Lindsay Johnston is currently senior vice president of human resources for Comcast Programming Group Human Resources Shared Services. In this role she is assisting with the transition of Comcast Programming properties to NBCU. Previously she was the SVP-HR for Comcast Cable’s Eastern Division. In that role, Lindsay was responsible for the development, implementation and coordination of all Division-wide human resource policies, programs and practices including employment, labor relations, compensation, benefits, recruiting, talent management and organization dynamics for the Division’s 20,000 employees.

Lindsay joined Comcast in 2007 with more than 25 years of human resources and labor and employment law experience, including ten years in telecommunications with Bell Atlantic. Most recently, Lindsay served as vice president of human resources and deputy general counsel for PJM Interconnection. Prior to that, Lindsay spent 14 years at Peco Energy where she held numerous senior executive positions and oversaw diversity, staffing, labor relations including numerous labor campaigns and the talent assessment process. Prior to joining HR she served as assistant general counsel and established the labor and employment function within the Legal Department.

Lindsay has received a number of distinguished awards including the Philadelphia YWCA “Women of Achievement” Award. A national lecturer on employment law issues, Lindsay is currently a Pennsylvania Governor appointed member of Workforce Investment Board, WICT Philadelphia Chapter Advisor, Event and Fundraising Co-Chair of the United Way Women’s Initiative Committee, Chair of ABA Labor and Employment, In-House Counsel Taskforce, and is a member of the Forum of Executive Women, SHRM and a graduate of Leadership, Inc.

Lindsay earned her undergraduate degree from Lafayette College and her JD from Villanova Law School. She resides in Bryn Mawr, PA and has two children.

Tina serves as Senior Vice President Human Performance – National Customer Operations for Comcast Cable Communications, Inc. In this role, Tina is the senior Human Resources executive for Customer Service Operations responsible for strategy development and implementation of employee recruitment, engagement, retention, recognition, and development initiatives for over 50,000 Customer Account Executives, Technicians, and leaders in Customer Operations. Tina is focused on optimizing the Customer Operations’ employee experience in order to deliver a superior customer experience.

Tina previously held the role of Senior Vice President Customer Service Operations for Comcast. She was responsible for customer experience strategy and tactical implementation, eCare operations, agent desktop tools deployment and enhancements. Tina developed outsource partner strategy, had responsibility for managing outsource call center partnerships, and workforce capacity management. Additionally, Tina had responsibility for consumer care inquiries, Social Media strategy, and customer outreach for the Office of the President.

Tina began her career with Bell Atlantic (Verizon) as Manager of Call Centers for Small Businesses in Pennsylvania and Delaware. She then transitioned to PECO Energy as Call Center Manager for call centers serving 1.5 million customers. Tina was able to use her operations experience to identify and share customer care best practices in her role as Practice Manager for GartnerGroup’s Contact Center Assessment service. She also built the Customer Care practice at Software Consulting Group.

A School of Business graduate of Villanova University, Waters received a Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania. Tina graduated from Comcast’s premiere leadership development program – Executive Leadership Forum. Tina completed the Harvard Business School/CTAM (Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing) and the Cornell University ILR School HR Strategy Executive Education programs. Tina is an Executive Champion and mentor for Women in Cable and Telecommunications (WICT). Tina serves as a Chapter Advisor for the National Association of Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC). Tina holds Comcast’s board seat with the Urban League of Philadelphia and is Vice Chairman of the Board. She is also a board member of the Villanova University Alumni Board. Tina is a member of the Phi Beta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Tina received Villanova University’s Eby Award for Outstanding Post Graduate Achievement. Waters has frequently been recognized as one of the Most Influential Minorities in Cable in Cablefax magazine and Most Powerful Women in Cable. Additionally, Tina received the “Movers and Shakers” award from the American Women’s Heritage Society, Inc. and was recognized by the Philadelphia City Council for this honor. Tina is the 2005 winner of NAMIC’s Paragon Award. Tina received WICT’s Liberty Award in 2006. In 2007, Waters became a Class XIV Fellow of the WICT Betsy Magness Leadership Institute. Tina was named as a “Woman to Watch” by Multichannel News and a “Woman of Distinction” by the Philadelphia Business Journal. Additionally, Tina was awarded “Women Worth Watching in 2010” honors by the Profiles in Diversity Journal. Tina resides in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania with her family.

Ms. Jennifer Yohe Wagner has successfully served the business and financial needs of prominent cable related organizations for almost two decades. Her strong leadership and entrepreneurial attitude have consistently generated innovative ideas that impact heavily on the cable industry. Through her application of dynamic strategies along with her exceptional negotiation skills, Ms. Yohe Wagner has been credited with saving hundreds of millions of dollars throughout the years. Characterized as savvy, ambitious and a tough negotiator, she has used her skills to lead companies through periods of transformation and change, productively establishing and launching enduring business dealings.

Jennifer joined Comcast in October 2007. In her current role as Vice President, Strategic Business Procurement, Ms. Yohe Wagner utilizes her keen ability to effectively translate company objectives into clearly defined goals. Her vision coupled with exceptional communication skills have helped to enhance the performance of cable and engineering operations and given her recognition as a top-producing executive. An ethical professional, Ms. Yohe Wagner possesses a unique talent for analyzing problems, simplifying procedures and uncovering groundbreaking solutions. Uncompromising in her pursuits, she carefully navigates operations and activities making sure to reach desired corporate results. Prior to joining Comcast, Ms Yohe Wagner spent 10 years with Time Warner Cable.

Prior to joining Time Warner Cable, Ms. Yohe Wagner worked for Mr. Jack Kent Cooke, well-known entrepreneur and successful businessman. For more than 10 years she handled a multitude of responsibilities related to the Washington Redskins, Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, Los Angeles Daily News, Chrysler Properties and Elmendorf Farms. During this time she developed a reputation for productively handling an array of duties which included media contact, capital and expense budgets, and many other interesting and challenging opportunities. Hard work, commitment and loyalty to her endeavors have been at the cornerstone of Ms. Yohe Wagner's achievements, all of which helped her climb the ranks to VP, Business Affairs of Time Warner Cable.

Ms. Yohe Wagner attended the University of Pittsburgh and Cambria Rowe Business College. She is a member of Women in Cable and Telecommunications (WICT) and a member of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE). Ms. Yohe Wagner makes her home in Philadelphia, PA.

Tracy Baumgartner recently moved to Philadelphia to serve as the Executive Director of Community Investment for Comcast Corporation and Senior Vice President of the Comcast Foundation. In this role, she oversees the daily execution of Comcast’s philanthropic strategies, helping others to dream big by annually delivering nearly $400 million in cash and in-kind services to schools and students, communities and non-profits, and to our national partners.

A lifelong cable veteran with nearly 20 years of experience, Tracy spent the past nine years as Vice President of Public Relations for the West Division of Comcast Cable in Denver. In this position, she was responsible for overseeing media relations, employee communications and community outreach efforts for the West Division’s 11 states. She joined Comcast following the acquisition of AT&T Broadband, where she served as Director of External Communications. A national spokesperson for AT&T Broadband, she was responsible for directing media relations efforts with national, business, trade, local and consumer press. She also developed strategic communication plans for all lines of the company's video business, as well as supporting the company's customer care, financial, labor relations, legal, marketing and technology efforts.

Tracy was the manager of Marketing Public Relations for MediaOne prior to its merger with AT&T and has also held various other public relations management positions for Jones Intercable, Jones Digital Century and Mind Extension University (ME/U): The Education Network.

Tracy received her bachelor's of science in business administration with a dual emphasis in Marketing and International Business from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Currently Past President of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications, she was honored as the 2010 Chapter President of the Year by WICT National. She was previously honored by WICT RM with the Woman of the Year Award in 2008.

Tracy is married to cable technology writer Jeff Baumgartner of Lightreading.com, and they have two young sons, Jack and Benjamin.

Bill Hanrahan is the Director of Sales Operations at Cisco , with responsibility since 2009, for the field sales and engineering team supporting Comcast’s sustainable infrastructure. In his 16 years at Cisco, Bill has held a series of sales leadership positions in Cable, Content and Telco across the Service Provider / Telecommunications space.

Prior to joining the Cisco / Comcast team, Bill was responsible for the facilitation of Cisco’s Sales Master Series of sales and engineering classes dedicated to the development of the Cisco Service Provider Segment.
Bill has worked extensively since 2000 with Cisco’s Associate Sales Rep / Associate Sales Engineer (ASR/ASE) development programs which are designed to identify, foster and develop the next generation of sales and engineering professionals and leaders.

Bill began his telecommunications career in 1979 at Bell Atlantic (now Verizon) where he held a variety of key leadership and sales roles. Bill and his wife, Jane, reside in Glenelg, Maryland with their three daughters.

Margaret Rickard Rubinacci, President of WICT Philadelphia, is a consulting manager and member of the executive team at pureIntegration. The company is an IT systems integration company providing business solutions and innovation to the federal, financial, communication and media industries.

For over 5 years, Margaret has been dedicated to the cable industry through her work at Comcast. Currently, she supports the deployment and operations of new video products (tru2way). Prior to pureIntegration, Margaret was a consultant at Accenture and a program manager at an international nonprofit, Renew International. She is a cum laude graduate of Boston College.

Margaret joined WICT Philadelphia in 2008. She served as Co-Chair of Programming in 2010 and Vice President in 2011. Margaret received the 2011 WICT Philadelphia Rising Leader Service Award as well as the pureIntegration Leadership Award in 2008 and 2010.

Margaret currently resides in Malvern, PA with her husband Scott.

Heather Sokollu is part of the Strategic Intellectual Property team at Comcast where she manages internal communications related to Comcast innovation and intellectual property, including employee awards and recognition. She also provides IP-related research and analysis support for the team.

Since January 2010 she has been the Programming Co-chair for WICT Greater Philadelphia. In this role, she designs and executes chapter events that center on leadership development and industry education.

Prior to joining Comcast and WICT, Heather worked in both education and legal fields. She has an M.Ed in Secondary Education from West Chester University, and a B.A. in English Literature from Penn State University.

Kristina Chang is the past President of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), a national non-profit organization that has been serving women in the cable industry for 30 years.

Kristina is currently serving her third year as a board member for the Greater Philadelphia Chapter. She previously held the positions of Newsletter Director and co-President before being named to her current role as President.

Kristina Chang is a Engagement Principal of Internal Audit at Comcast Corporation. In this role, Kristina provides management, direction, guidance, and review of the activities of a professional audit staff. Audit assignments focus on financial and operational areas, including Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

Prior to joining Comcast in 2004, Kristina worked at the public accounting firms of Arthur Andersen and KPMG performing financial statement audits of clients in the Philadelphia region.

Kristina graduated from Drexel University with a bachelor degree in finance and accounting in 2000. She resides in Penn Valley, PA with her husband and two young children.

Marietta Obfenda is a Director of Accounting and Finance in the Cable Division of Comcast Corporation where she oversees Cable’s external reporting functions. Over the course of her 11 years with the Cable Division, Marietta held various responsibilities including accounting for and integrating several of the Company’s cable acquisitions and system swaps with such companies as ATT Broadband, Adelphia and Time Warner. Marietta joined the Company in 1997 serving her first three years in Comcast’s Corporate Financial Reporting group where she was responsible for SEC reporting and financial analysis. Prior to joining Comcast, Marietta worked at the public accounting firm of Ernst & Young, LLP for three years performing financial statement audits of clients in the consumer products industry in the Philadelphia

In addition to her work professionally, Marietta is on the Board of Directors for the Philadelphia Chapter of Women in Cable & Telecommunications where she serves as Treasurer. In this role she maintains the books and records of the Chapter and works in unison with the Chapter President and Vice President to develop and implement the annual budget and strategic financial plan. Marietta graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from LaSalle University. She currently resides in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania with her husband and four daughters.

Philicia Tucker is the 2011 Event Billing Director for the Philadelphia Chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT). In her role, Philicia confirms payments received for registered events and provides a final payment count to the Treasurer.

She has been an active employee at Comcast for 16 years. As Manager, Purchasing & Procurement, Philicia’s duties include managing a team staff of four employees and providing back-office support for three Division Offices and fifteen Business groups/Departments located at the Comcast Center. Tucker is a SME (subject matter expert) in the area of Procurement back office support.

Tucker is currently attending Peirce College to complete her studies (B.S. Business Administration). She currently resides in NorthEast Philadelphia with her teenage son.

Audra J. D. Burbank is a Membership Co-Chair for the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), a national non-profit organization that has been serving women in the cable industry for 30 years.

As a Membership Chair, Audra helps develop and implement campaigns to reach membership goals, track and report on membership successes, share membership benefits while recruiting at all events, and serve as liaison to WICT National to maintain membership rosters or guide in membership application and issue resolution.

Audra is in her fifth year with the Comcast Corporation where as a Sr. Technical Project Manager in the Product Engineering organization she leads efforts to implement development life cycle tools. She is a certified provisional ISO Lead Auditor and has 21 years experience with software and product development organizations implementing and auditing standard processes and procedures leading to ISO 9001 registration and CMM certification.

While she became a member of WICT for the programs and educational events, the networking experience and connections she has made are priceless. She joined the 2010 board to fill the vacant Membership Chair position and continued in the same slot for 2011.

A graduate of Penn State and Purdue Universities, Audra is an avid football fan and currently resides in West Caln Township, PA with her husband Steve.

Victoria Welter is serving as the Membership co-chair of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) for 2012. Victoria has been a WICT member since she joined Comcast in 2010 and this is her first year serving as a Board member. She looks forward to increasing membership and attendance by spreading awareness respective to the significant benefits of WICT organization programs/events and networking opportunities.

Victoria is currently an Engagement Manager in the Comcast Assurance and Advisory Team of Comcast Cable Communications, LLC. Victoria has been with Comcast for two years. In this role, Victoria serves as a trusted advisor to Comcast’s individual businesses, including NBCUniversal. She assists business management in assessing and addressing significant business risks, in addition to independently advising on opportunities for enhancement of financial and operational processes. Prior to Comcast, Victoria was an Assurance Senior Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Victoria graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Accounting and obtained her CPA license in 2007. She currently resides in Bensalem, PA and in her spare time enjoys participating in community events and traveling.

Dani Flaim currently negotiates distribution, marketing, and ad sales for the Comcast Networks portfolio (E!, Style, Golf Channel, Versus, G4, Sprout, ExerciseTV, and Comcast SportsNets) within the Comcast Programming Group. In this role, Dani is personally responsible for managing the cable operator Time Warner’s West Region, comprising of a total of 4.5 million subscribers. Through her strong partnerships with her affiliates, Dani has been able to devise marketing solutions and launch new initiatives for key targeted markets.

Flaim previously was part of the Affiliate Sales and Marketing team at QVC under the executive leadership of Al Ulozas. In her prior role as Account Manager, Flaim was responsible for the distribution of QVC television network and online content. Flaim secured commitments with major video distributors, helped launch QVCHD to over 3.6 million subscribers, and built relationships with all major cable and satellite operators in the West Region.

In addition, Flaim is a member of Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), Women in Cable & Telecommunications (WICT), and Youth Networking Partnership in conjunction with the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. She currently serves on the Board for CTAM TX/OK Chapter and as Director for Special Events on the WICT Philadelphia Chapter. Although a member of WICT prior, Flaim co-chaired the 2010 Philly Gives Back Fall Event which aided her nomination to her Board role for 2011 along with the Chapter receiving top recognition for their 2010 Programming efforts. Extending her reach within the community, Flaim has donated her time through various organizations such as the March of Dimes, Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program.

Flaim graduated from West Chester University, with a degree in communications with a concentration in web design. She currently resides in Philadelphia and in her spare time, enjoys running and cooking.

Grace Toncich is the Director for Business Strategy at Comcast, working within the Technology & Product Development team.

Grace’s responsibilities includes leading the development of the company’s strategic views around new business and new technology opportunities through new technology, product, service, financial and competitive assessments, market research and analysis.

Grace builds out overall new business opportunities including strategy and business cases. She works closely with engineering teams during the early product development and product concept testing phases and later with product development and business units to ensure their successful transition within the company.

Grace has been responsible for the early development of Telepresence, 3D, 1080p, Home Security business and new in-home consumer premise equipment architectures.

Grace has her Master of Law (Intellectual Property) from Melbourne University and a Masters of Enterpreneurship and Innovation from the Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology.

Grace has been in the U.S. for 7 years and is passionate about working in and contributing to her community.
• Grace has served as board member of WICT from 2009 to present.
• She is a board member for Women’s Way (the nation’s oldest and largest women’s funding federation and women’s advocacy organization)
• She is also a “Big” in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program since 2009
• Grace is also involved in committee work for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of South Jersey.

Grace resides in Cherry Hill, NJ and feels very fortunate to have a wonderful husband, a delightful 5 year old son and baby daughter.

Dionne Vernon is currently a member of the Enterprise Program Management Office (EPMO) at Comcast, where she is the Program Director for the Business Services SBI (Strategic Business Imperative).

Dionne joined Comcast in September 2005 as a consultant in National Customer Operations (NCO), where she was instrumental in establishing the standardization and branding guidelines for Comcast Service Centers (Payment Centers). Subsequently, Dionne assumed a full-time position in NCO as Director, Customer Service Strategy & Operations, specifically focused on Video new products deployment.

Over the past 4 years, she led the NCO deployment efforts for several key initiatives including the nationwide Digital Broadcast Transition, Interactive TV Applications and other Video On Demand initiatives. Dionne’s experience spans various industries and disciplines. She started her career with MCI Telecommunications where she supported Business and Residential products & services from a customer operations standpoint.

Prior to Comcast, Dionne served as Director of Advertising & Promotions with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and was responsible for the strategy development and launch efforts for the organization’s first-ever national advertising campaign (award-winning). She also worked in brand management with the Campbell Soup Company, for the company’s second most profitable brands, Chunky soup. Her responsibilities included marketing and brand strategy, budget management, online strategy, advertising, promotions, concept and product development, product launch, and vendor management.

In addition, Dionne held positions in sales development for Sports Illustrated and advertising finance for People Magazine. At Sports Illustrated, she managed and executed a $7 million national advertising program for the “Got Milk” print campaign. She also developed an advertising program for the CIGNA Corporation, which gained her recognition from DDB Needham ad agency and a nomination from Time Warner’s executive team for the “President’s Award”.

In her spare time, Dionne enjoys cooking, gardening and international travel. She is a strong advocate for mentoring and coaching others. She has a Bachelor’s in Sociology and an MBA in Marketing.

Monique McEntee is an Account Manager at Starz Entertainment, where she is responsible for developing strong affiliate relationships to facilitate sales of Starz products throughout various areas of Comcast and Time Warner Cable.

Monique joined Starz Entertainment in 2007 as a Point of Sale Specialist, and was recently promoted to her current position of Account Manager. Her contributions include managing Point of Sale selling efforts by inspiring, motivating and facilitating toward goals.

She has been active in the cable industry through Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT). In 2011, she was awarded a scholarship to attend the WICT Leadership Conference. She currently holds the position of Programming Chair on the WICT Philadelphia Chapter Board.

Monique graduated from Philadelphia University in 2005 with a BA in Fashion Merchandising. In her free time she enjoys traveling, exercising, and spending time with family and friends. She also enjoys trying new things from snowboarding and surfing, to sky diving and learning to fly a single engine plane. She currently resides in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Meg Dolan, Vice Special Event Chair of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), a national non-profit organization that has been serving women in the cable industry for 30 years.

This is Meg’s first year on the WICT Board, however she has been an active volunteer for WICT events. She has participated in the WICT Mentorship Program as well as attended the Cable Boot Camp in Denver.

Meg has been with Comcast since 2005 and is a Senior Trial Analyst on the Product Evaluation Trial Team in NETO. In this role, Meg runs Trials for New Products and Service Offerings for Comcast. She is a 2005 Graduate of University of Scranton with a BS in Finance. She currently lives in Maple Glen, PA with her husband.

Carol Ann Sweeney, Manager of Procurement at Comcast, is the Director of Scholarship for Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) Greater Philadelphia Chapter. She started the Scholarship Program in 2010 and is working on enhancing the program for future years.

Sweeney has worked at Comcast Cable Communications for 5 years, starting in NETO as a Service Level Agreement Analyst. She has since taken on increasing responsibilities and currently works in Comcast’s Procurement department. In this role, she works with Comcast’s vendors negotiating the most optimal terms & conditions, and pricing for Comcast. She also monitors vendor compliance to contractual commitments. She manages online RFIs/RFPs (Request for Information/Request for Proposals) for the Comcast Engineering community. Tracking Purchase Orders and Invoice payments are also a part of her responsibilities. She also works with multiple organizations within Comcast in annual budgeting, specifically related to maintenance and support renewals.

Prior to joining Comcast, Sweeney worked with a national sales team of a distribution and service company. She has more than 10 years of management experience in contract negotiations, budgeting, and communications.

Sweeney has been an active member of WICT for 3 years. In addition to acting as Director of Scholarship, she also assists at Chapter events and has participated as a Mentee in the Mentoring Program. The networking and relationships that she has forged from being part of this program are invaluable. She especially enjoys the annual Fall fundraiser when WICT has an opportunity to give back to a local charity.

Sweeney earned her Bachelor of Science degree from The Pennsylvania State University. She resides in New Jersey with her husband and 3 children.

Jacquelyn Smith is serving as the 2012 Co-Chair for Special Events for the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), a national non-profit organization that has been serving women in the cable industry for 30 years. Jacquelyn has also served on the WICT Philadelphia Board of Directors as the Director of Volunteer Outreach for 2010 & 2011.

As part of Comcast Cable’s National Engineering and Technical Operations Team (NE&TO), Jacquelyn Smith is Director, Software Development and Engineering in Product Engineering. Her current responsibilities include management of the Development Engineering & Application Administrations team, implementation and management of enterprise support tools and financial management of the application systems. Jacquelyn’s team is responsible for the lifecycle of these applications including design, implementation and deployment across various Comcast lines of Business.

Jacquelyn has 13 years of experience in operations and program management. Jacquelyn has been with Comcast for nearly 6 years and previously held the position of Sr. Manager, Program Planning & Project Management in Comcast’s Quality Assurance team. Prior to working at Comcast, Jacquelyn worked as Director of IT at Hunter College in New York City and as Manager, Network Services, Operations and Program Management with Flextronics, in Dallas Texas.

Jacquelyn received a BA in Communications from Seton Hill University and an MS in Instructional Technologies from Philadelphia University. Jacquelyn is the leader of the Comcast Product Engineering Forum. She is a graduate of the Comcast Women Series Program and in 2010, Jacquelyn was selected to participate in WICT’s Rising Leaders Program. Jacquelyn is also a member of the NE&TO Inclusion team.

Debra A. Kent is an industry veteran with over 20 years of experience in the Cable/Satellite industries. Deb is currently a Senior Engineering Project Manager for the National Video Deployment Engineering team at Comcast in Philadelphia.

Her talents encompass not only the strategic technical skills of project management of complex programs but also the soft skills of team building, boosting morale and fostering a strong work ethic. At Comcast she has been a part of the high profile Powerboost and Speed Increase projects as well as leading teams on the Video Tru2way and RNG set top box programs. During her tenure at Primestar, Inc she penned their first Network Control Operations Policies and Procedures manual and played a key role in the design, implementation and training requirements for their new broadcast operations facilities. Kent was also instrumental in building and leading their broadcast traffic and scheduling team prior to the sale of the company to DirecTV.

2011 is Mrs. Kent’s first year serving on the board of Directors for the WICT Greater Philadelphia Chapter although she initially joined WICT National as a member in 1997. She is looking forward to working with the other Program Chairs to assist and bring value to as many of the exciting WICT Philly programs as possible. Deb is a native of the Philadelphia metro area and lives in New Jersey with her husband, Keith and their two children.

Beverley DeCaires of Comcast Cable is part of the National Engineering &Technical Operations (NETO) Organization and holds the position of Director of CRAN Engineering. As a network engineer for the past 12 years, Beverley has been at the fore front of the service provider technologies with an emphasis in cutting edge network design and implementation. Her accomplishments include direct participation in Comcast’s first IP engineering and deployment infrastructure initiative, known as Jumpstart, as well as Comcast’s first converged network initiative for residential services.

Today, as Director of CRAN Engineering, Beverley leads an Engineering Team that is responsible for the design, and build-out of Comcast’s Converged and Enterprise Network; a network that covers the entire North Eastern Region, from New England to Richmond Virginia. Beverly also manages and directs the design and implementation of Comcast’s Next Generation Architecture, supporting both commercial and residential services.

A graduate of City University of New York, Beverley earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and went on to obtain a Post baccalaureate certificate in Internet Analysis and Design, from Columbia University. In 2010, she earned her Master’s Degree in Management of Information Systems from the Florida Institute of Technology.

Beverley became a member of the WICT organization in 2001 where, over the years, she has participated in many of its programs. In November of 2011, Beverly was appointed to the WICT board as Director of Technology.

Jodi has over 15 years of experience working in various business development roles on the content, technology and operator side of the cable industry and has helped grow some of its most recognized brands including Comcast/Xfinity, TV Guide, Encore and Starz! Movie Channels, and Court TV.

Jodi is currently responsible for the distribution of existing and emerging voice, data and IP Video gateway technology for ARRIS, managing the largest CPE budget for ARRIS’ customer premise equipment including Docsis 2.0 and 3.0 cable modems, emta's and wireless gateway devices. As part of the ARRIS sales team focused on Comcast business, Jodi works with Comcast’s technical and product development engineering and business units to develop next generation whole home gateway solutions with converged voice, video and data capabilities as well as wifi networking with many of the new applications being demanded by the consumer.

As Director of Affiliate Sales and Marketing for the Northeast, Jodi was responsible for the distribution, marketing and product operations support of TV Guide Network (TVGN), TV Guide’s digital interactive guides (i-Guide and Passport), TV Guide on Demand (SPOT), TV Guide On-Line2Go, the next gen personalized guidance tools that enables consumers to have a content-rich, integrated guidance experience whether they access video entertainment through a traditional linear television platform, the internet, or through a mobile device. Jodi was also responsible for the distribution of TVG, the Interactive Horseracing Network, the official TV and Interactive Wagering partner of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA).

Prior to joining TV Guide, Jodi was Director of Programming at Comcast where she worked on the development and launch of CableLatino, Comcast’s package of Spanish language programming, as well as the acquisition of content to help address the growing consumer demand for multi-ethnic programming. In this role, Jodi worked with US distributors and content aggregators from around the world to help Comcast launch over 25 new Spanish language networks and VOD content, as well as content from Europe, Asia, India, the Middle East and Brazil. Following the launch of CableLatino, Jodi moved to Comcast’s Customer Service group as Director of Customer Service Operations where she collaborated with the national marketing and training teams to manage the rollout of the tier to Comcast Divisions throughout the country.

Before entering the cable industry, Jodi worked as an attorney for a general practice firm in NYC managing various corporate and partnership agreements and commercial litigation cases. She received her JD from New York Law School, and her BS in Business and Economics from Lehigh University. She was admitted to the Bar in New York and New Jersey.

Jodi has been a very active member and leader in WICT. She is very happy to be back on the Board as co-Chair of Tech-it-Out programs renewing her longtime commitment to the organization as a past Philadelphia Board Member from 1999-2008 and as President in 2002. She is a member of Class 22, graduating this past year from the Betsy Magness Leadership Institute.

Jodi lives in Ardmore, PA and is an Aunt to 4 nephews and 1 niece, and continues to volunteer as a Big Sister in the Philadelphia Big Brother/Big Sister program.

Karen Grandmont joined the Greater Philadelphia Chapter's WICT board in 2011 as Regional Outreach Director. Karen became a member of WICT during her first year at Comcast in 2000 and has actively participated in their formal mentorship program since 2009. She was awarded a scholarship to attend WICT's Executive Development Seminar in 2010 which she felt was extremely beneficial and relevant. She says, "I have learned so much about leadership styles, the importance of really listening and being in the moment and when to use my voice. I was able to recharge my batteries on both a professional and personal level while attending this program and I will treasure this experience always". She highly recommends EDS to women leaders who want to take their career to the next level.

Karen started with Comcast in June of 2000 as an A/P supervisor for Corporate Cable HQ. In 2001, she joined the Eastern Division as AP Manager and progressed to AP Director and then Sr AP Director. When A/P was centralized to Headquarters late in 2008, she assumed a newly created role for the Eastern Division responsible for managing Capital Expenditures, Purchasing, CPE supply chain and a small Division A/P team. In January 2011, Karen accepted a position for Cable Headquarters in Philadelphia as Director of Financial Operations.

Karen earned her bachelors degree in Accounting in 2000 from Holy Family University and received her CPA certification in 2002. She completed an Executive Development program through the Wharton School of Business at Comcast University in 2009.

Karen is a native Philadelphian and currently resides in Collegeville PA. She has 4 children, a little 3 pound Yorkshire Terrier, and is married to Daniel.

Tracey Kopper-Hourin serves as the Executive Director, Human Resources/Employee Engagement at Comcast Corporate Headquarters. Tracey has been with Comcast for five years and previously supported the Freedom Region where she was the Senior Director of Human Resources. Tracey is an accomplished Senior Human Resources Professional with demonstrated expertise in strategic planning, organizational development, project management, employee relations, labor, training, and federal/state regulation compliance. She is certified in PDI facilitation, DISC assessment, and various other leadership tools and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Tracey is responsible for designing and developing the strategy, tactics and key practices for our employee engagement strategy for the organization.

Tracey currently serves as a Mentoring Program Co-Chair for the WICT Philadelphia Chapter and serves on the board. The Mentoring Co-Chair is responsible for developing and leading the chapter’s mentoring development program. 2011’s Mentoring Program has its largest participation and is poised for great success.

Tracey is a proud born and bred Philadelphian and currently resides with her family in New Jersey.

Lorelei Adair is the Mentoring Program Co-Chair of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), a national non-profit organization that has been serving women in the cable industry for 30 years.

As Mentoring Co-Chair, Lorelei is responsible for developing and leading the chapter’s mentoring development program. She participated in the WICT Mentoring Program as a mentee for three years, and in 2010, Lorelei served as a mentor.

Lorelei is currently a Program Manager for Comcast University, managing learning and development programs for the Talent and Professional Development college. She earned her Master’s Degree in Leadership Development, and brings several years of human resources experience to the Co-Chair position. Lorelei is also certified in PDI facilitation, and DISC assessment leadership tools.

As the Sponsorship Chair for the Philadelphia WICT Chapter, Sarah Stroback develops relationships with technology companies, cable networks and other groups to secure funding and in-kind services for the local chapter events and programs.

Currently Sarah is Senior Producer for Comcast’s Video Business Unit. She is responsible for producing and distributing original programming for an array of children’s, music, entertainment, and pro-social On Demand networks. Since joining Comcast her work has received various awards, including a Mid-Atlantic Emmy.

Previously, she was a Producer at Center City Film & Video, where she gained extensive experience in film, documentary, commercial, studio and reality productions for many corporate and non-profit clients. Sarah holds a BA in English from Tufts University. In her free time, Sarah enjoys tennis, traveling, writing, and spending time with family and friends.

Sherri Jurgens is the Communications Chair for Women In Cable Telecommunications (WICT), a national non-profit organization that has been serving women in the cable industry for 30 years.

Sherri is the Director of Community Investment at Comcast and works on the national programs and partnerships team. Sherri works on Comcast’s signature programs such as Comcast Cares Day, the company’s largest single day of volunteer service, and Comcast’s United Way Giving Campaign as the lead for the online data and management processes. In addition, Sherri provides oversight for more than 13 Comcast Digital Connectors sites and manages Comcast’s scholarship programs including the nationwide scholarship program for high school seniors.

Sherri has a Bachelors of Arts in Integrative Health from the University of California at Berkley and a Masters in Public Health from MCP Hahnemann University. Sherri developed programs and preparedness tools that are utilized on a national and international basis, served as Chief Editor for an internationally recognized emergency preparedness manual, trained at the US Army War College, and served as a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s disease surveillance team.

Sherri currently serves as the event co-chair of United Way’s Project Next, and as the President of the Associate Board for the Saint Christopher’s Foundation for Children.

Chelsea Badeau is the Director of Social Media of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), a national non-profit organization that has been serving women in the cable industry for 30 years.

Chelsea is the Executive Producer of the Xfinity.comcast.net homepages. She has worked with Comcast Interactive Media (CIM) in a number of editorial roles since 2003. Xfinity.comcast.net is the online home for over 14 million monthly visitors nationwide. The site packages the Web’s best content sources for news, sports, finance, TV, entertainment and more. Previously, Chelsea held roles as Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Assistant Managing Editor, News Editor, and Lifestyle/Relationships Editor.

In 2009, Chelsea completed WICT’s Rising Leaders program and was awarded a scholarship for WICT’s Executive Development program in 2010. She was the recipient of Comcast Interactive Media’s first “Most Passionate About Work” award in 2010. Chelsea was named one of Leadership Philadelphia’s “Top 101 Emerging Connectors” and also graduated from the Philadelphia FBI’s Citizens’ Academy in 2009.

Chelsea is a very active member in her community, in addition to WICT, she is the co-chair of CIM’s volunteer committee, serves on the boards for The Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia, West Mount Airy Neighbors (WMAN), and sits on the classroom partnership advisory board for Need In Deed.

Chelsea has a Bachelor of Arts in Video Communications from Arcadia University. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and 6-year-old daughter, Chloe. Chelsea is one of 22 siblings, many of whom are adopted.

Mayra Bolton is a consultant with pureIntegration, an IT systems integration company providing business solutions and innovation to the federal, financial, communication and media industries. For the past 5 years, Mayra has supported various projects in the cable industry specifically on Billing, Email, VoIP and HSD applications. Currently, she’s engaged as an Integration Project Manager for Comcast VOD's content delivery team.

A WICT member since 2009, Mayra is currently serving as Webmaster for the 2012 WICT Greater Philadelphia Board and is looking forward to learning from the great women within WICT and finding ways to give back.

Mayra is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where she majored in Economics and minored in Latin America Studies. A native of Honduras, she has lived extensively in Texas, the suburbs of Northern Virginia and is currently enjoying urban living in Philadelphia. In her spare time Mayra enjoys road trips, international destinations, reading and knitting.

Jinni is an enthusiastic and energetic individual who has a diversified industry and culture background. She was raised and born in Beijing China, received her BA, MS in Chemistry at Beijing University. Due to her outstanding academic achievements, she was offered full scholarship to pursue her Ph.D in Germany. Jinni speaks fluently Mandarin and German.

Jinni came over to the United States 17 years ago and started her career with a leading Pharmaceutical Company Merck as a leading scientist. Her passion in learning and interest in technology transitioned her career from leading research scientist team to leading IT professionals in implementing new IT infrastructure, developing large scale web applications, working with multi vendors to configure/implementing large complex SAP, ERP, Clinical Trial systems. She got her MS in Computer Science and MBA while working full time. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), a Scrum Master, and certified Contract Management Professional. Jinni received multi Awards during her career at Merck for her achievements in project management leadership.

Jinni Joined Comcast in 2008 as a Senior Engineering Project Manager. For the past three years, Jinni has led large scale Internet,Video, Voice integrated complex Xplat projects/programs, such as rDVR, Remote Tune, On Demand Watchlist, UCID. Jinni is currently working on Xfinity Text Messaging, mCDV and ASTRO. She is responsible for leading project/program initiation from SAID, development, QA, trial to product launch. She works closely with multi vendors, CQA, CET for development, testing and works with CARE, NASR. OPS and EPMO for market and operational readiness for launching new products.

Jinni has been involved in WICT since 2009 by participating WICT events, actively engaging in the Mentor Program. Jinni was elected as Co-Webmaster for 2012 board. In the Co-Webmaster position, Jinni has been actively involved in the new website design/ update, and transition from old website to the new website. Jinni is looking forward to the exciting 2012 year for serving WICT members.

Jinni is also actively involved in NAMIC Philadelphia Chapter. She was elected to the 2012 board as Secretary.

Jinni loves cooking, hiking, reading in her spare time. She and her husband live in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania.

Melinda Yablonski is serving as Marketing Director on the Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) Board of Directors.

Melinda has been actively involved with WICT since joining Comcast Spotlight as a Senior Sales Planner in 2009. In this role, Melinda manages strategic partner relationships and sales pilot programs for Spotlight’s interactive advertising offerings on XFINITY.com and other premium sites.

Prior to joining Comcast, Melinda held positions at a number of other media outlets including broadcast television and radio.

Melinda is pursuing a Master’s degree in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania, and currently resides in Center City Philadelphia.

Ursula Henwood Keating currently serves as the Manager of Employee Engagement and Inclusion at Comcast. In this role, she is responsible for designing and creating communication and outreach to support the Employee Engagement and workforce Diversity & Inclusion strategy implementation.

Previously, Ursula managed corporate sponsorships and contributions as a part of the Community Investment group at Comcast Corporation.
Prior to joining Comcast in 2006, Ursula worked in PR/communications and event planning in the pharmaceutical and hospitality industries.

Ursula received a BA in Psychology and Linguistics from the University of Connecticut in 2005. She was a four-year letter winner on the Women’s Varsity Rowing team and served as a captain and President of the Student Athlete-Advisory Committee during her senior year.
Ursula serves on the board of WICT Philadelphia, is a Big Sister through Big Sisters Big Brothers of Southeastern Pennsylvania, a member of the Junior League of Philadelphia and the Young Friends of Project H.O.M.E. Ursula also serves as a committee chair for the Comcast SportsNet Shining Star Awards benefiting the March of Dimes. Ursula enjoys spending time with her husband, exercising, and traveling.

Rebecca Owens is Publicist, Communications for Sprout, the first 24-hour preschool destination available on TV, on demand and online for kids ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers. A professional with 8 years experience, Owens is responsible for building awareness for the network through internal and external communications in addition to overseeing and managing the department’s PR website, viewer services and employee public affairs initiatives.

Prior to joining Sprout in November 2005, Owens was Administrative Assistant, Public Affairs for Comcast Corporation. Her responsibilities included handling all inquiries to the Foundation, coordinating company sponsorship events, managing the Philadelphia headquarters Comcast Cares Day project, maintaining the Foundation and Corporate giving databases and supporting all staff members.

Owens completed Comcast’s Developing Future Leaders Program, a program which provides an opportunity for individual contributors to enhance their leadership skills and prepare them for future leadership opportunities. She was also awarded the WICT Rising Leader Award in 2010 for her contributions in giving back to the cable industry and her community.

Owens holds a B.A. in Communications from Temple University. She is a member of the Association of Cable Communicators (ACC), Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and additionally serves as a mentor for Temple students. She and her husband live in Bucks County, PA with their two children.

Betsy Brightman serves on the Board of Directors of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), a national non-profit organization that has been serving women in the cable industry for 30 years.

As the Vice President for Affiliate Relations & Distribution for RLTV, Betsy focuses on securing linear carriage with cable and satellite operators for the network. Prior to RLTV, Brightman was Senior Vice President of Sales Operations for Gemstar TV Guide International, where she oversaw all affiliate sales activities and operations with cable divisions, regions, systems and regional Multiple System Operators (MSOs) in the United States.

Betsy has worked in the cable industry since 1984, when she began her career with the Crosby Vandenburgh Group, publisher of customized cable guides. While working with CVG, Betsy was a founding board member of the initial Women In Cable Chapter in Boston. She is also the past President of the Philadelphia Chapter of WICT and a graduate of the Betsy Magness Leadership Institute(Class XXI.)

She is a graduate of College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA where she majored in English. She resides in North Wales, PA with her husband Jay and 3 children Andy, Samantha and Emma. She enjoys skiing, biking, running and swimming.

Nancy Beacham serves on the Board of Directors for Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), a national non-profit organization that has been serving women in the cable industry for 30 years.

Nancy, an advisory partner based in Philadelphia, specializes in financial and operational process and controls performance improvement. Respected for high integrity and her inspirational leadership style, Nancy is dedicated to fully immersing herself in her client’s business, providing common sense, practical solutions while building capacity in clients and team members. She is devoted to maintaining a consistent, calming, collaborative and fun working environment where people can deliver their best work even when faced with challenge or crisis.

Leveraging over 17 years of extensive experience serving telecommunications companies in both assurance and advisory capacities, Nancy serves the Entertainment, Media, and Communications sector, advising high profile, Fortune 500 clients. Nancy's experiences in working with companies' finance organizations include improving working capital by focusing on receivables management and procure to pay processes, accelerating the close process and enhancing various other financial reporting areas.

Nancy is considered a role model among her colleagues at PwC, admired for her consistent authenticity, and ability to establish deeply caring and committed relationships. A leader with a gift for creating harmony from chaos and differing points of view, she builds on areas of agreement, creating order and stability that puts people at ease.

Nancy is passionate about helping women succeed in both their professional and personal lives. In addition to her participation in WICT, Nancy is also a leader of PwC's Philadelphia Women's Networking Circle, a member of PwC's New York Metro Women's Initiative, and previously a sponsor of PwC's New York Metro Women's Advisory Network. In 2009, she was named to the YWCA (New York Chapter) Academy of Women Leaders for her work with mentoring aspiring women professionals. As treasured mentor and friend, Nancy is known for her generosity of time, talent, and energy. In 2009, Nancy helped found the Billy Keane Foundation which serves the greater Philadelphia area by assisting those suffering from illness or recovering from tragedy.

Nancy graduated from Philadelphia University (formerly known as Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science) with a degree in Accounting and is a licensed CPA in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Nancy enjoys spending time with family and friends and spoiling her nieces and nephews. She looks forward to every spring in an attempt to improve her golf game.

For the past year, Jane Taylor has held the title of Client Services Executive at Cisco supporting Comcast. Prior to Cisco, she spent 10 years with Sun Microsystems, where she supported the cable industry in various roles.

Jane has been involved with WICT for the past 5 years and is currently co-chair of the Membership committee. She has also served on the WICT Philly Gives Back 2010 committee and participates in mentoring opportunities and the Leadership in Life series. Jane is also an active member of SCTE and NAMIC.

Joan Ritchie serves on the Board of Directors of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), a national non-profit organization that has been serving women in the cable industry for 30 years.

As a member of WICT, she enjoys the breakfast series and other quality events put on by the Philadelphia Chapter and feels that membership offers an avenue to stay connected to former colleagues and to meet new ones in the industry. Joan’s number one goal while serving as a Director is to assist the Board with regional outreach to both members and non-members to ensure that there is awareness of the Chapter’s quality programs and the benefits of membership.

Joan Ritchie, CPA, is a Vice President in the accounting group of Comcast Cable Communications, LLC and was the Controller of the former Eastern Division of Comcast. Prior to joining Comcast, she was the Controller of a Philadelphia based non-profit membership organization for those in the field of cancer research. Prior to working at the American Association for Cancer Research, she was an audit manager with the public accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche.

While a resident of the Philadelphia area for the last 20 years, Joan originally hails from the Western part of the state from a small town outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Keeping to her small town roots, she currently resides with her husband and 3 children in a small town outside of Philadelphia.