Silicon Valley Business Journal celebrates latest group of 2025 Women of Influence honorees
Story Highlights Silicon Valley Business Journal announces second group of Women of Influence.
Leaders from diverse industries are honored this year.
Winners will be recognized at an awards event on June 26.
The Silicon Valley Business Journal is announcing the second group of our Women of Influence class of 2025, which includes prominent business and community leaders from throughout the South Bay who are making the Silicon Valley a better place to live and work.
Honorees include leaders from small and large companies, representing health care, real estate, banking, entertainment and more.
We will announce the third and final group of winners this week.
For more stories like this one, sign up for the Business Journal's free morning and afternoon daily newsletters or download our free app.
This is the 21st year the Silicon Valley Business Journal has honored the region's most influential women.
Previous winners include Y Combinator Co-Founder Jessica Livingston; former Santa Clara County Supervisor for District 2 Cindy Chavez; Westfield Valley Fair Senior General Manager Sue Newsom; San Jose State University President Cynthia Teniente-Matson; and United Way Bay Area CEO Keisha Browder.
This year's winners will be honored in a special section of the paper and at an awards event on June 26. Watch for more details on the awards event in the coming weeks.
The second group of winners is:
Jessica Lewis , Partner, WilmerHale
, Partner, WilmerHale Shawna Lucey , CEO, Opera San Jose
, CEO, Opera San Jose Elnaz Masoom , CEO, Masoom Law Firm P.C.
, CEO, Masoom Law Firm P.C. Ritika Mathur , Senior Director, Oportun
, Senior Director, Oportun Shilpi Narang , Vice President, Spotnana
, Vice President, Spotnana Maureen O'Connor , President, Palo Alto University
, President, Palo Alto University Alana O'Grady Lauk , Vice President, Verkada
, Vice President, Verkada Teresa Ong , Vice President, Foothill College
, Vice President, Foothill College Kathy Reiner , CFO, Truebeck Construction
, CFO, Truebeck Construction Georgia Rittenberg , CEO, ComputerCare
, CEO, ComputerCare Silvia Scandar Mahan , President, Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School
, President, Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School Sarah Schiltz , Chair - Board of Directors, Cancer CAREpoint
, Chair - Board of Directors, Cancer CAREpoint Ginger Sotelo , Partner, Spencer Fane LLP
, Partner, Spencer Fane LLP Chelsey Souza , Chief Development Officer, Pivotal
, Chief Development Officer, Pivotal Priya Swaminathan , Senior Counsel, McManis Faulkner
, Senior Counsel, McManis Faulkner Tina Syer , Chief Advancement Officer, Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula
, Chief Advancement Officer, Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula Michelle Tansey , CEO, Euro Clinic
, CEO, Euro Clinic Keshia Theobald-van Gent , Vice President, BDev Ventures
, Vice President, BDev Ventures Erica Valentine , Political & Communications Director, UA Local 393
, Political & Communications Director, UA Local 393 Shamara van der Voort , COO, West Coast Community Bank
, COO, West Coast Community Bank Jyothi Vemu , CEO, Futurebytes
, CEO, Futurebytes Natalie Walker , Director, WeHope
, Director, WeHope Corinda Wong , Director, Gensler
, Director, Gensler Alice Zhang , Vice President, Astera Labs
, Vice President, Astera Labs Maria Zhang, CEO, Palona AI
Check back soon for more about these women, their accomplishments, aspirations and plans.
Congratulations to all the honorees!
Silicon Valley's Highest-Paid Female Executives
Total compensation
Rank Prior Rank Person
1
1
Hu, Jean
2
4
Su, Lisa T.
3
8
Porat, Ruth View this list
Largest Women-Owned Businesses in Silicon Valley
2023 revenue
Rank Prior Rank Name/Prior rank
1
1
TD Thornton Group Inc.
2
1
ASI Corp.
3
3
Stellar Solutions Inc. View this list
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fast Company
6 hours ago
- Fast Company
The surprising power of being a generalist
I learned very early in my professional life that there are two paths to career success. Become an expert at one specific thing. Or master a few skills and leverage them simultaneously. The second option is working for me. Becoming a 'skills-powered' professional is how I can survive the future of work. The 'narrow expert' path doesn't work for everyone. New research from McKinsey shows that 44% of Americans want to switch careers, but nearly half say their biggest obstacle is a lack of skills. The biggest skills gap isn't a lack of technical knowledge; it's a lack of adaptability. Employers want people who learn fast, wear different hats, and solve cross-functional problems. In short, they want generalists. Just be enough You don't need to be everything. You just need to be enough of many things. You can't master everything. That's not the point. A generalist is strategically skilled in diverse areas. They are able to connect the dots others don't see. As David Epstein writes in his bestselling book Range, 'Modern work demands knowledge transfer — the ability to apply knowledge to new situations and domains.' To thrive in the future of work, think of yourself as a Swiss Army knife, built for the complexity of the productive environment. Skill stacking What you can do now is stack your skills. Then make them talk to each other. What makes you indispensable isn't in any one ability. It's a combination of transferable skills. Let's say you're decent at writing, coding, and psychology. Individually, none of those put you at the top. But together? You might be the professional an employer needs to design an app with a better user interface. And human behaviour knowledge is integrated into every interaction. Skill stacking can raise your market value by making you proficient (if not necessarily exceptional) in multiple areas. Make peace with not being 'the best' In any room, there's always someone who knows more about something. Becoming a generalist means focusing on what fits you. It means letting go of being 'the best' at one thing, especially when the rules keep changing. Become the most adaptable. The most curious. The most useful in unexpected ways. Employers want people with a diverse skill set who can adapt to the changing demands of work. A generalist has a beginner's mindset Every new skill you learn humbles you. It teaches you to learn faster, listen better, and synthesize across departments. Over time, you stop pursuing titles and start stacking tools that can help you become adaptable. Right now, talent is everywhere. AI can out-code us. Specialists can outshine in narrow fields. But no one else can have your exact set of skills, experiences, and insights. Your generalist path can become your defence against becoming obsolete. Don't just pursue a career. Build capability Careers are changing fast. Roles are disappearing. Even titles are evolving. But capabilities stick. Learn how to write clearly. Think critically. And present ideas. Invest in survival skills. They're what employers really want. Being good at many things, combined with the ability to switch context fast, is now a competitive edge. I'm not saying reject mastery. If something makes you come alive, by all means, hone in on it. But be open to building a bridge across many domains. You don't need to fit into one box The world of work won't stop changing. Professionals like you who adapt, connect and evolve will be ready for the uncertainties. It's how you stay useful when the rules change. The more skills you build, the more freedom you earn. Freedom to switch, lead, and secure your career. Stack your skills. You don't need to out-specialize anyone. You just need to be able to connect the dots that matter. And solve problems from multiple angles. A generalist knows how to learn, pivot, and apply knowledge across fields. Get into what excites you Become what psychologist Carl Rogers calls the 'fully functioning person.' Someone open to experience and always evolving. The best generalists are not just jacks-of-all-trades; they're masters of reinvention. Specialists see the trees. Generalists see the forest and the paths between them. You can offer both skills and perspective. That's why companies now prioritize learning ability over fixed expertise. Stay curious. Stay flexible. The future isn't about what you know. It's about how fast you can learn. Like Bruce Lee said, 'Be water, my friend.' That's how generalists win.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Wealth tax for school funding initiative starts signature collection with opposition pouncing
A copy of the petition to be circulated by the Invest in MI Kids Ballot Proposal Coalition. July 31, 2025 | Photo By Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance The constitutional amendment to implement a new tax on wealthy Michiganders is still aiming for the 2026 ballot after facing some initial setbacks and new attacks, with its signature collection driving kicking off on Friday. Members of Invest in MI Kids said it started collecting signatures last week using the 100-word summary that was approved June 27 by the Michigan Board of State Canvassers. That has opened up further complications for the effort, as the board on July 10 walked back the approval for the previous 100-word summary and then deadlocked on a revised summary at their July 31 meeting. Initiative officials said Friday that the effort which resulted in the board deadlocking was just one part of well-funded right-wing attacks against the proposal, which is estimated to generate nearly $1 billion annually. But those attacks keep coming. The Coalition to Stop the Business and Family Tax Hike, an organization opposed to the Invest in MI Kids initiative, issued a cease and desist motion to prevent the group from collecting its signatures. Jase Bolger, CEO of West Michigan Policy Forum and a former Republican Michigan House speaker, said in a statement that the amendment would hurt small businesses – even though the initiative was aimed at the wealthiest Michiganders. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'I applaud the move today by the Coalition to Stop the Business and Family Tax Hike,' Bolger said. 'They filed a cease and desist motion to stop the signature gathering for an unapproved ballot initiative. Because, the proponents of this devastating proposal are using language that is misleading. Voters should not be fooled.' In response, Imani Foster, a spokesperson for the Invest MI Kids initiative, told Michigan Advance that the coalition is focused on the task at hand. 'While we're busy engaging Michiganders, together with our thousands of volunteers, we won't be distracted by meaningless letters from big money Washington lawyers,' Foster said. The group also noted its belief that the board had no authority under Michigan law to rescind its prior approval of the petition summary language. 'The petitions currently being circulated by Invest in MI Kids include a petition summary that the director of elections has deemed compliant with the Michigan Election Law twice and that the Board of Canvassers has approved as compliant once,' Foster added. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
China's iQiyi taps banks for up to $300 million Hong Kong second listing, sources say
HONG KONG (Reuters) -Chinese video streaming platform iQIYI has tapped Bank of America, CICC and JPMorgan to work on its Hong Kong second listing that could raise between $200 million and $300 million, said two people with knowledge of the matter. iQIYI, China's answer to Netflix, plans to file its listing application confidentially in the third quarter, said one of the people, adding a listing, pending regulatory approvals, could happen before the 2026 Lunar New Year which falls in mid-February. The people declined to be named as the information was private. Nasdaq-listed iQIYI, controlled by Chinese internet giant Baidu Inc, declined to comment. Spokespeople for Bank of America and JPMorgan declined to comment. Chinese investment bank CICC (China International Capital Corp) did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sign in to access your portfolio
