Speaker Bios
Jacqueline Carroll
Jacqueline Carroll is an attorney, human rights advocate, and founder of We Persist!, a mission-driven consulting firm that partners with organizations to confront hate, strengthen democracy, and advance human rights through education, exhibits, advocacy, and strategic collaboration. She spent more than a decade as a Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney, serving as both a civil rights litigator and a prosecutor specializing in domestic violence and child sexual abuse cases. Jacqueline later was the Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s first Mobile Museum of Tolerance, helped lead its expansion into new states, and created We the People–Illinois, a traveling human rights exhibit developed in partnership with the Illinois Department of Human Rights. She has co-authored legislation, previously served on the ADL Midwest Regional Board, and currently serves as a Board Member and Co-Chair of the Decalogue Society’s Committee Against Antisemitism and Hate, continuing her work to build more just and inclusive communities.
Leslee Cohen
Leslee Cohen is the founder and Managing Partner of AllRise Legal Counsel. AllRise concentrates its transactional practice in securities and startup law, corporate finance, technology law, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate law. It represents clients across many industries from consumer products to technology companies to healthcare businesses to real estate firms. Leslee started her practice at a Wall Street firm in 1992, spent 13 years honing her skills at a large firm based in Chicago and left to form AllRise in 2010. AllRise was founded on Leslee’s desire to work with earlier stage and smaller businesses. Each of its attorneys is big firm trained and experienced. Leslee graduated from the University of Michigan (go blue!) in 1989 and New York University School of Law in 1992. She is a frequent speaker and mentor at accelerator and incubator programs as well as exit preparedness sessions nationwide.
Eva Farber
Eva is a first generation American who's family immigrated from the Soviet Union. Even before October 7th has been an advocate for Jewish people around the world. She has many personal connections to Israel and has shared in many ways how she has been impacted by today's climate.
Sofie Greif
Sofie Greif is an Associate Brand Manager at Conagra Brands, managing new product development and brand marketing for Slim Jim. Greif is a graduate of Duke University's Fuqua School of Business (MBA; Concentrations: Marketing and Strategy) and the University of Michigan (BA; Major: English Literature, Minor: American Culture). She is the co-author of the best-selling journaling series, Just Between Us (Chronicle Books) with her mother, Meredith Jacobs. Greif has previously served on the boards of JWI’s Young Women’s Impact Networks in New York and DC. She currently lives in Chicago, IL with her husband and their goldendoodle, Bo.
Kim Oster Holstein
Entrepreneur | Dream Doula | Innovator
Kim is a visionary entrepreneur, creativity coach, and Dream Doula whose career spanning three decades sits at the intersection of business innovation and human transformation.
As Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Twisted Alchemy, Kim has redefined the premium juice and cocktail experience — bringing award-winning, cold-pressed juices to national retailers including Whole Foods Market, alongside hospitality icons like Ritz Carlton, Marriott International, and Nobu.
Prior to Twisted Alchemy, she and co-founder Scott started and built Kim & Scott’s Gourmet Pretzels into a national brand, culminating in its successful sale to J&J Snack Foods Corp. in 2012. Most recently, Kim co-founded AlertBoss, a tech platform reimagining emergency alert accessibility.
Beyond building companies, Kim is a Dream Doula — a creativity and entrepreneurship coach who walks alongside women in transition at every life cycle, helping them excavate their deepest dreams and alchemize them into reality. A passionate believer in the power of mentorship, Kim has been both a devoted mentor and a grateful mentee — knowing firsthand that the women who lift us and the women we lift are often our greatest teachers.
Kim was honored as a JWI Woman to Watch in 2010, served as Board Chair from 2014–2016, and was a board member for 12 years. She is Chair of Northwestern University’s Council of One Hundred, and serves on the boards of Naturally Chicago and Women in CPG Initiatives. She has been named Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year, inducted into the Chicago Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame, and honored with the WBENC Star Award. A TEDx speaker, her work has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, USA Today, and The Food Network. Kim holds an MSA from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and a BBA in Marketing from the University of Texas.
She shows up for women — in boardrooms, in circles, and in the beautiful, brave space of becoming.
Sophia Huard
Tech founder, investor, mother, and part-time poker teacher, Sophia brings 10+ years of experience building products at the intersection of trust, privacy, and social. She led safety and privacy product operations at Meta and Robinhood, launched a friend-matching app that drove 150k connections between college students during the pandemic, and ran AI operations at OpenSea. She's now the CEO and co-founder of Ghost Social, the AI-powered platform for in-person human connections.
Meredith Jacobs
Meredith Jacobs is CEO of Jewish Women International. Founded in 1897 as B'nai B'rith Women, JWI is dedicated to ending violence against women and girls. Since assuming the role of CEO in 2020, Meredith has shepherded the development of numerous JWI initiatives focusing on ending gender-based violence; advancing access to economic security; and amplifying Jewish women's leadership. Among the many initiatives are the Collaborative of Jewish Domestic Violence Agencies; Here for You: a Jewish communal response to domestic violence; ReStart: job readiness for survivors; and the expansion of Young Women’s Leadership Network.
In the aftermath of October 7th, Jacobs led JWI’s partnership with the Seed the Dream Foundation to co-found I Believe Israeli Women — a global movement standing in solidarity with Israeli women and men and fighting the denial of and disinformation about the sexual atrocities committed by Hamas. IBIW's international work includes coalitions of Jewish organizations as well as global feminist activists who stand in solidarity with Israeli women.
Meredith is an award-winning journalist and former editor-in-chief of Washington Jewish Week, she was the force behind the ground-breaking report "On Land and Online: Conflict-related sexual violence and the social media battlefield." She is the author of The Modern Jewish Mom’s Guide to Shabbat (HarperCollins) and co-author, with her daughter Sofie, of the bestselling series of interactive journals, Just Between Us (Chronicle Books). Prior to joining JWI, she founded ModernJewishMom.com, the first Jewish parenting website (now part of Kveller), and was the host of the WYPR radio show, Connecting Family and The Jewish Channel television holiday specials, Modern Jewish Mom.
Named one of the “50 Most Influential Jews of 2020” by The Jerusalem Post, Meredith has been published in the New York Times and has appeared on MSNBC (MS NOW). She is a sought-after speaker, moderator, and writer. Her opinion pieces appear frequently in outlets such as JTA, eJewishPhilanthropy, and the Forward. She is on the advisory councils for Jewish on Campus and for Kehilanu an Israeli non-profit, founded post 10/7, shifting trauma from an experience of isolation into a pathway for connection, meaning and mutual support. Jacobs served on the Women’s Economic Empowerment Council for the State of Maryland and the expert panel on Improving Access to Services for Domestic Abuse Victims in the Military, sponsored by the Department of Defense. She earned a B.A. in English from Haverford College and holds an M.S. in business from Johns Hopkins University.
Ellie Kirshenbaum
Ellie Kirshenbaum is a talent developer and organizational culture leader currently working in executive search and leadership assessment at global firm Heidrick & Struggles. She consults with clients ranging from early stage to Fortune 50.
Prior to her career pivot, Ellie was a television executive at 20th Television, where she worked to guide the creative direction of shows such as Modern Family, Empire, This Is Us and Big Sky.
Following her move from Los Angeles to Chicago in 2021, Ellie stepped into Jewish leadership. She was YWIN Chicago’s President from 2022-2024, co-chaired JWI Networks’ inaugural event, sat on the Young Professionals Board at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and is currently on the Board of Jewish Council for Youth Services. She is a 2025 JUF 36 Under 36 honoree.
Ellie was born and raised in the greater Chicago area. She earned her bachelors degree at Washington University in St. Louis and her graduate certificate in Leading Equity & Inclusion in Organizations from Northwestern. Ellie enjoys reading, Broadway shows, and walking her labradoodle, Justice Ginsburg.
Lindsay Levin
Lindsay Levin is the founder of Tandem, an executive coaching practice for CEOs, founders, and senior leaders navigating high-stakes growth and change. She has worked with over 100 executives and supported approximately $3 billion in exits through executive coaching, offsite facilitation and management team deal preparation. Lindsay is also a Venture Partner at Bluestein Ventures, a food and wellness-focused venture capital fund, and serves on the boards of The Fresh Factory, Beyond Good, and Floura. She teaches at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. Before coaching, Lindsay spent two decades as an operator, most notably as CMO of RXBAR, where she helped scale the company from $6M to a $600M acquisition. She brings a direct, no-BS approach to leadership development — equal parts strategic rigor and real talk. Lindsay lives in Chicago with her husband Ari and their two children, ages 8 and 11.
Lindsay Pinchuk
As an Entrepreneur, Marketer, Consultant, Educator, Speaker, Connector, Community Builder, Podcaster, Small Business Advocate and Activist who turned $500 into 7-figures, Lindsay Pinchuk makes marketing simple so that you can build your brand and grow your bottom line without a million followers or a million dollars.
Lindsay grew her first company to reach 3MM people and turned a profit in year one. Less than a decade later, she led her company through its acquisition to a large agency holding company.
Following her exit two years ago, Lindsay now uses her nearly 25 years of experience to help you take your brand to the next level with easy to execute, cost effective and proven strategies.
One to never shy away from speaking out on what’s important, she’s always used her social media platforms to speak out about social issues: for marginalized groups, women’s rights, vaccinations, voting, and gun reform following a mass shooting in her community. Since October 7, 2023, Lindsay has spoken up for Israel and the Jewish Community, combatting antisemitism and keeping her community informed. While many warned her that she may lose business or followers, she trusted her intuition and continued to speak from the heart. As a result her platform has more than doubled and her business enquiries are up over 500%---thus proving that it’s never wrong to do what’s right.
Lindsay’s lent her expertise to 300+ television segments, given interviews on 75+ podcasts and has been featured or contributed to stories in Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Parents.com, Babycenter.com, “The Doctors,” “Access Live,” The Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago Business, Chicago Magazine and many more as both as a parenting/lifestyle expert, AND as an entrepreneur/small business expert.
In addition to working with businesses, both large and small, to build their brand and grow their bottom line, you can also find her behind the mic of her Top 2% twice weekly podcast for female founders, Dear FoundHer...
Lindsay grew up in the suburbs of Detroit and now lives on Chicago’s North Shore with her husband, two daughters and mini Bernadoodle, Ollie.
Ellen Rogin
Ellen Rogin, CPA, CFP® is a money expert, intuitive, and the New York Times best-selling author of Picture Your Prosperity and the Amazon best-seller Messages from Money: How to Stress Less, Prosper More, and Reshape Your Relationship with Money. A former financial advisor, Ellen helps individuals shift their mindset around money, leading to greater financial prosperity and a more fulfilling life.
Ellen created the Money Talks! Cards to help make difficult conversations about money easier, empowering people to communicate more effectively about their finances. Her unique approach combines practical financial wisdom with intuitive insights, guiding people to make empowered choices about their money and build a deeper, healthier relationship with it.
A sought-after speaker, consultant, TEDx presenter, and thought leader, Ellen’s insights have been featured in The New York Times, Money, Time.com, and Forbes.com. She is passionate about supporting women in taking control of their financial futures, finding abundance with ease, and navigating the world of money with confidence and clarity.
Anna Ceci Rosenkranz
Anna Ceci is a first generation American whose parents moved to Chicago from Mexico City. Anna Ceci has always been proudly rooted in her Jewish identity and holds a passion for sharing her background and history with those around her in order to create informed dialogue and combat inaccurate stereotypes.
Rebecca Rosofsky
As a Banker, Rebecca is responsible for delivering comprehensive wealth management solutions to high net worth individuals and families. She has expertise in creating customized lending solutions for her clients.
Prior to re-joining Northern Trust, Rebecca established and managed Life Insurance Premium Finance practice groups at three national banks. Rebecca started her Financial Services career in micro-finance, and has worked across market segments including the ultra high net worth market, small business, middle market and asset based financing. Rebecca is currently leading the Northern Trusts task force on Private Placement Life Insurance.
Rebecca is an avid yoga practitioner and hiker. She enjoys spending time with her family, friends, reading and paddle boarding with her rescue pup. Rebecca is a Chicago native and relishes the summer farmer’s markets and diverse neighborhoods.
Marina Rostein
Marina Rostein is the Head of Platform at NVNG Investment Advisors, a venture capital focused fund-of-funds, and is based in Chicago.
Growing up in Chicago, she returned to the region in 2019 after nearly a decade in Washington, DC, where she pursued her undergraduate education at The George Washington University.
She entered the venture space after completing her MBA at UNC Chapel Hill. Marina started off her career in HR and benefits. She then served as OneTable’s inaugural DC Hub Manager, expanding the social dining startup’s presence across DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Most recently she led Enterprise Marketing for a diagnostic company. Previously, she served as a Chicago:Blend Fellow, MBA Associate at VamosVentures, and fellow at Alumni Ventures. She serves on the boards of JWI and Chicago:Blend and in her free time loves to travel and spend time with her husband and two young children.
Lisa Schneider
Lisa Schneider is the founder of Pearl & Rose, a growing national community that curates in-person events and resources for women in midlife who are embracing their next chapter with purpose, curiosity, and joy. After more than 15 years as a graphic designer creating brand experiences for luxury events, Lisa shifted her focus to what she calls her most meaningful project yet: rebranding midlife.
A passionate connector and creative strategist, Lisa brings a fresh and empowering lens to aging, helping women find community, conversation, and inspiration through meaningful experiences, engaging content, and trusted partnerships.
Lisa lives just outside of Washington, D.C., with her husband of 32 years, Brett. With two grown sons living in Los Angeles, she’s fully embraced her empty nest and is loving the freedom, fun, and fulfillment that midlife can bring.
Carrie Seleman
Carrie Seleman is an attorney and mentor coordinator at the Cook County Office of the Public Guardian, where she represents youth in the child protection system and supervises and trains junior attorneys in trauma-informed advocacy. Carrie was born and raised in St. Louis (go Cardinals!) and moved to Chicago after graduating from Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She went to Loyola University Chicago School of Law, during which she interned at the Office of the Public Guardian, volunteered as a mediator, and worked at Ascend Justice (formerly the Domestic Violence Legal Clinic). She holds a Certificate in Nonprofit Executive Education from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. Carrie has been deeply involved with Jewish Women International for many years, having served as the founding president of JWI's Young Women's Impact Network in Chicago, chair of JWI's read-a-thon, and YWIN representative on JWI's Board of Trustees. A JUF 30 Under 30 honoree, she has also served on the Board of Managers of the Decalogue Society of Lawyers
as founding chair of the Women's Committee and editor-in-chief of the Tablets. In her free time, you can find Carrie sitting by the lake with her dog, reading a book, or binge-watching Gilmore Girls and The West Wing.
Mara Smith
Mara Smith (WTW ‘24) is the founder of Inspiro Tequila. She is a mother of three and a former attorney and corporate strategist. Mara began her legal career at Mayer, Brown & Platt in Chicago before joining the corporate strategy team at McDonald’s Corporation. After her twins were born prematurely, Mara made the difficult decision to leave the corporate world to focus on her family and charitable work.
She never stopped thinking about what was next. Mara always envisioned running her own company and in February of 2020 she set out on her journey to create a new tequila brand.
Mara is on the advisory board of Cradles to Crayons and on the Women's Board of the Illinois Holocaust Museum. Mara shared her Grandmother's Holocaust story on If You Heard What I Heard.
Hannah Spevak
Hannah Spevak is a social worker at New Trier High School. She has a professional educators license (PEL) and received her bachelors and masters in social work from the University of Illinois. Both professionally and personally, Hannah combines her passion for social justice and advocacy with Jewish values. She currently serves on the board for the JWI chicago chapter of the Young Women's Impact Network, which has expanded her ability to apply her degree and experience as a social worker to her personal community. In both her work with JWI and as a high school social worker, Hannah empowers adolescents and adults to navigate the landscape of today and recognize and mitigate the effects of burnout.
Melissa Widen
Melissa is a banker, commercial litigator, serial entrepreneur, senior executive, board member and lifelong advocate for women and girls. She co-founded First Women’s Bank in 2021, the only bank in the country with a strategic focus on the women’s economy. The Bank’s mission is to close the gender lending gap, empower women economically and elevate the women’s economy. Prior to launching First Women’s Bank, Melissa practiced law at Jenner & Block and Arthur Andersen LLP. She was also a founder and Managing Partner of Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP, a trial and litigation boutique law firm based in Chicago.
Melissa is deeply involved in impact, advocacy and community focused organizations. She is a longtime board member and former board Chair of Personal PAC, a leading Illinois political action committee focused on advancing reproductive rights in Illinois. She is also a founding board member of Project 50, a federal PAC formed to support reproductive rights in states across the country. For many years, she represented minors in Chicago as a volunteer attorney with the ACLU’s Judicial Bypass Coordination Project. Currently, Melissa serves on the Board of the Jewish Federation of Chicago and is a partner in Social Venture Partners. She is on the Advisory Boards of Hypatia Capital Management and Next View Global Water Technology Fund, L.P. Melissa is also a Trustee of the Jewish Women’s Foundation and a member of the Chicago Club and the Economic Club of Chicago.
Melissa is a graduate of Duke University and the University of Maryland School of Law. Originally from Columbia, Maryland, she now lives with her husband in Lincoln Park. They have six adult children.
Erica Yale
Erica Yale is a Vice President and Wealth Advisor at Northern Trust. She works closely with two Sr. Wealth Advisors to deliver comprehensive wealth plans tailored to clients’ unique lifestyles and goals. These plans include but are not limited to estate, tax and life insurance planning in addition to cash flow analysis, retirement income planning, social security income strategies and planning around educational funding.
Erica joined Northern Trust in 2013 within the Sales practice as a Sales Associate, assisting Wealth Strategists through the entirety of the relationship development process. Her responsibilities included but were not limited to prospecting, reporting and on-boarding new clients. In 2016 she became a Trust Assistant Relationship Manager on a Wealth Advisory team assisting a Sr. Trust Advisor with the administration of complex trusts for high networth individuals and families. In her most recent role as a Client Advisor, she serviced a wide range of clients providing comprehensive advice around trust and estate planning, retirement planning, income tax and philanthropic considerations and wealth transfer strategies.
Erica graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. She completed the Financial Planning certificate program through DePaul University and obtained the Certified Financial Planning designation shortly after. She has also completed Northern Trust's Trust School Short Course and is certified to teach the Financial Essentials curriculum. Erica is a member of the 2021 Cohort of Northern Trust's Enterprise Talent Leadership Program.
Erica volunteered with the WITS (Working in the Schools) organization from 2015-2020. She visited a grade school on the West side of Chicago twice a month and read with students. Erica has served as an ambassador for Northern Trust’s Achieving Greater campaign, as well. As an ambassador she planned multiple in-person and virtual volunteer opportunities with a number of organizations including the Greater Chicago Food Depository and
Bounce Children's Foundation.
She enjoys traveling across the globe, trying new cuisines, exploring Chicago, running, hot yoga and spending time with friends and family. She currently lives in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago with her husband and son.