Under the Sisterhood

Today, we’re marching for change with Christine Roth, a daughter, sister, and a global pharmaceutical leader who has spent more than 30 years helping to turn science into meaningful impact for patients. 
 
As Executive Vice President and Head of Global Product Strategy and Commercialization at Bayer, Christine is known for leading with clarity, courage, and conviction, championing bold decision-making, and creating the conditions for others to thrive. She works with colleagues across the pharma value chain to ensure Bayer’s newest therapies are accessible to patients worldwide. 

Christine has challenged traditional ways of working in a complex industry, replacing hierarchy with empowerment and building a culture where teams can move closer to the science and act with greater speed and accountability. A true visionary, architect, catalyst, and coach, Christine is also a strong advocate for women in leadership and for creating more space for women to thrive in pharma and beyond.

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Today we’re marching for change with Y-Vonne Hutchinson a mother, daughter, sister, entrepreneur, author, and internationally recognized expert on leadership, workplace culture, and the future of AI.

She is the founder and CEO of Superessence, an AI-powered marketing intelligence platform that helps brands make smarter strategic decisions by combining brand health, market intelligence, and marketing performance into a single AI coworker. Before founding Superessence, Y-Vonne built ReadySet, one of the leading workplace culture and leadership consultancies, where she advised organizations ranging from high-growth startups to Fortune 500 companies on leadership, communication, and organizational effectiveness.

Earlier in her career, Y-Vonne worked as an international human rights lawyer, representing workers and marginalized communities across Asia , and Latin America. She holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University.

Y-Vonne is also the author of How to Talk to Your Boss About Race: Speaking Up Without Getting Shut Down, and her work has been featured in outlets including Fast Company and MIT Technology Review.  Across her work—as a founder, advisor, and speaker—she explores how technology can strengthen human judgment, helping leaders navigate complexity, communicate more effectively, and build organizations where people and performance thrive.

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Today we’re marching for change with Joanna Strober a mother, daughter, sister and the CEO and Co-founder of Midi Health, a virtual healthcare platform for women with a focus on perimenopause and menopause. Midi brings expert care, covered by insurance, to women nationwide. 
 
Previously, Joanna founded Kurbo, the first digital therapeutic for childhood obesity, which was acquired by Weight Watchers. Joanna also spent 20+ years in direct private equity and venture capital investing in health and consumer companies. She is the author of the book Getting to 50/50, a primer on how women can succeed and thrive at work and home, and she was named to Forbes' 50 over 50 list of top innovators, CNBC Changemakers 2025, and Time 100 Healthcare Leaders.

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Today we're marching for change with Dr. Jenica Patterson, a mother, daughter, neuroscientist, mentor, and advocate for a future where every woman can benefit from the promise of innovation.

As Senior Director of the Women's Health Network at the Milken Institute, Jenica leads a global effort to bring together leaders across science, healthcare, finance, philanthropy, and government to accelerate investment in women's health and improve access to life-changing solutions. Her work is grounded in the belief that women's health is not a niche issue, but a catalyst for healthier families, stronger communities, and more prosperous societies.

Prior to joining the Milken Institute, Jenica led the $113 million Sprint for Women's Health at ARPA-H and held roles at the National Institutes of Health and DARPA. Across her career, she has championed bold ideas, supported innovators, and helped build pathways that bring breakthrough discoveries to the people who need them most.

Drawing on her experiences as a scientist and systems-builder, Jenica is committed to creating a future where innovation reaches every woman—not just those who can afford it or happen to live in the right place. She works at the intersection of research, policy, investment, and entrepreneurship, helping to build the ecosystem needed to bring transformative solutions from discovery to impact.

Jenica lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband, their two children, and one rambunctious Bernedoodle who keeps the whole family on their toes.

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Today we are marching for change with Esther Freinkel Tishman, MA, PhD, BCC  a mother, daughter, sister, and an award-winning teacher, author, therapist, and interfaith board-certified chaplain whose work bridges mindfulness, psychology, and spiritual care. She has supported individuals, families, and healthcare professionals through life's most challenging moments, including serving a leadership role as COVID and critical care chaplain during the pandemic.

A university educator for more than twenty-five years, Esther has designed innovative programs that foster intellectual, emotional, and spiritual well-being. She holds a Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling as well as humanities degrees from Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley.

In 2025, Esther founded Liberty Walks, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering connection and community across our nation’s divides. Its inaugural initiative was a 2,800-mile pilgrimage from Eugene, Oregon, to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C: an act of faith in ‘We the People.'

Esther offers retreats, classes, and counseling through her Orange Door Studio in Eugene, Oregon, and serves as Senior Teacher at Buddha Eye Zen Community Temple. She lives in Oregon with her husband and their two dogs. 

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Today, we’re marching for change with Anna Citarrella, a daughter, sister, women’s advocate, strategic communications, public affairs, and institutional relations leader who has spent more than 25 years turning dialogue into action and building partnerships that create meaningful impact.

From healthcare and medical technology to the beauty industry, Anna has built an international career leading communication, advocacy, and institutional relations across Europe. Following two decades at Johnson & Johnson in global leadership roles, she is embracing an exciting new professional challenge, continuing her mission to connect institutions, businesses, and society to build lasting impact for people.  

Throughout her career, Anna has brought together institutions, industry, healthcare professionals, patient organizations, and civil society to address complex challenges and improve people’s lives. She has been a strategic advisor of C-suite executives distilling complex external, political and societal dynamics and insights into integrated strategies to support and elevate reputation, purpose and values of the organizations. She is a passionate advocate for inclusive leadership and cross-sector collaboration, believing that the most meaningful progress happens when diverse perspectives come together around a shared purpose.

Her leadership has been recognized with the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association Rising Star Award, while several of the multi-stakeholder advocacy and communication initiatives she has led have received Life Science Excellence Awards for their contribution to healthcare, sustainability, and public policy.  

Beyond her professional life, Anna believes that the best leaders never stop learning. Whether through travel, art, meaningful conversations, or volunteering, she is constantly seeking new perspectives that help her build stronger relationships, inspire collaboration, and create positive impact.

For Anna, leadership isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about bringing the right people together to find them.

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Today, we’re marching for change with Angélica Fuentes, a mother, daughter, sister, and Mexican-American businesswoman, impact investor, entrepreneur, and lifelong advocate for women’s rights and gender equality.

At just 29, Angélica was appointed CEO of Grupo Imperial, where she helped position the company as a leading force in Northern Mexico’s energy sector. She went on to serve as President of the Mexican Natural Gas Association, President of the APEC Business Energy Network, and later as CEO of Grupo Omnilife-Angelissima-Chivas, one of Mexico’s top corporations.

Her commitment to women’s empowerment has shaped everything she has built, from Muvop, a microfinance and education platform focused on financial empowerment, to Mission Moms, created to support working mothers across the United States and Latin America. Most recently, she founded NOWFUL, a restorative wellness experience designed to support deep recovery, stress relief, and intentional living.

Angélica has served with global organizations including UN Women, the World Economic Forum’s Gender Parity Programme, the UN Foundation’s Girl Up campaign, Global Dignity, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino, and the Woodrow Wilson Center.

Her leadership has been recognized by UN Women, the United Nations, PVBLIC Foundation, Maestro Cares Foundation, and Mercado Global for her lifelong commitment to advancing gender equality, dignity, and financial empowerment.

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Today we’re marching for change with Dr. Vandana Arcot, a mother, daughter, sister, Physician, Philanthropist, Global Public Health Leader, and Founder of KOMSELJ, a non-profit consultancy focused on advancing women’s and children’s health and empowerment around the world. 

For over 17 years, Vandana has partnered with international organizations like the United Nations and UNICEF to strengthen reproductive health, nutrition, HIV care, WASH, and girls’ education across 13+ countries in Southeast Asia, Africa, South America, and North America. Combining her medical background with her philanthropic leadership, she now educates organizations and donors on how to create meaningful change while honoring the communities they serve.

About KOMSELJ

KOMSELJ is dedicated to transforming communities by delivering innovative, sustainable, and inclusive solutions that drive meaningful impact. 

Our mission is to empower individuals and groups through collaborative initiatives that strengthen local economies, promote equitable access to resources, and celebrate cultural heritage. We strive to create resilient, interconnected communities by leveraging technology, fostering partnerships, and prioritizing environmental stewardship. By embracing diversity and nurturing shared values, KOMSELJ aims to build a future where every community thrives, balancing progress with the preservation of traditions and the well-being of its people.

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Today we’re marching for change with Kayla Branstetter a mother, daughter, sister, author and an English Instructor at Crowder College, where she teaches literature, creative nonfiction, and composition. She is a published writer with work appearing in more than forty journals worldwide and the author of a creative nonfiction book. A TEDx speaker and educator, her work centers on women’s health, narrative medicine, reproductive trauma, and the cultural expectations placed on women’s bodies and resilience. She is currently completing a Doctorate of Education in Healthcare with research focused on narrative medicine in women’s healthcare. Her forthcoming book, Don’t Be an Athena, examines reproductive health, medical gaslighting, and the myth of silent endurance through storytelling, research, and at times, dark humor.

Don’t Be an Athena is a book and advocacy platform that uses creative nonfiction, research, and lived experience to examine women’s reproductive health, infertility, medical gaslighting, and trauma. It challenges the cultural myth that women should “power through” pain without complaint, offering a more compassionate, narrative-driven model for healthcare and self-worth. The project supports education, dialogue, and systemic change around women’s bodies and voices.

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Today we’re marching for change with Kayla F. Laserson, a mother, daughter, sister, and global health leader whose work has helped shape how the world understands, tracks, and responds to disease.

Kayla is currently a Principal Officer of Surveillance and Epidemiology at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she leads efforts to design forward-looking, integrated surveillance systems across global health—building the infrastructure needed to better detect, respond to, and ultimately prevent disease at scale.

With more than 25 years of leadership across institutions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kayla has worked across the U.S., India, Kenya, and beyond—guiding global strategies in infectious disease control, immunization, and pandemic preparedness. She has overseen complex, multi-country initiatives, supported governments in strengthening health systems, and helped translate scientific evidence into policy and action.

Her work sits at the intersection of science, systems, and collaboration—bringing together data, partnerships, and real-world implementation to improve health outcomes globally.

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