Women in Entrepreneurship

Diane Kaldany is the co-founder of The CSG Group. After obtaining her B.A. in Philosophy from Fordham University, Diane embarked on professional self-discovery via the real estate, banking, and insurance sectors as a business development executive. She was compelled to make a difference, joining nonprofit boards; curating art shows; and organizing discussions on a variety of topics, such as economic inequality, women and children’s issues, and education. During her tenure as the U.S. Development Director of a Lebanese NGO, Diane came to understand the challenges of grassroots organizations and the communities they serve.

In 2018, Diane realized that systemic change takes time and commitment and that enterprises have the capital and resources to make an impactful difference, especially through private-public partnerships. To that end, she co-founded The CSG Group with the mission to encourage and help enterprises lead through purpose and values by incorporating more transparent social and sustainable business practices into their operations.

Jackie Iversen is a visionary innovator and seasoned clinical pharmacist with an unrivaled passion for preventative medicine and changing the course of not just inflammation, but history, for good. Ms. Iversen has decades of experience, including world-class training with a specialty for pain management through Memorial Sloan Kettering. She has written provocative papers and been sought after to collaborate at the international scientific level. Ms. Iversen offers the world one of those rare minds that computes complex algorithms into simply stunning insights; her “Eureka!” moment combining two existing small molecules to game-changing synergistic effect is nothing short of extraordinary. Her passion to be a positive force for all of humanity is something that has driven her since her early days pursuing advanced degrees. Married with three children, Ms. Iversen is also an accomplished competitor on the tennis court as much as in the lab.

Kirsten Liegmann has lived and worked at the intersection of business, sustainability, and consciousness, with a particular passion for exploring and developing a new paradigm of how humans can live in alignment and harmony with nature and one another.

As co-founder and CEO of a successful ergonomic chair manufacturing company in the late ‘90s along with her MBA in Sustainable Management, Ms. Liegmann developed the essential skills necessary for designing, running, and growing a successful business venture. She brought those skills to Gaia University, an international university deeply rooted in the permaculture principles and dedicated to the advancement of ecological and social projects worldwide. During her 10-year tenure there, Ms. Liegmann created and implemented systems for every quadrant of the organization, including operations, accounting, finance, business development, regional center development, and student advisory services.

Alongside her late husband, ‘60s luminary and Chicago 7 defendant Rennie Davis, Ms. Liegmann then taught spiritual life mastery courses. They also worked on bringing to life a showcase community that could demonstrate clearly that living in a regenerative, nature-aligned way could be done beautifully and effectively.

In addition to her current leadership coaching business, Ms. Liegmann has co-founded and currently serves as COO for two companies: Oliizoi, a regenerative real estate development company, and the RegenEarth Studio, a nexus organization bringing together the key players necessary to design, develop, and bring to life thriving, regenerative communities.

Lauren E. Graham is Chief of Staff at Hunger Free America; the founder of Velvet Frame, a social impact and communications consultancy; and an adjunct professor teaching a rotation of undergraduate and graduate courses on nonprofit management, leadership in sustainability, and entrepreneurship for Bard College’s MBA in Sustainability. Ms. Graham has held multiple Yale alumni volunteer positions, including as a member of the YAA Board of Governors and the chair of Yale Blue Green, and she is the youngest recipient of the Yale Medal.

Ms. Graham holds a B.A. in International Relations and an M.A. in Sociology from Stanford University, an MEM from Yale School of the Environment, and an M.S. in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice.

Lisa Morales-Hellebo has 28 years in tech, design and systems thinking, entrepreneurship, and community building, and has recently added V.C. to her list of titles as founder and co-managing GP at REFASHIOND Ventures: the Industrial Transformation Fund. She has always been obsessed with how things are made, pioneering mass customization, personalization, and on-demand micromanufacturing for P&G in Silicon Valley in 1999.

Ms. Morales-Hellebo is catalyzing the paradigm shift to localized fashion demand chains as CEO and founder of REFASHIOND OS (rOS), which is orchestrating the digitization of local fashion value chains from fibers to finished goods, delivering sustainability, living wages, and better margins. She is also a founder of the Worldwide Supply Chain Federation, an organization that is changing how supply chain professionals learn about, collaborate, and adopt early-stage supply chain innovation around the world.

A Carnegie Mellon alum, Ms. Morales-Hellebo founded and built the New York Fashion Tech Lab and serves on the board of three other accelerators. She has been featured in numerous publications along with two books and has been the recipient of several awards, including Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine’s Top Woman in Supply Chain 2022; Top 100 Women in Supply Chain 2020, 2021, 2022, & 2023; and WWD’s Most Influential ESG Leaders 2023.

Monica Touesnard is the Executive Director of the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at the Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University. She is responsible for conceptualizing, designing, launching, and championing new programmatic enhancements for the Center as well as managing and cultivating existing ones.

As Executive Director, Monica fills numerous roles, including the execution of the Center’s communications strategy and career coaching, advising current and prospective Cornell students interested in careers at the intersection of business, environmental, and social issues. She also fosters and maintains collaborative relationships domestically and internationally with companies, nonprofits, alumni, entrepreneurs, executives, academic institutions, and others. Monica manages projects with various organizations, including companies and NGOs, focused on enterprise development in low-income communities.

Prior to her current position, Monica was the founding Executive Director for the Center for Sustainable Enterprise at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. She has additional experience in project management, speaking, and consulting, both locally and internationally. Monica is
regularly invited to review social entrepreneurship proposals such as Echoing Green’s Fellowship Program or sustainability grants such as the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future’s Academic Venture Fund.

Monica earned her MBA from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School with focus on Sustainable Enterprise and has a B.A. from McGill University in Canada.

Rene Bonomi pursued his MBA at Cornell University and has a degree in Industrial Engineering from UFSCar in Brazil. He brings years of experience both in business development, for startups as well as corporations, and in financial advisory, structuring M&A and capital-raising transactions. Rene has international business experience working in Latin America, United States, and Europe. His industry expertise includes industrials, renewable energy, healthcare, biotechnology, agriculture, food production, and social and environmental impact.

Rene is passionate about environmental finance and impact investing, venture capital, and startup acceleration. He has a consulting business focused on supporting entrepreneurs, startups, and corporations on financial strategy, business modeling, and business strategy in the fields of social and environmental impact. Rene’s business has a collaboration partnership with The CSG Group to work on these projects globally. He also collaborates with Idea Lunchbox, an U.S. accelerator that internationalizes and expands deep tech startups to the U.S. market.