Empowering Women in STEAM Since 1972
The 18th Annual
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Watson Auditorium
Thursday, March 27, 2025
8:00 am - 10:00 am
PROGRAM
WELCOME
Rose Conti, ’12
Chair ofWentworth’s Board ofTrusteesVice President ofInteriors and SpecialProjects at Lee Kennedy Co.
2008 Wentworth Woman ofthe Year
PRESIDENT’S REMARKS
Mark A. Thompson, Ph.D.
LEADING LEOPARD RECOGNITION
Karyn Thompson
WOMAN OF THE YEAR PRESENTATION
Rose Conti
WOMAN OF THE YEAR REMARKS
Farah Naz‘02, FCibse
Director Climate and Sustainability Advisory AECOM
Middle East Africa
PANEL DISCUSSION
Moderator, Shirine Boulos Anderson
Panelists:
Farah Naz ’02 FCibse
Dr. Elizabeth Cooper Wentworth Architecture Program
Meredith Elbaum Executive Director ofBuilt
Environment Plus
CLOSING REMARKS
Rose Conti
Shirine Boulos Anderson is a lecturer at Wentworth’s SoAD as well as a practicing Architect in the Boston area. Prior to May 2023, she was a Managing and a Design Principal and the primary driver of sustainable design at Ellenzweig, Architects and Planners in Boston, leading projects ranging from master planning to individual building design.
Shirine’s approach to higher education includes advocating for cross-disciplinary education and problem-based learning. She explores these themes in all the courses she teaches at Wentworth, drawing from different disciplines energy use in buildings, migration and urbanization, government policy—, and knitting them into a complete picture that informs environmental, urban and architectural design.
Shirine has B.Arch and M.Arch in Urban Design degrees from Cornell University.
Dr. Cooper is the Director of Undergraduate Architecture Programs at Wentworth. Before coming to Wentworth in 2024, she was program director of the MSc in Health, Wellbeing and Sustainable Buildings at the Bartlett School of Environmental and Energy Resources at University College London. Prior to moving to London, she was the Director of the Integrated Design Lab at the University of Idaho.
Elizabeth Cooper has degrees in Biological Sciences, Architecture, Environmental Health and Environmental Design and Engineering. Her research focuses on the nexus of energy efficiency, human health, occupant behavior, and integrated and smart technologies in the built environment. She explores ways in which these broad and complex elements intersect through the study of the quality and control of the indoor environment, and their impact on health and well-being. Her teaching interests include health in the built environment, integrated design and technology, designing inclusive places, and transdisciplinary architecture and engineering education.
Rose is the first woman elected to serve as Chair during the university’s 120-year history. At Lee Kennedy Cos. she is responsible for the renovation and building infrastructure projects in the corporate, academic, life sciences, bio-medical, and non-profit groups.
Rose earned an associate’s degree in Building Construction in 2009 and a bachelor’s degree in Construction Management in 2012. She received the 2015 Wentworth Distinguished Alumni Award, and 2017 Wentworth Gold Leopard Award.
Rose served as the Wentworth Alumni Association President, former chair of the Wentworth’s University Advisors in 2018 and later was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2020. Rose is active in many organizations in the community: United Way, Patriot’s Trail Girl Scouts, DARE and STAR programs in Burlington, MA, as well as NAWIC, NEWIRE, IFMA, CoreNet, and AGC.
MEREDITH ELBAUM
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BUILT ENVIRONMENT PLUS
As a sustainability advocate and educator, Meredith joined USGBC MA, now known as Built Environment Plus, as Executive Director in November 2017. Before becoming ED, she was developing climate action plans, master plans, design guidelines and green buildings as President of the Elbaum Group, LLC.
Fueled by an interest in materials transparency she launched the Health Product Declaration as its Interim Executive Director. For almost a decade she was Director of Sustainable Design at Sasaki. During that time she helped in the USGBC MA Chapter’s creation and served as a founding board member. She also cocreated the Architecture and Design Sustainable Design Leaders Network.
She earned a BArch from Rice University and a MSArch from MIT and she currently teaches architecture students at Wentworth Institute of Technology.
WOMEN@WENTWORTH SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT RAINE DELONG ‘25
BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
Hometown: My hometown is Coudersport, PA but now I live in Pembroke, Mass. with my husband and my dog!
Why I chose Wentworth: I chose Wentworth for the tight-knit community and rewarding co-op program.
What has been the most rewarding experience so far:
So far, my most rewarding experience has been using my co-ops to gain two years of in-vivo experience in degenerative disease research including Multiple Sclerosis and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Fun fact about your time here at Wentworth or something else you would like to share if you are comfortable:
Because I took full advantage of Wentworth's co-op program, I get t k with mic everyday d hav erformed surgery!
2025 Leading Leopards
Recognizing female student leaders for their commitment to and leadership of organizations, clubs, and athletic teams
Emily Adams
Katerina Alexandrou
Siena Algeo
Gabby Amoddio
Meghan Barilone
Bryce Bateman
Kelly Benitez
Julia Bisse
Diamond Bogues
Quincy Bolduc
Julia Botros
Rhiana Boutot
Rose Brokaw
Bethsaida Cajuste
Maaike Calvin
Charly Campbell
Brooke Carlson
Michelle Castillo
Melanie Chavez
Lily Cohen
Condoleezza Coleman
Mackenzie Cutting
Jordan Dahan
Summer Daniels
Morgan Darrer
Abby Delia
Olivia DeMelo
Keira Dempsey
Emily Devine
Adriana DiMeo
Liv DiStefano
Nakeeya Douglas
Alejandra Estrada
Sophia Fascione
Madison Feetham
Madison Fisher
Ella Galuszewski
Emily Gandrow
Zoe Garber
Isobella Gillis
Gianna Gioia
Andressa Dias Gomes
Shay Gunning-Lavoie
Emily Hagen
Ella Henson
Emelia Hight
Christina Issa
Katie Kranz
Sarah Lahmadi
Juana Lopez
Sophia Lucido
Aliviah MacCormack
Erin MacLean
Reagan Madonia
Samantha Ana Marie
Vivian Marr
Katie Martinez
Jenny Montville
Aaleyah Mortimer
Yvette Najjuka
Nickole Nayfeh
Agnes Ngabirano
Autumn Nguyen
Gia Minh Nguyen
Mariam Nimeri
Sophia Puga
Nathalie Qadri
Sonia Resha
Carla Santana Restituyo
Liredi Santa Rosa
Tallah Ryan
Emma Sanders
Laci Santos
Lainna Santos-Afonso
Hayden Saunders
Leanna Scanlan
Ella Schmid
Julie Schriver
Kelli Schuler
Lulya Tesfamicael
Khunnary Thach
Yasmin Torquato
Belinda Truong
Aliya Vagapova
Liv Valentine
Olivia Vaughn
Cristobal Villarroel
Jenny Li Wang
Kaleigh West
Mary Witt
Amanda Zweifler
2025
Recognizing Women@Wentworth
Past Women of the Year
2024 - Maria Aiolova, ‘96, AEComm
2023 - Susan Hardt, ‘74
2022 - Sharmi Albrechtsen, SmartGurlz
2021- Reshma Saujani, Girls Who Code
2020 - Cancelled due to Pandemic
2019 - Zorica Pantić, Wentworth Institute of Technology
Gloria Larson, Bentley University
Kerry Healey, Babson College
Jackie-Jenkins Scott, Mass Women's Forum
2018 - Helen Grenier, IRobot/CyPhy Works
2017 - Ann Klee, GE Foundation
2016 - Michelle Wu, Boston City Council President
2015 - Christine Keville, Keville Enterprises, Trustee Emeritus
2014 - Annamaria Wenner, Former Vice President of Student Affairs
2013 - Sharon Jozokos, AET ’92, CMC ’93, Columbia Construction
2012 - Amanda Hattaway, Former Assistant Provost, Professor & Dept. Chair, Applied Mathematics
2011 - Durga Suresh-Menon, Associate Professor
2010 - Meichi Peng '97, IDC
2009 - Amanda Hattaway, Dept. Chair, Applied Mathematics
2008 - Rose Conti ABC '09, BCM '12, Trustee
2007 - Regina Berkman, Professor
2025
Woman of the Year
Farah Naz ‘02, FCibse
Director Climate and Sustainability Advisory AECOM Middle East Africa
Farah is an award-winning climate change strategist, Zayed Inspirer and Authored Middle East Regions first book on NetZero titled “Net Zero City” and “Mission Zero”- a climate change book for children. She has 20 years’ experience in the built environment gained in the US, UK, Southeast Asia and most recently the Gulf Region. In 2024, Farah won the Most Influential Women of the year, 2024 award by Khaleej times & Filmfare MiddleEast, winner of Sustainability Consultant of the year award in the year 2023 and 2022.
Farah has been steering sustainability and innovation agenda in the built environment across the Middle East. Her name is synonymous with implementable sustainability and energy strategies, and she has supported several iconic projects, including the Museum of the Future, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Bee’ah HQ in Sharjah and the Expo 2020 Sustainability Pavilion, to achieve their sustainability goals. Recently she worked as the Sustainability Technical Director to deliver Carbon Neutral event for COP 28 in the UAE, for the UAE Government,
Woman of the Year: Farah Naz ‘02, FCibse
While based in the UK, Farah was heavily involved in creating the energy strategy for the country’s first zero-energy building, Ashmount Primary School, which won the 2015 Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Sustainable Buildings Award.
As an innovator, Farah focuses on implementing best practices in the built environment by applying systems related to the Food-EnergyWater Nexus, biomimetics, the Five Capital model of Sustainability, Liveability, and Inclusive Innovation Frameworks, which builds the foundation of the cities and communities of the future.
Farah is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE),Chair of CIBSE’s UAE Chapter, LEED and WELL Accredited Professional and Verified Research Expert for the Dubai Future Foundation. Farah is an active advocate of STEM education for future generations.
2025
The Women of Wentworth
