The CLUB Silicon Valley is excited to announce that five of the CLUB's members have been named 2018 Silicon Valley Women of Influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. The five awardees are Nolwenn Godard, Nancy Poon Lue, Sherry Hashimoto Main, Laraine McKinnon, and Mansi Shah.
"We’re delighted to see our members recognized by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. The CLUB is a community of diverse women leaders who lend their amazing talents to an array of top Silicon Valley organizations." says Laraine McKinnon, President of the CLUB and founder of strategic consulting firm LMC17.
Godard, Lue, Main and Shah are alumnae of the CLUB’s Incubator program, an annual advocacy program for women who have developed their expertise and want to boost both their career and personal potential. The Incubator program, founded and run by McKinnon, attracts a diverse cohort of women, as exemplified by Godard, Lue, Main and Shah who represent PayPal, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the University of California, and leading law firm Merchant & Gould.
Nolwenn Godard, is a Director at PayPal. She has fueled PayPal’s growth with sophisticated pricing technology, and is also recognized for shaping PayPal’s culture of inclusion. When PayPal spun out of eBay to become an independent company in 2015, Nolwenn saw the unique opportunity to promote inclusion as the firm moved into its next phase of growth: she created Unity, the women’s community at PayPal, and grew it to 1,800 people globally. Nolwenn serves as Director of West Coast Operations of the Women’s Initiative Foundation, an organization that helps Bay Area women leaders and entrepreneurs scale their careers and businesses while reinforcing the French-American ties in the community. Nolwenn is a subject matter expert on scaling products & platforms, and on creating inclusive cultures, who has been interviewed/quoted in publications such as CIO Magazine and HR.com and is a sought-after speaker on pricing in the digital age.
Nancy Poon Lue is a dynamo at the intersection of venture and education. She blends experience with public policy in the Obama administration, non-profit engagement with Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and a venture capital background (GSV) to bring a unique perspective to the future of education. Nancy also deepens her impact in her community through extensive service on the boards of six Silicon Valley based organizations that expands opportunities for low-income students, women, and underrepresented entrepreneurs.
Nancy is currently co-leading a collaborative effort between the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to explore new advanced education research and development programs aimed to tackle the most persistent problems in education the way DARPA did for the defense industry and GoogleX is doing in the private sector.
Sherry Hashimoto Main is a tireless communicator and creative force behind student success and groundbreaking research stories at the University of California, Santa Cruz. As the Chief Communications and Marketing Officer and Assistant Vice Chancellor, Sherry is deeply committed to improving the “pipeline problem” through transforming the narrative and experience in higher education. She develops strategies to support student success, research excellence, and community partnerships through creative means – with particular focus on supporting first-generation students, underserved communities, and non-traditional college students. Sherry is a trusted advisor on issues and crisis communications.
Sherry is currently serving on the University of California Board of Regents, where she represents more than 140,000 non-academic employee staff at the UC’s 10 campuses, five medical centers and hospitals, and three national laboratories. Her work on the UC Board of Regents includes advocacy efforts in support of career development, childcare and dependent care, and employee wellness. She also serves on the CLUB board of directors.
Laraine McKinnon is CEO of LMC17, a consulting firm that brings a strategic mix of behavioral science, big data and practical implementation to corporate America’s hard-to-solve problems. Laraine focuses on three pillars: retirement readiness, diversity and inclusion and advocacy for underrepresented talent. She’s a former Managing Director at BlackRock and a recognized thought leader on the 401(k), a diversity and inclusion strategist for culture tech platform Emtrain, and managing director of the CLUB Incubator, a year long talent advocacy program for women leaders.
Laraine is an Advisor to Betterment for Business, Emtrain and WomenCollegeTech, an ambassador for Innovation Women and President of The CLUB Silicon Valley.
Mansi Shah, a founding partner at Merchant and Gould’s Silicon Valley office, is a trailblazer for women of color in the legal profession and among the technology companies she represents. Mansi is a Fellow to the American Bar Foundation, a Fellow to the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, and a recipient of the Cornerstone Award from South Asian Bar Association of North America (SABA). In 2016, she was named Best Under 40 by NAPABA, and in 2015, made the Lawyers of Color Power List.
Mansi has never wavered in giving back to the community and has represented a diverse group of pro bono clients. She is a Board Member of the Ecumenical Hunger Program in East Palo Alto, chair of the National Advisory Council for SABA, an active leader in Lawyers for Good Government, and a Board of Trustees member for Young Jains of America.
"These awards demonstrate not only the talent and influence of the amazing women in the CLUB, but also the impact of Laraine McKinnon’s leadership of the CLUB, and her development of a signature CLUB program, the Incubator,” says Annie Rogaski, VP & General Counsel of Avegant, founder of The CLUB and CLUB advisory board member. “When we launched the CLUB five years ago, it was precisely women like Nolwenn, Nancy, Sherry, Laraine, and Mansi that we hoped to bring into our community — women whose influence extends beyond their companies into the broader communities, inspiring other women to broaden their impact."
Past CLUB members who have received the Women of Influence award include Anuradha Gali (Uber), Alice Katwan (Genesys), Mindy Morton (Procopio), Erin Rand (ServiceRocket), Annie Rogaski (Avegant), and Leedjia Svec (US Navy).
About The CLUB Silicon Valley
Founded in 2012, The CLUB is a diverse community of inspiring, professional women helping each other accelerate their leadership journeys. Our community is hundreds strong and made of professionals who are leaders in their industries – tech, finance, engineering, marketing, legal, rocket science and beyond. We connect women with one another in order to provide them with critical, multi-disciplinary peer groups and mentorship opportunities that strengthen their careers and keep them at the top of their game.
