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Madelyn Alfano - Owner, Maria's Italian Kitchen
Madelyn Alfano is the Owner of Maria's Italian Kitchens. She grew up around the food industry. Her parents owned small specialty markets, and a quick serve restaurant in Brentwood under her mother's name, Maria's. In 1985, Ms. Alfano opened the first table service Maria's Italian Kitchen in Sherman Oaks, retaining the name of her mother's original restaurant. This first Maria's Italian Kitchen proved to be a great success and Ms. Alfano expanded the concept to other locations. The second Maria's Italian Kitchen opened in 1988 in Woodland Hills. A year later the third restaurant opened up in Encino. In 1999, they were encouraged by Italian food lovers to open two more restaurants on extreme opposite sides of the Valley. A couple of months later the Hastings Ranch (East Pasadena) location opened up to an eager audience. They continue to improve, refine and grow with new stores opening soon in Santa Barbara and West Los Angeles. Madelyn Alfano is more than just the owner of one of California's most successful family of restaurants. She is also a devoted mother and a philanthropic leader. Her involvement in the philanthropic community and charities really came to the forefront when her son Max was born developmentally handicapped. Determined to make a difference, not only in her son's life but also in the lives of others, Madelyn is involved in several children's organizations. Ms. Alfano graduated from UCLA with a BS in Psychology.

Donna Andrews - President, Lee Andrews Group, Inc.
Donna Andrews is the President of the Lee Andrews Group, Inc. (LA Group), a Los Angeles-based firm which provides technology, environmental and public affairs consulting services to large scale public-private partnership projects. She has over twenty years of experience developing and managing public-private partnership programs involving compliance with federal, state and local legislation, including CEQA, NEPA, Coastal Act, Clean Air Act, energy and water regulations. Ms. Andrews has extensive experience in project management, strategic planning, public relations, legislative and environmental affairs. Ms. Andrews is involved in a number of communities, civic and business endeavors. She is currently Parliamentarian, GLAAACC, VP of Board, NAWBO, and serves on such boards as Planned Parenthood President's Council, National Urban Land Trust, City of Los Angeles Mayor's Infrastructure Advisory Committee, 1736 Family Crisis Center, LA Family Housing, Future PAC, Coalition for Clean Air, and California State High Speed Rail Authority. Ms. Andrews received a bachelor's degree in psychology/philosophy from Scripps College, a master's degree in public policy and politics from Claremont Graduate School and a Juris Doctor Degree from University of Southern California Law School with an environmental law emphasis.

Denise DeMan-Williams - President & CEO, Bench International
Denise (DeeDee) DeMan Williams is the Founder and CEO of one of the most successful specialized retained executive search firms in the world, with U.S. Headquarters based in Los Angeles and satellite offices based in New York and the United Kingdom. After graduating from San Diego States University's Graduate School of Speech and Hearing in 1974, she decided to bypass a career in research pathology and opted instead to follow her entrepreneurial spirit. DeeDee is deeply committed to properly "shattering" the glass ceiling for women in health care. To that end, she has spent more than a quarter of a century developing and promoting a network of women leaders in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. In addition to her leadership and management roles, DeeDee recruits in the areas of Research & Development, Corporate Leadership, Clinical Development, Regulatory Affairs, Science & Medical Advisory Boards and Boards of Directors.

Billie Greer - Founding Principal, Greer/Daily/Minter
With 30 years of experience in the public affairs arena, Billie Geer is the Founding Principal of Greer/Dailey/Minter, a Los Angeles-based consulting firm established in 1993. Billie and her firm help businesses, non-profit institutions and public agencies address sensitive challenges that emerge in today's politically complex world. The firm specializes in generating political and community support for potentially controversial real estate developments and environmentally sensitive projects, in communities both large and small. Over the years, Ms. Greer has spent countless hours in the community "trenches" helping to create a climate of acceptance and support necessary for clients to successfully secure entitlements and regulatory approvals. A successful lobbyist on the local level, she encourages women to enter this arena, one that remains primarily in the male domain. With respect to the private sector, Ms. Greer has worked on real estate and community relations assignments for NBC, Vivendi Universal Studios, 3M, Washington Mutual, Gold Fields Mining Company, House of Blues Concerts, Trammell Crow, Shamrock Holdings, DeVry Institutes, AvalonBay Communities, and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, among many others. Ms. Greer and other members of the Greer/Dailey/Minter team have also assisted a number of non-profit institutions in meeting community-sensitive challenges. They include the J. Paul Getty Trust, Art Center College of Design, the Los Angeles CRA/Hollywood project area team, Cedars-Sinai Health Systems, Marymount College, California State University Northridge, the Brentwood School, Phoenix House, and Kidspace Children's Museum. Before co-founding the firm ten years ago, Ms. Greer served as senior vice president of public affairs at Braun Ketchum Public Relations in Los Angeles, which she joined in 1977. Ms. Greer graduated from the University of Colorado where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 1976-77, Billie received a graduate fellowship in public affairs from CORO Southern California. Active in business and community affairs, Billie is a Vice Chair of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association and serves on the advisory boards of the Valley Economic Development Corporation and the Children's Museum Commission of Greater Los Angeles. She is also a trustee of the Lowe Institute of Political Economy at Claremont-McKenna College.