Board Nominating and Development Committee | Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts (GSEMA)
Jeannette serves as Assistant Vice President of Engagement and Diversity, Student Affairs at Curry College. She has spent her 20+ year career immersed in the industries of higher education, management, and non-profit. She has done consulting, training and advocacy work in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, campus/community development, and student services development. Jeannette has served in a variety of management roles for such organizations as Boston University, Suffolk University, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Bentley University, and Mount Ida College. She is a founding member and past board member of the African American Women in Higher Education Association New England. She currently holds professional memberships with the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, the National Association of Black Accountants, the Massachusetts Association of Women in Education, and the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Jeannette has been a member of the National Black MBA Association for over ten years, holding positions in the Boston Chapter on its leadership board. She is an active mentor with the National Black MBA Leaders of Tomorrow Program, and is a Trustee to the Mission Grammar School located in Boston's historic South End. Jeanette earned an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Southeastern Massachusetts University and a master’s degree in education with a concentration in student personnel development and counseling from Northeastern University. She is a graduate Fellow of The Partnership, Inc. Leadership Development Program. Jeannette joined the Board of Directors in 2021.
Julie Linnell Cowan serves as Vice President of Commercial Lending at Rockland Trust, where she works with clients across Cape Cod and southeastern Massachusetts to provide them with the solution to their financing needs. She has decades of experience in the banking industry, having worked previously for both TD Bank and Bank of Boston. Prior to joining Rockland Trust, she served at MassDevelopment, supporting private industry, nonprofits and communities in the areas of economic development and housing, working in the Greater Boston region and in the four counties of Western Massachusetts. A committed volunteer and philanthropist, she served on the boards of the United Way of Hampshire, Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech, the Greater Northampton Chamber Board of Directors and most recently, the Massachusetts Economic Development Council. From 2013 to 2016, she left banking to be Chief Development Officer at Clarke Schools, as a member of an executive leadership team tasked with transforming and expanding the organization. Her fundraising success led to recognition as AFP Volunteer of the Year in Hampshire County and the Hennessey Award from that region’s United Way. Her study of International Economics at Suffolk University provided a perspective on how interconnected we are on both local and global levels, with the Girl Scouts a perfect match for her experience, her training and that shared perspective.
Kara serves as Director of Business Development at CVS Health, focused on products serving adults with disabilities and the elderly. She has over 25 years of government programs experience in Medicare, Medicaid, and managed long-term care and specializes in translating government health policies and business strategies into new products and solutions for complex care populations. Kara’s professional experience spans from start-ups to large, matrixed organizations across the country. She has held various leadership roles in government affairs, compliance, product development, and operations. Kara has served as adjunct professor in the Elder Care Management Program at Lasell University and as a speaker at industry conferences over the past fifteen years. Kara is a member of Boston Women’s Leadership Council and recently launched a Daughterhood Circle chapter in MA. Daughterhood Circles is a not-for- profit organization with chapters throughout the U.S. where small groups of women (daughters) gather to navigate the challenges with caregiving of older adults. Kara holds a BA from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s in public administration from Maxwell School of Public Affairs at Syracuse University.
Beverly is the managing director of Grantmakers for Education , a philanthropic infrastructure organization with the largest network in education philanthropy, where she is responsible for the organization’s accounting, finance, information technology and human resources functions. She has professional experience from both the private and public sectors and is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of experience leading teams, strategic planning, growing sales, managing change, and engaging in systems improvement to enhance overall organizational performance while maintaining day-to-day management responsibilities.

She began her career in management consulting with Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group and marketing with Microsoft Corporation before transitioning into K-12 education. She entered public education through the Broad Residency in Urban Education. In over two decades, she has worked with the Boston Public Schools where she was the deputy director of human resources, as well as Research for Better Teaching as the chief operating officer, serving clients such as the Singapore Ministry of Education, Boston Public Schools, Newton Public Schools and Montgomery County Public Schools.

Beverly has a bachelor's degree from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. She earned her Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.
Sadaf is a seasoned product management and technology executive with deep expertise in ecommerce, strategy, transformation, and operations. Currently Sadaf is the GM of Global Creator Products and Head of International Product at Audible, an Amazon subsidiary. Prior to joining Audible in 2021, Sadaf held senior digital leadership positions including Vice President and Head of Global Digital Commerce & Online Operations at Thomson Reuters and Vice President of B2B Ecommerce at Staples. She is also a proud Girl Scout alum. Sadaf holds an MBA from the Wharton School, a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and a BSE in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. She serves on the Trustees Council of Penn Women and is a long-time mentor for the MIT Venture Mentoring Service.
Amina serves as Head of Culture, Engagement & HR Business Excellence, Global Manufacturing, Supply & Quality at Takeda . In her 17 years at Takeda her career has steadily progressed from Engineering, Business Operations, Integration, and Program Management roles in Process Development and Global Manufacturing, Supply & Quality. Amina began her professional career in her home country of Trinidad & Tobago as a Petroleum Engineer at the Ministry of Energy, where she worked with multinational energy companies operating in the region. Amina has demonstrated her passion and commitment to gender parity through her volunteer work internally at Takeda as Global Co-Lead and US Region Lead of their Gender Parity Network ERG, and externally with the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) and The Boston Club. She has previously held local and regional roles with HBA New England, now Chairs HBA’s Global Ambassador program, overseeing leadership development programs at over 50 corporate partner locations worldwide, and has co-chaired The Boston Club’s Healthcare and Life Sciences Affinity Group. Amina was named a 2022 HBA Rising Star at Takeda in recognition of her leadership and impact. She has been a Co-Leader and Cookie Coordinator for her daughter’s Girl Scout Troop for the past two years. Amina holds a BSc in Chemical & Process Engineering from the University of the West Indies, an MS in Microbial Engineering from the University of Minnesota, and an MBA in Finance and  International Management from Boston University.
With over 16 years of experience in the construction industry, Libby serves as Project Executive at Suffolk. A founding member of Suffolk’s national Women Who Build Employee Resource Group, she provides invaluable mentorship and professional development opportunities to nearly 200 women in Suffolk’s Northeast region. Prior to this, Libby managed complex construction projects for numerous academic and life sciences including projects at the John W. Olver Design Building at UMass Amherst, Boston College, and Cambridge’s Kendall Square. She is enthusiastic about getting girls and young women into STEM fields, something near and dear to her as a Girl Scout alum. She is involved with Suffolk’s Rebuild the Ratio initiative, providing mentorship and accentuating representation of women in construction. In this capacity, Libby led a group of women to build a curriculum for the Juniors Who Build patch, helping Girl Scouts learn about job opportunities in the construction industry. She also hosts educational and volunteer initiatives ranging from career days and hard hat tours for students, local food drives, and extracurricular activities for special needs students. She serves on the Regional Committee of Suffolk’s employee run charity, The Giving Circle, and partners with Wonderfund during the holiday season as a part of Suffolk’s Giving Tree. Libby is an active member of Boston’s Professional Women in Construction. She received her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from University of New Hampshire.
Mary is an Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Insurance & Unemployment Fraud Division (“IUFD”) in the Criminal Bureau of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (“AGO”) where she leads a team of attorneys, financial investigators, an administrative assistant, and a paralegal, who investigate and prosecute people and businesses who commit fraud against private insurance carriers, the Commonwealth’s unemployment trust fund and the Commonwealth’s workers’ compensation system. IUFD’s efforts help to protect the people of Massachusetts from higher premiums and higher taxes, as well as to ensure those in need are able to receive appropriate assistance. Prior to joining the AGO, Mary served as an Assistant District Attorney at the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office (“DA’s Office”) for over 15 years, where she successfully tried over 40 jury trials. During Mary’s time at the DA’s Office, she served as the supervising attorney in the Brockton Juvenile Court, the supervising attorney in the Wareham District Court, became a member of the Superior Court trial team in the Family Protection Unit for a number of years, and then joined the Appeals Unit in 2018 where she handled a broad range of post-conviction cases and successfully argued over 24 cases before the Appeals Court and Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Mary is a member of the Board of Directors and serves as co-chair of the Government, Public Interest and Non-Profit Committee for the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts (AALAM). She is also a member of the Women of Color Attorneys Leadership Forum Committee at the Boston Bar Association (BBA). Mary also recently completed her third year of service as co-leader and treasurer of her daughter’s Girl Scout troop. Mary graduated from Syracuse University, magna cum laude, with a BA in Magazine Journalism and Political Science with a minor in English & Textual Studies. She holds a JD from New England Law Boston.  
Pamela is a Lead Account Manager for National Grid and has worked in the utility industry for 33 years. Pamela is responsible for scheduling and delivery on construction installations, infrastructure relocations, and related work required to provide safe, affordable, clean and reliable energy to larger commercial/ industrial customers within the Boston territory. Her project experience includes Fenway MGM Music Hall, Seaport Life Science Buildings, and Boston Housing Authority. Prior to National Grid, Pamela was a third grade teacher in Boston. Pamela has been involved with Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts’ annual golf tournament and Camp Cedar Hill service days. Her other volunteer work includes Boston Food Pantry, Day Dream Camp, Faith Formation teacher, and Boston Children’s Hospital. Pamela received her Bachelor of Management and teaching degree from Regis College.
Kristen is a Partner in Ernst & Young’s Boston Financial Services Office, with 20 years of experience in providing assurance and advisory services to a variety of financial services clients, with a focus on health, life and property and casualty insurance companies. In addition to conducting audits, Kristen has worked on a number of special projects at insurance companies, including initial public offerings, business process improvement projects, SOX/404 implementations, transaction advisory engagements, and support with examinations on behalf of state insurance departments. Kristen has developed and led educational trainings, is an active participant in the firm’s recruiting efforts, has served on the Corporate Social Responsibility Sub-Committee, and is a member of the firm’s Professional Women’s Network. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants. Kristen graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a BA in accounting and economics. She joined the Board of Directors in 2022.
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