The SHE Suite
Cristina Schaffer
Cristina Schaffer has worked in sales, training and marketing strategy for over 30 years. Her interests in working to help empower women grew while raising her daughter. “I wanted my daughter to think critically, feel empowered and speak with strength, and I realized, the best way to do that was to be the best role model I could be!”
Cristina is finishing her graduate work in Leadership Studies at USD and is working with The Center for Women’s Leadership (CWL) and the Conscious Leadership Academy (CLA) to ignited passion and purpose in others. “We are never done. Conscious leadership is about being mindful about our own strengths and weaknesses and facing the world every day with a fierce curiosity and the willingness to grow.”
Dr. Lorri Sulpizio
Dr. Lorri Sulpizio is the Director of the Conscious Leadership Academy at the University of San Diego, and the founder of the Center for Women’s Leadership at USD. Dr. Sulpizio’s leadership interests include 1) gender dynamics, specifically women, voice, and power; 2) application of group relations theory to the practice of leadership and building effective teams; 3) how authenticity and a balanced sense of self leads to effective leadership; 4) developing confidence, mental strength and team cohesion in athletes. Dr. Sulpizio created the Women in Higher Education Leadership Summit and the Cultivate Conscious Kids Program and is committed to creating and designing programs that meet the deeper needs of individuals and organizations.
Ashley Adams
Ashley serves as the community outreach and recruitment manager for the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate within the USD School of Business. While pursuing her Master's in Leadership Studies, she played an integral role in launching Grow Great Girls, a mother-daughter leadership experience that grew into Cultivate Conscious Kids. Her passion for leadership led her to pursue a variety of experiences, which include facilitating political dialogue within an improv comedy setting, coaching a group of women working through challenges within higher education, and leading a team of coaches to support transitioning military members. Ashley strives to navigate our complex world as her best and strongest self, and finds great joy in supporting others in doing the same.
Helena Zandstra
Helena has worked in Higher Education the last twenty years, and is currently Director for Continuing Medical Education at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. In her second year of the Masters of Arts in Leadership Studies program at USD she is enjoying the experiential learning process that the program offers and the ability to focus on her own growth and development. She is pursuing a coaching certificate and is passionate about helping others find their true “charism” or purpose in life. Mom to two boys, Helena is activated to cultivate consciousness in our culture about boys and within boys to drive change in future generations. Her leadership interests include group relations and building highly efficient teams, early gender roles and impact on culture, and organizational development.
Amy Levine
Amy has been working in college admissions for over 25 years, from evaluating and deciding admissions candidates for the University of California, to starting her own college admissions consulting firm. Amy enjoys helping high school students identify and gain admission to the colleges and universities that best match their values and goals. “I am extremely honored to be helping our younger generation with the next phase of their journey.” Amy has always been physically active and believes that running marathons has taught her that “You can achieve any goal when you can imagine it. Marathons are like life, they require training, passion, focus, and most importantly, belief in yourself.”
Molly Patrick
Daughter of two California educators, Molly learned from a young age that “Education is the great equalizer”. Passionate about supporting and creating channels for traditional and non-traditional students to succeed in today’s global society, Molly has a deep personal commitment to lifelong learning. She has served as facilitator and coordinator for local, national, and international leadership development programs. Going through an intensely personal discovery process in graduate school led Molly to more than a few huge “Ah-ha!” moments. The most important was, “We have the capacity to create our futures, and the work is never done”. Her specialty is in intercultural communication and finding better ways to engage in order to communicate what is important. “I believe communicating our values is an act of leadership.”
Stephanie Eikermann
Stephanie is the Lead Technology Support Analyst assisting the University of San Diego community with tech challenges and is in her third year of the Masters of Arts in Leadership Studies program at USD. Her compassion, empathy, and love for helping people, paired with her curiosity of what makes people tick, has driven Stephanie to pursue USD’s coaching certification program. She is also working in an intradepartmental setting to cultivate a culture of positivity and empathy, focusing on fostering a safe environment for female employees in technology-related roles.
Brecia Kralovic-Logan
Brecia Kralovic-Logan is an artist, author, and advocate for creativity and women. She is a creative life coach and the author of “The Spiral of Creativity- Mastering the Art of a Spirited Life.” She founded the International Women’s Festival Northwest to honor women’s accomplishments and highlight issues facing women globally; and the Pebble Rebel Award which honors women making a positive difference in their communities. Kralovic-Logan serves as the Southern California representative for the Global Art Project for Peace, and is a member of UNA-USA San Diego. She is the founder of the Women’s Woven Voices project, an international art collaboration that empowers women through writing, weaving and sharing their stories. www.breciacreative.com www.thespiralofcreativity.com www.womenswovenvoices.com
Vickell John-Baptiste
Vickell is a USD alumnus and Technology Support Analyst, photographer, and aspiring yogini committed to social justice, arts and holistic health activism. Photography provided therapy and a deeper connection with her surrounding world while growing up as a 1.5 generation undocumented immigrant. Childhood experiences and yoga inspired her to capture the beauty of auras in movement. Thus, revealing stories in between worlds. Creativity and mindfulness practices of yoga, fuel Vickell’s passion to be an instrument of change for underrepresented youth. Professional photographer of 5 years and 200 HR Certified Yoga Teacher, Vickell is excited to share these tools in empowering youth to shift their reality into a self-determined counter-narrative.
Lia Bruce
Graduating magna cum laude from Loyola Marymount University, Lia worked for a Hollywood film producer before moving back to her hometown of San Diego. Lia currently supports furthering the programming and outreach activities of The Nonprofit Institute (NPI) at the School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES) within the University of San Diego. Through her work, Lia manages San Diego Leaders 2020, a network for diverse, young professionals interested in advancing environmentally and economically sustainable solutions for the San Diego region. In her volunteer work, Lia is on the board of her community choir, a mural repair volunteer for The San Diego River Park Foundation, theater operations volunteer for the San Diego International Film Festival, and a volunteer judge for the Directing Change Program and Film Contest. She is also an award-winning painter.
Cynthia Fernandez
Cynthia is an Event Coordinator for The Nonprofit Institute. She graduated cum laude from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising with a degree in marketing. Born and raised in San Diego, Cynthia worked as the Cultural Arts Coordinator for the city of Chula Vista for approximately three years. She has experience in event coordinating, social media marketing, and community outreach. Cynthia loves working in high energy creative environments that allow for collaboration. Outside of work, Cynthia enjoys painting and spending time with her family.
Leigh Haubach
After visiting 42 countries and 48 states, when Leigh Haubach is not packing for her next trip, she is a passionate digital marketer, ESL teacher, hiker, photographer, and aspiring (but hopeless) yogi. As a mother, a Girl Scout leader, and founder of an Indivisible group, Leigh encourages others to become courageous leaders who use their voice to make a positive change in the world.
Tanisha-Jean Martin
Tanisha-Jean is a San Diego native who passionately advocates for people, animals, and environmental justice. She holds a Master’s degree in Leadership Studies and a Coaching Certificate from the University of San Diego where she has won multiple awards for her research, involvement and leadership on campus. Tanisha-Jean is excited to be a part of the planning committee for the SHExperience and invites discussions on all topics, creating space to brainstorm ideas and get better acquainted with diverse cultures. Tanisha is a proud and involved mother and she welcomes new challenges and projects. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Leadership Studies.
Meaghan McCaughey
Meaghan is a Training & Development Specialist and Leadership Coach creating and facilitating dynamic curricula that include the basics of conscious leadership and how anyone can be a more effective leader through a mixture of lecture, improvisation, activities, and coaching. She has an accomplished background in public speaking, speechwriting, and loves to work with people who are looking to up their presentation game. One of Meaghan’s personal passions is helping parents raise their children more consciously focusing on the parents’ own emotional well-being. Meaghan has her MA in Leadership Studies and a Certificate in Leadership Coaching. She enjoys the outdoors as much as possible, is a podcast nerd, and a budding plant-enthusiast.