13 Women Awarded FWSF Scholarships in 2019

Sarah Jacobson will be attending Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in the fall of 2019. She earned her BA in human biology and MS in management science and engineering from Stanford University.

Sarah is currently a product manager at Square, where she leads teams that create economic empowerment for small business owners and their employees. Through her career in building software for small businesses and their employees, Sarah saw the lack of resources for individuals who fall outside of the traditional employment system. As such, she plans to start a company focused on democratizing access to affordable financial tools and benefits for independent contractors. Active in her community, Sarah is a volunteer tax preparer for low-income San Francisco residents and a mentor with SF Unified Public Schools.

Imogen is a student at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, where she is pursuing her MBA. She is a scientist by training, earning her undergraduate degree in natural sciences (genetics) at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. While at Stanford University, Imogen was a section representative and now sits on the school’s Academic Committee. 

Imogen is passionate about improving access to contraception and is working to start a women’s health investment fund and advocacy organization. Prior to her Stanford University enrollment, Imogen worked at a women’s health NGO, Myna Mahila Foundation, in Mumbai, India, and spent three years at Glaxo Smith Kline in marketing, R&D, and biotech venture capital.

Keelia is pursuing her MBA at the Lorry I. Lokey School of Business and Public Policy at Mills College, where she serves as president and co-founder of the Investing Club and co-president of the Lokey School’s Net Impact chapter. Keelia graduated summa cum laude with her bachelor’s degree in sociology from St. Mary’s College of California, where she was named Student Activist of the Year for her involvement in social justice work. Recently, the Center for Women and Gender Equity at St. Mary’s awarded Keelia with the Alumni Leading by Example award in recognition of her community involvement. A fervent advocate for building stronger communities through financial empowerment, Keelia volunteers with local nonprofits working to build economic mobility pathways for low-income young people. Keelia plans to build her career in community development finance, helping to create values-driven and socially responsible financial products that equitably serve our diverse communities. Keelia is incredibly honored to be joining FWSF’s network of impactful, inspiring, and change-making women in finance.

Chelsie is a graduate student at the University of San Francisco (USF) pursuing a MS in entrepreneurship and innovation. Chelsie was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in financial economics from Strathmore University.

At USF, she participated in the 2019 Venture Capital Investment Competition. She is also a student ambassador for the School of Management, where she promotes her program and communicates with incoming graduate students. Chelsie is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honorary society. She is currently interning at Splunk Inc. in a business analysis and project management role. Chelsie’s passion lies with emerging markets development and women’s empowerment. She hopes to lend her efforts towards Kenya’s development, planning to eventually start her own fintech venture to increase access to investments and financial literacy to underserved communities within Kenya.

Ayla Schlosser is a graduate student at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. A California native, Ayla is returning to the U.S. after six years living in Rwanda, where she founded Resonate, a nonprofit social enterprise that unlocks the leadership potential of women and girls in East Africa. Ayla built Resonate from the ground up, and in six years created a program that serves more than 6,000 women and youth. The organization has transitioned to a fully East African team. During her time as CEO of Resonate, Ayla became intimately acquainted with the challenges of creating a scalable business model, building a team, and raising capital. During her graduate studies she will focus on finance and investment, with an ultimate post-graduation goal of working with a fund directing resources and support to local entrepreneurs in emerging markets.

Ayla was a Mary Maples Dunn scholar at Smith College, where she graduated with honors with a BA in government and a minor in Spanish language. Ayla was awarded the 2014 Brimstone Award for Applied Storytelling for her work with Resonate and was named one of Conscious Company Magazine’s 17 Rising Social Entrepreneurs. She is a 2015 Unreasonable Institute Global Fellow, a 2016 recipient of the Cordes Fellowship, and represented Resonate as part of the 2017 GSBI Accelerator Program and the 2017 cohort of the SPRING Accelerator. Ayla serves as an international grant advisor for The Pollination Project, and as a member of the Global Advisory Board for the Women’s Global Leadership Initiative.

Jie Wang is a first-year MBA student at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, where she serves as VP of communications at the Haas Asian Business Club and is a graduate student federal income tax instructor. She earned her undergraduate degree in English literature from Nanjing Normal University in China, where she developed an interest in cross-cultural communication.

Jie worked in international education in Shanghai before she moved to Nashville, TN, where she led various diversity and inclusion initiatives at a historically black university and was featured on a local TV show. Subsequently, she obtained her master’s degree in accountancy from the University of Notre Dame and worked as an international tax consultant for Deloitte in both its Atlanta and Toronto offices. She is a CPA, CPIM (APICS), and certified interpreter (Chinese-English). This summer, she will intern as an investment banking associate at Deutsche Bank in San Francisco. She aims to set up a foundation that provides education opportunities for women from underprivileged socioeconomic backgrounds. In her spare time, Jie enjoys tennis, golf, college football, travel, renaissance art, and cultural activities.

Kyung Hee is an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, majoring in business administration with a focus on accounting and taxes. Kyung Hee grew up in a small town in Korea where the only formal education offered was elementary school. She finished her middle and high school education with GEDs. Kyung Hee moved to the United States when she was 26, and eventually carved out a career in bookkeeping and finance. Most recently, she spent 13 years at a Bay Area non-profit as a finance and administration manager. During that time, she also raised two children. After her children graduated from college, she returned to her own academic goals and enrolled in courses at Contra Costa Community College. She graduated with highest honors and was accepted as a transfer student to UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Her goal post-graduation is to return to the non-profit sector where she can combine enhanced accounting and tax knowledge and her prior professional experience to help immigrant-run small businesses succeed in reaching their full potential.

Jocelin Alvarado Gonzalez, originally from Guatemala, is a first-generation undergraduate student at Mills College pursuing a degree in business economics with an emphasis in finance. On campus, she assists students and faculty as an instructional teaching assistant primarily in managerial accounting for undergraduate and graduate students. She is part of the Associated Students at Mills College and is the Junior Class Council accountant. In addition, she works for the Alumni Association at Mills College as an accountant.

Post-graduation, she plans to pursue her MBA as well as become a CPA. Jocelin hopes to break down barriers for women in Central America by helping with their education, focusing on money management. Her goal is to use her degree to set up her own CPA beneficial corporation and help low-income communities by providing workshops and programs for people who share her background.

Aly Henry is an undergraduate at Saint Mary’s College, double majoring in business analytics and economics. She is the president of the Finance Club and a member of the honor societies Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma. On campus, she completed the Technology, Engineering, and Business Certificate program that supplements her business education with an engineering background. Aly also interns at the Foundation Investment Group, an investment advisory firm specializing in alternative assets. Aly is passionate about women’s empowerment in the underrepresented fields of business, finance, and engineering. After graduation, she plans to utilize her skills as a financial and economic research analyst while advocating for gender diversity and female leadership.

Berenice is a first-generation undergraduate student at California State University, East Bay, who has an associate’s degree in business administration and is pursuing a degree in accounting. On campus, she is part of the Gaining Access N’ Academic Success program that helps newly transferred Hispanic students ensure they are taking the correct courses and are on track for graduation. She is also the president-elect for Beta Alpha Psi for the next academic year and is a member of the Tau Sigma National Honors Society. Berenice recently finished a tax internship with Kemper CPA LLP and will be an audit intern for Sensiba San Filippo this summer.

Berenice is a “Dreamer” student who came from Mexico and is extremely passionate about being a role model for the Latina and Dreamer community in the business arena. She plans to help by being a representative of this community and was recently involved in a video shoot for her school, representing the college of business as a Latina. Post-graduation, she plans on acquiring her CPA license and an MBA. 

Sally is an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, majoring in business administration. For the past two years, Sally has held the position of finance coordinator of the UC Berkeley Basic Needs Center, which is a campus-run organization that combats student hunger and homelessness. She has used her finance skills to improve processes and reduce costs, allowing for budgeting decisions and funding allocations to better support student needs. For example, she was able to secure and prioritize funding for opening the first Basic Needs Center at UC Berkeley. Outside of school, Sally led the optical character recognition (OCR) automation project at Tesla to optimize internal business operations. Sally conducted financial analysis on OCR investment for long-term profit evaluation.

Sally will be doing an internship this summer at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, focusing on corporate tax. Post-graduation, she plans to return to PriceWaterhouseCoopers to obtain her CPA license. Sally is passionate about continuing to apply her accounting skills to foster an inclusive environment, as well as promoting people’s financial health. She is excited to spearhead a nonprofit that develops a holistic wellness model as a sustainable solution to address food insecurity for students nationwide.

Chelsea Sowers is an undergraduate from California State University East Bay, majoring in accounting. She is the outgoing president of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) and an advocate for furthering education.

As a 9th grade drop-out who returned to education after a long hiatus, Chelsea was encouraged and inspired by the women in her life. She has decided to focus on promoting education among those who may not have either experience or opportunity. Through her connections to the rehab community, she hopes to give other women the gift of the educational opportunity she received. Chelsea also plans to bring education into the lives of more women by creating workshops focusing on re-entry into the educational system, finances, and professionalism.

Chelsea just finished her first tax season internship at Clifton Larson Allen and is looking forward to her upcoming audit internship at Armanino this summer. Chelsea hopes to continue to serve as a role model by inspiring others to transform as she has, from a woman on the edge to a woman with purpose as she furthers her career, lifting others as she climbs.