Ascend Inspiring Across Generations
I Ascend - Unleashing the Power of Attitude
Speaker Bios
Shelmina Babai Abji
Bestselling Author
(Former IBM Executive)
Shelmina’s mission is to advance gender equality in leadership roles. Shelmina is a best-selling author of SHOW YOUR WORTH: 8 INTENTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR WOMEN TO EMERGE AS LEADERS AT WORK. Based on her lived experiences, her book is a proven blueprint to accelerate career success and fast track into leadership roles ― especially for women of color and others who are underrepresented in their fields. She started with humble beginnings in Tanzania and went from being first in her family to graduate college to becoming one of the highest ranking women of color at IBM while raising her two children as a single mother since they were 2 and 4. Shelmina is a TedX speaker, board member, angel investor, philanthropist and a distinguished alumni.
Davinder Athwal
CFO
Phenom People
Davinder Athwal currently serves as chief financial officer for Phenom People, a global HR technology company with a purpose to help a billion people find the right job. With an expertise in building AI- powered, scalable solutions, Phenom Talent Experience Management (TXM) personalizes and automates the talent journey for candidates, recruiters, employees and hiring managers. Davinder has overall responsibility for the company’s global financial strategy, management and reporting. Previously, he was chief financial officer for OSG, a $1B provider of technology solutions to the global billing and payments market. He is a seasoned CFO with extensive experience in disruptive industries and earlier in his career, advanced through several progressively senior and broadly diverse finance roles at IBM and Nortel. He began his career with PwC in Silicon Valley. Davinder holds a master’s degree in Accounting from Long Island University, a bachelor’s degree from Kingston University (London, UK) and is a CPA. He has been a featured speaker at various finance conferences and is frequently requested as an expert panelist at risk management and finance seminars.
Urvi Bham
Vikara Risk and Compliance Solutions
Board Member, Ascend Greater Philadelphia
Urvi Bham is the CEO and Founder of Vikara Risk and Compliance Solutions, a boutique advisory firm focused on transforming the risk and regulatory compliance landscape in the financial services industry. Prior to starting her venture, Urvi worked at Bank of America as Senior Vice President (SVP) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) where she was highly successful in developing firm-wide risk and control strategies to address global complex issues, towards sustaining a strong risk culture within the Bank’s risk appetite. Urvi’s background also includes leadership tenure with Freddie Mac, America Online and Ernst & Young LLP. She is highly regarded for developing next generation leaders and leading diverse multi-disciplinary teams through direct and indirect influence. Urvi is a strong advocate for her community and consistently reaches back to pay it forward. At Bank of America, Urvi sponsored the Asian Leadership Network. She is an Advisory Board Member for Ascend Greater Philadelphia Chapter, a member of the Ascend Greater Washington Corporate Executive Leadership Committee, a motivational speaker, and an executive coach. Urvi holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Pittsburgh. Urvi resides in Northern Virginia with her husband and two children.
Alan Chan
Vice President and General Manager
Dupont
Alan Chan is a Vice President and General Manger at DuPont. Alan has extensive international experience in leading global cross-functional organizations to deliver innovation, M&A enabled growth and operational efficiencies. Alan has worked in DuPont and DOW Chemical for two decades in the US and Asia. Alan grew up in Hong Kong and went to Louisiana State University.
Amy Chen
Partner Engineer
dbt Lab
Amy Chen is a seasoned data practitioner with a professional tenure that commenced in 2019. Currently, she holds a position in partner engineering at dbt Labs, where her primary focus lies in collaborating with technology partners and facilitating seamless integration with dbt. In her role, Amy actively contributes to the open source community, be it through documentation or code development. Notably, she cherishes her experience of presenting a technical game show at the snowflake summit, which boasted an audience of 500 individuals adorned in chain mail, an unconventional setting outside the realm of data. Beyond her professional pursuits, Amy finds solace in rock climbing, often indulging in this activity and organizing exhilarating climbing festivals with her team.
Elaine Cheong
President, Ascend Greater Philadelphia
SVP, Global Commercial Banking at Bank of America
Elaine Cheong leads technology banking in Pennsylvania, Delaware, South Jersey at Bank of America. She works with emerging growth, mid and large cap companies to navigate the complexities of capital raising. Elaine has extensive experience in debt financing, structured finance, M&A and debt and equity capital markets solutions. Her years of experience in international markets make her well-equipped to advise clients on improving working capital and risk management strategies for growing their companies. As the APAC regional banking lead, she provided valuable advice to middle-market companies on their cross-border operations. With 30 years of executive client management roles in global banks across the US, Singapore, London and Australia, Elaine brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her clients. Elaine is passionate about promoting inclusivity in the workplace and advocating for underrepresented groups. She co-founded and co-chaired Bank of America’s Northeast Global Commercial Banking D&I Council and launched the Asian Leadership Network, an employee resource group in Philadelphia. As president of Ascend Greater Philadelphia since 2017, she strives to cultivate emerging Asian American professionals into strong leaders and the empowerment of future API leaders. Elaine believes in the importance of mentorship and serves as a Committee Member of Mentor Connect at the Philadelphia Alliance of Capital and Technologies.
Sue Guiher
MBA Instructor, Communication and Leadership Expert
Sue Guiher is a sought-after educator, speaker, and expert in leadership, communication, and personal development. She is widely recognized for her impactful work, which extends from her speaking engagements to her role at the prestigious Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Sue is the founder of Thrive for Success, an organization dedicated to helping individuals and organizations achieve their full potential. Her passion for personal and professional growth has made her a sought-after keynote speaker, coach, and consultant. Through her inspiring talks and transformative programs, she empowers people to thrive personally and professionally. In addition to her work with Thrive for Success, Sue is a dedicated instructor at the renowned Wharton School, where she brings her expertise in leadership and communication skills to the next generation of leaders. Her commitment to education and her ability to connect with students has earned her a respected place within their MBA programs.
Joanna Kan
Founder
Blue Story LLC
Joanna Kan is the founder of Blue Story LLC, a Philadelphia-based company designing wine collections for individual and corporate clients. Joanna leads in indexing wine market trends and she custom-design wine collections for specific events and purposes. She is also responsible for setting indexing strategies along the wine distribution chain to promote industry growth, especially in new and untapped markets. Joanna’s “Lady in Red” wine collection was featured in the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Art-ish event in 2023. Joanna is a Certified Public Accountant with over 20 years of tax planning and compliance experience in public accounting and private industries. In Joanna’s most recent role at Trinseo, she oversaw all tax- related initiatives and activities for the Latin America region and served as a business solution advisor directly to the C-Suite. Her distinguished portfolio of work includes the transformation of tax solutions to business solutions to strengthen Trinseo’s cash positions and the redesign of cross-functional business processes inside Trinseo for seamless integration with Dow Chemical’s processes and infrastructure. Joanna also served as an influential member in the selection committee of Trinseo’s global infrastructure transformation project. Joanna is a recent addition to the Ascend Greater Philadelphia as an advisory board member. She has a B.S. degree in Accounting from Drexel University. She is an active member of The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, Association for Corporate Growth, and The Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants. In honor of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia recognized Joanna’s leadership and contributions to the greater Philadelphia region.
Sudhir Kondisetty
Principal, Risk Consulting
RSM US
Sudhir is the national leader for technology risk consulting, setting the strategy and focus for the firm’s technology risk services. He oversees projects over a wide range of services, including internal audit/Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), IT risk, financial regulatory compliance, security, enterprise risk management, etc. Additionally, Sudhir serves as the office leader of the Philadelphia office and he serves as an elected member of RSM’s board of directors. Prior to leading the technology risk consulting team, Sudhir was involved in leading IT risk consulting projects, including IT risk assessments, IT general controls reviews, network infrastructure security testing, SOX IT reviews, Payment Card Industry (PCI) audits, System and Organization Controls (SOC) attestation engagements and IT project management.
Sophia Lee
Chief Administrative and Engagement Officer
Girls Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania
Sophia Lee is an executive leader, trusted advisor, and educator, whose experience spans law firm, corporate, higher education and nonprofit settings. A long-time Philadelphia lawyer, Sophia currently serves as the Chief Administrative and Engagement Officer for Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania, where she leads its Human Resources, Talent Management, Property Management, Legal and Risk Management, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts. Prior to this role, she served as Chief of Staff and Interim Senior Vice President for Engagement at Temple University, where she oversaw daily university operations and worked closely with members of the administration to help lead and implement strategic initiatives across the university. She also served as Special Advisor to the President at Temple University. Previously, Sophia was a Litigation Partner and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Blank Rome LLP, where she handled complex litigation and regulatory matters for a wide range of institutions. She also helped lead the firm’s service capabilities in DEI and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns. Prior to rejoining Blank Rome, Sophia served as chief litigation counsel at Sunoco, Inc.; in the litigation department at Reed Smith LLP; and as a federal judicial law clerk to the late Honorable James McGirr Kelly, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Sophia is active in the civic and charitable communities, with significant experience on the boards of nonprofit and municipal organizations and in leadership roles for professional and bar associations. She is a past president and current board member of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania (APABA-PA) and a past Northeast Regional Governor for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. She has also served on the cabinet of the Philadelphia Bar Association, including as its Diversity Chair, Secretary, and Assistant Secretary. Previously, Sophia served as Vice Chair of the Mayor’s Commission on Asian American Affairs. Sophia is a thought leader and frequent speaker on matters involving DEI and ESG and serves as an adjunct professor at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law teaching courses on DEI in the legal profession. She has been recognized by, among others, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Business Journal and The Legal Intelligencer for her achievements in the legal profession. She has been named a Pennsylvania SuperLawyer and was honored as APABA-PA’s 2023 Attorney of the Year. Sophia received her B.A., with distinction, from Cornell University and her J.D. and LL.M., with honors, from Temple University’s James E. Beasley School of Law, where she was a member of the Temple Law Review and the Moot Court Honor Society.
Ngan Nguyen, PhD
Global Strategic Advisor
Asian Heritage & Asian Politics
Dr. Ngan Nguyen is the Global Strategic Advisor for Asian Heritage at Citi, where she serves as a subject matter expert in the design and deployment of diversity-focused initiatives across the firm. Prior to Citi, Ngan worked as Ascend Leadership’s National Director of Research & Executive Networks, where she authored white papers on the Model Minority Myth, Allyship, and other topics; created content for executive programs; and established the national infrastructure for the Ascend Executive Network. Her gender and human rights work at the earlier stages of her career helped shape her eventual interest in DEI. Prior to Ascend, Ngan worked in the international development sector, starting with field assignments at the United Nations in Southeast Asia. She also joined the Harvard Institute for International Development to help drive US/Vietnam normalization, served as a senior program officer at Oxfam America, co-led a National Geographic sea-kayaking environmental expedition to Vietnam, and advised Asia Society on global initiatives. In 2011, Ngan earned a doctorate in International Relations and Asian Politics. She currently serves on the board of Vietnam Society and the Tulane NYC Club, advises STRIVE, and chairs various committees at her children’s schools. She is also the founder and President of Ai Vy’s, a gourmet food company that mainstreams healthy ethnic cuisines, and enjoys eating out in New York City and around the globe with her husband and three children.
Sushma Rajagopalan
Partner
Rittenhouse Ventures
Sushma is a global leader who is extremely skilled in scaling companies and passionate about entrepreneurship & innovation. She is a Partner with Rittenhouse Ventures Fund III in Philadelphia. Rittenhouse Ventures is an investor in emerging growth software companies focused in HealthTech, PharmaTech, FinTech, HRTech and general B2B SaaS. Sushma was the CEO of ITC infotech, a global technology solutions company that is a wholly owned subsidiary of a $10B+ leading consumer product goods company ITC in India. She has more than 25 years of experience as a Chief Strategy Officer, and CEO/President of technology companies in the US and India including LiquidHub (Wayne, PA), Larsen & Toubro (Edison & Mumbai) Igate (Pittsburgh), Citibank and CMC (now part of TCS). Sushma has an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, specializing in entrepreneurship & strategy, in addition to a Master’s degree in Personnel Management & Industrial Relations from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India. She actively mentors companies and women entrepreneurs and CEOs in the US & India as a member of Harvard’s mentorship program, PACT, MADV; The Nudge Institute & 1Crowd. She is on the boards of BenFranklin Technology Partners of South Eastern PA where she is the Vice Chair of the Corporate Development Committee, and Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens in Devon, Pennsylvania where she is the Chair of the Long Range Planning Committee.
Joseph Schaller
Associate Vice President
Merck
Joseph Schaller is responsible for Merck’s Small Molecule Value Chain Management organization. As a part of MMD Supply Chain Management, Joe’s team is responsible for product and platform strategy, lifecycle and risk management, supply chain design and manufacturing network strategy for over 40 products in Merck’s small molecule portfolio spanning hospital acute care, oncology, virology, immunology, neurology, and cardiometabolic franchises with responsibility for packaging, medical devices, combination products, and new modalities. Joe has been with Merck for over 20 years with prior roles spanning Pharmaceutical Research & Development, Sterile Liquids Commercialization, West Point Vaccine Operations, Digital Strategy, and Chief of Staff to the President of MMD. Joe is passionate about diversity & inclusion, serving as an executive sponsor for the PA Chapter of APA EBRG and is involved in MMD efforts supporting Skills-First and OneTen. Joe received his BS in Chemical Engineering from Penn State University and MS in Chemical Engineering from Villanova University. Joe is married, has three sons, and enjoys spending time with his family - especially cooking with his wife, playing games with the boys, and spending time outside hiking, boating, and fishing.
Aparna Menon
Head of Digital Marketing, Brand and Social Media
TD Bank
Aparna Menon is the Head of Digital Marketing, Brand and Social Media for TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank where she leads a team of performance, brand, and owned media marketers to deliver omni-channel experiences to driving profitable growth for TD's vast portfolio across Retail, Investment , and Commercial banking businesses in the US. Prior to joining TD in 2022, she led multiple Digital Marketing and Customer Marketing roles at Capital One Bank. Aparna has a strong background in engineering and Martech fundamentals, that she enjoys applying in the ever evolving Digital Marketing space.
Donna Schut
Head of Technical Solutions Management
Donna leads Google Cloud’s Technical Solutions Management team focused on Applied Artificial Intelligence Engineering. Prior to that, she has held a variety of roles across Alphabet in Ads, Cloud and X, ranging from helping customers build their machine learning platforms to managing applied analytics and machine learning solutions. Outside of her core role, she is an active member of the diversity, equity and inclusion committee and mentors women in technology.
Yegeun Song-Spiver
Product Development Project Manager
The Chemours Company
Yegeun is a New Product Development Project Manager for Chemours’ Advanced Performance Materials business. She started as a Chemist with DuPont in 2015. She has 8 years of experience in the chemical industry, encompassing technology, marketing, product management, sales, and product development. Yegeun also led Chemours Asian ERG for over 2 years in the earlier days.
Jia Tian
Senior Manager
EY
Jia Tian is a senior manager in Assurance group at Ernst & Young LLP. She has more than 10 years of experience in public accounting, leading varies IPO/SPACs filings, and complex accounts in industries ranging from advanced manufacturing, airline, real estate, and biopharmaceutical industries. In addition, Jia has experience across 3 lines of business functions, including wealth and tax management and IT financial audit. She is Certified Public Accountant in the states of Pennsylvania and a member of AICPA. Jia was born in China and graduated from University of Delaware with a Bachelor in Accounting and Management Information System. Through her current role as professional development committee leader of the EY Asia Pacific Professional Network (PAPN), she seeks to create opportunities for Asian American professionals to succeed, connect and grow professionally. Jia lives in Media, Pennsylvania with her husband and daughter. She enjoys traveling, and spending time with friends and family.
Jing Wang
Principal, Head of the Center for Analytics and Insights
Vanguard
Jing leads Vanguard’s enterprise AI/ML and Applied Behavioral Science group. Her team enables Vanguard’s businesses to transform client experiences, investor outcomes, and business operations, through the application of complex and large scale AI / Machine Learning and behavioral science solutions. Before her current position, Jing held various leadership roles at Vanguard, including head of the Vanguard Retirement Plan Access™, where she led a team to offer a comprehensive suite of 401(k) retirement plan services for small businesses. She was also head of sales channel management in Vanguard Financial Advisor Services™ and an Engagement Manager in Vanguard’s Corporate Strategy group. She joined Vanguard in 2009 after several years with the Boston Consulting Group. Jing earned a B.S. in physics from the University of Science and Technology of China, a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.B.A. in finance and marketing from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.