She4She

Thursday, January 27, 2022 | 4:30 PM

Register for She4She 2022 Here

The event will be hosted virtually with an exclusive in-person viewing party for sponsors.

She4She 2022 Host Committee:

She4She 2022 Speakers:

Speaker: Sheena Collier.

Sheena Collier is a super-connector, convener, and planner with over 15 years of experience in community organizing, partnership building, strategic event planning, and program development. As Founder and CEO of The Collier Connection (TCC), she designs innovative diversity, equity, & inclusion initiatives and events to help companies engage employees, customers, & suppliers of color.

In 2020, Sheena founded Boston While Black (BWB), the first membership network for Boston-based Black professionals, entrepreneurs, and students who are seeking connection and community. Through programs, events, and a digital community, BWB connects Black people who are active in their local neighborhoods, working at the most innovative companies, building the businesses of the future, attending the area’s universities, and shaping the culture of the region. Boston While Black is creating a city where Black people want to live and work because they have the spaces, tools, and relationships to find their tribe, grow their network, navigate the city, and have fun.

Sheena’s previous roles include Director of Economic Opportunity at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Boston Promise Initiative Director at Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, and Senior Associate at Collaborative Communications Group. She is a 2020 recipient of the Harvard Club Boston’s Most Influential Women award; 2020 recipient of YW Boston’s Academy of Women Achievers Sylvia Ferrell-Jones Award; 2018 recipient of the GK25 – Who is Who Millennial Leaders of Color Awards; 2017 and 2018 nominee of the Ad Club’s Rosoff Awards; and a 2016 recipient of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Ten Outstanding Young Leaders Award.

Sheena received her BA from Spelman College and her Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is a proud board member of Jeremiah Program Boston, Union Capital Boston, and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, advisory board member of Boston Harbor Now, an investor in the Boston Ujima Fund, and member of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA).

Speaker: KeyAnna Schmiedl.

KeyAnna Schmiedl is the Global Head of Culture, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at Wayfair. In this role, she has created the global strategy for weaving inclusivity into critical functions across the organization, enabling the organization to hire, inspire, assess, and develop a diverse and engaged workforce.

KeyAnna received the industry’s esteemed Diversity Leader Award granted by the Diversity Journal due to her stand-out work in creating an open, equitable, and inclusive workplace culture. KeyAnna was also featured on Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list and was named a DEI Trailblazer by Business Insider in 2021. Under KeyAnna’s leadership, Wayfair has been named by Forbes as one of “America’s Best Employers for Diversity” and was listed by the Human Rights Campaign as one of the “Best Companies for LGBT Equality” in 2021. Additionally, her stewardship of the culture has led to Wayfair’s debut on Fortune’s list of “The World’s Most Admired Companies” in the People Management category. Since joining Wayfair in 2019, KeyAnna has launched several first-of-its-kind programming, driving impact across organizational design, competency modeling, talent acquisition, safety and wellness, supplier diversity, and learning and development.

KeyAnna is a true systems thinker with an ability to create bridges across the organization that move people-first initiatives from intention-to-impact. Her compassion, coupled with her capacity to influence people programs and operations through a lens of inclusivity, has ignited a major cultural transformation inside of Wayfair’s fast-growing and complex organization.

Prior to joining Wayfair, KeyAnna served as Santander’s Head of Diversity and Inclusion for North America. She began her work in the DEI space as an employee of Harvard University in 2008. KeyAnna holds an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Organizational Learning & Development from Suffolk University, an MBA in Human Resource Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Human Services from Fitchburg State University. KeyAnna resides in the Greater Boston area with her husband, two boys, one dog, and one leopard-spotted gecko.

Speaker: Gamu Madzima.

Gamu Madzima is a Program Manager II at Heading Home, overseeing family congregate shelters and permanent supportive housing programs. A relentless advocate for vulnerable populations, Gamu once found herself in a hopeless situation with her then three-year-old son, an experience that gave her an appreciation and intimate understanding of what clients are going through. She describes her work at Heading Home as her “golden chance.. more than just a job opportunity,” her work is her calling. Gamu leads with empathy and compassion; she uses all that she has overcome to support men, women, and children leaving homelessness behind.

Moderator: Candy O’Terry.

Candy O’Terry is an award-winning broadcaster and podcaster.  Known as Boston’s Beloved Radio Voice, she spent 25 years on the air at Magic 106.7/WMJX.  As the Founder of My Dove Productions, the Candy O Radio Network, and co-founder of Two Dreams Entertainment, Candy’s lens is focused on storytelling.  She is the host of The Story Behind Her Success weekly podcast and radio series, The Speaker Coach podcast, 16 Life Lessons Motivation Monday feature, and the Nashville-based podcast series Country Music Success Stories featuring Jacy Dawn Valeras aka the Music City Mentor.

Chosen by her peers as the 2015 Massachusetts Broadcaster of the Year, Candy is the winner of 52 local and national awards.  Known for her unique ability to turn any interview into an easy conversation, she has interviewed 800 women from every walk of life and counting.

A lifelong singer, Candy’s full-length CD Dream Come True includes songs heard around the world. She’s no stranger to TV and film, having served as the center judge for 7 seasons on the Emmy Award-winning TV talent show Community Auditions, and as an actress in 4 independent feature films including the new movie Misha And the Wolves, debuting on Netflix.

Born in New York City and raised in Connecticut, Candy came to Boston as a 1-meter diving champion for Boston College.  The Co-Founder of Boston Women in Media & Entertainment, she proudly serves on many boards including the Council for Women of Boston College and empowerHER. She is the media ambassador for the March of Dimes/New England and Strong Women, Strong Girls/Boston.

Thank you to our She4She 2022 sponsors!

HOST SPONSOR:

THE GROSS FAMILY

PRESENTING SPONSOR:

ADVOCATING SPONSORS:

Leslie & Dean Cohen

SUPPORTING SPONSORS:

Interested in sponsoring this year’s She4She event? Click here to learn more or contact Sarah Frank at SFrank@headinghomeinc.org.