Alexandra Siclait selected for the 2025 Women inPower Fellowship

NEW YORK – January 27, 2025 – 92nd Street Y, New York’s Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact has announced the 2025 Class of Women inPower, a fellowship program aimed at advancing women+ to the highest levels of leadership across all sectors. The new cohort consists of Fellows selected from a competitive pool of hundreds of applicants. This year’s Fellows include leaders from a wide variety of backgrounds and professions, including education, government, law, technology, finance, international affairs, philanthropy, nonprofits, arts, business, healthcare, and media.

This program provides women+ leaders with professional development, executive mentorship, and participation in an active community of leaders. The program encourages Fellows to think ambitiously about not only their career path and success, but also creating a healthier and more egalitarian society for all.

As Women inPower celebrates its 10th anniversary, the program marks a decade of empowering women+ leaders across industries to advance to the highest levels of their careers. Since its inception, WiP has supported over 210 Fellows through executive mentorship, professional development workshops, and a thriving peer network.

This year, the program expands its impact with the launch of the Neurodivergent Leaders Cohort, a groundbreaking initiative designed to support neurodivergent women+ leaders in overcoming unique challenges and leveraging their strengths. This new cohort builds on WiP’s proven model while deepening its commitment to inclusivity and innovation in leadership development.

Fellows are mentored by a group of leaders that include: Komal Bajaj, Chief Quality Officer, NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi/NCB; Raoul Bhavnani, Chief Communications Officer, Betterment; Tim Maleeny, Chief Strategy & Integration Officer, Quad; Ursula Wynhoven, Director and Representative to the UN, ITU; Elizabeth Leber, Managing Partner, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects; Kathy Wu Brady, Founder & Principal, KWB Studios, LLC; Jennefer Witter, CEO/Founder, The Boreland Group Inc; Tatyana Kleyman, General Counsel, Brightcore Energy.

“As we celebrate a decade of Women inPower, we are thrilled to welcome the extraordinary class of 2025 Fellows,” said Rebekah Shrestha, Senior Vice President & Executive Director of the Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact. “This milestone year reaffirms our commitment to championing women+ leaders who are transforming their industries, creating lasting social impact, and redefining leadership for the next generation. We are especially proud to be launching the first-of-its-kind Neurodivergent Leaders Cohort, which uplifts and celebrates the contributions of women+ leaders who learn and think differently. We are honored to support this year’s Fellows on their journeys to breaking down barriers and achieving unparalleled professional success.”

The 2025 Women inPower Fellows are:

• Jeanie Ahn, Career & Money Coach/Journalist, Pen to Paper Productions

• Vishney Ambalavanar, Senior Investigator, U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration

• Melanie Ash, Deputy Chief, Affirmative Litigation Division, New York City Law Department

• Sasha Bartashnik, Head of Data & AI, Vendelux

• Christina Bogie-Claxton, MPA, Director of Finance, Montefiore Medical Center

• Jennifer Bohn, Assistant Director of RockEDU Science Outreach, The Rockefeller University

• Mary Kate Boughton, Director, Digital Strategy, Carnegie Corporation of New York

• Paris Bradley, Managing Director, Teneo

• Noëlle Byer, Head of Transfer Department, Reel to Reel Haven

• Miguelina Camilo, Counsel to Speaker, New York State Assembly

• Paula Caquias, Strategic Projects Manager, Mayor's Community Affairs Unit

• Maria Chepurina, Programme Officer, United Nations

• Filippa Christofalou, Founder and Lead Educator, Museum Education & Public Engagement, The Drama Science Lab

• Aura Cifuentes, Head, Latin America and the Caribbean, Co-Develop

• Rose Crichton-White, Director of Marketing, Development & Special Events, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music

• Deborah Elson, Managing Director, Argot Partners

• Elizabeth English-Blanco, Vice President of Equity Capital Markets Operations and ECM Team COO, Madison International Realty

• Marry Ferreira, Senior Manager, Communications and Global Accountability, Global Fund for Women

• Sarah Gastelum, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Mayor, Office of the Mayor, City of New York

• Erin Gehant, Senior Advisor to the Deputy Chancellor for Operations and Finance, NYC Public Schools

• Rumsha Hada, Marketing Growth Analyst, Meta

• Pamela Hower, Director of Marketing and Communications, El Museo del Barrio

• Dana Huber, Director, Programs and Strategic Learning at the New York Women's Foundation, The New York Women's Foundation

• Mariya Ilyas, U.S. Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State

• Tobi Jaiyesimi, Vice President, Real Estate, Kasirer

• Justine Jones-Smith, Special Education Teacher/Special Education Department Co-Chair/IEP Coordinator, Harvest Collegiate High School - New York City Department of Education

• Krista Kaszycki, Director of Operations, AlphaRidge

• Kritika Kharbanda, Head of Sustainability, Henning Larsen

• Alexandra Krueger, Director of Museum Administration, The New York Historical Society

• Valerie Leon, Executive Director, Mitchell-Lama Portfolio, NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD)

• Jenni Majumdar, Assistant Professor Assistant Specialty Director, Nurse Anesthesia Adult Gerontology Acute Care DNP Program, Hunter College, City University of New York

• Maia Molina-Schaefer, Leadership Fellow, Amplify Her

• Katy Nelson, Deputy Director of Development, The Century Foundation

• Megan O'Toole, Deputy Director of Research, Everytown for Gun Safety

• Kyndall Osibodu, Director, Organizational Health, Operations, + Learning, Grantmakers for Girls of Color

• Tracy Powell-Rudy, Vice President Corporate Engagement, Integrate Advisors

• Rona Ramjas, Storyteller, Artist

• Jilliene Rodriguez, Managing Member & Associate Dean for Diversity and Community Engagement, Abintus LLC & School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University

• Edda Santiago, SVP, Deputy General Counsel, Covenant House International

• Molly Schaeffer, Director, Mayors Office of Asylum Seeker Operations, City of New York

• Rebecca Scott, Director of Programs, FASPE (Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics)

• Alexandra Siclait, Director of Fiscal Sponsorship, Proteus Fund

• Millie Symns, Data Strategy and Analytics Consultant, Illoominus

• Alethia Wong, Social enterprise consultant and advisor, Independent

For more information, visit www.WomeninPower.org.

About 92nd Street Y, New York

92NY is a center for the arts and innovation, a convener of ideas, and an incubator for creativity. Founded in 1874, it seeks to create, provide, and disseminate programs of distinction that foster the physical and mental growth of people throughout their lives. 92Y offers thousands of programs from its New York headquarters and creates a community far beyond its four walls, bringing people from all over the world together through innovations like the award-winning GivingTuesday and the Social Good Summit. It’s transforming the way people share ideas and translate them into action all over the world. All of 92Y’s programming is built on a foundation of Jewish values, including the capacity of civil dialogue to change minds; the potential of education and the arts to change lives; and a commitment to welcoming and serving people of all ages, races, religions, and ethnicities. For more information, visit www.92NY.org.

Press Release linked here.

Strengthening the Creative Economy Through Infrastructure, Not Just Capital

In my role as a mentor and topic advisor for the Wyoming Innovation Partnership’s Investing in Wyoming’s Creative Economy program, I worked with a cohort of artists and creative entrepreneurs to secure $25,000 in funding to develop ventures in film, literature, design, and community-based creative practices. In this capacity, I supported participants in translating creative practice into sustainable organizational and business models, advising on fundraising strategy, audience development, pitch refinement, and early-stage venture design.

Across this work, I supported artists including:

• Sophie Barksdale, SB Productions: A Lander-based film production company from Emmy-nominated Barksdale, sharing fiction and nonfiction stories from remote and rural America using local talent. The company serves statewide.

• Bruce Cook, Creative Visionaries: Based in Fort Washakie, Creative Visionaries plans to partner with the Creative Nations Indigenous Artists Collective and the Dairy Arts Center to support emerging Native American artists in advancing their careers and achieving their goals of becoming established creative professionals.            

• Reilly Dibner, Ecosystem Films: Based in Laramie, Ecosystem Films distills the highest-quality science into engaging, educational, and accessible films rooted in data, serving statewide.

• Francesca King, Footnote Literary Consultancy: Based in Laramie, the consultancy aims to elevate Wyoming’s statewide literary community through manuscript services, workshops, and networking, bridging gaps in resources and recognition for local writers.   

• Anne Mason, Anne C. Mason Creative Consultant: Based in Laramie, Mason mentors organizations statewide on improved practices in business and theater operation, applying cross-sector skills to strengthen empathy, efficiency, and impact.        

• Carrie McCarthy, Burning Torch Productions: A Rock Springs-based independent documentary production company focused on telling and sharing the stories of Wyoming statewide.

• Korrine Ryan, Chandlar and Co. LLC: Based in Thermopolis, an art-focused community space where people of all ages and backgrounds can take art classes and connect over creativity.

What emerged through this work was a gap in supportive infrastructures.

Artists and creative entrepreneurs are consistently developing sophisticated, high-impact ideas, but often within systems not designed to support the transition from creative practice to sustainable enterprise. In many cases, the constraint is the lack of aligned operational, financial, and strategic scaffolding.

Within this context, mentorship is about systems translation, helping creatives navigate the structures required to sustain and scale their work.

This experience reinforced a broader pattern I continue to see across my work in philanthropy and fiscal sponsorship: strengthening the creative economy requires more than capital deployment. It requires aligned support systems, accessible strategic expertise, and intentional design of the intermediaries that sit between creative practice and sustainable organizational infrastructure.

Increasingly, I am interested in how these intermediary systems, whether philanthropic, public, or hybrid, can be designed to better support creative practitioners not only as artists, but also as builders of sustainable ventures and contributors to broader economic and cultural ecosystems.

About the Program
Investing in Wyoming’s Creative Economy is a state-funded program through Wyoming Innovation Partnership (WIP) aimed at supporting artists and creatives in building a sustainable art practice, starting an arts-related nonprofit, or building an arts-related business. The initiative is led by the Neltje Center staff, along with UW colleagues, consultants, and mentors. During Phase II of the WIP Initiative (July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024), a total of 100 Wyoming-based artists and creatives in any field were invited to apply to participate in:

• Workshops: Skills and community-building workshops focused on reaching personal and professional goals.

• Mentors: Mentorship from experts in diverse creative fields and start-up businesses.

• Resources: Access to resources necessary to sustain a creative life.

• Funding: The opportunity to compete for up to $25,000 towards an arts-focused business start-up, nonprofit initiative, or arts-related enterprise.

Plans for Phase III of the WIP Initiative will be announced by the Governor's Office in summer 2024. Read the full announcement here. 

Meet Alexandra Rachelle Siclait—Bold Journey Magazine

Proteus Fund Welcomes New Director of Fiscal Sponsorship

New Board Member Joins Pollen Midwest

Pollen couldn’t be more excited to welcome a new member to our Board of Directors: Alexandra Siclait—a longtime Pollenite and community leader. As a Pollen board member, Alexandra will help Pollen be a catalyst for the change we are working toward in our communities. She knows that imaginative thinking demands that we seek and commit to truths beyond what is and look to what could be. That imagination is critical to our creativity and belief in a better future. Moreover, imagination drives our efforts to decenter dominant systems of power.

Alexandra Siclait

“The stories we tell ourselves and others impact our humanity. I value how Pollen Midwest harnesses the power of our stories for narrative change, building toward a more humane, free, just, and loving society. On a very personal level, I am thrilled to collaboratively govern an organization for which I know the team first-hand. I strongly believe I cannot be an effective board member from a distance. So personally knowing the team I am advocating for will make all the difference, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

What is Large-Scale Change?

Written by Alexandra Siclait for the Leadership Programs at the Bush Foundation

If you have looked at the Bush Fellowship application questions, you may have seen the words large-scale change. But what do those words mean in terms of the Bush Fellowship?

The Bush Fellowship invests in your leadership development based on your leadership track record and vision for transformational change in your community. If you become a Fellow, we are investing in you because you think of making vast changes in your community and have partnered with people to identify problems. You are considering extensive shifts in systems, processes, or patterns of outcomes.

When it comes to the application questions about large-scale change, many applicants identify the need for change, talk about raising awareness of an issue or focus on a single solution to a problem. Yet, large-scale change requires you to think bigger, beyond the existing situation. The large-scale change consists of transformational actions to bring about more desirable outcomes in your community.

It is the difference between:

• Working within the system -or- working to remodel the system.

• Relying on known patterns to solve challenges -or- reimagining new frameworks.

• Simply tweaking current structures and mental models -or- redesigning ways of thinking and behavior patterns.

We are looking for aspiring Bush Fellows who continuously push their vision to have a huge impact; whose large-scale vision includes building inclusive, anti-racist systems regardless of the issue; and who are thinking big about how their vision will actively engage and activate their community to make change happen. Applied well, this can sustainably change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors.

As you think about your vision for large-scale change, ask yourself:

• Does your vision affect a whole or a portion of a system?

• Does your vision create a mental, behavioral or paradigm shift in you or others?

• Does your vision impact many people or just a few?

• Does your vision inclusively reflect your community’s needs and wants?

• Does your vision include multiple stakeholders across systems and commitments from community members to act?

As you reflect on these questions, your potential, and your vision of change for yourself and your community, think about how you will need to grow to influence the large-scale change you hope to make. Then, develop your Fellowship plan to help you build the leadership skills, experiences, and connections you need to build your vision with the community. I hope you consider applying for the Bush Fellowship!

What is a Strong Track Record?

Written by Alexandra Siclait for the Leadership Programs at the Bush Foundation

I will never forget it. Looking me square in the eyes, visionary artist and choreographer Liz Lerman said to me,

"Resist the urge to give counsel because multiple truths exist. Questions are the product — investigative inquiry."

Her simple yet powerful words moved me. Liz is right. Questions do open the mind to think bigger and differently.

As a Bush Fellow, you must be grounded in why you show up to lead and get comfortable interrogating your values, identity, culture, and experiences, all of which profoundly and perpetually shape your vision. Bush Fellows ask questions to spark curiosity, which in turn sparks ideas, which then spark innovation. Without deep introspection, they risk relying on old, broken patterns to solve problems, risk working within broken systems instead of working to change them, and potentially miss the opportunity to maximize their leadership capacity. 

In my role leading the Bush Fellowship applicant experience, I am often asked: What is a strong track record? When it comes to track record, many applicants talk about their record of success in terms of the positions, titles, or awards they have earned. Yet, a strong track record is not just a list of degrees and accolades. 

Rather, we are looking for aspiring Bush Fellows who continuously push themselves to broaden their perspectives and increase their effectiveness inside and outside their paid work. We are looking for applicants who demonstrate commitment to building the skills to bridge cultural differences and work inclusively with people of different backgrounds. And we are looking for Bush Fellows who are thinking big about how their leadership could influence change in others, with the potential for ripple effects and impact across their communities and the whole region. This can be challenging, so we ask applicants to illustrate their resilience and ability to learn in adversity. 

As you think about applying, ask yourself:

• How do your culture and experiences impact your vision and the way you do your work? 

• What does leading inclusively mean to you? 

• How could your leadership growth impact your community, state, or region? 

• And how do you take care of yourself to ensure you can persevere through setbacks and challenges? 

If these questions ignite your curiosity, and you are interested in growing as a leader to solve problems in our region more creatively, I hope you will consider applying for the Bush Fellowship!

A Celebration of Geoffrey Holder’s Life & Legacy

Written by Alexandra Siclait for Lonnie G. Bunch at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture

“I create for that innocent little boy in the balcony who has come to the theatre for the first time,” Geoffrey Holder told Dance magazine in 2010. “He wants to see magic, so I want to give him magic. He sees things that his father couldn’t see.”  

When I think of Geoffrey Holder, a Trini dancer, choreographer, actor, composer, designer, sculptor, and painter, I cannot help but think how this native of Trinidad and Tobago created magic in the African American experience. But unfortunately, this past Sunday, we lost Geoffrey to complications from pneumonia. He was 84. 

New York was poised to mark his passing by dimming the lights on Broadway for one minute. By anyone’s standards, he had a full life and commanded attention on any stage he owned. There was no missing him. He did not just master different mediums; he refined them, infusing them with his broad range of West Indian enchantment. And as a Renaissance man involved in all facets of artistic production, he loved to share that enchantment onstage with none other than his wife of 59 years, Carmen De Lavallade. Together, they made a statement to capture cultural traditions and produce a multi-sensory experience.

A versatile man, indeed, in the course of his life, he acted on stage and in films. He directed a dance troupe from his native island on Broadway and the Metropolitan Opera. He choreographed for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. In 1975, he won Tony Awards for directing action and designing the costumes for the Broadway sensation, “The Wiz,” an all-black version of “The Wizard of Oz” starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.

I recall spending several days with Mr. Holder, him walking me through his fantastic home that was rich with history and culture. We spent hours examining his creativity. Later, he donated costumes from “The Wiz” to this museum. We are proud to be able to share them as a critical part of our Black Fashion Museum collection. Several of his costumes will be on view in the museum’s inaugural exhibition exploring contemporary artists whose work transformed the representation of African American culture in the theater.

We are grateful his career was recognized during his lifetime and even more thankful for his contributions to the African American cultural tapestry. Who can forget the characters Baron Samedi in “Live and Let Die,” Punjab in “Annie,” or the voice of Ray in “Bear in the Big Blue House?” As a multi-faceted artist where Caribbean folklore often guided his work and talents, he activated my consciousness with his dance classics – “ Prodigal Prince” (1971), “Dougla” (1974), and “Timbuktu!” (1978).

Geoffrey Holder’s work embodied his inherent multilayered identity. He knew how to grab disparate elements and bring them together. He knew the importance of creativity and individuality. He knew how to manifest all aspects of our African diaspora identity for the world. “He was at the heart of the African diaspora traditions,” says Dwandalyn R. Reece, music and performing arts curator for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). His story became our story. His multicultural journey became this nation’s journey.”

I will never forget the enormity of his talent and the generosity of his spirit. With his hearty laugh and that heavily accented, lower-than-low bass voice, we will always hear him saying, “absolutely marvelous.” And marvelous he was.

Thinking Beyond the Boundaries of Labels

Written by Alexandra Siclait for the Janklow Arts Leadership Program at Syracuse University

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — There is no denying it. He is evocative, engaging, and delightfully charming. But perhaps most captivating is his infectious smile that is so disarming. Talk to him for five minutes or talk to him for an hour; regardless, Mark Nerenhausen will leave a considerable impression on the most cynical. Few leaders can truly match Mark's achievements. His accomplishments are not in scholarly publications like Congress Considered or the Journal of Conflict Resolution. However, the underpinning drives of his life's accomplishments are all around us: art and culture. 

Mark has made impressive strides in performing arts, coalition building, cultural leadership, and cross-cultural exchanges. Having enjoyed success in his career, it is sometimes hard to believe that Mark did not always consider art a profession. "I thought a career in the arts meant you were a performer. It wasn't until I got to college that I set foot in a real theatre. I never even thought people had careers doing that," he said. If all of this makes him sound intimidating, it should not. Mark has a passion for creativity, and with that passion comes his story. Where most executives of his credentials exude an egocentric attitude, Mark's demeanor is much more humble than pompous, laid back in a button-up shirt, pants, and glasses.

He acknowledges his accomplishments but aspires to achieve so much more. He has had a genuine interest in the arts, economic development, and cultural diplomacy. Raised in a small community in Washington Island, Wis., Mark cannot recall his life without art. "Art was something that was all around me," he said. Mark earned a master's degree in Arts Administration from the University of Wisconsin Graduate School of Business in Madison, Wis, and will be the first to say he got involved in art for more of the social side than the art side. "I never looked at [art] as a burning desire to present art but rather had a platform to bring people together, and art was a critical vehicle in that," he said. 

Mark developed a nonconformist relationship with art during his childhood and later adulthood. As anyone will hear him say, there is art with a capital "A" and a lowercase "a." And as he and a former colleague see it, art with a lowercase "a" is that essential component of culture, which lends itself among us, absent of the symphony and orchestra seasons or the art we study on walls made by the heroic artists. Simply put, art is all around us, and we always participate in art. "It [is not] this idea that art is somehow separate and apart from us. So art with the small "a" is the idea that art is one of those things that define us, and you don't have to go to the art museum. We live it and breathe it. It's getting people to recognize that it's a continuum, not an either-or situation," he said. 

Coupled with his relationship with art is Mark's command of wide-ranging nuances in cultural planning to connect community and commerce, corporations, government, private developers, cultural organizations, and public agencies. Few do it well, and even fewer elevate the arts for public benefit in economic development, cultural tourism, real estate development, and education. Mark excels at it. As president and CEO of AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas, he helped raise more than $4 million.

Under his leadership, Broward Center for Performing Arts gained a more prominent cultural presence as one of the top venues in the world, according to trade publication surveys. Additionally, he has received countless awards. With such a tremendous professional breadth, one cannot avoid asking the pivotal question: If art matters, why does it not receive more support? He recognizes his peers' shortfalls. "Arts administrators do a poor job connecting art to people's values," he said. But when Mark sees a weakness, he strives to think beyond the set boundaries and labels to meet the challenges and ultimately find a solution. "The challenge is to create a different perspective among arts organizations, being able to define the appropriate metrics and create the mechanism where the diplomatic interests can effectively work with the arts," he said.  

Perhaps joining the faculty of the Syracuse University (SU) Arts Leadership Graduate Program (ALP) is Mark's silent mission to train and mentor the next art leaders to break those boundaries and labels. Early this year, SU announced the launch of ALP. Mark joined ALP as the founding director and professor of practice. This past fall, the inaugural class began its first series of interdisciplinary courses. Mark is not the only one who is excited about joining SU.

In talking about him as a professor, SU student Caitlin Moriarty described him as "exuberant, innovative, and entrepreneurial. He always seems to have a great perspective and makes you think differently. He has influenced me to think deeper and differently about what the arts mean to the world." 

Just mention ALP for a second, and one will begin to hear the excitement in Mark's voice. Then, ask him what makes ALP different from an Arts Management program, and he will tell you. "When discussing scholarship in action, we don't live in isolation. We have the obligation and the opportunity to engage our community. I'm coming at it from the perspective of leadership versus management. It's about vision and looking at the big picture, not just being the one who dots the i's and crosses the t's. The arts can be in the larger community's vision. It draws on the strengths of Newhouse, Whitman, and Maxwell to give the students a broad perspective of what arts leadership is all about," he said.