Board of Directors - Professional BusinessWomen of California

Meet the Board of Directors

Meet the Board of Directors

Katy Brown photo

Kathleen (Katy) Brown

PBWC Board Chair and President
Corporate Vice President, Enterprise Commercial Software and Digital Platforms, Microsoft

Katy Brown is Corporate Vice President for Microsoft’s Enterprise Commercial covering the national Software and

Digital Platforms industry vertical with $4.5B + in revenue, responsible for directing sales, services, and partner efforts across Microsoft US.

 

A twenty-five-year Microsoft veteran, Katy has a proven track record for delivering strategic initiatives and sales programs to drive overall growth. Before her current role, Katy held the position of Regional Vice President for the West Region and previously Vice President for Northwest Region. She also held the position of General Manager for the NorCal District as well as General Manager- US National Sales Excellence, where she led a world-class sales team, orchestrating breakthrough development on customer satisfaction, innovation on sales enablement tools, planning and processes, and the overall leadership of the Sales Excellence community.

 

In her pursuit of sales excellence and customer loyalty, Katy has been recognized with several awards for her sales achievement, management, and leadership. Katy is especially proud of her team for winning the FY14, FY16, FY20 District of the Year and, most recently, in FY22 with West Region winning, Region of the Year, Top Sub/Top Team Award.

 

Before joining Microsoft, Katy spent over a decade with IBM and Lotus Development Corporation. Katy is active in the community and serves as the Board Chair and President of the Professional Businesswomen of California (PBWC) and a board member of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. Katy also sits on the board of WinWire Technologies. A native of San Francisco, Katy has a B.S. in managerial economics from the University of California, Davis. Her executive education includes IBM Advanced Business Institute and advanced leadership courses at Microsoft. Katy has three daughters, Sarah, Molly, and Emily, and enjoys running and yoga in her spare time.

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Deepti Srivastava

PBWC Board Vice Chair

Deepti is the Vice Chair of PBWC’s Board of Directors. Most recently, she was the Vice President and Head of Product at Observable, a fast-growing, data visualization startup. Prior to that, Deepti worked on best-in-class

Database products and technologies at Google and Oracle Corporation. Deepti is a strong advocate of STEM education, especially for girls. She has also chaired PBWC’s Young Women’s Professional Summit since 2012. She has served on several panels across the San Francisco Bay Area as an expert on women’s leadership and technology.

 

Deepti enjoys dancing and has performed on stage with Salsa and Bollywood dance troupes. She also enjoys snowboarding and all things fashion.

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Debbie Heard

PBWC Board Treasurer
Bay Area Inclusion & Diversity Leader and Tax Partner, KPMG LLP

Debbie is a Tax Partner at KPMG and leads the Bay Area team in her tax specialty, helping businesses find and

retain tax incentives and benefits. Debbie also serves as Lead Account Partner and Lead Tax Partner on several KPMG priority accounts. As a KPMG ambassador, she works with senior management to identify client needs, building an understanding of client businesses, and bringing ideas and teams to bear on those issues. In addition to her expertise in Tax, Debbie has a passion for Inclusion & Diversity. She served as the partner champion for the San Francisco chapter of KPMG’s Network of Women (KNOW) for three years. Debbie has also served as a committee member of the Financial Women of San Francisco (FWSF). FWSF advances the success of women in finance in the Bay Area. They advance professionalism in finance and financial services by promoting the development, career progress and leadership of women.

 

Debbie currently leads the KPMG Inclusion & Diversity Council, San Francisco Chapter. The Council strives to grow inclusive and diverse leaders, and build collaborative teams while inspiring diverse perspectives and innovative client solutions.

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Sue Bunnell

PBWC Board Secretary
Senior Vice President and Senior Legal Adviser, Wells Fargo

Sue currently manages legal and regulatory issues related to Wells Fargo’s critical operations – corporate security,

facilities,incident management and related risk management efforts. Sue previously supported a wide array of software, fintech and cloud computing technology and services transactions, as well as third party oversight, info sec, and policy matters for Wells Fargo. She enjoys the art of seeing through data patterns and risk landscapes to spot unaddressed issues, and the science of solving those problems as efficiently as possible. Sue has taken leadership roles in the company’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts by helming their Bay Area Women’s employee resource group, and also serving on the Global Diversity and Inclusion Council. Sue is a frequent speaker on professional development and self-advocacy, both inside Wells Fargo and in the larger Bay Area community. In addition to her Board role with PBWC and work with its Young Women’s Professional Summit, Sue also serves as the President and Chair of Leading Women in Technology, a national non-profit helping high-potential women to map their own path to success, and then make progress toward those goals using lessons learned in workshops and events given by nationally recognized speakers.

 

Sue is a frequent speaker on self-advocacy and professional development inside Wells Fargo and in the larger Bay Area community. In addition to her officer role on the PBWC Board, Sue also serves as the President and co-Chair of LWT: Advancing Women in Leadership, a national non-profit helping high-potential women to turn work Excellence into career Success with encouragement and accountability from the LWT community, using lessons learned in workshops and events from nationally recognized speakers.

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Congresswoman Jackie Speier

PBWC Founder & Emerita Board Member
US Congresswoman (Ret.)

Congresswoman Speier represented the 14th District of California for almost 15 years, until her retirement in January 2023. Before that, Congresswoman Speier

served as a California State Senator, where she authored groundbreaking legislation in health care, privacy, consumer protection, child welfare, education, and prison reform. She served as Assistant Pro Tem of the State Senate, Chair of the Senate Finance, Banking and Insurance Committee, Chair of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus, and others. Since retiring from elected office, Congresswoman Speier launched The Jackie Speier Foundation for Women and Children to address poverty, lack of housing and childcare, and domestic violence.
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Judy Bloom

PBWC Founding President & Emerita Board Member
Floral Design and Organizational Development Consultant

Judy has served as the District Director for then-Assemblywoman Jackie Speier, Executive Director of Resourceful Women, Director of Employer Services at

Jewish Vocational Service and Development Officer/Director of Imprint Giving at the Jewish Community Endowment Fund. Judy retired from full-time employment at the end of 2010 and now enjoys studying Hebrew, traveling, volunteering on community boards, working with flowers, and spending time with her family.
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Alexandra Roddy

PBWC Past Board Chair and President
Vice President, Ecosystems and Alliances, IBM Cloud

Alex Roddy, past President and Board Chair, is Vice President, Ecosystems and Alliances, IBM Cloud. She is a collaborative, creative, high-energy executive who is

deeply committed to ensuring that workplace cultures change to become more open and inclusive so that the halls of power better reflect the diversity of our communities.
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Cheryl A. Cornelius

PBWC Director at Large
Client Relationship Director, PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP (PWC)

Cheryl’s role is to help clients in the technology sector leverage PwC’s breadth of tax, accounting and consulting services globally. Prior to PwC, Cheryl served in a variety

of roles including sales, product management and finance for technology companies like IBM, Siebel Systems and General Electric. Cheryl is passionate about promoting gender equality and lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children.
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Shirley Gordon

PBWC Director at Large, CPCU, CLU, CHFC
Retired Vice President Operations, State Farm Insurance

Shirley J. Gordon joined State Farm® in 1973 as an accounting intern in Bloomington, Illinois. Over the course of her 46 year State Farm career, she held numerous

Operations leadership positions within Accounting, Management Planning & Information, Service and Systems, P&C Operations and Executive. She retired June 1, 2020 as Vice President Operations in Underwriting.

 

Shirley received a B.S. Degree in Business Management from Hampton University, a MBA Degree from Illinois State University, and a Juris Doctorate Degree from Empire College School of Law. She earned the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation in 1984, Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation in 1987, and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designation in 1989.

 

Shirley is a philanthropist who has served in a variety of leadership roles within the community. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the United Way of Kern County, Co-Chair of the Scholarship and Board Development Committees of the Professional BusinessWomen of California (PBWC), Advisory Committee for Leadership California, and past Vice Chair of the FAIR Plan of CA. She is also a director for the Bridge to the Future – Rites of Passage Mentoring Program in Santa Rosa, a Steward at Cain AME Memorial Church, and a life member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority – Kappa Omega Omega Alumni Chapter and the NAACP.

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Julia L. Jin McCullough, M.D.

PBWC Director at Large
Director, Safety Assessment, Genentech

A physician by training, Julia is the Director in Genentech Safety Assessment, and the Head of Outsourcing Operations.  With an extensive career in healthcare,

biotech and the

pharmaceutical industry, Julia has been recognized for her ability to leverage bench research background and business acumen across diverse cultures and economies that results in enhanced drug development operational practices and productivity.  Julia is experienced in delivering strategies to constitute collaborations and building out teams to deliver against those opportunities.

Julia strongly believes that a true leader expects to be held accountable.  She is passionate about encouraging more women, especially Asians, to achieve their potential and realize their dreams and aspirations.   Julia received her BS from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China, and a MD from Universita degli Studi di Padova, Italy.

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Deidra Lieberman

PBWC Director at Large
Vice President / Director Of Sales, CBS Television Stations, KPIX & KBCW

Deidra has served on the PBWC Board of Directors since 2012 and was the interim CEO in 2018. She brings her

operations, marketing, and sales experience, along with her passion to encourage women at all levels to achieve their ambitions and work toward gender equality in professional settings to her job and the board. She has worked as a General Manager, VP of Sales, DOS and GSM in the radio industry for companies such as ABC/Disney, Citadel, Cumulus, and Entercom and has held multiple board positions. Deidra was recognized as one of the most influential women in radio by Radio Ink Magazine and one of the most influential women in Bay Area business by the San Francisco Business Times.
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Gizelle Robinson

PBWC Director at Large
Director, Charles Schwab

Gizelle is Head of Retail Digital Accelerator and leads the Journey teams. Gizelle’s vision is to accelerate and deliver value continuously by championing innovation and

establishing a learning organization so that Schwab clients can achieve their financial goals. The Retail Digital Accelerator organization drives innovation by discovering, exploring, delivering, and measuring results that inform and shape solutions for Schwab clients. Areas of responsibility include Retail Client Journeys: Account Open, Digital Welcome, Activation, Growth, Retirement, Inheritance, Managed Investing Open and Enrollment, Document Storage, Archiving and Uploading and E-Sign.

 

Gizelle has a track record of strong performance in strategizing, planning, structuring, and executing multi-million-dollar projects using the latest technology solutions. Excellent history in transforming organizations, building high performing teams, and retaining top professional talent, while leading large cross-functional project teams. Experienced business partner who influences executive management on key firm wide initiatives while driving towards efficiency and effectiveness with the client’s needs top of mind.

 

Gizelle was named FWN (Filipina Women’s Network) 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World in recognition of contributions to Charles Schwab and PBWC (Professional Business Women in California) in 2017. She received 2013 PBWC Industry Leader award for her work to bring financial literacy to the youth and to uplift young women. In 1999, she received the Charles Schwab Best Business Partner of the Year award for her work in automating Corporate Actions Operations.

 

Gizelle received her Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management Engineering minoring in Chemical Engineering from De La Salle University in the Philippines. She is a Board of Director for PBWC and Co-Chair of their Scholarship Committee.

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Diana Sroka

PBWC Director at Large
Vice President, Consumer Services Product, HP Inc.

Diana Sroka is the global head of Product for HP’s Consumer Services business. She is driving the expansion of HP’s subscription services and solutions. She also

serves as a Director of the Board for SoundHound AI, Inc., a global leader in voice artificial intelligence.

 

In the last 20 years, Diana has established herself as a leader at HP through experiences across various functions and business units. Previously, she served as the CEO’s Chief of Staff and was the Head of Investor Relations. Earlier in her HP career, she held a variety of finance roles supporting Enterprise Software and Services then moved into operational leadership positions for the HP online store.

 

Previous to HP, Diana was a Business Planning Analyst for Visteon Automotive and a Product Engineer with Ford Motor Company. Diana graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University and earned an MBA from the University of Michigan.

 

Diana is based in Palo Alto, CA.

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