PBWC Board of Directors

René Kim - PBWC President and Board Chair
Senior Vice President — Product Development, Charles Schwab
René Kim is responsible for brokerage and bank product development and management for a large financial services firm in San Francisco.  Rene has worked in financial services, including insurance, banking and brokerage for just shy of 20 years.  She is a graduate of UC Davis with majors in English and Italian and a Masters degree in Business Administration.  She lives in Lafayette with her husband and two sons. 

Nicole Soluri - PBWC Board Vice Chair
Senior Associate Attorney, Downey Brand LLP
Nicole Soluri is a Senior Associate Attorney in the Corporate, Securities and Tax Group of Downey Brand LLP, focusing on the representation of corporations, limited liability companies and other business entities. Prior to joining Downey Brand, Nicole was in the corporate group at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, PC. While at WSGR, Nicole was the recipient of the John Wilson Award for outstanding pro bono legal service.  Nicole is a member of the Sacramento County Bar Association, the Women Lawyers of Sacramento and the Junior League of Sacramento.   Nicole received a B.A. from Santa Clara University and a J.D. from the UC Davis School of Law.

Hallie Hart - PBWC Board Secretary
Senior Financial Advisor, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
As a Senior Financial Advisor in the Global Wealth Management Division of Bank of America Merrill Lynch; her practice is focused on retirement planning for families and businesses.  Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Hallie founded and grew to national distribution, a ceramic tableware company.  In addition to her current role, she serves as CEO of the Merrill Lynch Women's Exchange, East Bay Chapter.  Externally she serves on the Board of Lazarex Cancer  Foundation.  She supports and is a member of Women's Initiative for Self Employment and Oakland Rotary.

A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Hallie has also been published on topics regarding privately held business transition strategies.  Hallie lives in the  Oakland, CA with her husband and several pets.

Judy Love - PBWC Board Treasurer
Exec. Vice President of Middle Market Banking and International Finance, Comerica Bank
Judy Love has held a variety of management positions at Comerica since 1982, including President of Comerica Securities, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations, Treasury, Controller, and Real Estate. She has served as the Chair of the Board for Inforum Center for Leadership in Michigan, Chair of Comerica’s Women’s Initiative, and was recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Detroit and the Bay Area.

Jackie Speier - Emerita Board Member and PBWC Founder
U.S. Congresswoman
Representing the 12th District of California, Jackie Speier formerly served as a California State Senator, where she authored groundbreaking legislation in health care, privacy, consumer protection, child welfare, education, and prison reform; and served as Assistant Pro Tem of the State Senate, Chair of the Senate Finance, Banking and Insurance Committee, Chair of the California Legislative Women's Caucus, and others.

Ann Barlow - PBWC Director-at-Large
Partner and President, Peppercom West Coast Operations
As a partner and president of Peppercom's west coast operations, Ann is responsible for helping to set agency direction, grow the business, create new offerings, service clients and manage teams.  In 2005 she led the founding of GreenPepper, Peppercom's environmental sustainability offering. 

A graduate of the University of Illinois, Ann has been published in a wide range of publications on topics ranging from sustainability strategies to rebranding.  She was recently named one of the Bay Area’s Most Influential Women by the San Francisco Business Times.  Ann lives in San Ramon, Calif., with her husband, two teenage children and two spoiled beagles.

Debra Boblitt - PBWC Director-at-Large
Senior Vice President - State Farm Insurance

Debra Boblitt developes vision, strategy and direction for more than 4500 State Farm agents and employees and is responsible for $3.6 billion revenue in Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky.  As the former president and current board member of PBWC, Boblitt was selected to participate in the 2008-2009 International Women's Forum Leadership Foundation Fellowship Program, and currently serves on The American College  Foundation Board of Directors.

Boblitt earned a bachelor's degree from Kent State University, a master's degree from the University of Toledo, and the Chartered Leadership Fellow designation from the American College.

Judy Bloom - PBWC Emerita Board Member
Development Officer/Director of Imprint Giving Jewish Community Endowment Fund
A founding president of the Professional Business Women of California while she served as the District Director for then-Assemblywoman Jackie Speier, Judy Bloom was also the former Executive Director of Resourceful Women. She is currently the Development Officer/Director of Imprint Giving at the Jewish Community Endowment Fund and former Director of Employer Services at Jewish Vocational Service in San Francisco.

Cliff Bell - PBWC Director-At-Large
Chief Information Officer, Infogain Corporation
Before becoming CIO at Infogain, Cliff Bell was CIO of Phoenix Technologies. He was also Vice President and Chief Information Officer at two Internet startup companies, and previously served as Regional IT Director at Iomega Corporation based in Singapore. He has held IT management positions at Bay Networks and Apple Computer. Cliff holds an M.B.A. in finance from Purdue University.

Mary Ann Bianco - PBWC Director-At-Large
Vice President — Customer Services Management, Oracle Corporation
At Oracle, Mary Ann Bianco leads a Customer Management team serving Oracle’s Global 100 Customers. Mary Ann began her career at Oracle in 1997 and has held positions in Business Development and Alliances. She has over 20 years experience in Sales, Business Development, Alliances and Customer Management primarily in the high-tech field. Prior to Oracle, Mary Ann was with Siemens Corporation as Senior Director.

Stacy G. Fisher - PBWC Director-at-Large
Senior Vice President - Wells Fargo Bank
 In 2010, after nearly 18 years with the International Group (IG), Stacy joined Community Bank to  head the leadership development at the mid- to senior management levels across the multi disciplined lines of business. A 25-year financial services veteran, Stacy was tapped in 1999 to spearhead the creation of the Foreign Exchange Online channel, the first solution offered through Commercial Electronic Office. Stacy is an active member of the Harvard Kennedy School Women's Leadership Board. She is former chair of the Wells Fargo International Group Diversity Council and a graduate of the University of Illinois.

Shirley Gordon - PBWC Director-at-Large
Vice President - Operations, State Farm Insurance Companies

Over her 36+ year career at State Farm Insurance, Shirley has held numerous operations positiions.  She is resonsible for Zone Administrative Services, Auto Operations, Computing and Process Solutions, the California Priorities Office and Executive Sponsor for People Development Strategy.  Shirley is active in the community, and sits on the boards of School of Business and Economics Advisory or Sonoma State University and American Heart Association; Go Red for Women Executive Committee, among others.

Lara Lee - PBWC Director-At-Large
President, Outdoor Services LLC

Outdoor Services is a private equity funded startup designed to promote conservation, hunting and outdoor sports. Prior to Outdoor Services, Lara was a principal and member of the management team at  Jump Associates, leading the brand community and sustainability practices. Lara spent 14 years at Harley-Davidson, most recently as VP of Enthusiast Services, leading a division that included experience-based consumer services and harley-davidson.com. She is also past Chairman of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Lara holds dual master's degrees in business administration and international affairs from the University of Pennsylvania’s Lauder Institute and the Wharton School of Business, and a bachelor's degree in Chinese language from Brown University.

Deidra Lieberman - PBWC Director-At-Large
President/General Manager, KGO and KSFO Radio

Deidra oversees the company’s business operations including programming, sales, interactive, marketing, engineering and accounting.  Before being named President / General Manager, Deidra was the Director of Sales.   Deidra received a BA in Broadcast Communication Arts from San Francisco State University.  She served on the Board of Directors for the Society of Television and Radio, participated in the Women Inspiring Women in Radio Mildred Carter Mentoring program and is currently on the Executive Committee for the Northern California Broadcasters Association. Deidra was recognized as one of the most influential Women in Bay Area Business by the San Francisco Business Times in 2011.

Cindy Solomon - PBWC Director-At-Large
President, Solomon & Associates, Inc.
Cindy Solomon is president of Solomon & Associates, Inc., an organization dedicated to creating high performance leaders, developing highly effective employees and building truly customer-focused organizational cultures. She is known for the witty, motivational and fully customized delivery of her material that allows every audience to build their knowledge base, while building their enthusiasm for productive change, life-long learning and exceptional customer service.

Debi Hemmeter - PBWC Executive Director

Debi Hemmeter brings more than 25 years of executive experience to PBWC, specializing in strategy, marketing, and business development.  Debi joined PBWC Executive Director in September of 2011.
 
Prior to joining PBWC, Debi served as Senior Vice President at Bank of America where she led one of the largest retail markets for the bank.   Debi has also held various leadership and strategy roles at Wells Fargo Bank, PepsiCo and Sara Lee.  Debi lives in Piedmont California with her husband Chris, three children and two golden retrievers.