Weezie Mullaly
Owner, Weezie Mullaly Insurance Agency
Three decades working for mega insurer GEICO has afforded Weezie Mullaly the opportunity to learn the insurance industry backward and forward. That deep-rooted expertise, combined with a passion for best-in-class customer service, is what fuels her runaway success in an industry where women are typically under-represented. (According to a recent study from McKinsey & Company, only 22% of insurance business roles are held by women.) After working her way up in a GEICO regional office through sales, service, and claims roles, she took a major entrepreneurial leap in 2011 to start the Weezie Mullaly Insurance Agency in Yonkers, becoming a GEICO Exclusive Agent in Westchester County, licensed in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. In 2018, she was the first woman to receive GEICO’s Local Agent of the Year, for excellence in sales, service quality, and customer care, and in 2023, hers was a Top 20 Agency for outstanding performance. Mullaly leads a staff of 10 agents with care and compassion, incentivizing hard work and prioritizing staff morale. To pay it forward, she has served on the board of the Junior League of Central Westchester, the Junior Board of Family Services, and supports too many school fundraisers and youth sports programs to count.
Lauren Medalie
Founder, Do Some Good Consulting
Growing up, Lauren Medalie imagined being a psychologist or maybe a writer for “Saturday Night Live.” But over time, an overarching passion for storytelling led her in a different direction. Looking to make a difference through her work, the mom of two launched Do Some Good, a strategic communications firm to help mission-driven organizations grow. Since her 2022 launch, she has forged dozens of collaborations between both Westchester and national nonprofits and purpose-led companies, bringing ideas to life for the betterment of all. “When you have the right partnerships, good things will happen,” she says. Case in point: As a member of the Scarsdale Business Alliance (SBA), Medalie initiated a partnership between the 2024 Music Festival and Daniel’s Music Foundation (DMF), a nonprofit that supports individuals with disabilities through music. By having musicians with disabilities perform during the concert, the partnership raised awareness of DMF among residents of lower Westchester while also enriching the festival experience. At the event, Medalie facilitated a key introduction between DMF and a global financial institution, sparking a new partnership that will benefit both organizations. She describes her work as a mix of creativity, logistics, and problem-solving, fueled by lots of coffee.
“I believe financial independence gives women the power to make the choices that are best for them—whether that’s pursuing education, getting married, leaving a marriage, or simply creating the life they want.”
—MARRIA POOYA
Marria Pooya
CEO & Founder, Greenwich Medical Spa
The legions of happier, more self-assured women who have been treated at any of Marria Pooya’s seven Greenwich Medical Spa (GMS) locations in the tri-state area have Pooya’s father to thank—when she was leaning towards fashion design, he instead suggested business school. “Dads are always right,” Pooya says. After launching her career on Wall Street, she decided to trust her business acumen and open her own business in the emerging market of medical spas after her second child was born. Now 20 years into her venture, Pooya has built GMS into a widely recognized brand ranked among the Top 50 medical spas nationwide. “With our patients, it’s about giving them the confidence to show up fully in their lives,” she says. “With our team, it’s about supporting their growth, professionally and personally, to help them become better leaders, managers, and providers. That impact on both sides, helping people feel good about themselves, is what I love most about my job.”
Dr. Janelle Luk
Co-founder and Medical Director, Generation Next Fertility
As the co-founder and medical director of Generation Next Fertility, which has an office in Hartsdale, Dr. Janelle Luk uses cutting-edge science to create the families her patients dream about. Doing this work hasn’t been easy as a first-generation Asian American woman navigating the dual challenges of underrepresentation and gender bias in the medical and business worlds. It took guts to break into the male-dominated field of reproductive endocrinology, proving her expertise while carving out space for her own identity and voice. Harnessing the power of social media has helped continue to set her apart and cement her position as a thought leader in the fertility medicine space, as she delivers a steady stream of bilingual fertility content in English and Chinese to over 25,000 combined Instagram followers on her personal and clinic accounts, educating an ever-growing audience about about fertility, women’s health, and holistic wellness to a broader audience. “My mom was actually given away as a little girl because she was…a girl,” Dr. Luk explains. “It truly pushed me to do something giving back to women’s health.”
“Helping families achieve their reproductive dreams is what drew me into this field. Seeing dreams come true and empowering women to have full control of their choices is the most fulfilling aspect of my career.”
—DR. JANELLE LUK
Caren Amicone
Project Executive, Consigli Construction Co., Inc.
A year into her stint as the first female Project Executive in the Hudson Valley office of Consigli Construction, Caren Amicone’s day-to-day work life involves staying laser focused on goals and milestones. “Head down, keep pushing,” she admits. “This recognition feels like one of those rare chances to stop for a second, take a breath, and actually appreciate how far I have come and how much work it took to get here.” Time to reflect only underscores her passion for working with and mentoring young professionals. “Construction has so many different pathways and opportunities,” Amicone points out. “Making connections and building relationships with the next generation is really important, not just to their own futures, but also the industry’s.” She’s also inspired by the idea of making things smoother for the people who come after her. “At work, that usually shows up in my constant push to improve how we do things,” she notes. “I am always looking for ways to make processes more efficient, because I genuinely believe there is always room to grow and do things smarter and more effectively.”
Patricia Kitson
Founding/Managing Partner, Kitson, Haffner & Hyde LLP
Family law by its very nature can be hypercharged emotionally—think divorce, child custody, and divvying marital assets, for starters. That’s where longtime attorney Pat Kitson comes in, leaning into her signature mix of empathy, strength, and litigation by negotiation to minimize conflict and forge mutual agreements so all involved can move on with their sanity and dignity intact. Her long list of accolades includes designation as a Top 25 Attorney in Westchester County and a “Legal Leader” by New York Magazine and the New York Law Journal. She also serves on the Judicial Screening Committee for the Westchester County Bar Association, evaluating candidates for judicial office. In January 2025, she entered a new chapter of leadership as a founding partner of Kitson, Haffner & Hyde, LLP, a White Plains firm she established with two attorneys she mentored from the earliest stages of their legal careers, which speaks volumes about her desire to ensure female representation at the highest levels.
Elizabeth (Liz) Nunan
President & CEO, Houlihan Lawrence, Rye Brook
Liz Nunan describes herself as “passionate about all things real estate” and it certainly shows. As president and CEO of Houlihan Lawrence, the leading real estate brokerage north of New York City, Liz is responsible for all aspects of the Rye Brook-based company’s residential and commercial operations, overseeing a team of more than 1,450 agents in 32 offices across New York and Connecticut. Her tenure has been marked by unprecedented sales, strategic market expansion, and a top-to-bottom organizational commitment to charity. In 2024, thanks to her secret sauce of zeal and expertise, Houlihan Lawrence achieved $6.8 billion in sales. The company has raised well over $1 million to support breast cancer initiatives and also actively partners with Feeding Westchester, HELP USA, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Nunan established the annual Houlihan Lawrence Humanitarian Award to recognize employees who have lifted up their communities through volunteer work and fundraising efforts. She was recently recognized on the 2025 Swanepoel Power 200, which identifies the most powerful executives shaping the residential real estate brokerage industry.
“Our agents are the best of the best, and I look forward to building upon our presence as the market leader.”
—Liz Nunan
Lisa Herman
Partner, Abrams Fensterman, LLP Mental Health Law Practice Group
If the beast that is organic chemistry hadn’t driven Lisa Herman off the pre-med track at college, she wouldn’t have gone to law school—and in that scenario, countless mentally ill New Yorkers would not have benefitted from her advocacy efforts during the 23 years she worked for the Mental Hygiene Legal Service, a state agency that protects the rights of patients in psychiatric hospitals. Three and a half years ago, Herman transitioned to private practice as a partner at Abrams Fensterman, LLP in their Mental Health Law Practice Group to help individuals and families navigate the complex clinical and legal systems that impact them. “The best thing about my job is having the opportunity to help people who don’t know where to turn and being able to give a voice to people who wouldn’t otherwise have one,” she says. “I love assisting them in learning about and gaining access to resources they desperately need.” When she’s not actively engaged with clients or in court, Herman prioritizes mentoring young attorneys interested in working at the intersection of law and mental health.
Robyn Bordes
Founder & CEO, Illumination PR
Shortly after starting Illumination PR, Robyn Bordes had an epiphany. Instead of pursuing broad-spectrum lifestyle accounts, her Rye Brook-based firm would focus strictly on healthcare-focused communications, joining forces with physicians, medical groups, aesthetic practices, and wellness innovators to educate people about the latest news in medicine and ultimately improve patient care. The unique approach would involve translating complex science into human narratives to maximize opportunities for high-level media coverage. That decision was a turning point: Illumination PR quickly became a leader in the space, and Bordes solidified her reputation as a forward-thinking strategist “My role isn’t just about press hits,” says Bordes. “It’s about building relationships, spotting opportunities, and opening doors that lead to long-term growth. It has been the most gratifying part of my career to be a part of the healthcare space in the way we have.” For her clients—many of whom are women-owned med spas, practices, or solo entrepreneurs—Bordes is more than a publicist. She’s a partner, coach, and catalyst for growth, helping them refine their message, own their value, and get the recognition they deserve.
Stacy Gallo
CEO/Casting Director, Stacy Gallo Casting
Though her early show-biz goal was to be a comedian on “Saturday Night Live,” working at MTV and other production companies in the early 2000’s helped Stacy Gallo build a network of acting industry contacts that ended up being a gamechanger for her. In 2008, she had been laid off from her job, welcomed her first child, and found herself at a professional crossroads. She decided to start her own Westchester-based agency and hasn’t looked back. Her work life is one of long, busy days bouncing between casting calls, meetings with clients and directors about commercials, and teaching online drop-in acting workshops, a holdover from Covid that proved so popular they still happen monthly. (Caring for her family and dogs, and going to her kids’ softball, baseball, and football games, is woven in as seamlessly as possible.) “The best part of casting commercials is that my days are always different,” says Gallo. “We could be auditioning rapping grandmothers one day, and babies the next. When a client says they have ‘too many good actors’ to choose from, we have done our job well.”
“I love my job even with the constant challenges we face in the ever-changing world of advertising.”
—STACY GALLO
Jennifer Bello, DNP
Vice President, Patient Care Services, White Plains Hospital/Montefiore Health System
Jennifer’s Bello’s path to executive leadership at White Plains Hospital (WPH) started with an aha moment as an undergrad studying accounting. “I realized I wanted to connect more with people rather than spend all my time analyzing spreadsheets and numbers,” she recalls. Taking a nursing class led to an internship at WPH, which put her on the path to becoming a registered nurse. It turns out her part business, part nursing background positioned Bello to play an integral role in WPH’s transformation into a top-performing healthcare organization and regional hub for complex care and innovation. Both her clinical and financial expertise inform her oversight of major surgical, procedural, and inpatient areas, and her supervision of more than 1,200 of the hospital’s full-time employees. “I’m a parent, nurse, and leader,” says Bello. “My goal is to always consider the perspective of the patient, their family or caregiver, and the clinical team. When you approach service line development with those factors as your North Star, you end up being able to advocate and lead the team to deliver the highest level of care that is patient-centered, caregiver-focused and, most importantly, results in the highest quality of care that can be provided.”
“Awards are great, but they’re not the goal. While they’re proof that you’re doing the right thing for the right reasons, our focus is always on doing what is best for our patients.”
—JENNIFER BELLO
Debbie Burrell-Butler
Executive Director, Mount Vernon Youth Bureau
Grant writer extraordinaire Debbie Burrell-Butler has been serving the Mount Vernon Youth Bureau as its executive director since 2018, but her connection to MVYB actually dates back to when she started volunteering there at age 11, two years after immigrating from her birth home, Jamaica. At 14, under the summer youth employment aegis, Burrell-Butler started her odyssey from office clerk to the city agency’s top spot. Under her direction, MVYB offers 13 programs that impact more than 1,400 youth annually, largely thanks to her grant-writing capabilities—she has a whopping 95% success rate and has secured over $10 million in funding over the course of her career. Her influence extends regionally through leadership roles, including as Treasurer of the Hudson Valley Youth Bureau Association, first vice president of Friends of Mount Vernon Recreation, Arts, and Youth Programs, and as a key member of the Westchester County Gun Violence Prevention Taskforce. She has earned an NAACP-Mt. Vernon Branch Leadership Award (2024), Harriet Tubman Award for Community Service (2025), and others. She is living proof that a visionary individual can rise within a community and become its change agent.
Marialisa Zywotchenko
President/Owner, Cyrus Contracting
“I’m always happy to be involved and contribute to the community where I work and live.”
—MARIALISA ZYWOTCHENKO
The construction business isn’t one for the faint of heart, but Marialisa Zywotchenko has the chops for it—prior to becoming the owner and president of Cyrus Contracting, she did a stint as an engineer with the US Naval Construction Battalion 21. More recently, Zywotchenko has built one of the most respected boutique design-build firms in Westchester County, earning certification as a Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) by New York State, New York City, and the Port Authority. Her business model is to focus on quality over quantity, so she limits her workload to just two projects at a time. Her ability to manage entire project lifecycles—coordinating architects, designers, and contractors—has resulted in steady referrals and long-term profitability. A 2023 winner of a Westchester Home Builder Award, Zywotchenko is also a dedicated member of the business community, collaborating with fellow entrepreneurs and supporting initiatives that promote growth and opportunity throughout the region. Her community involvement reflects the same values she brings to her work: integrity, connection, and a genuine investment in creating something lasting.
Deborah Blatt
Executive Director, The Sharing Shelf
Deborah Blatt’s description of her nonprofit, The Sharing Shelf, bespeaks a unique place: “It’s a colorful world of clothing, shoes, and coats, and the wardrobes we put together for children we never meet,” she says. Her mission to clothe Westchester kids in need has transformed from a grassroots effort into a multi-program organization that serves thousands of children and teens annually. Now in its sixteenth year, the organization operates three core programs: the Clothing Bank, Teen Boutique, and Backpacks to School, using an eco-friendly model that accepts donations of new and gently used items. The Clothing Bank fulfilled 6,321 requests in 2024, and requests are already up 43.5% in 2025. This represents a 300% increase since 2020, highlighting both escalating community need and The Sharing Shelf’s expanding reach. Seeing teenagers shop in the Teen Boutique without the pressure of paying brings her particular joy. “They are empowered to make choices and it’s beautiful to see the happiness in their discovery,” she shares. Under her leadership, The Sharing Shelf has been named SwissRe’s Charity of the Year for three consecutive years (2023–2025) and was awarded a prestigious Impact100 Westchester Transformational Grant.
Sherri Cohen
Principal, Client Advisory and Accounting Services Group, Grassi
Since joining Grassi—one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing advisory, tax and accounting firms, Sherri Cohen has spearheaded the firm’s client accounting and advisory services division to become a powerhouse team with a clear mission and a strong cross-office collaboration. In her role, she is frequently called upon to untangle complex financials, clean up books and records, and help clients better align operations to support growth, profitability, and long-term sustainability. Mentorship is also a personal mission, especially as a woman in a male-dominated field. According to a member of her team who came on as an associate, “Everything I do, Sherri taught me.” This individual has grown into a key player of the team, passing on all the knowledge and values she learned along the way. Outside of work, Cohen proudly serves as a treasurer and board member of HisToury, a Westchester-based nonprofit dedicated to preserving local historical sites. Through it all, Cohen leans heavily on her guiding principles: Believe in yourself. Trust yourself. Be yourself. And don’t forget to make time for yourself.
Jodi Kimmel
Town Justice, Town of Bedford Justice Court
The nomination for Jodi Kimmel started like this: “My mother is the first female Town Justice in Bedford’s centuries-long history,” her daughter wrote. “I helped with her campaign, so I know how hard she worked to win the election. She got the most votes of any local candidate in 2021, but she refused to run on the fact that she would be the first female justice. Instead, she knocked on thousands and thousands of doors, talking about her dedication to domestic violence victims and how she would fairly and impartially administer justice. My mom had to overcome the fact that people just expected our judges to be men. Right after she won, my mom made domestic violence resources available in the courthouse for the first time.” Now, her presiding days involve a busy mix of traffic hearings, criminal proceedings, and assorted family and domestic issues. She is active in legal groups including Westchester Women’s Bar Association, where she co-chairs the Judiciary Committee and is on the Domestic Violence committee. Outside the courthouse, she is a member of the Bedford Historical Society, the Bedford Playhouse, the Bedford Riding Lanes Association and delivers kosher groceries for Hope Community Services. “I am inspired by people seeking to make their corner of the world a little better,” Kimmel says.
Robin Davies-Small
Executive Director, Yes She Can
“I love being recognized as a leading organization serving neuro-divergent individuals and being instrumental in getting Yes She Can on the map in Westchester.”
—ROBIN DAVIES-SMALL
Since Yes She Can (YSC) is a relatively small nonprofit, Robin Davies-Small wears many hats as its leader. “I’m the executive director, CFO, director of HR, director of development, director of IT, and so on,” she explains. Davies-Small took the wheel when the founder retired in 2022, and in her three-and-a half year tenure, the organization’s overall budget has more than doubled, and the number of trainees served in a calendar year has tripled. Also, YSC now employs 4 full time staff members (in the past, all positions were part-time) and has graduated several trainees to part-time paid employee status. “I am one of the fortunate people who knew what I wanted to do from a young age, studied it in school, had some great supervisors and mentors along the way, and am still doing what I set out to do, which is lead a thriving organization that that provides neurodivergent individuals the skills necessary to be as independent as possible,” she says. “Work is especially important for autistic individuals. It provides greater independence, a sense of purpose, and belonging.”
Tara Ritchie
Vice President, New York-Presbyterian Westchester
It’s impossible to miss the sleek 4-story building in White Plains emblazoned NewYork-Presbyterian at the top in bold red. Tara Ritchie is its steward. A healthcare executive with over 25 years of experience driving strategic, operational, and clinical excellence across major academic health systems, Ritchie oversees the new 225,000-square-foot ambulatory care facility offering more than 90 clinical adult and pediatric specialties, including surgery, infusion, radiology, and rehabilitation. Known to be an early bird, she devotes much of her time to ensuring all on-site units are operating smoothly, efficiently, and collaboratively. According to Nicole Leahy, director of operations at the facility formally named NewYork-Presbyterian The One, “Tara’s leadership builds trust and promotes innovation which motivates her team to develop and achieve shared goals. By constantly asking the ‘why’ behind the ‘what,’ Tara challenges those around her to truly understand the critical details that define how care is delivered, discover where our opportunities are to do well today, and build on that learning to provide even better care tomorrow.” Her professional persona tracks perfectly with her family’s mantra: “Whatever you are, be a good one.”
Jamie Steinthal
Owner, Meritage Restaurant
Whether Jamie Steinthal was going to be a lawyer, artist, or anthropologist—yes, she considered these potential career paths along the way—her goal was always to be the boss. But for someone who loves people and food, owning a restaurant made great sense. “This business, and I imagine any other, is about synergy and if both parties understand and are committed, I think this is where magic happens,” Steinthal says. “People know they can come to Meritage, and we care about them. We know their favorite drinks and meals. There is a familiarity that comforts them and simultaneously an expectation for delicious, beautiful food that I think we meet.” As a female in a male-dominated profession, she feels grateful to be recognized. “There are so many incredible women out there trying to change their communities, it feels a little uncomfortable that I would be chosen over another,” she admits. “But it also feels wonderful because I am trying to make changes to my industry. If that is why I am being recognized, I would hope that means that what I am doing is having an impact. I think recognizing women in leadership positions allows other women to see the possibilities. I love that.”
“I’m an eternal optimist and I see the best in everybody which I think is my superpower. But it also is my weakness.”
—JAMIE STEINTHAL
Lindsay Tanne
Founder & CEO, LogicPrep
With college admissions a near-constant source of stress for teenagers and their parents, Lindsay Tanne’s studied expertise in that area is more needed than ever. The founder of LogicPrep has built a thriving Westchester-based education company staffed with former higher ed admissions officers, tutors, essay coaches, tutors, and mental health counselors, all aligned around a shared mission to guide families with empathy, structure, and strategy. Studying English at Harvard gave Tanne a deep appreciation for powerful narrative and storytelling, which is at the heart of LogicPrep’s holistic approach to finding right-fit schools and getting in. She also launched the Jesse Kolber Foundation in honor of her late husband and co-founder, who died of a brain tumor when Tanne was pregnant with their first child. The foundation makes good on Kolber’s vision of providing pro-bono college preparatory services to driven students from low-income backgrounds, as well as grants to support their studies and cover the cost of some living expenses. “We’re lucky to help shape the next generation of leaders not just by guiding them toward college, but by teaching them how to tell their stories and, in the process, discover how they see themselves,” says Tanne.
Andrea Cefarelli
Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Blood and Laboratory Operations, New York Blood Center Enterprises
When she began her career at New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe) more than 30 years ago, Andrea Cefarelli could not have anticipated she would be a key player in leading the organization through catastrophic public health crises including 9/11, Hurricane Sandy, and COVID-19. During the pandemic, when the blood supply was critically low, Cefarelli coordinated daily command center meetings, implemented emergency response protocols, and worked across agencies to keep donation sites open. Most recently, she played a central role in NYBCe’s expansion to Westchester County, serving on the executive leadership team that developed a state-of-the-art campus in Rye. She led all communications and brand strategy for the project and was a key advisor on employee engagement, logistics, and change management, while building partnerships with government officials, hospitals, civic groups, and media outlets to help root NYBCe’s new campus within the local business and healthcare communities. “Andrea is a proven leader with unmatched knowledge of our lifesaving operations,” says Christopher D. Hillyer, MD, president and CEO of NYCBe.
Shot on Location
Our honorees got ready for their close-ups in a setting as awesome as they are—The Alary, a 28-story luxury rental building right by the Metro-North station in the heart of New Rochelle. It’s the third and final building in a cluster of three developed by Allstate Ventures, dubbed Westchester Place. The specifically arts-centric community brings 524 new apartments to the area, a mix of market-rate and affordable units with preference given to artists, plus nearly 7,500 square feet of neighborhood retail and creative space, with galleries and studios to showcase local work. Amenities at The Alary include a classy co-working space, a fitness center, a roof deck, and an Imaginarium playroom for kids.
