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

Kate Goodall (she/her) is the Co-Founder and CEO of Halcyon, a non-profit dedicated to solving 21st century problems by providing space, community and access to the best impact ventures from around the world. Goodall continues to grow Halcyon’s offerings every year through strategic partnerships, and since launching Halcyon’s main incubator model has added a fund, an angel investing network, various intensive programs serving entrepreneurs from the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, U.S. Opportunity Zones, and startups founded by Black and Brown Women.  

In 2018 and 2019 Goodall founded and led By The People, an international arts and innovation festival and online platform. In 2016, Goodall helped establish WE Capital, a consortium of leading businesswomen investing in and supporting women and women-led companies. Goodall has served as juror at national and international social entrepreneurship competitions, like the

Creator Awards, Pitch@Palace, and MIT Tech Review Innovator Europe & Latin America. She was listed as one of the Washington Business Journal’s Power 10040 Under 40, and Washington’s New Guard in 2018, DC Inno Fire Awardee 2020, Washingtonian’s 2017 Tech Titans, and Techweek 100 DC’s Talent Cultivators.  

Prior to Halcyon, Goodall was a maritime archaeologist and worked in museums. She has two sons who keep her on her toes. 

 

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

Karima M. Woods was appointed Acting Commissioner of the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) on January 21, 2020. The Council of the District of Columbia confirmed Woods as Commissioner on July 28, 2020. As Commissioner of the DISB, Woods is responsible for cultivating a regulatory environment that protects consumers and attracts and retains financial services firms to the District, empowering and educating residents on financial matters and providing financing for small businesses.

Woods previously served as the Director of Business Development and Strategy in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), where she provided strategic leadership, stakeholder engagement and global outreach to the business community. Ms. Woods has held several positions within DMPED, including Deputy Director of Business Development and International Business Manager, where she helped shape signature business development initiatives, attract foreign direct investment and establish new business relationships with international markets. Her leadership has led to the successful execution of the Mayor’s economic strategy and the District’s business attraction and retention efforts across key sectors. Her work has also contributed to several policy outcomes, including increased investment in underrepresented entrepreneurs to address the human, social and financial capital required to grow and expand. Ms. Woods has served on several boards and commissions, including the Mayor’s Innovation Technology Inclusion Council.

Woods holds a M.B.A. from George Washington University and B.A. in law and society from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

 

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