Girls Inc. 2005 Celebration Luncheon

Girls Incorporated 2005 Celebration Luncheon
Join us on March 30th as a partner in the Girls Inc. mission: Inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.

With your support, every day'at more than 1,500 sites throughout the country'Girls Inc.:

•  Expands girls' confidence in their own abilities and aspirations;

•  Helps girls set challenging academic and career goals and develop plans to reach them;

•  Encourages girls to develop their skill and interest in areas where they may otherwise have limited access, such as math, science, sports, and financial literacy;

•  Helps girls assess their experiences and learn from failure as well as success;

•  Continually challenges girls to take risks in order to achieve their goals.

Come and meet Girls Inc. Honorees and National Scholars whose achievements show the power of these values in their own lives.

For more information about our 2005 Celebration Luncheon, please contact Suzanne Kaufman at (212) 509-2000, ext. 216.

Download an invitation.

2005 Event Chair
  Mary D. Byron
Managing Director
Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Mary Byron heads the Divisional Systems business unit in Technology at Goldman Sachs. From 2000 to 2002, she was co-head of Enterprise Technology. Prior to taking on that role, Mary managed the firm's global computer networks as well as global computing infrastructure for FICC in the Technology Division. She worked in Fixed Income Systems Support from 1993 to 1995, and in Fixed Income Network Systems Administration from 1991 to 1993. She joined the firm in Telecommunications Support in 1989, became a vice president in 1992, and was named a managing director in 1999. Mary received a B.A. from Marquette University in 1986. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Girls Inc. and a member of the Corporate Advisory Board of Inwood House. Mary lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey and has a daughter, Katie.

2005 Honorees
  Robin Klehr Avia, FIIDA
Managing Principal
Gensler

Robin Klehr Avia is Managing Principal of the Northeast region and a member of the Board of Directors of Gensler, a worldwide architecture, design and planning firm. She oversees operations, policies, and a 400-person staff for the New York office of Gensler, as well as offices in Boston and Morristown, New Jersey. Her 28 years of design experience, 24 with Gensler, set the foundation for work with major international corporations, financial institutions, and law firms. Clients have included Becton Dickinson, Mastercard International, and Goldman Sachs International (London). She was the project principal for the 800,000-square foot relocation of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom to 4 Times Square, and Debevoise & Plimpton's move to 919 Third Avenue. She is currently the principal for The New York Times Headquarters project. Robin's projects have been published in Interiors, Interior Design, Contract Design, Architectural Record, World Architecture, and Southeast Asia Building. Many received design awards, including Swiss Re, which won the IIDA Decade of Design award.

  Linda De Jes's-Cutler
President and Chief Operating Officer
The Bravo Group

Linda De Jes's-Cutler is President and Chief Operating Officer of The Bravo Group, one of the leading U.S. Hispanic communications companies, with estimated capitalized billings of more than $275 million. Recently she was selected one of Hispanic Business magazine's "100 Hispanic Influentials," was identified as a "Top Latina" by Hispanic magazine, and made the New York Post's list of the most powerful women in New York City. Ms. De Jes's-Cutler joined Bravo fifteen years ago as an Account Executive and rose steadily through the management ranks. She opened the Bravo San Francisco office and became its first General Manager. She has played a key role in new business development, helping Bravo win clients such as Banco Popular, Mazda, the consolidation of the Sears account, Toys 'R' Us, and Miller Brewing Company. She heads Bravo's efforts to improve educational opportunities for U.S. Latinos through PSA campaigns with such organizations as the National Council of La Raza, The Puerto Rican Defense Fund, the Hispanic Federation, the American Cancer Society, and the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies.

   Carla A. Harris
Managing Director
Morgan Stanley

Carla Harris is Head of Equity Private Placements, Financial Sponsors and Retail Capital Markets Coverage at Morgan Stanley, responsible for the structuring, marketing, and execution of private equity financing in the technology, media, retail, telecommunications, transportation, industrial, and healthcare sectors. She chairs the Firm's Private Placement Commitment Equity Committee. Carla was recently named to Fortune magazine's list of 'The 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America', to Black Enterprise magazine's 'Top 50 African Americans on Wall Street', to Essence magazine's list of 'The 50 Women Who are Shaping the World', and Ebony's list of '15 Corporate Women at The Top'. She received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and an A.B. in economics from Harvard University. As a singer, Carla has released a CD, 'Carla's First Christmas', a bestseller on Amazon.com, and was featured on the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather in his 'American Dream' segment.

   Mindy Meads
President and Chief Executive Officer
Lands' End
Executive Vice President and General Manager, Apparel
Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Mindy Meads is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Lands' End, Inc., the catalog and online retailer of clothing, accessories, and home fashions headquartered in Dodgeville, WI. She also serves as Executive Vice President at Sears, Roebuck and Co., and reports to Alan J. Lacy, Sears Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. She is responsible for all apparel merchandising and design functions for both Sears and Lands' End. Before taking the CEO position at Lands' End, Mindy acquired more than 30 years experience in the clothing industry, including senior merchandising and operations positions at Macy's, The Limited, and Gymboree Corporation. Mindy began her Lands' End career in 1991 as Vice President and General Merchandise Manager. In April 2003, she was named Executive Vice President and General Manager, Apparel for Sears Retail and also took the position as member of the Lands' End Office of the President, while continuing her duties as Lands' End Executive Vice President, Merchandising and Design. She holds a B.S. from the University of Illinois.

   Anne Pollack
Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer
New York Life Insurance Company

Anne Pollack is responsible for investment policy, strategy, and oversight of New York Life's multi-billion dollar investment portfolio supporting its obligations to policyholders. She joined New York Life as an analyst in 1980, and, after a series of promotions, became responsible for portfolio management and capital market activity of the Company's individual life insurance and annuity products. In 1992, she was elected senior vice president in the Financial Management Department. In 1998, Anne assumed the role of chief investment officer for New York Life International, Inc. and was named deputy chief investment officer for New York Life in January 2001. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a member of the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR). She received a B.A. from the State University of New York and an M.B.A in finance from New York University. She also received an Advanced Management Certificate from INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France in 1995. She resides in Manhattan.

2005 Corporate Vision Award
 

Solera Capital

Solera Capital will receive the Girls Inc. 2005 Corporate Vision Award. Solera is a private equity firm based in New York City whose investors include public and corporate pension plans. Solera owns a majority interest in Latina Media Ventures (publisher of Latina Magazine), and in Homegrown Naturals, a leading multi-brand natural and organic company that consists of the Annie's Homegrown, Fantastic Foods, and Consorzio brands. Among Solera's core values is diversity, evident at all levels of its organization and in the network it has formed to help identify potential transactions and provide entry into industries it has targeted for investment. The firm's founding CEO is Molly Ashby, who will receive the award. Ms. Ashby previously spent 15 years at J.P. Morgan & Co., where she served as Vice Chair of the investment committee of JP Morgan Capital and as its investment strategist, COO and board member. She was a member of the nationally-ranked tennis team at UC Santa Barbara, graduated from the College of William and Mary with a BA in International Relations, and received an MS from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.