visweswaran has over nine years of experience leading the design and implementation of data protection programs, performing large-scale IT and security risk and process assessments, developing enterprise wide security and authentication strategies, and building and leading enterprise program initiatives. She participates in Friends with Benefits, a group of friends that host annual benefits in San Francisco. In addition to traditional fundraising efforts, the events also include entertainment and auctions of local art and media. She received a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Sarah Stuart, Google, Inc.

Sarah Stuart is the Global Diversity & Inclusion Programs Manager for Google, Inc. Ms. Stuart provides leadership for the design and development of key workforce diversity and inclusion initiatives including programs related to strengthening workforce diversity, talent management, and creating an inclusive culture. She currently leads Google's Central Diversity Staffing efforts, fostering integration of diversity throughout the recruiting process and across Google's Staffing organization. She serves on the Human Rights Campaign's Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council and has spoken at numerous conference and events. Ms. Stuart holds a Bachelors' Degree from Georgetown University in Washington, DC and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management in Los Angeles, CA.

Jeffrey Thompson, Levi Strauss & Co.

Jeffrey Thompson is the Senior Compliance Specialist for Levi Strauss & Co. and is responsible for managing human resources compliance functions related to federal, state and local employment laws as well as interrelated company policies and practices. Previously, Mr. Thompson was the Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance Manager for Westfield Corporation where he had responsibility for achieving and satisfying diversity and residency goals and required efforts which pertained to company and tenant workforces and construction contractors at the San Francisco Centre and Metreon. He holds a Master of Public Administration Degree from California State University, East Bay and a BA from the University of Iowa. Additionally, Mr. Thompson has been certified as an EEO Investigator and Counselor by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He has served on the Gender Equality Council since its establishment in 2008.

Patricia Bovan, Symantec Corporation

Patricia Bovan leads the Global Contracts group for Symantec’s Support Services business unit. She has focused her career negotiating and closing large technology contracts in hardware and software areas, revenue generating deals, and strategic corporate transactions. She is active in women’s and community issues and currently leads the San Francisco Chapter of the Symantec’s Women’s Action Network. Ms. Bovan received the Queen’s Bench Bar Association Annual Merit Award, was appointed Officer and Director in 2007, and also served as Director of the Queen's Bench Foundation in 2007 and 2008. Patricia received her BA from Cornell University, and JD from Case Western Reserve.

Aysha Handley, McKesson Corporation

Aysha Handley manages the acquisition integration office at healthcare services and information technology company McKesson, where she is vice chair of their women’s organization. Prior to joining McKesson she received a Master in International Public Policy from UC San Diego and a BA in Political Science from San Francisco State. Ms. Handley's family has lived in San Francisco for 3 generations, and she continues a proud tradition of commitment to the city and its communities. 

Noni Allwood, Center for Talent Innovation
Noni Allwood is the West Coast Director for the Center for Talent Innovation. She brings over 20 years of experience as a corporate executive and as a consultant with global corporations specializing in optimization strategies for diverse talent and strategic business operations. Her previous experience includes leading Cisco's worldwide diversity and inclusion initiative. She has a degree in industrial engineering and is an alumna of the Stanford University Executive Program. She currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Geographic Expeditions and Bring Me a Book Foundation, and co-chairs the Advisory Board of Professional Business Women of California.

Mary Boughton, Catalyst
Mary N. Boughton manages Catalyst’s Western Region office in Sunnyvale, California, and is responsible for developing and implementing strategies to build the organization’s presence in the Western states. She recruits, develops, and supports Catalyst member organizations by making them aware of Catalyst resources and by organizing and conducting events on topics related to Catalyst research. Previously, Ms. Boughton spent 14 years at CompuServe Network Services, Inc. (now part of Verizon). She then joined the consultancy, Accenture, before serving as Executive Director for Career Closet in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, and for the former Peninsula Habitat for Humanity (now Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco). Ms. Boughton holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Santa Clara University.

Kat Gordon, Maternal Instinct
Kat Gordon is the creator of The 3% Conference, a ground-breaking event which highlights the business importance of female Creative Directors - who comprise only 3% of their field despite the overwhelming buying power of female consumers. Ms. Gordon is also the founder and creative director of Maternal Instinct, an agency of creative problem solvers for marketing to moms. Clients come to Maternal Instinct so that moms will come to them. By enrolling in the agency’s proprietary MBA Program (Mom Brand Audit), clients quickly learn how to up the mom-friendliness of their brand and connect with the most powerful consumer group in the world. 

Lori Mackenzie, Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Stanford University
As Associate Director of Stanford’s Clayman Institute, Lori Mackenzie is responsible for operations, including finance, staff, and planning. She is also responsible for community relations, publicity and marketing, and program development. Ms. Mackenzie joined the Institute after working in marketing and business management for 20 years, where she built traditional brands at Procter & Gamble and managed online marketing campaigns for eBay, PayPal and CafePress. Ms. Mackenzie has an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. She has a long interest in women's issues, especially in the area of poverty eradication and motherhood.

Amy Ackerman, Attorney
Amy Ackerman is a consulting attorney working with the National Policy and Legal Analysis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity at Changelab Solutions, where she drafts model ordinances, contracts, and other legal policy tools to help communities promote healthy eating and active living. Previously, she was a senior deputy city attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. As a deputy city attorney, she drafted legislation, served as general counsel to various City commissions and departments, including most City departments serving children and their families. She was the legal counsel to the Commission and Department on the Status of Women and drafted San Francisco’s landmark CEDAW ordinance. She also served as Director of Training, developing and supervising delivery of a comprehensive training program for all deputy city attorneys addressing both substantive areas of law and practice skills. Ms. Ackerman is a graduate of Brown University (magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa) and Stanford University School of Law.

Anu Menon, Presidio Knolls School
Anu Menon is the Director of Operations at Presidio Knolls School. Previously, she was the Associate Director of the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women. She has extensive experience with both domestic civil rights and international human rights issues, having also worked on the ACLU of Northern California's Racial Justice Project, at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, Stanford Community Law Clinic, and Equal Justice Society. She has also worked internationally in Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. Ms. Menon holds a BA from Stanford University, a MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University, and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley.


FOUNDING PARTNERS

Shawn MacDonald, Verité
Dr. Shawn MacDonald is responsible for a variety of research, training, multi-stakeholder dialogue, and advocacy programs focused on issues like forced labor, freedom of association, compliance program design, trafficking, and standards-setting. He regularly leads workshops, trainings, and multi-stakeholder public meetings on labor and other CSR issues and consults for business leaders on CSR strategy and program design. Dr. MacDonald has broad international and domestic experience in social entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, multi-sectoral partnerships, conflict analysis and resolution, labor and environmental standards, public health, and civil society promotion. Before joining Verité, Shawn was Director of Accreditation at the Fair Labor Association, Vice President of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, and co-founder of the Development and Employment Policy Project. Additionally, he worked for a variety of international NGOs in Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. He holds a PhD from George Mason University’s Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, an AB in History from Harvard University, and was certified as a mediator by the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Christine De Groot, Calvert Investments
Christine De Groot leads Calvert’s research, advocacy, and policy work to promote greater inclusion of minorities and women in the workplace, and increase board room diversity, and she works with Calvert’s partners to advance the implementation of the Calvert’s Women Principles. In addition, Ms. De Groot focuses on the environmental, social, and governance impacts of the utilities and energy industries. She also makes portfolio-specific recommendations based on Calvert sustainability criteria, and assists in engaging companies on improvements in sustainability reporting. Ms. De Groot has been with Calvert since 2009 and worked in the Calvert Sustainability Research Department since September 2010. Prior to joining Calvert, she held research positions with the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service. Christine has a BA in Anthropology and Art History from the University of Delaware.

Emily M. Murase, PhD, San Francisco Department on the Status of Women
Dr. Emily Murase has served as the Executive Director of the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women since her appointment in 2004. Through her leadership, the Department has been engaged in groundbreaking gender analyses of city operations in which the workforce, budget, and services of city departments are examined using the lens of the CEDAW human rights framework. Dr. Murase is currently serving her second year on the San Francisco Board of Education. A graduate of Bryn Mawr College, Dr. Murase holds a Master’s degree from UC San Diego and a PhD from Stanford University. She resides in San Francisco with her husband and 2 children.


DEPARTMENT STAFF

Ann Lehman, San Francisco Department on the Status of Women
Ann Lehman, JD is the Policy Director of the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women. Over the past two decades, Ms. Lehman has developed innovative initiatives – most notably the award-winning local implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). She helped draft the local ordinance adopted to make the convention law in San Francisco, and has provided technical assistance to a variety of municipalities including New York, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City. Ms. Lehman also developed gender analysis guidelines and gender budgeting for the City and County of San Francisco. She has been instrumental in building the Gender Equality Principles Initiative. In 2012, Ms. Lehman and Dr. Emily Murase accepted the Work-Life Balance Award from the Italian Government on behalf of the Department. Ms. Lehman has authored reports on the status of girls in San Francisco, work-life options in the City, and girls in the juvenile justice system. She authored Board Members Rule: How to Be a Strategic Advocate for Your Nonprofit.

Elizabeth Laferriere, San Francisco Department on the Status of Women
Elizabeth Laferriere is a Program Manager at the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women and Fellow at the Department of Public Health. Previously, Ms. Laferriere interned in Washington, D.C. at the Atlantic Council, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), and in Boston, Massachusetts at the William J. Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative. Her research and professional interests include women’s empowerment and political participation, social justice, and U.S. foreign policy toward South and Southeast Asia. Ms. Laferriere received her MPP in Public Policy from Georgetown University, where she studied international policy as the Margaret Freeman Bowers Graduate Fellow. She spent an exchange semester at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore. She received her BA in South Asian Studies and History from Wellesley College, where she graduated with honors in 2010.

Meet the participants

Many individuals and institutions contributed to the creation and advancement of the Gender Equality Principles' tools and resources.

Please take a moment to see who they are.