13 Women Awarded FWSF Scholarships in 2021

Ozlem Akkurt earned her undergraduate degree in economics and international relations from Koc University in Turkey, and her master’s degree in development studies from University of Oxford.

Following her studies, she worked as an investment and economic policy adviser to Ethiopia’s Prime Minister and Rwanda’s Development Board. She later joined Oxford Policy Management in the U.K. to continue supporting African governments to attract private investment. Currently, she is an Associate at an Istanbul-based venture capital firm, 212, investing in tech startups in the Middle East, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Ozlem will be pursuing her MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business, with a focus on finance and venture capital investing. She is passionate about impact investing and wants to lead a venture capital fund that invests in high-growth companies that provide economic opportunities for underprivileged women in Turkey.

Amanda Jayla Irizarry leads Business Operations at Clearbit, a business to business SaaS startup. In that role, she works cross-functionally to drive operational efficiency and company strategy. She formerly worked on the Strategy and Operations team at Google.org, where she managed Google’s $300M+ charitable giving budget.

Amanda has a B.A. in health and societies from the University of Pennsylvania and is an incoming student at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She plans to pursue opportunities across the startup ecosystem, including in impact investing and social entrepreneurship. She is passionate about democratizing wellness and expanding opportunities to empower underrepresented communities to live their most fulfilling lives.

Hana Lee is a first-generation Korean-American student at Holy Names University, studying for her MBA with a concentration in accounting and finance.Prior to this, she was an honorable NCAA Division II athlete who graduated Cum Laude at Holy Names University with a B.A. in criminology and a minor in sociology.

With her passion for social justice, Hana has advocated for gender equity and immigrant and women’s rights. With her criminology background, she aspires to be a forensic accountant to help prosecute financial criminals and minimize the impact of financial crimes on marginalized people. She aims to volunteer as a financial advisor in underprivileged communities, because she believes that financial education can help people, especially immigrant and single-parent families, to break the cycle of poverty.

Gabriela Mejia is a first-generation student at the University of San Francisco, pursuing Master of Business Administration. She received two undergraduate degrees from San Francisco State University, having studied Spanish and business with a concentration in international business.

Gabriela’s background is in operations and business development. She previously led JetBlue’s award-winning concessions programs, where she oversaw everything from operations to financial matters to relationship development. It was this experience that sparked her interest and knowledge in finance.

Gabriela is passionate about education and thankful for all the doors it has opened for her. She hopes to be a mentor and encourage young students in the Hispanic community to pursue a higher education.

Anisha Mudaliar is a graduate student at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she is pursuing her MBA. She earned her undergraduate degree in economics with distinction from Stanford University.

Prior to returning to Stanford, Anisha worked at Endeavor, a global organization that supports high-growth, high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging and underserved markets. Anisha led Endeavor’s Access to Capital program across 37 markets, helping entrepreneurs raise venture capital to scale their businesses. Before Endeavor, Anisha worked at Boston Consulting Group in Washington D.C., where she focused on solving strategic problems for clients in the public and social sectors.

Anisha is passionate about the power of financial technologies to help people achieve prosperity, and after graduation she plans to invest in breakthrough solutions in financial inclusion.

Karimah Omer is completing her MBA at the Lorry I. Lokey School of Business and Public Policy at Mills College, where she is a part of the Personal Finance Club. She is currently the Outreach Intern at TMC Community Capital, a microlender in Oakland, CA, where she manages the applicant loan pipeline.

Karimah graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Mills College and minors in business administration and creative writing. A firm believer in equal education, Karimah volunteers at local schools and mosques as an SAT and college readiness tutor to students whose families could not otherwise afford one. Karimah envisions a career supporting small businesses to their fullest potential with both capital and resources.

Fitzann (Fitz) Reid is a first generation Jamaican-American who identifies as a gender nonconforming woman. Fitz obtained her JD from Washington University in St. Louis, where she received the Equal

Justice Works Award and Scholar in Law Award. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Pace University, where she majored in business and minored in law.

Fitz is currently a Senior Counsel in the Division of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where she co-chairs the LGBT employee resource group. In 2019, she received the National LGBT Bar Association’s 40 Under 40 Award and in 2020 she received the American Bar Association’s Top 40 Young Lawyers Award. Her aim is to increase the visibility of underrepresented women working in finance.

Atusa Sadeghi is a UC Berkeley Haas MBA candidate with a focus on venture capital within the ESG space. She completed her undergraduate studies in Canada at the University of Toronto, where she majored in mechanical engineering and minored in French literature.

Prior to Haas, Atusa worked within the mining industry where she spent a significant part of her technical career as a field engineer in remote geographical locations in South America. Atusa is currently a Venture Associate at Shell Digital Ventures and Blue Bear Capital. She is also the co-president of Haas Venture Capital club and is the winner of the Silicon Valley regional Venture Capital Investment Competition.

After graduation, Atusa’s goal is to help lead global growth in sustainability and operational efficiency in the mining and renewable energy industries.

Iracema Camargo Garcia is a first-generation undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, majoring in business administration with an emphasis on accounting and finance.

Iracema grew up in a rural area in Mexico, where only middle school was available at the time. When she moved to the United States, she joined English classes while her kids were at school. She started working as a night-time janitor and soon as a property manager assistant.

She graduated with the highest honors from her community college, which was a crucial achievement for her since Iracema wants to be a role model for immigrant women who didn’t have the opportunity to study when they were young. She hopes that her life path will empower immigrant women.

Gökçe Güven is an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, studying international business and cognitive science with a minor in computer science as part of the Global Management Program. She is an international student from Turkey.

As a Product Lead in Blockchain at Berkeley, Gökçe is leading a team of 14 as the co-founder of Harmonio – a decentralized financing platform for microentrepreneurs. Outside of school, Gökçe leads her nongovernmental organization Girls on the Field, empowering young girls in the Middle East with soccer and STEM camps.

Gökçe built her interest in finance and cryptocurrencies by interning at Celo and IDEO. She is joining Robinhood as a Kleiner Perkins Fellow. After graduation, her goal is to launch a fintech venture providing decentralized banking services in developing markets.

Sobe Melton is an undergraduate student at San Francisco State University, pursuing a degree in business administration (accounting) and a minor in urban planning. Sobe has been passionate about her community as a youth choir director, shop runner, and literary center coordinator. She spent Summer 2019 in Tarzana as a financial tutor.

She relocated to the Bay Area in 2020 and joined the San Francisco chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants as a student member and represented the organization in events such as the AirBnB Finance Women in Tech Series and the KPMG Ascend Night. She received a full-time offer from Accenture Finance to begin post-graduation. She also plans to leverage her urban studies research to continue impactful community involvement.

Dion Zyrene Santiago is an undergraduate at University of San Francisco, with a major in accounting and a minor in computer science. Dion was born in the Philippines and raised in Guam. At USF, she is a

Disbursement Services student assistant and a member of the School of Management Honors Program. She also dedicates her time to the school’s Filipinx Organization, Kasamahan, having served as the public relations/political affairs officer.

In her free time, she manages a small business committed to an interest in Baybayin, a pre-colonial Philippine script. She strongly believes in the importance of understanding culture and the interconnectedness of generations. Currently, Dion is looking forward to an internship with KPMG.

Anahi Torres is a first-generation undergraduate at Saint Mary’s College of California, majoring in business administration with a concentration in finance and business analytics, and a minor in economics.

On campus, Anahi is a Lead Peer Mentor for the High Potential Program, in which she helps first-generation and/or low income students navigate college. She also incorporates learning and community-building opportunities for residential students as a Resident Advisor.

Anahi will be a Business Analyst Intern at HP Inc. in the summer of 2021. Post graduation, Anahi plans to pursue a career in financial advisory or corporate finance. She is passionate about using her financial knowledge to increase generational wealth in historically underserved communities.