NH Business Review proudly presents our fifth annual Powered by Women conference, an inspiring event that will showcase the drive, conviction and persistence of women leaders in the Granite State. Powered by Women serves to connect female leaders through these stories that will leave them feeling empowered and informed to succeed in their endeavors.
The event will feature successful women leaders from different career backgrounds and perspectives, who will give 10-minute talks about their personal and professional growth followed by a 45-minute panel discussion.
Latonya Wallace
Business Lender
NH Community Loan Fund
In addition to working for the NH Community Loan Fund, Latonya sits on the Portsmouth Library’s Board of Trustees, is a 2020 graduate of Leadership Seacoast and a 2021 recipient of the NH Women’s Foundation AmplifiHER award, which celebrates the women and girls of the pandemic. Additionally, Latonya was recognized by NH Business Review as one of the 200 most influential leaders in 2021.
As an adult, Latonya is a powerhouse of positive outlook, mentorship and grace behind a smile. But beneath the sparkle, Latonya hasn’t forgotten what it’s like to feel excluded and undervalued.
Today, she strives to help people develop to their potential and has a particular passion for empowering people. In service of that mission, Latonya is a board member of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, which promotes awareness and appreciation for the lives and history of African Americans. She is also an incorporator and vice chair for the Business Alliance for People of Color.
When Latonya isn’t working at her full-time job, parenting her children singlehandedly or immersing herself in civic activities, she is building bridges; lighting the way along a nuanced path that will bring people together. When her journey is behind her, she wants to leave a legacy of “She showed up.”
Elaine Hamel
Founder, Executive Director & Program Leader
Girls at Work
Elaine believes teaching girls and women how to use power tools to build provides an experience that shatters the lens of powerlessness that so many struggle with. Girls need extreme measures to silence the voices of self-doubt that consume them at every turn. She believes building does just that and also enables them to discover that the most powerful tool in their arsenal is their voice. Elaine has:
• Empowered well over 15,000 girls through building since she founded Girls at Work, Inc. in 2000.
• Graduated from the Leadership Greater Manchester program.
• Has over 25 years experience as a general contractor specializing in residential renovations.
• Led six service trips to rebuild New Orleans homes in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Emily Schwerin-Whyte
Co-Collaborative Exec. Officer
W.S. Badger Company
Emily Schwerin-Whyte co-leads Badger’s strategic visioning and oversees its sales and product development. The company has received numerous awards and recognition, including Real Leaders, New Hampshire’s Business of the Year 2019, B Lab’s Best for the World, and landing a spot on Forbes’ Small Giants list. Emily and her co-CEO and sister, Rebecca, are the Alnoba 2021 CEO Environmental Leadership Award recipients.
Emily has been a part of Badger since its founding, helping to pack boxes while in high school, and after graduating college, learning the operational side of the family-owned and family-run business before taking on leadership roles in customer service, marketing, sales management, and product development.
When Emily joined Badger full time, the company had only 25 employees. Today, it is a 90-plus person business, a leader in the natural products industry, and a beacon within the B Corp movement for social responsibility and environmental sustainability. Emily is proud of the family-friendly benefits Badger provides, and believes that businesses thrive when they operate responsibly, treat employees like family, and invest in their communities.
Elissa Margolin
Director
Housing Action NH
Housing Action NH is a statewide organization of 80 organizations and businesses working to improve state and federal policy so everyone in New Hampshire has a place to call home.
Since its founding in 2009, Housing Action NH has successfully secured appropriations for the InvestNH Housing Program and the Affordable Housing Fund, increased funding for NH’s homeless shelters, established a new Medicaid benefit for supportive housing services, helped pass the Community Toolbox Bill and accessory dwelling unit legislation, created the Housing Appeals Board, and protected the Workforce Housing Law.
Elissa holds a J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law and a B.A. from McGill University. She resides in Portsmouth with her husband, a number of musical instruments and a miniature dachshund.
Eva Castillo
Director of NH Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees/Welcoming NH – MIRA Coalition
Eva was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and moved to Michigan in 1976 where she graduated from Western Michigan University.
In Michigan, she directed the Hispanic American Council, and upon moving to New Hampshire in 1984, she worked at the New England Farm Workers Council and the Latin American Center.
In 2007, Eva was hired by MIRA Coalition as an organizer and director of the NH Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees and Welcoming NH.
Eva’s tireless work to support immigrants with workers rights education, medical and legal interpreting and immigrant rights advocacy, has granted her the community trust, and they contact her with a wide range of issues when the need arises.
Eva serves as a Manchester Police Commissioner and is part of several boards and steering committees in New Hampshire.
She is the recipient of several honors and awards, including:
• AFL-CIO NH Social Justice Award 2007
• Officer Michael Briggs Community Award Hero 2011
• DAR NH Americanism Award 2015
• Martin Luther King Award 2017, MLK Coalition
• ACLU NH Civil Liberties Award 2019
• Outstanding Women of NH 2019
Thursday, November 3 | 8 - 11:30 a.m. Manchester Country Club, Bedford, NH Register at nhbr.com/pbw
