Member Webinar: International Women’s Day 2024

Kaela (she/they pronouns) is currently the Associate Director of Advisory at Seramount, focused on the Employee Resource Group (ERG) advisory offerings, providing advice and resources to organizations executing ERG strategies.

Before coming to Seramount, Kaela drove diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices at various organizations, including Assured Partners, Wawa, and Aramark, which included ERG strategy-building, ERG leadership upskilling, aligning objectives to the business, and executive leadership engagement. Prior to specializing in DE&I, Kaela’s background centered around critical HR functions, such as talent management, organizational development/change, HR systems/analytics, communications, and employee engagement. They also served as an ERG leader during their time in HR roles.

Kaela has a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership with a focus in Human Resources from Northeastern University and is an alum of Temple University with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. They hold a Senior Certified Professional (SCP) certification from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). Kaela is also an active member of the local Philadelphia community and holds board and operational leadership roles with Philly SHRM, Making Worlds Bookstore and Social Center, and cinéSPEAK. Kaela is also an active thought leader and frequently contributes their insights on panel discussions, workshops, and conferences.

They were nominated as an HR Rising Star in 2020 by the Delaware Valley HR Person of the Year Awards and named one of Philadelphia’s Top 40 Connectors and Keepers by Leadership Philadelphia in their 2021 class. True to their passion, Kaela loves to travel to new cities and explore new foodie dishes to learn more about the cultures of others. They also geek out on sci-fi and space travel and can easily get lost in a good book, movie, or TV show.

Paula is located in São Paulo, Brazil.

In her role as DE&I sponsor, Paula drives local initiatives for Otis through collaboration and partnership with regional and functional teams in Brazil.

Nowadays, she oversees the expansion of Forward, our Employee Resource Group (ERG) in Brazil.

Paula brings experience in DE&I, implementing several initiatives for Otis, such as

Field trainings (employees and leaders), Mentoring Program, support for Retention, enhance technical tools for women.

She has represented the company as public speaker in external events to share best practices.

Paula holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in human resources.

Penny Neferis is the Director of Business Continuity & Emergency Response at JetBlue Airways.  Penny joined JetBlue in July 1999 and played a key role on the JetBlue startup team.  Penny founded the Care, Emergency Response and Business Continuity department for the New York-based JetBlue Airways and served as its first Director, developing and implementing the company’s emergency response plans, training, procedures, command centers and exercises.  Penny also leads the System Operations Safety Management System program development, implementation, and management.

Penny serves as JetBlue’s Executive Sponsor of the Crewmember Resource Group – Women in Flight. She is the Vice President to the Private Sector Emergency Management Association and a board member to the non-profit NYC Medics. Penny is also a lecturer for MIT’s Crisis Management and Business Continuity course.

Penny holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a dual major in Aeronautics and Management from Dowling College in Oakdale, NY.

Renowned comedian, actress, writer, and disability advocate Maysoon Zayid jokes that if there were an ‘Oppression Olympics,’ she would win the gold medal: “I’m Arab, I’m Muslim, I’m a woman of color, I’m divorced, I’m disabled, and I live in New Jersey.” Known for her famed TED Talk “I got 99 problems…palsy is just one,” which has over 11M views, Zayid is a highly sought-after speaker for events with groups like the Ralph Lauren Foundation, Fidelity, Veeam, the Asia Society, Salesforce, and many more. Zayid has performed around the world, headlining the Arabs Gone Wild Comedy Tour and The Muslims Are Coming Tour, in which comedians toured the U.S. in an effort to counter Islamophobia. She is the co-founder and co-executive producer of the New York Arab American Comedy Festival and The Muslim Funny Fest. In her New York Times bestselling memoir Find Another Dream, Zayid shares her hilarious and poignant journey of failures, successes, and insights about what it takes to make your dream a reality.
Zayid served as a full-time on-air contributor for Countdown with Keith Olbermann, and has been featured on The Nick Cannon Show’s Cannon’s Comedy Club, Let’s Kiki with Miz Cracker, CNN, The Wall Street Journal’s Secrets of Wealthy Women podcast, in The New York Times, and Glamour, which nailed her as “the most fearless comic alive.” Her writing has been featured in Refinery29 and The Daily Beast, among many others. Her second book, a middle-grade graphic novel titled Shiny Misfits, is set to be published by Scholastic in 2024, with an audiobook distributed by Audible. A current Princeton University Arts Fellow, she teaches in-demand courses on comedy, brand messaging, and collaboration. Hilarious, disarming, and sharing a message of inclusion that matters, Zayid’s comedy and commentary resonate with audiences of all kinds.