International Women's Day 2024
For those who were unable to attend the Wakefield Human Rights Commission’s March 7 event to commemorate International Women’s Day, we encourage you to watch the recording. Special thanks to WCAT for their production assistance and for recording the event.
The program featured a panel of truly exceptional women who, with candor and a large measure of humor, shared their professional and personal experiences. Each have transformed challenges into opportunities that open the doors for the inclusion of women, ultimately advancing economic and career progress.
The panel discussion was wide ranging: the intersection between personal life and career paths; the role mentors played in their success as well as how they mentor others; obstacles faced and overcome; suggestions for creating a more inclusive environment for women; advice for those struggling to be included; and more.
Our panel included:
- Amy D. Apfelbaum, P.E., is a civil engineer and a Managing Principal of McPhail Associates, which provides geotechnical engineering services to architects, owners, contractors, institutions, and developers.
- Afraa Boukataya is an 11th grade student at Wakefield Memorial High School whose has shown great leadership, maturity, and commitment through cultural and peer initiatives and support.
- Arianne Kidder is a Partner at Seae Ventures, an investment firm specializing in early-stage healthcare technology and services companies. Her company was founded by diverse entrepreneurs including women and those who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color, to advance equity through opportunity.
- Julie Smith Galvin is the founder and owner of Green Path Strategies, a strategic communications firm supporting companies in the clean energy and cleantech space, with offices in Wakefield and Somerville’s Greentown Labs. Prior to founding Green Path, she spent two decades in senior management at global renewable energy companies.
- Jess Sutich, the moderator for our event, is a narrative designer and narrative producer for video games. She has also worked as a staff writer for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and a content designer for ESI Design, a design company for museum exhibits and public art installations. In her off-time, she is a comedian, improvisor, and storyteller.
- Roseanne Trionfi-Mazzuchelli, Veteran Service Director for Melrose, Wakefield, and Saugus, has had a long and illustrious career in the military and in supporting veterans as a Military Police Officer, the first female Criminal Investigator/Special Agent in her Unit, as a Military Family Liaison, as a Senior Instructor for the Family Readiness Division, and as Winthrop’s first female Veteran Service Officer.
- Yarlennys Villaman-Hale, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, is the Director of Community Affairs at the Governor’s Office and serves on the Digital Accessibility and Equity Governance Board. She previously worked in the Outreach Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and as a Commissioner for the City of Cambridge Commission on Immigrant Rights and Citizenship.
The Wakefield Human Rights Commission aspires to a world in which every woman and girl can exercise her human rights and live up to her full potential. This year’s program was truly inspiring and encouraging for all to pursue their dreams.