Board of Directors

Alison Hill, President
Managing Director
Prologis

Alison Hill is Managing Director, Strategic Capital for Prologis, a global owner of industrial real estate.  Alison is responsible for the formation, structuring and operations of Prologis’ private capital ventures around the world. She joined AMB Property Corporation (now Prologis) in 1999, and served in a variety of positions, including chief operating officer of AMB Capital Partners, with responsibility for building the private capital business and expanding outside of the United States.  Prior to joining Prologis in 1999, she practiced real estate law at Morrison & Foerster and Lionel Sawyer & Collins within the real estate and commercial transactions groups. Alison holds a J.D., cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Hamilton College.  In her free time, she enjoys hiking, biking, cooking, eating out and travel.

Christine Weiss, Treasurer
Managing Director
HighMark Capital

Chris is a Managing Director at HighMark Capital, an investment management firm serving institutional and individual investors. She oversees Manager Research and Marketing functions, is a member of HighMark’s Investment Policy Committee and Manager Review Committee, and serves as project manager on a variety of firm-wide initiatives. Prior to joining HighMark in 2003, Chris held various management roles at GT Global and GT Capital Management. Chris also serves as Chair of the San Carlos Education Foundation Endowment Committee. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and three teenage daughters.Chris holds a BA in Economics from UC Santa Barbara, and an MBA in Management from Golden Gate University.

Laura Mallers, Secretary
Senior Manager, Audit & Assurance
Deloitte

Laura is part of Deloitte's Bay Area Audit & Assurance practice. She specializes in serving clients in the consumer industry, and is a fellow in Deloitte’s national and cross-functional Retail & Distribution Fellowship program. She previously worked for Deloitte in Minneapolis and is a Certified Public Accountant. Laura received a Bachelor of Arts from Luther College, where she majored in Accounting and Economics and minored in Spanish. Laura grew up in Minnesota and moved to San Francisco in 2014 with her husband and their dog, Ruby. In her free time, she likes to cook, travel, hike, paddle, practice yoga, and volunteer. 
 

Michelle Sioson Hyman: VP, External
Senior Officer
Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Michelle Sioson Hyman is Senior Officer at Silicon Valley Community Foundation’s Center for Early Learning. This position manages a number of high profile regional strategies, research, convenings, and operations focused on improving the lives of young children and their families throughout Silicon Valley and the rest of the State. Michelle has experience in strategic planning, program development, event planning and community building in the areas of early childhood development, education and public health.

Michelle has a master’s in public health from Yale University. She is also a certified yoga instructor and birth support doula. Michelle enjoys rock climbing, hiking and is on a quest to find the best bakery ever. She lives in San Mateo with her husband, Joel, and their two children, Cecelia and Elisha.

Kathy Anderson
Charles Schwab & Co. - Retired

Kathy served as Senior Vice President at Charles Schwab & Co. and led Core Technology Solutions (CTS) which provides the data and support applications for all core Schwab functions and customer-facing channels.

Keely Anson
Chief of Staff
Incite.org

Keely’s passion lies in helping people become the best versions of themselves. Whether it’s helping empower an entrepreneur early in their career or making sense of the chaos that involves running a rapidly scaling start-up; she’s learned that a holistic approach to leadership and management is often most effective.

Keely started her career as a health and wellness coach in Southern California after graduating from UCLA. She moved to the bay area to work with some of the most illuminating minds and legacy investors at Kleiner Perkins. After spending time at the health-care technology company, Collective Health, she’s now the Chief of Staff at Incite.org, leading the investment process across Ventures and Labs. Keely is an avid cyclist, long-distance runner and proud owner of a terrier mix, Jasper.

Annie Claybaugh
Operations Manager and Sponsorship Coordinator
Beneficial State Bank

Dana Kern
Associate Account Director
Bleu Marketing Solutions

Wendy Lin
Head of Development Sciences
AbbVie Stemcentrx

Wendy is the Head of Development Sciences at AbbVie Stemcentrx, a biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology research.  As a member of the executive leadership team, Wendy oversees the strategic and operational direction of a major arm of the Stemcentrx business and manages a large team of process development scientists, manufacturing engineers, quality analysts and regulatory affairs specialists. Wendy attended the University of California, Berkeley where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics.  

Wendy is a lover of all things related to sports and the outdoors -- from mushing (dog sledding) in Minnesota to training as a youth world competitive swimmer.  In college, she fell in love with climbing, and she has been bouldering and big wall climbing ever since.  She is a 5.10 sponsored athlete and although she isn't climbing as frequently these days, she is heavily involved with the climbing community and sets climbing routes.  These experiences were instrumental in teaching her teamwork, healthy competition, goal setting and overcoming challenges. Wendy is grateful for this exposure as a young woman and is dedicated to helping others access these experiences through Girl Ventures.

Gina McFarland
Vice President, Portfolio Controller
Shorenstein Properties

Gina is a VP, Portfolio Controller at Shorenstein Properties, where she oversees the financial accounting and reporting for several private investment funds, real estate investments, and joint ventures. Prior to joining Shorenstein, Gina was a Portfolio Controller at Equity One, Inc and prior to that an Audit Manager at Deloitte & Touche, LLP. She attended the University of San Diego, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Accountancy degree.

Gina grew up in the Bay Area participating in multiple team sports and continued this involvement by coaching young girls and contributing to many sport camps. She went on to play Division I softball in college. Gina feels very strongly that the teamwork and leadership skills that sports taught her continue to serve her in the business world. These same invaluable skills are the foundation of GirlVentures’ mission. She is excited to contribute to helping more girls develop their strengths and their confidence. Gina’s hobbies include sports, travel, and trying the wonderful restaurants in and around San Francisco.

Rachel Miller-Garcia
Vice President, Business Development

SolomonEdwards

Mandy Mooney
Senior Director, Marketing Communications
Lithium Technologies

Originally a Midwesterner, Mandy now lives in the Bay Area with her daughter and husband. She leads marketing communications at Lithium Technologies and previously held several marketing and communications roles at Gap Inc. In 2013, she co-founded GapWIL, Gap Inc.’s women in leadership employee resource group, with the mission to help women achieve their full career potential. As a member of the GirlVentures Board of Directors, Mandy hopes to accelerate possibilities for girls so they know their limitless potential. In her free time, Mandy loves to travel, dance, and explore the great outdoors.

Greg Ruppert
Senior Vice President, Financial Crimes Risk Management Department
Charles Schwab Corporation

Greg leads the Financial Crimes Risk Management Department for Charles Schwab Corporation, where he oversees the firm’s investigative, anti-money laundering, and anti-fraud efforts. Prior to joining Schwab in 2014, Greg spent nearly 18 years as a special agent in the FBI serving in Boston, Washington D.C., The Hague, and Berlin. Greg has a Bachelor of Arts in International Affair and Commerce from the University of the Pacific and a J.D from McGeorge School of Law.  Greg is also a Professor of Practice for Pacific’s School of Engineering and Computer Sciences, and is a member of the California Bar.

As a California native, Greg was excited to return to NorCal and brought with him his wife and two daughters.  As a family, they love to ski in the winter and enjoy a variety of paddle sports, hiking, and fly fishing in the summer. 

Alice Shen
Vice President
Bay Grove

Alice is a Vice President at Bay Grove Capital and is active in the firm’s investment activities and portfolio company oversight. She joined Bay Grove from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (“KKR”) where she was a member of its Energy & Infrastructure private equity group. Prior to KKR, Alice started her career at Morgan Stanley in its New York investment banking division covering consumer retail companies.

Alice holds a B.S Economics from the Wharton School of Business and a B.A. Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in San Francisco and enjoys skiing, tennis and Wes Anderson films.