2023 Women Who Inspire Program

INSPIRE

INSPIRE WOMEN WHO LUNCHEON

PRESENTED BY

September 14, 2023 | Marriott Bethesda Downtown

What’s your

why?

I WANT TO ENJOY THE RETIREMENT I WORKED SO HARD FOR.

Everyone’s “why” is different. And we want to hear all about yours, because the answer gets to the heart of everything that’s important in life. Asking why can lead you to your ultimate purpose, the reason for working so hard, for protecting what’s valuable, and for passing on what you’ve achieved. We’ll work with you on the how. You just tell us, what’s your why?

Let’s talk about your why. Call Celandra Deane-Bess, Senior Vice President, Capital Area Market Leader, at 202-835-6314, or visit pnc.com/privatebank

Rating Source(s): PWM/The Banker, Global Private Banking Awards 2022, “Best Private Bank in the US f or Succession Planning,” 11/4/22. thebanker.com

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (“PNC”) uses the marketing name PNC Private Bank SM to provide investment consulting and wealth management, fiduciary services, FDIC-insured banking products and services, and lending of fu nds to individual clients through PNC Bank, National Association (“PNC Bank”), which is a Member FDIC, and to provide specific fiduciary and agency services through PNC Delaware Trust Company or PNC Ohio Trust Company. PNC does not provide legal, t ax, or accounting advice unless, with respect to tax advice, PNC Bank has entered into a written tax services agreement. PNC Bank is not registered as a municipal advisor under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Bank deposit products and services are provided by PNC Bank, National Association, Member FDIC. “PNC Private Bank” is a service mark of The PNC

WELCOME TO THE CELEBRATION

Welcome to MoCo360’s inaugural Women Who Inspire luncheon. We’re delighted that you’re a part of the celebration!

If you haven’t already, please check out the profiles of our honorees, Brooke Eby, Angela Graham, Anne Khademian, Susan Lee, Donna Westmoreland and Margarita Womack, in the September/October edition of Bethesda Magazine or in this program.

I had the honor of leading the charge in reviewing the 100 public nominations that we received and selecting this year’s designees. These six women differ considerably in their backgrounds, the challenges they’ve faced, the fields they’ve chosen and the dreams they’ve nurtured.

But I was struck—as I hope you will be, too—by their shared drive to keep moving forward and to make their contribution to the world. I think that commitment is at the heart of what makes them inspiring.

Fortunately, inspiration is not a finite resource, and sharing it is not a zero-sum game, like cutting up pie. By telling these stories—and having these women speak about their own journeys and vision—we at MoCo360 hope that you’ll feel a connection to them, and that this experience will reinforce your own will to accomplish whatever you put your mind to. Perhaps today’s discussions will spark new passions and ideas.

And we could all use that inspiration. I don’t need to repeat America Ferrera’s Barbie monologue because you’ve probably already heard it—and you know the truth of all the contradictions of being a woman in American society, no matter what kind of woman you are. But it’s encouraging to know that, amid all of our individual quests, there’s solidarity and there’s wisdom to be shared with one another.

At MoCo360, we’re happy to host this celebration and discussion—and hope it will be the first of many in coming years.

Sincerely,

Anne Tallent Executive editor

LUNCHEON PROGRAM

EVENT EMCEE

RACHEL POMERANCE BERL (AKA MS. MOCO)

WELCOME

JILLIAN & SCOTT COPELAND OWNERS, MOCO360

LUNCH

OPEN REMARKS

RACHEL POMERANCE BERL

Q&A PANEL

MODERATED BY MOCO360 EXECUTIVE EDITOR

ANNE TALLENT

PANELISTS:

ANNE KHADEMIAN

SUSAN LEE

DONNA WESTMORELAND

COFFEE, DESSERT AND NETWORKING PRESENTED BY UNIVERSITIES AT SHADY GROVE

MEET MS. MOCO

RACHEL POMERANCE BERL is a longtime writer who had the great fortune to work with the woman who inspired her most, her mother, in her public relations firm. Rachel has written for a slew of publications including The New York Times, The Atlanta JournalConstitution and U.S. News & World Report. But her favorite position to date is Ms. MoCo. Now all she needs is a sash and tiara to flaunt across Montgomery County.

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BROOKE EBY

Brooke Eby, 34, has become one of the most upbeat faces around the globe to represent amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, since she was diagnosed with it in March 2022. The social media star has more than 85,000 TikTok followers and 73,000 Instagram followers who watch as she posts about the perils of dating while disabled, or grimacing as she gulps down Relyvrio, her bitter ALS medication. In many clips, she answers her followers’ questions, which range from silly to deeply personal. She has used her positive attitude, charisma and social media acumen to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars—and counting—for ALS research. “Brooke is able to reach outside of the ALS community using her humor and her social platform to introduce a whole new group of people to ALS in a nonintimidating way,” says Carol Hamilton, vice president of development for the ALS Therapy Development Institute, the world’s largest nonprofit focused solely on ALS research. Eby, who graduated from Winston Churchill High School in Potomac and Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and now lives in North Bethesda, also works as a partnership manager at the U.S. software company Salesforce. Whether she’s chatting with hosts on NBC’s Today show or throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a Baltimore Orioles game, Eby is determined to bring awareness of ALS to a younger generation. “I want to focus on research,” she says. “The cure is ultimately my goal.” — Amy Halpern

ANGELA GRAHAM

Angela Graham, 53, has come a long way from the Benjamin Banneker middle schooler and Paint Branch High School student who spent her weekends and summers washing glass bottles at her father’s small biotech company. Today, Graham is president and CEO of Gaithersburg-based Quality Biological Inc., a manufacturer of custom reagents used in biomedical research. Since buying the business from her parents 11 years ago, she’s pivoted the company toward serving the needs of biotech companies in early-stage treatment exploration for diseases from cancer to multiple sclerosis (MS)—a nervous system disorder that Graham has been battling since 1997. “I am not a scientist, so I cannot go into the lab and develop a cure for MS or any other disease,” says Graham, who graduated from the University of Virginia at Charlottesville and spent years in the pharmaceutical industry at firms such as Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer before returning to her family’s business. “But now my company can manufacture the tools required for the research and development of new medicines.” She has become a leading voice in promoting Montgomery County as the ideal place for life sciences businesses to set up shop—not only to encourage innovative companies to locate here, but also to bring high-paying jobs to folks with and without a college degree. Graham has mentored other early-stage biotech companies too, particularly women-and minority-owned ones, though she says there’s still a shortage of them. “I am always the youngest, the only woman and the only Black [person] in the room,” says Graham, who lives near Olney. “The further up you go being a Black female, you definitely get accustomed to not having anyone in the room look like you.” — A.H.

ANNE KHADEMIAN

Anne Khademian, 61, is the executive director of the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) in Rockville. The recognized scholar and author has taught at some of the country’s most prestigious universities. But she has especially thrived when educating students who don’t fit the traditional fresh-out-of-high-school, four-year-degree model. At USG, she leads a campus that partners with nine institutions in the University System of Maryland to deliver undergraduate and graduate education programs to transfer students, many of them ambitious and goal-oriented, Khademian says, but who have limited time or resources to attend college far from their places of work, or their families. “This is the job I’ve waited for my whole life,” says Khademian, who lives in Chevy Chase. A star runner on the boys cross-country team at her Michigan high school, she attended Michigan State University on a full athletic scholarship and later entered its Athletics Hall of Fame. She went on to earn a master’s degree in public policy there, then a Ph.D. in political science from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She’s since authored three scholarly books on public policy and taught at elite universities including the University of Wisconsin, Madison; the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She was a tenured professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech’s Northern Virginia campus for 17 years until USG lured her away. “All of these places, they are beautiful institutions; they transform lives,” Khademian says of the universities where she’s served. “But we need additional models. Maybe we can do it here.” — A.H.

SUSAN LEE

Susan Lee, 69, is Maryland’s secretary of state under Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, serving as his top foreign affairs adviser and leading the charge to promote Maryland as an international hub for science and technology. Lee grew up in Bethesda; her family moved there from San Antonio, Texas, when she was 13. After graduating from Winston Churchill High School and the University of Maryland, College Park, Lee headed to the University of San Francisco for law school, and then returned to Montgomery County to take a job with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. She eventually left the federal government for private practice but stayed active in local politics. She never intended to run for office herself, she says. Then, in 2002, when then-Gov. Parris Glendening asked if she’d fill the Maryland House seat vacated by Nancy Kopp, she said yes—and proceeded to win the next three House elections before running for the state Senate, where she served until Moore came calling. Lee has never lost a race, and she’s been a “first” at every political office she’s held: first Asian American woman—and first Chinese American—elected to the Maryland House of Delegates; first Asian American elected to the Maryland Senate; and now Maryland’s first Asian American secretary of state. She has championed many causes over her decades-long career; as a Maryland delegate and state senator, she sponsored or co-sponsored more than 100 bills in support of victims of domestic violence and human trafficking, pay equity, transgender rights, consumer and identity-theft protections, gun safety, expanding Maryland’s hate crime laws and more. “When I see an injustice, I feel like I’ve got to do something about it,” Lee says. “I refuse to be a passive spectator.” — A.H.

DONNA WESTMORELAND

Donna Westmoreland, 61, is chief operating officer of I.M.P., making the native Bethesdan second in command of a regional music empire that includes the 9:30 Club, The Anthem, The Atlantis and the Lincoln Theatre in D.C., as well as the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. It was 30 years ago when the University of Maryland grad was hired to be bar manager at the original 9:30 Club—the only venue I.M.P. owned or managed at the time. Within three months she was named I.M.P.’s production manager, tasked with booking larger venues around D.C. and Baltimore for acts that could draw more fans than the club could accommodate at its former F Street Northwest location. As a woman in what is still a male-dominated industry, she remembers security guards demanding to see her backstage pass when she was the one giving out the passes. Under her leadership today, women serve as general managers in four of I.M.P.’s five venues. Westmoreland has used her platform to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for causes from breast cancer awareness to women’s reproductive rights to gun safety advocacy. Her philanthropic bent goes back to the late ’90s, when she left I.M.P. for a few years to join musician Sarah McLachlan on the West Coast to launch the original Lilith Fair, a traveling music festival that consisted solely of female artists. “We’re not curing cancer or solving world hunger, but there’s something spiritual about music and bringing people together,” Westmoreland says of her work. “And when you are doing [something for the greater] good as well, it’s awesome.” — A.H.

MARGARITA WOMACK

Margarita Womack, 43, is a Bethesda mother of three who’s also the proud mom of a burgeoning empanada dynasty. “It’s like my fourth baby,” she says. In 2020, her business, Maspanadas, had seven employees; now it has 55. It’s on track to bring in revenue of $8 million this year and triple its square footage before the end of 2023. But just as important, she says, is partnering with churches and other nonprofits to provide jobs, training and other support to people who need it most. Currently, 90% of her employees are immigrants, more than 80% are women, and about half are refugees, mostly from Central and South America. She offers her employees wellness classes and instruction in digital and financial literacy. When you are new to this country, “you need much more than a paycheck,” says Womack. Born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, Womack came to the U.S. at age 20; a sophomore in college at the time, she ended up completing her bachelor’s degree at Tulane University. She has since earned a doctorate from Princeton University and an MBA from Georgetown University. In 2017, she started a small catering company that soon morphed into a manufacturer of frozen empanadas that she sold to restaurants around the D.C. region. Today, Womack’s empanadas are packaged and sold under large chains’ private labels. But they are also in the frozen-food aisles of more than 2,000 stores, including Whole Foods, Costco and Target stores around the country—all in brightly colored packaging that bears the Maspanadas brand. “I would call her the prototype entrepreneur,” says retired food-industry executive Richard McArdle, “because she had a big vision, is very driven to succeed and is fearless.” — A.H.

PAST HONOREES

BETHESDA MAGAZINE’S PAST HONOREES ARE STILL INSPIRING US TODAY. READ THEIR STORIES IN THE DIGITAL EDITION ARCHIVE AT MOCO360.MEDIA

2022 WOMEN WHO INSPIRE

JOSIE CABALLERO

TOPE FAJINGBESI

STEPHANIE LINNARTZ

RADHA MUTHIAH

CARMEN ORTIZ LARSEN

2021 WOMEN WHO INSPIRE

IJEOMA ENENDU

NADIA HASHIMI

CARA LESSER

JESSICA MELTON

TATIANA MURILLO

NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA

JAIME RECHT

HOLLY SEARS SULLIVAN

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