Staff Bios
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Central Management

Julie Castro Abrams – Chief Executive Officer
Julie Castro Abrams is a national leader in microfinance and women’s issues. She has been CEO of Women’s Initiative since 2001, following a non-profit career that spanned 20 years in Chicago. She led the transition of Women’s Initiative from a founder-led organization to a rapidly growing non-profit that has expanded throughout the Bay Area and increased the number of women trained and receiving microloans tenfold. Under her leadership, significant new services have been developed that contribute to the success of entrepreneurs and the economic growth in the communities served by the organization, and the Women’s Initiative has been recognized by the Urban Institute Best Practices Foundation, the Equal Rights Advocates and Cisco Innovation in Technology, among others. Julie currently serves on the Board of the California Association for Microenterprise Opportunity (CAMEO), on the OneCalifornia Bank Advisory board and is a highly sought after speaker and expert on microenterprise in the U.S. Julie is the recipient of the League of Women Voter’s “Women Who Could Be President” Award, SBA Advocate of the year 2009, Human Rights Award from the Commission on the Status of Women, the Women of Color Action Network Award. Prior to her work at Women’s Initiative, Julie served as Deputy Director and Director of Development and Marketing at Chicago’s Merit School of Music. Julie’s previous positions include Director of Development at Community Christian Alternative Academy and principal at the Catalyst Group consulting firm. She has also held positions with the Illinois Pro-Choice Alliance, the Chicago Department of Health, and the Chicago Foundation for Women. Julie studied for her masters degree in Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago and she has a BA in Human Development and Social Policy from the school of Education at Northwestern University. She currently lives in Novato with her husband and two children.

Madhuri Pottathil Kirkham - Corporate Relations Manager
Madhuri joined Women’s Initiative in 2006 and has spent her entire professional career in non-profit. After graduating from U.C.L.A. in 2000 she worked as a Meeting Planner for D.A.R.E. America at their headquarters in Los Angeles. Their mission centers around drug abuse prevention for youth. She later moved to San Francisco and worked as the Training & Event Coordinator at Seneca Center, a non-profit agency dedicated to serving the Bay Area’s severely emotionally disturbed youth. At Women’s Initiative she leads Special Events in the Fundraising Department. She is passionate about supporting women and their families to be economically self-sufficient and is inspired by communities’ support of our graduates.

Tim Burch - Data Manager
As Data Manager, Tim works with the executive team to develop and execute performance management systems, including agency dashboards. He also provides analysis to various departments, to improve program efficiency and effectiveness, and to better promote the work of Women's Initiative. Tim holds a degree in computer engineering from Cornell University, and has more than eight years of IT experience, spanning for-profit and non-profit sectors.


Elizabeth de Renzy – Researcher and Data Analyst
Elizabeth de Renzy joined Women’s Initiative in August 2007 with nine years of quantitative and qualitative social science research experience. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, she returned last year after over 12 years in Germany. As a graduate student at the University of Bielefeld in Germany she has led seminars on statistics and quantitative social science research methodologies and has worked as a Research Assistant in international research projects on credit unions, working conditions for women in the financial and retail sector and on financial regulation. As Researcher and Data Analyst in the Research and Public Policy department at Women’s Initiative, she is optimizing the research and reporting so the agency can look at the effectiveness of services and understand clients’ needs. She holds an MA in Sociology.

Remi Spector, Corporate Relations Associate
Remi joined Women’s Initiative is 2009 with a background in both individual and corporate fundraising. Before joining Women’s Initiative, Remi worked at the United Way of the Bay Area where she managed workplace giving campaigns for companies like Wells Fargo, UPS, and Nordstrom. Before moving to San Francisco, Remi worked at the Center for Reproductive Rights in the communication department. She graduated from New York University with a degree in Feminist Anthropology and Economic History.

San Francisco and North Bay Region

Nicole Levine –Executive Director, San Francisco & North Bay
Nicole Levine has more than 20 years experience in the Bay Area private and nonprofit sectors, with a special focus on economic development. She has a long history with the Women’s Initiative including serving as a volunteer, program assistant and business trainer at different times in her career. Her professional background includes serving as the interim executive director for Urban Solutions and the Oakland Ballet, and executive director for Wardrobe for Opportunity. She also spent four years providing microloans and business assistance at OBDC Small Business Finance. Leveraging her experience in the nonprofit sector, she has worked with HP, Agilent and Chevron to strengthen their community and grant making programs. Nicole earned an MBA from UC Davis and is honored to be on the advisory board of the Bay Area Women’s and Children’s Resource Center, a Tenderloin nonprofit where she has been volunteering since she was a teenager.

Sofia Campos – Client Services Coordinator fo San Francisco & Client Services Team Lead
Sofia joined Women’s Initiative in 2008 where she currently develops a wide range of social welfare and outreach programs for underserved and immigrant communities throughout Northern California. These programs focus to enable the clients of Women’s Initiative to advance their business ideas. Sofia received her Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from the Jesuit University ITESO in Guadalajara in 2002. As part of an International Studies program she spent a year abroad at the University of Cordoba in Argentina. After graduating she worked with the Mexican International Cultural Festival to globally promote and create cultural awareness of the people of Latin America and their heritage. After moving to San Francisco in 2003 she worked at the Mexican Consulate as Education Liaison for the Institute of Mexican Abroad Program funded by the Mexican Government.She came to Women’s Initiative with over six years of experience serving in education, public service, and management positions, and continues to make valuable contributions both to the organization and its clients.

East Bay Region

Thais Rezende – Executive Director, East Bay Region
Thais comes to Women's Initiative with three years of non-profit experience, working as Public Relations Manager in her native Mexico. She helped open three virtual libraries and consistently provided services to more than 300 homeless children. When she moved to the Bay Area, she worked for the Mexican Consulate as part of The Mexican Communities Abroad Team where she helped implement and develop health, educational and business trade programs. She also worked for OLDCOA, in Oakland California where she recently served as Program Specialist/Subsidy Counselor. Her background includes journalism work both in TV and print. She holds a B.A. in International Relations and is fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese.


Carmen Angulo – Client Services Coordinator in Contra Costa County
Carmen Angulo was first introduced to Women’s Initiative as a client. In April 2007, she completed the Simple Steps to Business Success course in Concord, CA. While beginning to launch her own business, C.A. Goods –Central American Imports, she became the Client Services Coordinator in Concord. Born in El Salvador, Carmen grew up in Contra Costa County and holds a Computer Business Administration degree from Heald Business College. Prior to joining Women’s Initiative, Carmen worked at Monument Community Partnership, a non-profit committed to enhancing services and resources to a predominantly low-income immigrant community in the East Bay. During this time, Carmen also facilitated a group of ten Latina women interested in starting a worker owned business cooperative.  With a passion for entrepreneurship and social responsibility, Carmen is inspired by Women’s Initiative’s clients who too have chosen to follow their dreams and revitalize the communities in which they live.

Christiane Gonzalez – SuccessLink Specialist in Alameda County and Interim SuccessLink Team Lead
Christiane comes to Women’s Initiative with three years of Change Management experience, working as Strategic Change Management Consultant in Price Waterhouse Coopers in Mexico City. When she moved to the Bay Area in 2000, she worked for the Consulate General of Mexico as part of The Mexican Communities Abroad Team as a International Trade Liaison where she leaded and coordinated different international trade mission trips, a group of Mexican, Latino and US entrepreneurs of the SF Bay Area to be part of a Mexico City Meeting of Hispanic Market networking of North America. She also worked for Vinos and Gournet, Inc., as their Operations Manager. Christiane holds a B.A. Business Management with emphasis in International Business from ITESM University.

Silicon Valley

Lorrie Williams – Executive Director, Silicon Valley
Lorrie’s experience as an entrepreneur, small business owner, and business development consultant spans over 15 years. Her expertise lies in areas of sales and marketing, advertising and promotions in addition to operations and production management. She has owned and operated several successful businesses in the bay area and has also experienced the joys of successful business partnerships. Lorrie’s mission is to form an alliance with her clients by developing their business skills and connecting them to their inner purpose and passion. Through specific goals setting and accountability she helps her clients facilitate a shift in thinking creating sustainable change within their businesses and lives. Lorrie’s style is one of heartfelt support, enthusiastic encouragement coupled with humor to help guide and inspire you on your journey. She is a certified Core Energy Coach, an active member of (ICF) International Coach Federation and San Francisco Coaches.

Annika Stimman - Client Services Coordinator for San Jose
Born and raised in Lima, Peru, Annika came to Women’s Initiative in 2009 after moving to the US from South America.  She has a B.A in Hospitality Management from Externado de Colombia University, which gave her the opportunity to work with people from different cultures and backgrounds. Because of her experience and background, Annika considers herself as a people’s person. Coming from South America, Annika says she can relate to the challenges women face to become self sufficient and financially independent and she is happy to be part of this process of helping women achieve their goals and get their dreams realized

Diana Garcia - SuccessLink Specialist for San Jose
Diana has over 10 years of Client Relationship experience. She started her career in the Finance Industry in her native Colombia. In 1999 she moved to the United States where she has worked in the private sector and has served as a volunteer in organizations such as the Colombian-American Council in Orlando, Florida and Ann Arbor Meals on Wheels in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Diana holds a degree in Business Administration with emphasis in Marketing from Portland State University. She recently moved to the Bay Area where inspired by Women’s Initiative’s mission joined the organization initially as volunteer. Diana grew up learning about her father’s micro business and she witnessed the importance that a small business represents to a family and to the community in general.

Trainers/Consultants

Meet our trainers! Front Row: (left to right): Meredith Mehlberg, Sandra Murillo, Shannon Penn, and Gonzalo Martinez Metzler. Middle Row: (left to right): Marisela Barbosa, Norma Martinez Rubin, Suraiya Ahmed, and Maria Lo Valvo. Back Row: (left to right): Diana Estrada, Nika Quirk, Tonya Jenkins, Lorrie Williams, and Yolanda Butler. Not pictured: Karen Auguste, Jayne Speich, Carolyn Johnson, Milagros Acosta, Claudia Medina, and Susana Gama.

Meet our master trainers & consultants! (left to right): Nika Quirk, Sandra Murillo, and Shannon Penn

Sandra Murillo-Brucker – Senior ALAS Trainer
Sandra Murillo is a small business owner with an extensive background in finance and insurance. A former ALAS client, Sandra started her own insurance agency, MUR Insurance Services, in 1999. Sandra has broad business experience in sales, prospecting, customer and public relations, training and presentations, marketing, financial planning and loans. Sandra has built a strong reputation both nationally and internationally for her business start up acumen and for her work with Latinas in business. She is a frequent speaker on panels and in trade relations with Mexico. Sandra has built extensive networks that bring personal and professional growth to the women she serves at Women’s Initiative. In particular, Sandra brokers media exposure for women starting businesses. She is fluent in Spanish and has B.A. degrees in Industrial Psychology and Elementary Teaching from Mexico. Sandra is a licensed insurance broker in the State of California.

Gonzalo Martinez-Metzler – Small Business Trainer
Mr. Martinez-Metzler has over twenty years experience in the fields of urban planning, socio-economic development, labor relations and economic analysis in the United States and Latin America. He has managed and coordinated culturally diverse and multidisciplinary teams. His past experiences include financial management of internationally funded projects for the government of El Salvador, cooperative strategic planning for city governments, non-profit organizations and for profit enterprises. Mr. Martinez-Metzler has also extensive experience in teaching urban and regional planning, business planning, economics and quantitative literacy in English and Spanish. Mr. Martinez-Metzler earned two master degrees in Economics and Community and Regional Planning from the University of New Mexico.

Karen L. Auguste - Small Business Trainer
Karen has over 20 years of business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketing communications experience. 12 years were spent in leadership roles in marketing communications working for Fortune 500 technology companies. The last eight years have been spent consulting with small businesses, non-profit organizations and minority associations to develop their advertising, public relations, graphic design, and event management programs. In addition, she teaches a series of marketing classes to entrepreneurs at the Renaissance Center in San Francisco. With a certificate from San Jose State’s marketing communications program, a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems Management from the University of San Francisco, and an MBA from the University of San Francisco, she has acquired the experience and education in business and technology that combines contemporary marketing principles with current business best practices; all with an emphasis on creating an effective, strategic plan that delivers measurable results.

Luis Nanez - Small Business Trainer
Luis Nanez is a small business owner with background in business administration, business Organization, and technology. He has over 18 years of experience running his LJN Services - Maintenance and Janitorial business since 1992. He studied Business Administration in San Marcos University in Lima, Peru. He worked in the data and statistic department for “Bolivariana Distributor”, a nationwide magazine distributor in Lima, Peru. He was a member of the Salvation Army Advisory Committee in Petaluma, California (2006). Luis has vast experience in sales, marketing and personal empowerment. He likes to educate his community by connecting with other non profits, city agencies to offer presentations to the Hispanic community in subjects such as: Financial Literacy, How to prepare a home budget and how personal credit works in the U.S. He believes everyone has the ability to succeed; they just need a helping hand to discover their potentials. Luis is also a licensed real estate agent in the state of California since 1999.

Marisela Barbosa - Small Business Trainer and Consultant
Marisela is a small business owner with a diverse background in commercial, residential and public projects. She brings to Women’s Initiative more than 15 years of experience in Operations Management, out of which, the last 5 years were dedicated to her private consulting business OMS (Office Management Solutions). Marisela specialized in assisting small to mid-size businesses to better manage their day to day operations. Some of her clients include wineries, construction, engineering, restaurants and non-profit organizations. Her role as a consultant included formulating growth strategies, corporate policies, finance, human resources policies, and public relations. Her experience in financial management is enhanced by her ability to assess and envision system restructuring for more cost effective and efficient operation. Marisela is also one of the founders of an Architectural/Engineering firm currently launching into international markets. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in management. She is bi-lingual in English/Spanish and enjoys working with new entrepreneurs to become successful

Merideth Mehlberg, ACC - Small Business Trainer
Merideth became a business and career coach after more than 15 years in the corporate world. She served as a recruiter at Adecco, where she developed an understanding of the human side of business. She worked as a product manager, business analyst, and project manager on software development teams at Matson Navigation Company, Vivant Corporation, and GT Nexus. In her coaching practice, Merideth helps small business owners define their goals, develop their business plans, and analyze and troubleshoot business issues. Merideth has completed training as a consultant to implement the One Page Business Plan, and she speaks and offers workshops for entrepreneurs based on this program. Merideth also coaches clients, presents workshops, and speaks on career and fertility-related issues. Merideth has an undergraduate degree in Social Science from the University of California at Berkeley. She holds an associate-level coaching credential with the International Coach Federation, and earned her coaching certificate from John F. Kennedy University. She is a member of the International Coach Federation, Professional Coaches and Mentors Association, Business Network International, and eWomen Network.

Milagros Acosta - Small Business Trainer
Milagros Acosta was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She is married and is the mother of two daughters, Beatrice and Dianna. She has lived in San Francisco for more than 20 years and has owned her own private family child care for over 14 years. Milagros has committed the last ten years of her professional life to organizing and educating licensed and unlicensed child care providers. She has helped them develop business plan, get licensed and get their early childhood education units. Milagros feels strongly about the need for childcare providers to see themselves as professionals. Milagros has organized Hispanic child care providers and in 2001 was the first Hispanic Child Care Providers Conference in Spanish, in the Bay Area, giving units from City College. In September 2002 Milagros was nominated Community Local Hero for KQED Channel 9 in the celebration of the Hispanic Heritage Month. The Hispanic Child Care Providers Group has been in the Mission for the last 20 years. In 1999 Milagros became a President of the Mission Neighborhood Advisory Committee that oversees the San Francisco Hispanic Child Care Providers Group.

Nika N. Quirk, MBA – Small Business Trainer and Consultant
As a small business coach, consultant, and trainer at Women’s Initiative, Nika is a proven catalyst for insightful change and forward momentum for the agency’s clients. Women’s Initiative also benefits from her work developing programs. Nika has owned her own coaching and consulting business since 2002, after a 25 year career in the corporate world. In addition to an MBA from the University of Phoenix and an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Human Resource Management from Oakland’s Holy Names University, Nika completed coach-training coursework at Coaches Training Institute in San Rafael and holds a Certificate in Training and Human Resource Development from UC Berkeley Extension. She is a Certified Small Business Advisor with The One Page Business Plan Company®. Currently, she’s engaged in a Ph.D. program in Humanities with a focus on Transformative Learning and Change.

Norma Martinez-Rubin - Small Business Trainer
A life-long learner, Norma Martínez-Rubin is into a second career as founder of a health program evaluation firm, Evaluation Focused Consulting. She embraces her experience in the public non-profit and (now) for-profit cultures from the perspective of a California-reared, first-generation, bilingual and bicultural American of Mexican ancestry. Her formal education in public health (M.P.H.) and business administration (M.B.A.) serve as launching points to infuse the small-business training she facilitates for Women’s Initiative for Self Employment.

Shannon Penn - Small Business Trainer/Consultant
Trained as a social worker turned business woman, Shannon Penn has extensive finance and marketing experience she brings to the classes she trains. If you need help with your cash flow and budgets Shannon will make you think you showed up to the world’s best party. Shannon holds an MSW and has an extensive repertoire of business connections and clients.

Susana Gama - Small Business Trainer
Susana obtained a BA in Business Administration in Mexico and offers extensive experience in the following areas: More than 20 years experience in Business Development and Business Banking. Acted as a Financial Counselor for micro business and medium size businesses in Mexico. Assisted in the implementation and development of a new program with the Chamber of Commerce and BNCI (National Bank of Interior Commerce) to help new and small businesses to obtain new lines of credit by submitting Credit and Tax Analysis to the decision makers. Successfully opened her own business in Mexico, before she came to U.S. Susana is bilingual in English and Spanish

Yolanda Silva – Small Business Trainer
Yolanda comes to Women’s Initiative with more than 10 years of experience in providing services to low and median income women in the Bay Area. Most recently she worked closely with a Housing Community Development in Contra Costa, where she managed an educational financial program and administrate several Individual Development Accounts.
She obtained a Master degree in Art of Journalism from Varovezh University in Russia. Recently she completed an intensive course sponsored by NBC/TELEMUNDO Network at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Yolanda has first hand experience in what it takes to get a business going as she started her own very successful restaurant business in 2001.

Yolanda Y. Butler – Small Business Trainer/Consultant
Yolanda has been an entrepreneur for 15 years and graduated in Business Administration from California State University, Hayward. She is alumni to Leadership Oakland (1991) and Oakland City Management Academy (1998). She has sat on various boards from Community Development Block Grant District IV to her most recent appointment in 2004, Contra Costa County Library Commissioner, District V. She brings a wealth of business resources, experience and contacts for new and growing businesses. She holds a certificate in Meeting and Event Planning from San Francisco State University. Although new to Women’s Initiative, she has served as a trainer/consultant for over 10 years. She is a known for her “creativity” in the training industry.

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