Women’s History Month 2024
Happy Women’s History Month! As a woman-led organization, we are honored to uplift six women we admire. They lead with fresh perspectives and keep us inspired. We are grateful for this chance to reflect on their contributions toward a more equitable and inclusive world.
Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder In Residence PolicyLink
Source: PolicyLink
Angela Glover Blackwell is Founder in Residence at PolicyLink, the organization she started in 1999 to advance racial and economic equity for all. Under Angela’s leadership, PolicyLink gained national prominence in the movement to use public policy to improve access and opportunity for all low-income people and communities of color, particularly in health, housing, transportation, and infrastructure. Angela is also the host of the Radical Imagination podcast and Professor of Practice at the Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley.
As a leading voice in the movement for equity in America, Angela serves on numerous boards. She advised the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve as one of 15 members of its inaugural Community Advisory Council. In 2020, Angela was appointed by California Governor Gavin Newsom to the state Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery. She is the 2018 recipient of the John W. Gardner Leadership Award, presented by the Independent Sector. In 2017, she received the Peter E. Haas Public Service Award from the University of California, Berkeley.
To learn more about Angela Glover-Blackwell and her work visit the PolicyLink website here.
Wendy Millet, Ranch Director, TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation
Sources: Gallop Ventures and Stone Barns Center
Wendy Millet serves as Ranch Director of TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation in Pescadero, CA. She has spent nearly 30 years working on conservation solutions for working lands and is intent on inspiring others to adopt practices that regenerate land, build healthier soil, and enhance biodiversity.
At TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation, Wendy and her team work to demonstrate the practices and benefits of regenerative ranching and support the research and tools that can help it spread. She also co-founded Gallop Ventures LLC, an equine leadership program to facilitate human/nature connections. In 2016, Wendy also co-founded “Women in Ranching” to help make the ranching industry more inclusive.
Ami Naik, Partner, Radicle Impact
Source: Radicle Impact
Ami Naik is transforming the way that the investment world approaches supporting businesses from diverse backgrounds. Her work has been centered around evening the playing field for early stage companies that often need additional funding and support. During her time at Radicle, she has spearheaded the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts that have led to the organization becoming a women and BIPOC-owned company.
A graduate of the Wharton School of Management’s MBA Program, she has used her leadership skills at companies like BloomThat, Fairloan Financial, and Elevar Equity. Naik grew up outside of Chicago and is the daughter of proud Indian immigrants.
Adriana Sanchez-Ochoa, Chief Deputy Director, NextGen Policy
Source: NextGen Policy
Adriana Sanchez-Ochoa is the Chief Deputy Director of NextGen Policy and directly assists in team management and daily operations. Her policy areas of emphasis include immigration, digital equity, and environmental justice. She also serves as the NextGen Policy liaison to the ethnic, women’s, and LGBT caucuses of the CA State Legislature.
Before joining the NextGen Policy team, Adriana spent 18 years working in various key positions in the California Legislature. She worked for four Assembly Speakers and, in her last job with the Assembly, was the Director of International Relations and Protocol. In addition, Adriana has worked extensively with the California Latino Caucus.
Adriana has a Bachelor’s degree from UC Davis in International Relations and Political Science with a minor in Spanish. She is the proud mother of three daughters and has three beautiful grandchildren. In her spare time, she loves gardening, exercise and anything that involves the outdoors . She is a proud immigrant from Colombia and is fully bilingual in Spanish.
To learn more about Adriana Sanchez-Ochoa and her work please visit the NextGen Policy website here.
Brenda Spriggs, M.D., FACP, FACR MPH, MBA, Founding Board Member, Beneficial State Bank
Source: Beneficial State Bank
Dr. Brenda Spriggs serves as a Founding Board Member at Beneficial State Bank. Her life’s work has been centered around closing health and literacy gaps that keep medical consumers from getting the best care possible. She was a co-founder of the educational arm of Newell & Spriggs Consulting, LLC, dedicated to closing health literacy gaps and empowering health care consumers by teaching the tools to decode medical jargon, decipher medical information, and enhance medical encounters through effective communication, savvy navigation, and appropriate advocacy. Dr. Spriggs is also the co-author of “Focus on Your Best Health: Smart Guide to The Health Care You Deserve,” a book that offers practical solutions to common challenges faced by health care consumers: communication, navigation, and advocacy.
Dr. Spriggs graduated summa cum laude from Fisk University and with highest honors from Meharry Medical College. She received her rheumatology training as an N.I.H. Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco, her MPH for health care professionals at UCLA, and her MBA at the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Graduate School of Management. She is an alum of the Women’s Director Development Program at the Kellogg School of Management and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a founding Fellow of the American College of Rheumatology.
Renee Tajima-Peña, Producer and Filmmaker
Source: Renee Tajima-Peña
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña has chronicled Asian America as showrunner/series producer of Asian Americans, co-founder of the May 19th Project and through her films/digital projects such as Who Killed Vincent Chin, My America…or Honk if You Love Buddha, Labor Women, Nikkei Democracy Project and Building History 3.0. Her other work includes Calavera Highway, No Más Bebés, and the Best Hotel on Skid Row.
As a student activist, Tajima-Peña founded and directed the Harvard Asian American Admissions and Recruitment Program and co-chaired the United Front Against Apartheid. As a media activist, she was director of Asian Cine-Vision, a part of the Third World Newsreel collective and the founding of the Center for Asian American Media and A-Doc. As a writer, she was a cultural commentator for NPR and managing editor of Bridge: Asian American Perspectives. At the time she was a contributor to The Village Voice, she was the only Asian American woman film critic writing for a nationally-read publication.
In 2005 she launched the Graduate Program in Social Documentation at UC Santa Cruz. At UCLA she is currently Professor and Graduate Advisor in the Asian American Studies Department, Graduate Advisor, Director of the Center for EthnoCommunications, and holds an endowed chair in Japanese American studies.
To learn more about Renee Tajima-Peña please visit her website here.