2021 Leadership Award Honorees

Carisa Stanley Beatty
First Vice President, Washington, DC Region
Amalgamated Bank   

Ms. Stanley has almost 20 years of experience in banking and finance in the Washington, DC region. Immediately prior to her existing position as First Vice President with Amalgamated Bank, Ms. Stanley served as Director of Single Family Programs with DC Housing Finance Agency where she developed and managed residential mortgage products and services, including the affordable mortgage program, DC Open Doors and the federally funded HomeSaver foreclosure prevention initiative. Ms. Stanley spearheaded the development of DC Open Doors and under her management the program grew to over $15 million in residential loan volume in a fifteen month period.

Ms. Stanley was also Vice President of Commercial Real Estate at Fidelity and Trust Bank and EagleBank where her focus was real estate development in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Ms. Stanley underwrote and financed commercial acquisitions as well as affordable housing projects in the District of Columbia while managing a commercial real estate portfolio in excess of $100 million. Ms. Stanley led commercial real estate debt restructures and workouts, up to and including foreclosures.

As First Vice President of Amalgamated Bank, Ms. Stanley is responsible for leading the Bank’s commercial real estate efforts in the Washington, DC region, with a focus on affordable multifamily and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) lending.

Ms. Stanley served as the Mortgage Bankers Association of Metropolitan Washington’s 2012 and 2013 Affordable Housing Committee Chair and was a certified instructor with the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors. She has served as the President of the Washington, DC chapter of African American Real Estate Professionals since 2017 and is a member of the Board of Directors for The Center for Law and Social Policy and the BISNOW DC Diversity Board.

Ms. Stanley earned an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

 

Sindy Marisol Benavides
Chief Executive Officer
League of United Latin American Citizens 

Sindy Marisol Benavides is a Honduran-American immigrant who has experienced the American dream, and now devotes her career to public service, ensuring that countless young people, women, and immigrants have the same opportunity. She is currently Chief Executive Officer for the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the oldest Hispanic civil rights organization in the country. She previously served as the Chief Operating Officer and National Director for Civic Engagement and Community Mobilization for LULAC, Vice President of Field & Political Operations for Voto Latino and as Northern Virginia Political Director for the 2012 Kaine for Virginia senatorial campaign. She has also been National Director of Community Outreach for the Democratic National Committee, and Latino Liaison and Director of Gubernatorial Appointments for Governor Timothy M. Kaine.

She received her Bachelor of Arts from Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia, where she graduated Valedictorian of her class and studied Political Science with a minor in Spanish. She has also attended American University for her Master’s degree in International Affairs and is working on submitting her substantial research paper. Sindy is the founder, co-founder, or founding board member of LULAC Council 4611, VA Latino Higher Education Network (VALHEN), VA Coalition of Immigrant Rights (VACIR), and the Hispanic Organization for Leadership and Action (HOLA). Sindy serves on numerous civic boards and can be found on Twitter @SindyBenavides. She lives in northern Virginia with her beloved family.

Ms. Benavides is an alumna of the Sorenson Political Leadership Program through the University of Virginia and the Virginia Executive Institute and Minority Political Leadership Institute through Virginia Commonwealth University. She is an alumna of the 2009 class of the National Hispana Leadership Institute. Sindy obtained her Certificate on Executive Management and Leadership from Harvard Kennedy School in April 2009 and attended the Center for Creative Leadership in July 2009. She was also named top 20 People to Watch in 2009 (Richmond magazine) and named top 20 Latina Women of Excellence in 2010 (Hispanic Business magazine). In 2010, Sindy was selected by the American Jewish Committee to travel to Israel with a delegation of 13 national Latina leaders. In 2013, Sindy was selected as part of the class of 2013-2014 for New York University’s IGNITE Fellowship for Women of Color in the Social Sector. In 2014, Ms. Benavides was selected for Emerge Virginia, the premier training program for Democratic women to run for public office. Lastly, in 2016, Sindy was selected for Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) Next Generation Latino Philanthropy Fellowship program.

 

Kate Goodall                                                                                                                          
Co-Founder
Halcyon

 

Jessica Rosenworcel
Chairwoman
Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel believes that the future belongs to the connected. She works to promote greater opportunity, accessibility, and affordability in our communications services in order to ensure that all Americans get a fair shot at 21st century success. She believes strong communications markets can foster economic growth and security, enhance digital age opportunity, and enrich our civic life.

From fighting to protect net neutrality to ensuring access to the internet for students caught in the Homework Gap, Jessica has been a consistent champion for connecting all. She is a leader in spectrum policy, developing new ways to support wireless services from Wi-Fi to video and the internet of things. She also is responsible for developing policies to help expand the reach of broadband to schools, libraries, hospitals, and households across the country.

Named as one of POLITICO’s 50 Politicos to Watch and profiled by InStyle Magazine in a series celebrating “women who show up, speak up and get things done,” Jessica brings over two decades of communications policy experience and public service to the FCC. Prior to joining the agency, she served as Senior Communications Counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, under the leadership of Senator John D. Rockefeller IV and Senator Daniel Inouye. Before entering public service, Jessica practiced communications law in Washington, DC.

She is a native of Hartford, Connecticut. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University and New York University School of Law. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and two children.

 

Karima Woods
Commissioner
District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities & Banking