Sandra Hanna graduated from Georgetown as a dual MBA/J.D. student. Using her passions for civil rights to guide her through life, she has had an expansive career during which she has grown as a businesswoman and lawyer dedicated to to diversity and justice.

After graduating, Melissa Akkaway moved back to Las Vegas to work with the Mandalay Bay Resort. A few years later, she was ready for a career change and moved to Los Angeles to start working in the restaurant industry. Without her passions fully realized, she moved into the fashion industry, opened up her own boutique, Beckley, and eventually moved into the world of blogging with her accessories blog, The Particulars.

After graduation, Brittania Boey entered the banking industry. Realizing the industry was not for her, she left banking and moved on to build an impressive foundation of experience within different areas of the business world, leading her to her current position as chief commercial officer at Harry’s, Inc.

May Chan grew up in Singapore before moving to Washington, D.C., to attend Georgetown. She has navigated the male-dominated world of investment banking at both Barclays and Deutsche Bank, where she feels women could help balance the work culture of the industry. She has been an advocate for women to join the banking industry and change the perception of women in banking.

While working her way up the ranks at the American Trucking Associations (ATA), Suzanne Clark earned her undergraduate degree at Georgetown’s School of Continuing Studies. This interdisciplinary program would change her life as she would take on a role as chief of staff for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and then take her education even further, earning an Executive MBA at McDonough — yet again juggling the demands of her education and full-time employment. She went on to start an independent research firm that was recognized in 2012 as the 135th fastest growing private U.S. company. Clark is now the president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and has been named one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington, D.C., by Washingtonian magazine.

Sofina Qureshi moved across the country for college and then spent nearly a decade in consulting and graduate school. Afterward, she pivoted to the Girl Scouts of the USA, where she served as vice president of the Girl Scout Cookie Program. Qureshi now serves as vice president of Thrasio, one of the fastest-growing acquirers of Amazon third-party FBA brands. Her experience as a minority businesswoman has allowed her to recognize the reality of privilege and her own ability to overcome obstacles.

Kaya Henderson is a lifelong educator, a double Hoya, former Chancellor of D.C. Public Schools, a Samuel Halsey Award Winner, and served on the Georgetown Board of Directors. Currently she is CEO of Reconstruction, an education technology company that delivers a K-12 supplemental curriculum centered on Black people, culture, and contributions in an authentic, identity-affirming way for students. Her love for Georgetown and vision as the former leader of the D.C. Public Schools led to the creation of a customized version of the Executive Master’s in Leadership (EML) program designed specifically for local principals and school leaders.

Rachel Mech graduated magna cum laude, was captain of the women’s lacrosse team her senior year, and received the William J. Curtin Award for Academic Excellence. Following graduation, she completed her master’s at Georgetown in corporate communications and public relations, at the same time co-founding ProVentures, a sports and entertainment agency. After teaching at Georgetown for a few years, Mech earned a J.D. and began work as an attorney at Offit Kurman, where her practice focuses on business litigation and family law.