Woman on the Rise
Find inspiration and make new connections among other DWEN members who scale
It’s your moment to own it.
Meet our women on the rise and discover connections that inspire
DWEN Woman On The Rise
Woman on the Rise is a program highlighting DWEN members and the impact they are making in their communities. Be sure to explore the women who have been featured to read about their entrepreneurial journeys and best advice for navigating the entrepreneurial life.
December 2024
Here's a little bit about Jamilla
Jamila Payne is a dynamic entrepreneur, author of From Payne to Power, and CEO & Founder of Daily Success Routine, a premier coaching platform that helps business owners refine their sales, marketing, and systems to boost profitability and achieve sustainable growth. With a mission to empower women entrepreneurs, Jamila has trained over 15,000 business owners across the U.S. and Africa, helping them scale their businesses, increase profits, and reclaim their time. Her signature Daily Success Routine system, which includes a proven planner and time management process, enables entrepreneurs to balance work and life while driving multi-six-figure success. Through personalized business coaching, Jamila provides the tools to streamline operations, improve productivity, and reach new heights of financial independence.
Here's a little bit about Simone
Simone Buehner is Founder of the UK-based company Barefoot Medicine Ltd which was established in 2007. With 25 years' experience in natural healthcare, she helps parents to improve the physical and mental health of their autistic children, and themselves, using personalized nutrition and lifestyle plans backed by evidence-based functional medicine. She is a Senior Associate in the Royal Society of Medicine and a Member of the Institute for Functional Medicine. She spent 4 years working for her professional body, The British Acupuncture Council as a Professional Development Lead, supporting acupuncturists who were either starting out in their career, or returning after a break. She has delivered Corporate Training to the Leonard Cheshire Charity as well as Wellbeing Workshops for their service-users, and she regularly speaks at National Mental health & Wellbeing shows as well as more specialized events for the Autistic Community.
Here's a little bit about Lori
Lori Vajda, MSW, is a strategic content expert and co-founder of Sticky Brand Lab. Recognizing the challenges faced by busy entrepreneurs in creating engaging content, she developed an audio-first solution-oriented approach that transforms complex ideas into captivating stories. With a background in psychology and a proven track record in the digital marketing space, Lori and her team empower businesses to overcome content creation hurdles and achieve their marketing goals.
Here's a little bit about ElsaMarie
ElsaMarie D’Silva is the Founder of Red Dot Foundation (India) and President of Red Dot Foundation Global (USA). She created the technology platform Safecity, which crowdsources personal experiences of sexual violence and abuse in public and private spaces globally. Since its launch in 2012, Safecity has become the largest crowd map on the issue in India and abroad. ElsaMarie is also the cofounder of the Brave Movement, a coalition to end global childhood sexual abuse and the cofounder of Beyond Black, a social enterprise that leverages art for good.
Here's a little bit about Pamela
Pamela Singh is CEO and Co-founder of CaseCTRL, an Ai platform that streamlines surgery scheduling and coordination for improved efficiency, revenue, and patient care. Pamela started her career as a Systems Engineer & Operations Researcher at General Dynamics AIS in Washington, DC. She is a seasoned technical manager in both the IT and healthcare settings. Together with her husband, Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Ashvin Dewan, Pamela saw first-hand how high-tech surgeries are being coordinated by low-tech and outdated processes, leading to surgery cancellations, patient frustration, staff burnout, and poor operating room utilization. Unsatisfied with current solutions to these problems, Pamela co-founded CaseCTRL. CaseCTRL is successfully integrated with many Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), has scheduled over 45,000 surgeries, and serves practices that subscribe to the vision of a fully autonomous personalized surgical care delivery. Outside of work, Pamela loves dancing and teaching traditional Indian Bhangra and Gidha dances, traveling to learn about new cultures, and spending time with her 4 year-old daughter.
Here's a little bit about Nisha
Meet Nisha Nair, the visionary founder of Yamini Lifestyles, celebrated in 'Magical 40 @ 40' by CAFE. Her journey spans across Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi, overcoming military spouse challenges, birthed two cherished brands: 'Joyera,' adored in 72 defense lifestyle outlets across India soon-to-be seen at 5 international airport terminals in India, and 'Aitihya,' debuting on Jaypore.com and expanding to prestigious outlets like Pernia's Pop-up Shop and Myntra. At Yamini Lifestyles, a world of exquisite Pure Silver & Indian Handcrafted Jewelry is celebrated for its timeless elegance. Their collections, where tradition meets innovation, offer a captivating fusion of artistry and fashion that enchants the discerning eye. Nisha has hands-on eCommerce experience, navigating platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Etsy, and ONDC. She has overcome challenges like warehousing and can offer valuable insights. As a mentor, she guides women entrepreneurs through eCommerce intricacies, making her an invaluable resource for success.
Here's a little bit about Octavia
Octavia Goredema is an award-winning career coach, author and founder who guides professionals to unleash their full potential at work. Octavia is the CEO and founder of Fire Memos, an app that empowers employees to record and recognize their work accomplishments. Fire Memos is a Techstars portfolio company. An acclaimed career expert, Octavia is the author of PREP, PUSH, PIVOT: Essential Career Strategies for Underrepresented Women and the host of the Audible Original series, How to Change Careers with Octavia Goredema. She is based in Los Angeles, California.
Here's a little bit about Teresa
Teresa Ging is CEO & Founder of Sugar Bliss and has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago in Economics and Statistics and a Patisserie Certificate from Le Cordon Bleu. She has also received numerous awards including the NAWBO Corporate Women Achievement, BMO Harris Celebrating Women, and has been invited by President Obama to attend the signing of the White House Council on Women & Girls. She is a Board Member of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Illinois and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce SBDC. Sugar Bliss is a woman minority-owned retail store and baked goods company headquartered in Downtown Chicago. Since 2007, Sugar Bliss has been offering catering services, corporate gifts, and a variety of baked goods including cupcakes, cake pops, French macarons, brownies, cookies, and more. Sugar Bliss also offers gluten-free and vegan baked goods and delivers and ships nationwide and worldwide.
Here's a little bit about Eunice
Eunice Baguma Ball is the Co-founder and Head of Operations at Ishango.ai, a social enterprise that develops AI and data solutions for companies globally whilst creating opportunities for data science talent in Africa. Eunice is a social innovation specialist who has spent the last 15 years working at the intersection of technology, gender and entrepreneurship in the UK and across Africa. Prior to setting up Ishango, she was a programme manager at Google where she helped establish #IamRemarkable, a global initiative aimed at boosting the career progression of women and under-represented groups within the technology sector and beyond. She also founded ATBN, the UK’s first tech community and consultancy connecting the UK and Africa tech ecosystems. At ATBN, she led various entrepreneurship and digital inclusion programmes with funding from Innovate UK, GCRF, Comic Relief and the EU. Eunice is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in tech and the author of Founding Women, a book showcasing the inspiring entrepreneurship journeys of 20 African women in tech. She holds a Masters in Social Innovation from the University of Cambridge, Judge Business School where she currently serves as a Social Innovation Fellow of Practice.
Here's a little bit about Alli
Alli Briaris is Founder of Drinks Kitchen Non-Alcoholic Aperitif. Her mission is to drive the trend for drinking mindfully and consuming alcohol less often so that you can life live with more clarity and energy. With over 27 years of experience across the wine & drinks trade and the uncanny timing of a new Food & Drink Development Centre opening in her town (Foodworks SW), Alli felt destiny had sent her a message. So she set about creating non-alcoholic recipes with complex and interesting tastes. June 2021 saw the launch of her core recipes; Orange Cinchona (bitter & woody), Spiced Rhubarb (fruity & warming) and Herb Verde (Fresh and vibrant). Grapefruit Piqante (Zingy) followed in 2023. The UK non-alcoholic drinks market is set to grow +72% by 2028 and 1 in 4 younger people don’t drink, so the tide is definitely turning. Alli's business has grown +36% YOY and online sales grew +215% during January 2024 and she's only just begun!
Here's a little bit about Anna
Anna Jordan is Co-Founder & CEO at Alchera Technologies, an AI start-up building software and machine learning to power data-driven infrastructure. Focused on sustainable highways & smart cities, Alchera specialises in helping operators of transport networks to be more efficient and productive, using real-world data in real-time. Alchera is working to unlock a future where we can fine tune our mobility infrastructure to adapt and respond to our society's needs, connecting individuals, businesses and communities. Underpinned by years of expertise in working in the mobility sector, Alchera's software and advanced machine learning models save organisations millions of dollars annually in operational efficiencies. With blue chip customers including Europe's busiest highway and partners with major global engineering firms, Alchera's software unlocks data-driven decision making for the transport infrastructure sector in the UK and internationally. Anna has operational experience scaling applied machine learning & AI SMEs in complex industry from Bio & HealthTech to big infrastructure, delivering work with national & local institutions, innovators and local & international businesses. Anna has an MSc in Physics from Imperial College London, and spent time working as a graphene physics PhD researcher in France before co-founding Alchera to tackle global challenges in transport operations.
Be featured as the DWEN Woman On The Rise.
Woman of the Week is a program highlighting DWEN members and the impact they are making in their communities. Be sure to explore the women who have been featured to read about their entrepreneurial journeys her best advice for navigating the entrepreneurial life.